Liturgy of the Hours

Summary

Introduction

1 Historical Development

1.1 The Prayer of the Hours in the New Testament

1.1.1 Jesus Prayed and Recommended Incessant Prayer

1.1.2 The Prayer of the Hours in the Apostolic Church

1.2 The Evolution of the Divine Office from the 2nd to the 5th Century         

1.3 The Divine Office from the Middle Ages to Vatican II

2 Structure and Elements of the Rite of the Liturgy of the Hours

3 Symbolism and Theology of the Liturgy of the Hours

4 Pastoral Care

Concluding Remarks

References

Introduction

The Liturgy of the Hours is one of the various forms of prayer in the Church, which aims to sanctify the entire day through uninterrupted prayer. Composed of hymns, psalms, canticles, antiphons, biblical readings, and texts from great ecclesiastical writers and Magisterium documents, it is prayed at specific times: Major Hours: Lauds (at dawn) and Vespers (at dusk); Minor Hours: Terce (at mid-morning), Sext (at noon), None (at mid-afternoon), and Compline (before night rest). Thus, one can already perceive that its symbolism is cosmic and that, due to the different time zones of the various regions of our planet, every hour the Earth is bathed in a wave of prayer. These hours also have a symbolic-sacramental value, as they refer to certain important events in the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the Apostles, therefore having a salvific character (cf. AUGÉ, 2005, p. 230).

The Liturgy of the Hours, as its name suggests, is inserted into the ritual and theological dynamics of liturgical space and time. This dynamic, in turn, is rooted in the fact of the incarnation of the eternal Word of the Father, Jesus Christ. Indeed, with the incarnation of the Word, God breaks into human history and, in an indelible way, unites Himself with humanity by assuming our flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Eternal enters into space and time and, with this fact, transforms chronos into Kairos, that is, into a time of salvation.

However, this dynamic of the incarnation of the eternal Word receives its light from the Paschal Mystery of Christ. In fact, at the center of the entire life of the Church—structure, worship, apostolic action, spirituality, theology, ethics, etc.—is the Passover of Christ. From this, it is concluded that the Liturgy of the Hours is an essentially paschal type of prayer; all the hours refer to the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Indeed, it is the latter that is at the center, not only of the Liturgy of the Hours, but of the entire liturgical life of the Church.

1 Historical Development

1.1 The Prayer of the Hours in the New Testament

Certainly, it is not our intention here to find the structure of the Liturgy of the Hours as we know it today or something close to it, but simply to find the biblical roots of the Church’s custom of praying at set hours, something that has always been present in its life from its beginnings. The Liturgy of the Hours, although it has its roots in the prayer of Jesus and his holy Apostles who, in turn, followed the customs of their religion, Judaism, has undergone a long and profound development throughout the history of the Church, which we will see below.

1.1.1 Jesus Prayed and Recommended Incessant Prayer

In the gospels, we can find information about the prayer of Jesus. Following the customs of the religion of his parents, Judaism, He observed its liturgical prescriptions in addition to addressing God intimately as the Father. Thus, Jesus, from childhood, in the company of his parents, annually attended the temple for the great Passover feasts (cf. Lk 2:41), and also in adulthood (cf. Jn 2:13-14). He used to frequent the synagogue on the Sabbath (cf. Mt 12:9; Mk 3:1; Lk 4:16). He would withdraw alone to pray in deserted places (cf. Lk 5:16) and sometimes at night (Mk 1:35). Prayer was a habit in Jesus’ life; the evangelist Luke mentions Jesus’ prayer several times (cf. 5:16; 6:12; 9:18, 28-29 passim); and in these moments, he addressed God with filial intimacy (cf. Lk 10:21; 22:42; 23:43, 46; Jn 11:41-42; 17:1).

The practice of prayer by Jesus was not restricted to him, as he taught his disciples to pray (cf. Mt 6:5-13); and he strongly recommended incessant prayer to his disciples (Lk 18:1-7; 21:36). He taught them, in addition to personal prayer, community prayer (Mt 18:19-20).

Furthermore, we know that the gospels are not a biography of Jesus, but rather a Christology of the communities of their redactors. Therefore, it is to be imagined that the prayers that the evangelists attribute to Jesus are also the prayers practiced by the communities, within which these treatises based on the experiences they had of the encounter with Jesus of Nazareth arose.

