My real conversion started with the Liturgy of the Hours, a.k.a. The Divine Office / Breviary / Canonical Hours. (I like the sound of the Divine Office better, and Breviary sounds more traditional… but I first encountered and remembered this public form of prayer with “Liturgy of the Hours” so I’d use this more!) I can’t already imagine a Catholic life without me praying a major hour or any of the hours daily. Reading and Learning are one of my passions. Almost everyday, I try to read online anything regarding Catholicism. But even so, it’s the Liturgy of the Hours that I feel I connect with God the most than other readings and devotions, and keeps me grounded with the faith.
When you talk to a ‘regular’ Catholic, more probably they don’t know any of the Liturgy of the Hours you’re saying. That’s because us laity are not required to pray it, unlike it is to all the religious like priests and nuns. However, the Second Vatican Council suggested that the general Catholic population do this practice too.
So why pray something the majority of Catholics (like us who have jobs, children, are studying) are not aware of?
Here are the reasons why to pray the Liturgy of the Hours / Divine Office / Breviary:
1. Since not everyone can’t get to Daily Mass for different reasons, this is the next best substitute, because next to the Mass, this is the second highest form of prayer. (Both are the only official public prayers of the Church, and the rest are private prayers.)
2. You’re able to pray, and read Scriptures – Bible verses simultaneously, which make you know God more than ever.
3. Being a public prayer of the Church, you are joining the universal prayer of our Church, i.e. you pray as a community, altogether with people around the world, who pray with you at the same time. Doesn’t that sound amazing and cool to you?
4. There’s a value in praying for other people, and not only for yourself. You usually pray for the poor and the sick, but can’t remember other people who also need prayers like our priests, and even politicians, etc., and this all has different Petitions each time, so they remind you of who else that call for your prayers.
5. You also get reminded of and give honor to the Saints celebrating their feast day, for they are mentioned in the prayer, including some of their background or stories.
6. It gives you the feel of the Church-old tradition, dating back to the time of the apostles (who prayed at the synagogue and temples on these particular hours) and adopted by the early Christians, handed down to us at the present.
7. The Popes also pray this. Pope Francis is usually seen with his black briefcase, and when asked by a reporter what it contains, he said “My razor, my breviary, my diary, a book to read—on St. Therese of Lisieux to whom I am devoted. … I always take this bag when I travel. It’s normal. We have to get used to this being normal.”. Like the humble Pope, we must include this to our ‘survival kit’.
8. Jesus prayed the Psalms we are praying and used the same words up to his moment of death in His 7 Last Words.
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| The modern and most accessible way to pray. |
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| The classic feel of the prayer. |
There, you have all the reasons to pray this and start now!