An Apologetical Explanation of the

Liturgy of the Hours

What is the Liturgy of the Hours?

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, / to sing praises to your name, O Most High; / to declare your merciful love in the morning, / and your faithfulness by night.  (Ps 92:1-2)

From the rising of the sun to its setting / the name of the Lord is to be praised!  (Ps 113:3)

Seven time a day I praise you / for your righteous ordinances.  (Ps 119:164)

The Liturgy of the Hours is a cycle of psalms, prayers, litanies, hymns, and readings that is prayed at various times of the day and night.

The ancient Israelites developed the custom of praying psalms in the morning and evening and at the third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day, i.e., midmorning, midday, and the midafternoon, a custom that was continued by the first Christians.  By the fifth century the Liturgy of the Hours had become standardized in roughly the form that we have today: the Office of Readings (to be prayed at any time), Morning Prayer (Lauds), Midmorning Prayer, Midday Prayer, Midafternoon Prayer, Evening Prayer (Vespers), and Night Prayer (Compline).

The Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Divine Office, is the public prayer of the Church: “[Christ Jesus] continues His priestly work through the agency of his Church” (SC 83).  It comprises the reciting or singing of psalms, prayers, litanies, humns, and various readings, both from Scripture and from the Church Fathers and saints, which help take the participant deeper in meditation on the mystery of Christ.  Its purpose is to sanctify the say (cv. SC 88), and its celebration at various times throughout the day makes the whole course of the day holy.  (Cf. CCC 1172-1176, 2698)

The Second Vatican Council reemphasized the Church’s encouragement that the laity pray the Liturgy of the Hours either with their pastors, among groups of laity, or even individually.  Pope St. Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI both strongly promoted the Liturgy of the Hours throughout their pontificates.  In the words of Pope Benedict:

I would like to renew my call to everyone to pray the Psalms, to become accustomed to using the Liturgy of the Hours, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline.  Our relationship with God can only be enriched by our journeying towards him day after day.  (Pope Benedict XVI, Wednesday Audience, November 16, 2011)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 1175.

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