1.1.2 The Prayer of the Hours in the Apostolic Church

However, the other New Testament writings—besides the four gospels—give us information about the prayer of the first Christian communities. We can see Peter and John going up to the Temple for the three o’clock afternoon prayer (Acts 3:1), that is, the ninth hour. But, by all indications, the entire community of the nascent Church also had the custom of incessant prayer. Indeed, “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42); also, “with one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46). The apostle James recommends to his community: “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray”—here it refers to personal prayer, but immediately after it refers to the prayer of the Church (TEB, version note): “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray” (Jas 5:14).

1.2 The Evolution of the Divine Office from the 2nd to the 5th Century         

This habit of incessant personal and community prayer would pass to the post-apostolic communities and accompany the Church throughout its history, to our days. As early as the end of the 1st century or the beginning of the 2nd century, in the Didachè, chapter IX, it is recommended to pray the Our Father three times a day. In North Africa, where fervent and well-structured Christian communities were formed very early, we have the testimony of Clement of Alexandria (Stromata); we also have information from the first known Latin ecclesiastical writer, Tertullian (De oratione; De ieiuno), through Cyprian (De oratione dominica) to Augustine of Hippo (Sermones ad competenti).

Attributed to Hippolytus of Rome, we also have the Traditio Apostolica (early 3rd century) which gives us information on the hours of prayer: at dawn before starting any activity (this hour in the Church); at the third hour, the sixth hour, and the ninth hour, wherever one may be; before night rest; and, finally, at midnight. At the end of the 4th century, the pilgrim Egeria, who spent three years in Palestine, provides information about the liturgy of Jerusalem, especially about the prayer of the hours in the Church of the Anástasis: Vigil (monks, virgins, and laity) sing hymns, psalms, to which they respond with antiphons; after two or three presbyters and deacons arrive, the morning prayer begins. The bishop arrives with his presbyters and says a prayer and gives a blessing to those who indicate their names, from behind the grilles that close the grotto of the tomb where the body of Christ was deposited. They then gather again in the same place at the sixth and ninth hours; at the tenth hour, the lucernarium, or Vespers, is held (SCh, 2002, p. 239-241); she does not mention a night prayer, but in the following pages, she reports the solemn offices of the Epiphany, the forty days that follow it, and the offices of the Paschal feasts: Lent, Holy Week, Easter, the Octave until Pentecost (SCh, 2002, p. 251-305).

From this time, that is, the 4th century, the first attempts to organize the prayer of the hours began. Authors usually distinguish two paths: a first would follow a direction we call the Cathedral Office, and a second in another direction we call the Monastic Office. The Cathedral Office – also the parochial one – was already constituted of the Major Hours – Laudes and Vespers – with Lauds being preceded by a vigil on Sundays and feast days. The Monastic Office, in addition to these two Major Hours, consisted of three daytime hours, Terce, Sext, and None, plus Prime and Compline. In addition, the monks institutionalized prayer vigils as a daily office, since their ideal was to recite the entire Psalter (cf. LEIKAN, 2000, p. 48).

Noteworthy is the presence of Psalm 62 in Lauds and Psalm 140 in Vespers in all Churches since the 4th century, according to the testimony of Eusebius of Caesarea (Commentary on Psalm 140 and 142), John Chrysostom (Baptismal Catecheses), and the Apostolic Constitutions. This last document (late 4th or early 5th century) already records the presence of the Nunc dimittis (Lk 2:29-32) in the evening office.

1.3 The Divine Office from the Middle Ages to Vatican II

However, the Monastic Office developed in such a way that it ended up influencing the Cathedral Office. In addition to the emergence of new languages and the increasingly restricted use of Latin, other reasons – which need not be detailed here – led to the people no longer having access to the liturgy in general, with the office becoming the work of “specialized labor,” that is, of the clergy and monks. From the 9th century onwards, in many local Churches, the clergy was obligated to recite the office, which was then heavily influenced by the Monastic Office. The latter, in turn, provided for more hours and longer texts: over the course of a week, the entire psalter was recited, and in one year, the whole or almost the whole Bible was read, plus hymns, canticles, antiphons, responsories, etc.

Here one cannot fail to mention the Rule of Saint Benedict which, mainly through the work of Charlemagne, was imposed on almost all monasteries in the West. In the Regula Monasteriorum Sancti Benedicti Abbatis, seven prayer hours per day are prescribed, citing Psalm 118:164: “Seven times a day I praise you” (Chap. XVI). These hours are: Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline.

For the Night Hour, during Winter (early November to Easter), six psalms are prescribed, preceded by the versicle “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise,” which is followed by Psalm 3, the Gloria, Psalm 94 with an antiphon, six psalms with antiphons, three biblical readings with a responsory, plus 6 psalms with hallelujah, a reading from the Apostle, and it concludes with the litanic supplication, that is, Kyrie eleison (Chap. IX). The Night Hour is prayed in the middle of the night because of Psalm 118:62: “At midnight I rise to give you thanks.” For the rest of the year, due to the shortness of the nights, only one reading from the Old Testament is done, with all the rest remaining as in the Winter period (Chap. X). On Sundays, however, four readings with a responsory are read after the first six psalms, and four more after the other six psalms; three canticles from the Old Testament with Hallelujah; four more readings with a responsory, the Te Deum laudamus, a reading from the Gospel, the Te decet laus, and the final blessing (Chap. XI).

Lauds, in turn, was composed of Psalm 66 with an antiphon, followed by Psalm 50 with Hallelujah, Psalm 117 and 62, the Benedictus, “Lauds,” a reading from Revelation with a responsory, an Ambrosian hymn, a versicle, an evangelical canticle, and concluded with the litany (Chap. XII). For the other hours, the compositions are as follows: Prime: three psalms with a single Gloria, a hymn, then the versicle Deus, in adiuntorium meum…, three psalms, one reading, a versicle, Kyrie eleison, and a conclusion; for Terce, Sext, and None, the Office follows the same order for all three: versicle, the proper hymn for the hour, three psalms, the readings, the Kyrie eleison, and the final prayers (Chap. XVII). Here it is recommended that, if the community is large, the psalms be recited with an antiphon.

Vespers is composed of four psalms with antiphons, the reading, a responsory, a hymn, a versicle, an evangelical canticle, the litanic prayer, and concludes with the Our Father. At Compline, the three psalms are recited consecutively without an antiphon, the hymn, a single reading, the versicle, the Kyrie eleison, and it concludes with the blessing (Cap. XVII).

From the influence of the rules of the Roman monasteries on the Cathedral Office, a kind of monastic-ecclesiastical Office would emerge; one of these new rules would be adopted by the pope and his curials from the late 10th or early 11th century, which became known as the Breviary of the Roman Curia (cf. RAFFA, 2004, p. 655). In the first half of the 13th century, Saint Francis of Assis would adopt this Office for his order, which, in turn, would contribute to its great diffusion throughout almost the entire West, becoming the predominant form (cf. RAFFA, 2004).

In the Tridentine reform of the Roman Breviary, Pius V, with the bull Quod a nobis (1568), reduced the number of psalms but introduced the Office of Saint Mary on Saturday; he also reduced the hagiographical texts. The bull does not include the laity when listing the groups of people who are obliged to pray the office, and it compromises the symbolism of the hours by providing for private recitation, even equating it to community recitation with the consequent recitation at whatever time one could. Henceforth, the Breviary of Pius V would be practically the only rule in the entire Western Church. A new reform would only come in the 20th century, by the work of Pius X, with the bull Divino afflatu: it reduced the number of psalms in all the hours but maintained the recitation of the psalter over the course of a week by making a new distribution of the psalms. Pius X made this reform having in mind, above all, the demands of the pastoral work of the clergy.

From the reform promoted by Vatican II arises the Liturgy of the Hours of Paul VI, promulgated on November 1, 1970, which we use today. The great novelties here are: the distribution of the psalms over four weeks (cf. SC 91); the suppression of the Hour of Prime (SC 89); the possibility of the hour called Matins being recited at any time of the day, although it retains in the choir the character of nocturnal praise, and the number of psalms is reduced, but longer readings are proposed; for the so-called Minor Hours, namely, Terce, Sext, and None, one of them can be chosen outside the choir (SC 90); and finally, the use of the vernacular language (SC 101). It is also recommended to restore historical fidelity to the martyrdoms or lives of the Saints (SC 92) and that “those things that smack of mythology or are less consistent with Christian piety should be removed or changed” (SC 93).

2 Structure and Elements of the Rite of the Liturgy of the Hours

The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours (GILH), in Chapter II, very appropriately, presents the rite with the title “The Sanctification of the Day or the Various Hours of the Divine Office.” There are seven moments of prayer (cf. Ps 118:164): Office of Readings, Lauds, three Middle Hours, Vespers, and Compline. The Introduction to the Office is, in the first hour prayed (Lauds or Office of Readings), the Invitatory “Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise,” with which “the faithful are invited each day to sing the praises of God and to listen to his voice…” (GILH 34); this is followed by Ps 94(95), which can be replaced by psalms 99(100), 66(67), or 23(24) with their respective antiphons. The opening psalm is prayed in a responsorial manner, that is, the antiphon behaves like a refrain, but if it is prayed individually, it is enough to say the antiphon at its beginning and end.

The hour called “Matins” appears in the Liturgy of the Hours of Paul VI under the title “Office of Readings” which, as provided for by Sacrosanctum Concilium – as we mentioned above – can be prayed at any time of the day, although it retains its character of night prayer (cf. SC 89; GILH 57). When the Office is begun with this hour, the Invitatory is said at the beginning, as mentioned in the previous paragraph. Unlike the psalmody of the ordinary of the rite, the Invitatory Psalm is recited in a responsorial manner, that is, the antiphon behaves like a refrain, and the same applies to the other psalm options provided for this hour. When the Office of Readings does not open the daily office, it is opened like the other hours, that is, with the opening versicle and then the Hymn. The psalmody, as in the other hours, is composed of three psalms with their corresponding antiphons; this is followed by the versicle, which makes the transition from the psalmody to the listening of the Word of God. Indeed, immediately following, a biblical reading is read, followed by its responsory. The second reading is taken from the works of the Holy Fathers or other ecclesiastical writers. On Sundays, solemnities, or feasts, the Te Deum is sung. The Office is concluded with the Concluding Prayer and “Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.”

The Major Hours, that is, Lauds and Vespers, are opened with the introductory versicle “O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me.” Lauds, however, if it is the first prayer of the day, is opened with the Invitatory, followed by the Glory Be, the proper hymn for the hour, the psalmody with its respective antiphons with Alleluia – except during Lent – said at the beginning and at the end; in the latter case, they are preceded by the Glory Be… This is followed by the recitation of the hymn, two psalms, between which a canticle from the Old Testament is recited, each of these three elements with its respective antiphons at the beginning and end. Following this, the short reading with its responsory is read – if appropriate, a homily or a brief period of silence can be made before the responsory; this reading can be replaced by a longer one chosen at will. Then the Canticle of Zechariah, the Benedictus – The Messiah and His Forerunner (Lk 1:68-79) – is recited with its antiphon. This is followed by the prayers to consecrate the day and work to God; the Our Father prayer and, concluding the office, the concluding prayer and the dismissal.

Vespers has a very similar structure. It never opens with the Invitatory because it is not the first prayer of the day. The Hymn is proper to this hour, and another difference is in the psalmody, that is, instead of praying a canticle from the Old Testament, as in Lauds, one from the New Testament is prayed. Another difference is in the Gospel Canticle: here the Magnificat is recited. Everything else is done as in Lauds, obviously with the proper content for each hour. It should be noted here that on Saturdays there are no Vespers because, at this hour, the first Vespers of Sunday, which is always a solemnity, are prayed; an exception to what we have just said is Holy Saturday, because the first Vespers of Easter Sunday are not prayed, as it cannot have another prayer before the great Easter Vigil.

The Middle Hours have a much simpler structure: an opening like the Major Hours – never the versicle “Lord, open my lips…” –; the proper hymn for each hour; psalmody – when the three hours are prayed, only one uses the psalms distributed in the Psalter with their antiphons, for the other two, psalms are taken from the Complementary Psalms, the so-called “Gradual Psalms”; a short reading with its responsory, a concluding prayer, and dismissal: “Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.” It should be noted that in these three hours, no mention is made of the memory of the Saints.

Before night rest, the Church invites its faithful to lift their minds to God in a rhythm of prayer. For this purpose, Compline is recited which, as its name suggests, concludes the daily office. Of all the hours, Compline is the simplest and shortest in its structure. This hour before night rest is initiated like the other hours – except the first prayer of the day, that is, the Office of Readings or Lauds – it continues with the Hymn, the psalmody composed of just one psalm, except when prayed after the first vespers of Sundays and solemnities, when psalms 4 and 133(134) are prayed. After the psalmody, the Short Reading with the responsory “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit… You are the faithful God who saved your people. Glory be to the Father…” is done; immediately after, the Nunc Dimittis, the Canticle of Simeon (Lk 2:29-32), is sung with its antiphon. This hour ends with the Concluding Prayer followed by the blessing “May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and, at the end of life, a holy death”; and, finally, one of the antiphons of Our Lady proposed in the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed.

Before moving on to the next point, it is useful to remember that the Liturgy of the Hours follows the Liturgical Year and the Roman Calendar. Thus, the euchological content varies according to the theological theme of each season (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time) – this is why the Alleluia is not said at the end of the antiphons during Lent –; and in the same way, solemnities, feasts, and the memory of the Saints are celebrated.

3 Symbolism and Theology of the Liturgy of the Hours

In recent decades, a strong tendency has been observed to do theology of the liturgy in general and of its celebrations “from the Lex Orandi”[1], that is, to comment on the theology of the sacraments and other liturgical celebrations based mainly on the rite and its contents. For the Liturgy of the Hours, it could not be different, given the symbolic and spiritual richness of its various hours.

It is very useful for its understanding to start with the nomenclature. “Liturgy of the Hours” is a title that emerged in 1959 and is very appropriate because it expresses the purpose of this prayer of the Church, namely, the sanctification of the course of the day, in which the faithful are sanctified – in the Byzantine rite it is called the “clock” for the same reason. “Divine Office,” still used today alongside Liturgy of the Hours, was a term formerly used to designate any act of worship and, later, to designate the liturgical celebration of the Church, but it also seems to aim at nodding to the obligatory, canonical (Officium, duty) character of its recitation (cf. RAFFA, 2004, p. 652). “Breviary” seems to us somewhat poor to designate such a rich liturgical expression of the Church, since it was used to designate a compilation, abbreviation, etc., of the various liturgical books used for the prayer of the hours in the Middle Ages. Also throughout the history of the liturgy, the following names were used: cursus, preces horariae, opus Dei, horae canonicae (cf. RAFFA, 2004, p. 652).

Originally, the Office of Readings – in Sacrosanctum Concilium the expression “Matins” is still used – has a nocturnal character. It was prayed in the middle of the night, especially in monasteries, a reference to Psalm 118(119):62. The symbolism of this hour is that of the “darkness” from which Christ snatched us. We can find an example in the hymn “A noite escura apaga” (The dark night erases). In the first stanza, it says: “The dark night erases from the darkness every color…” suggesting that the darkness prevents our physical sight, a metaphor for the beatific vision. And it continues “Judge of hearts, to you our praise” suggesting that our praise to Christ is incessant.

What we have just said seems to be reinforced by the parable of the “ten virgins” (Mt 25:1-10), which is inserted into a literary framework with a markedly eschatological theme: the coming of the Son of Man (Mt 24:26-35); ignorance of the day of the final judgment (Mt 24:36-51); the talents (Mt 25:14-30); the final judgment (Mt 25:31-46). The symbolism of the lamps with enough oil to be lit at the arrival of the bridegroom suggests not only an attitude of watchfulness (cf. Mt 24:42), but above all of being prepared for the “hour.”

Lauds has a natural symbolism, the sun, due to being prayed at first light. The sun, “the rising star,” is in fact a biblical reference to the Messiah (to indicate the descendant of David: Jr 23:5; Zc 3:8; 6:12; the corresponding verb to indicate the messianic star: Nm 24:17; cf. Ml 3:20; Mt 2:2; Lc 1:78). The sun, therefore, the light, is a symbolism already present in both the Old and New Testaments, here especially in the Johannine literature:

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world (Jn 1:4-9).

John insists on this symbolism again: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said: ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (Jn 8:12); and further on he writes: “while I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn 9:5); and also:

Jesus answered them:

The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you; for whoever walks in the darkness does not know where they are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of      light. (Jn 12:35-36)

And more: “I, the light, have come into the world so that everyone who believes in me may not remain in darkness” (Jn 12:46). Let us note that in all these verses, Jesus self-identifies with the light, a symbol of salvation, while darkness is identified with sin, with not being and walking in the presence of God.

However, John is not the only one to use the symbolism of light applied to Christ and the salvation He achieved for us in his paschal mystery. We can also find this symbolism in the Pauline writings: “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col 1:12-13; cf. 1Thess 5:5; Heb 6:4; 10:32).

Robert Taft observes that the symbolism of light, when applied to those who live in Christ (Eph 5 and 1 Jn 1:5-7; 2:8-11), has a moral and community dimension, as well as observing that the book of Revelation concludes with a beautiful hymn that refers to the light of the Lamb in the Holy City of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21:22-26) (TAFT, 2000, p. 157).

But let us now see how this theme of light, in its natural symbolism, the sun, appears in the rite of Lauds, with a clear reference to the resurrection of Jesus. To begin, let us observe that this theme is constant in this hour because of the hymn Benedictus, also known as the “Canticle of Zechariah.” In the Advent hymn proposed for this hour, we can read: “In the dark shadows, a clear voice resounds. Let evil dreams depart, let Christ shine within us. Let those who sleep, wounded by sin, awaken. A new sun already shines, evil will be taken away.” In the hymn proposed for the Christmas season, the sun appears as a marker of the duration of praise, but it is not applied to Christ nor to his saving action. For the season of Lent, curiously, the symbolism of light/sun does not appear in the hymn proposed for Sunday, the day of the sun, but it is in the hymn proposed for the weekdays: “O Christ, sun of justice, shine in the darkness of the mind. With strength and light, repair creation anew.” In the hymn for Lauds of Holy Week, the theme is more linked to the mysteries of Christ’s passion and does not refer to the symbolism of light/sun. For the Sundays of Easter, however, the symbolism appears under the image of the “gleaming dawn,” and for the weekdays, the light/sun symbolism appears more explicitly: “Faithful Jerusalem sings a triumphal hymn, celebrating with joy, Jesus Christ, the Paschal Light.”

In the solemnities that occur outside the Easter Season, the theme will appear in the hymn of Lauds of the Most Holy Trinity and is equally attributed to the Trinity: “O Trinity, on a supreme throne that shines, in an intense glow”;  and to the Son: “Splendor and mirror of light you are, O Son, who call us brothers”; and the Holy Spirit: “Piety and love, burning fire, gentle light, powerful brightness, renew our minds, O Spirit, and warm the faithful heart.” In the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, this symbolism appears in the fifth stanza of the hymn of Lauds: “Stay with us, Lord, new morning that shines and conquers the darkness of the night, bringing sweetness to the world.” This stanza makes it clear that in Lauds the presence of Christ-Light among the faithful and the victory of Christ over the darkness of sin and death are celebrated.

There are many examples we could cite here, but these are enough for us to perceive that the theme of light/sun, in opposition to darkness, is central to the office of Lauds. This centrality of the symbolism of the sun, besides referring us to the resurrection of Jesus, reminds us of one of the great wonders of creation, a source of light and heat, of life and food, which leads us to praise and thanksgiving (cf. TAFT, 2000, p. 158) for so many gifts received from the goodness of the Lord.

However, there are other elements in the structure of Lauds that provide us with its theological content. The first of these elements is the sanctification of the morning period, but before starting any activity of the day, the faithful are invited to turn their minds to the Lord (cf. IGLH 38). Thus, the Christian will be following the advice of Paul when he says “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1Cor 10:31), that is, their entire journey as well as all their temporal activities will be done before and for the glory of God.

Vespers and Lauds are called the Major Hours. Vespers, however, are celebrated as evening approaches. As in Lauds, the central symbolism is the theme of light in opposition to darkness. At sunset, the lamps are lit; this signifies the light of Christ that no darkness can overcome. Beyond evoking the darkness of Christ’s passion, Vespers makes us meditate on the transience of our life and of all Creation. What we have just said opens us to the eschatological dimension of the evening prayer, since such transience of life should open us to the hope of eternal life. Other great themes that appear in this office are thanksgiving for the benefits received, the work done, and the good we were able to do throughout the day. However, the theme of darkness reminds us of our sinful condition and, therefore, leads us to repentance and a request for forgiveness for the sins we may have committed. Still, the theme of darkness invites us to ask for divine protection against the dangers it offers.

We have seen that in Lauds, the sun/light symbolism, in opposition to darkness, reminds us of salvation in opposition to evil and sin in various biblical passages. Something similar happens in Vespers. For example, in the hymn proposed for these hours until December 16 in the Advent Season, the symbolism of light (redemption) versus darkness (sin) appears explicitly: “Eternal light of men, Creator of the stars, hear our prayers, Redeemer of all” (1st stanza); “If the shadow of sin darkened everything, O Bridegroom, you came forth from the womb of Mary” (3rd stanza). After the 16th until the eve of Christmas, the proposed hymn links the theme of light, in its verbal form “to illuminate,” to the virginal conception of Mary by the work of the Holy Spirit. In the Christmas season until the Epiphany, Jesus is “Of the Father, light and splendor” (2nd stanza).

During the Lenten season, the Vespers hymn also does not bring the theme of light, but on weekdays it does: “The Lenten abstinence you consecrated, O Jesus, through fasting and prayer, you lead us from darkness to light.” Here, let us note, however, that the symbolism of darkness and light is applied to sin (darkness) and salvation (light), that is, light is a symbolism of the saving action of Christ and darkness of the sinful action of humanity. For Ordinary Time, let us take as an example the hymn of the first Vespers of the Sunday of the first week: “O God, author of all, who guides the earth and sky, you clothe the day with light, at night you give sleep” (1st stanza); “Lord, we give you thanks at the sunset of this day. The night is falling, but your love guides us” (3rd stanza); “And so, as night arrives, with great darkness, may faith, amidst the shadows, spread its brightness” (5th stanza). Here too, the symbolism of light is not applied to Christ, but the terms light, day, night, sunset, darkness, and brightness indicate the origin of light in God and its diffusion amidst the darkness as a work of faith. In addition to indicating with great precision the hour of the office of Vespers, it celebrates the trust of faith in the divine light to traverse the darkness of the night, a metaphor for sin and death.

In the second Vespers of the first Sunday, the God of creation and the author of time is celebrated: “Generous Creator of light, who created the light for the day, with the first rays of light, its origin the world begins” (1st stanza); “You called ‘day’ the course from the luminous morning to sunset. Behold, the shadows are already descending on the earth: hear our prayer, clemently.” Then appear the themes of repentance and forgiveness for sins committed throughout the day: “So that under the weight of crimes our mind may not be oppressed, and, forgetting eternal things, may not be excluded from the prize of life” (3rd stanza); “Always knocking at the celestial gate, may we reach the prize of life, avoid the contagion of evil, and heal the wound of guilt” (4th stanza).

The Minor Hours or Middle Hour, namely Terce (at nine o’clock), Sext (at noon), and None (at three o’clock), have a symbolic-sacramental character, due to the fact that they refer to key moments in the mystery of Christ and the apostolic action of the Twelve (cf. IGLH 75). Their purpose is for Christians to interrupt their activities and pray for the sanctification of the day and of their own activities. But let us see how the themes linked to the mystery of Christ’s passion appear in the rite, specifically, in the hymns of these three hours.

In the Prayer of the Ninth Hour, the hymn proposed for the Lenten Season is exemplary because it confirms what we have just said in the preceding paragraph. The first stanza is a praise to the three theological virtues, gifts offered to us by the merits of Christ’s passion: “In faith in God, by whom we live, in the hope of what we believe, in the gift of holy charity, let us sing the glories of Christ.” The confirmation of what we have just done, as well as the reference to Christ’s passion, appear in the following stanza: “To the sacrifice of the Passion at the third hour led, Jesus carrying the cross on his back, snatches the lost from the darkness.” This reference to redemption stands out more clearly in the third stanza: “You have delivered us from the decree of total condemnation; from the evil world deliver the people, the fruit of your redemption.”

In the Prayer of the Twelfth Hour, the reference to the passion of Christ appears explicitly in the first stanza: “At the same hour that Jesus, the Christ, suffered thirst, nailed to the cross, grant the thirst for justice and grace to those who celebrate his sacred praise.” The following stanza is important for the fact that it links the Liturgy of the Hours to the sacrament of the Eucharist: “At the same time, may he be for us both the hunger and the divine Bread that gives itself; may sin be for us a distaste, only in the good may our joy be.” Here the Eucharist is conceived as the sacrament of the sacrifice of Jesus.

The Prayer of the Fifteenth Hour, in turn, uses numerical symbolism to evoke the mystery of Christ’s redemptive death: “The sacred number, three times three of the hours, opening a new space, calls us to prayer, now. In the name of Jesus, his people implore forgiveness” (1st stanza). The third stanza celebrates the victory of the cross over death and the return of light after the dense darkness, a clear reference to the resurrection of Christ: “Now death dies, vanquished by the cross; after the dense darkness, serene, the light returns; the horror of evil is broken, in minds God shines.”

4 Pastoral Care of the Liturgy of the Hours

The liturgy in general, long before the end of the first millennium and due to various factors, ceased to be accessible to the Christian people, as we have already said, becoming the “office” of “specialized labor,” that is, monks and clergy. The people attended the Eucharist, but did not participate; they went to mass only to see the “Eucharistic miracle.” The famous Decretum of Gratian (1140-1150) makes very clear the distinction between the “spirituals” (the monks and the clergy), a class destined for the divine office, and the “carnals,” those who marry and can place their offerings on the altar, pay tithes… (THION, 2005, p. 342). This situation persisted in the Catholic Church until the Second Vatican Council. This already points to the challenge of a change in mentality, consolidated over centuries of history. To aggravate this deviation, the Church needs to deal with the issue of the modern lifestyle, which leaves people with less and less time to care for their personal lives, and here, the spiritual dimension is the most harmed.

Some initiatives have been taken: the official recognition by the Church that the liturgy is public worship, including the Liturgy of the Hours:

The example and precept of the Lord and the Apostles to pray always and with insistence should not be considered as a merely legal rule, but derive from the intimate essence of the Church itself, which is a community and must express its community character also when praying. But the prayer of the community has special dignity, since Christ himself said: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). (GILH 9)

And further on it is recognized that “The Liturgy of the Hours, like other liturgical actions, is not a private action, but something that belongs to the whole Body of the Church and manifests and affects it” (GILH 20), following a vital principle established by Vatican II (SC 26). In addition, it recognizes that the Liturgy of the Hours is the summit and source of pastoral activity (GILH 18), something for which the laity have been increasingly assuming their responsibility. However, the participation of the laity in the prayer of the hours is still very timid.

Regarding language, in Brazil, the Ofício Divino das Comunidades (Divine Office of the Communities) emerged three decades ago, but the participation of the people remains timid[2]. Throughout Latin America, the practice of Leitura Orante (Prayerful Reading) has also spread, linked not so much to the Liturgy of the Hours, but to the practice, also monastic, of Lectio Divina. It is urgent, however, that such initiatives be deepened by experts in liturgy and community leaders, without whom any theological-pastoral reflection is compromised, and by pastors truly committed to the Christian communities.

However, it is warned that it would be totally illusory to expect from contemporary Christians a degree of commitment similar to that of the Christians of the first centuries of the Church’s life. However, it is in this world, through gigantic technological advances that offer people all kinds of diversions, that the Church continues to be sent to announce, witness, and celebrate the Gospel of Christ.[3]

Concluding Remarks

Throughout the text, we have sought to conceptualize, show the historical evolution, and present the symbolic theology and pastoral challenges of the Liturgy of the Hours. With this, we hope to have succeeded in showing the true spirit of this form of prayer of the Church, which is essential to it. We have come to the conclusion that it is something truly evangelical and vital for the path of Christians, despite all its vicissitudes. Since it is the priestly exercise of Christ that unites to himself his beloved Bride, the Church, under the action of the Holy Spirit, the Liturgy of the Hours preserves its power to sanctify the human being and to consecrate time and all human activities to the God of life, bathing the world, every hour, with a wave of Prayer.

Marco Antonio Morais Lima, SJ. Catholic University of Pernambuco. Original Portuguese text. Submitted: 11/15/2021. Approved: 12/15/2021. Published: 12/30/2021.

 References

AUGÉ, M. Liturgia. História, celebração, teologia, espiritualidade. São Paulo: Paulinas, 2005.

CONCÍLIO VATICANO II. Sacrosanctum Concilium. Constituição sobre a sagrada liturgia. Petrópolis: Vozes, 1968.

CONGREGAÇÃO DO CULTO DIVINO E DISCIPLINA DOS SACRAMENTOS. Liturgia das Horas. Petrópolis: Vozes; São Paulo: Paulinas/Paulus, 1995.

LEIKAM, R. M. La Liturgia delle Ore nei primi quattro secoli. In: CHUPUNGCO, A. J. Scientia Liturgica. Manuale di liturgia V. Casale Monferrato: Piemme, 2000. p. 90-130.

RAFFA, V. Liturgia das Horas. In; SARTORE, D.; TRIACCA, A. M. Dicionário de Liturgia. São Paulo: Paulus, 2004. p. 651-670.

TAFT, R. F. Teologia della Liturgia delle Ore. In: CHUPUNGCO, A. J. Scientia Liturgica. Manuale di liturgia V. Casale Monferrato: Piemme, 2000. p. 150-165.

[1] See in this regard the brief, yet profound, exposition by TABORDA, F. O Memorial da Páscoa do Senhor. Ensaios litúrgico-teológicos sobre a eucaristia. São Paulo: Loyola, 2009, p. 21-37.

[2] On the Divine Office of the Communities, see the entry in this same Encyclopedia.

[3] Much has been invested in recent years in the creation of applications that make the entire Liturgy of the Hours available in digital format. Other formats, linked to Prayerful Reading, are also available, such as Lecionaltas, Passo a Rezar, Prayer walking, etc.