Learn About The Liturgy of the Hours

 

Have you ever wondered about the Liturgy of the Hours? As embarrassing as it is to admit, my knowledge of this prayer form was minimal. I knew that it was a prayer that priests, deacons, and vowed religious were obligated to pray, that lay people could take part, that it involved praying at various set times of the day, and that there was a (very confusing) book with multiple ribbons that you could use to follow along.

Thankfully, Barb Szyszkiewicz, OSF wrote The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours for clueless people like me who want to learn more. The beauty of this “Handy Little Guide” series is that the books are small and short. They provide a quick overview of a topic, highlighting the key points.

Szyszkiewicz discusses how the Liturgy of the Hours came to be; what types of Scripture and prayers are included; how the breviary (that book with ribbons) is arranged – it turns out there are actually two versions of the breviary, a one-volume and a four-volume edition; and the times of day for prayer. She also discusses the pros and cons of using an app to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

As it turns out, my mother had given me her copy of the one-volume breviary last year. It has been sitting on my shelf ever since. I figured that was a prayer form for a different season of my life, requiring a commitment to praying at various times of the day that I could not do at this moment. However, Szyszkiewicz suggested starting with just Night Prayer since it is the shortest. With Lent right around the corner, I decided that was a discipline I could undertake for the season. After all, additional prayer is one of the three pillars of Lent. So, I took out the breviary and tried to figure it out. In the interest of full disclosure, I was not able to do this. While Szyszkiewicz isn’t a big proponent of app usage, I am going that route. I downloaded a free Divine Office app that I will start using Ash Wednesday evening.

If you are interested in learning more about the Liturgy of the Hours, I highly recommend The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours. It provides the essential information for you to decide whether this is a form of prayer you want to add to your life. At the very least, you will have a much better understanding of what others are talking about when they mention this form of prayer!

Open Book for February 2023

 

Welcome to  #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

1/7/23 A Quilt for Christmas - Melody Carlson - I'm a fan of Carlson's Christmas stories. This one came in after Christmas on my library holds list, but it was still the Christmas season! In any case, there is no bad time to read a Christmas book. With quilting being one of my favorite activities, how could I resist this story about an unlikely group of women who work together to create a Christmas quilt for a woman in need of some hope and encouragement.  

 

1/9/23 Threads of Hope - Leslie Gould - I enjoyed this dual timeline Amish story with one story taking place during WWI and the other in 2019. The World War I story features a young Amish man (not yet baptized) who goes off to war and the young woman at home who loves him. The modern story features a young Amish woman who feels trapped with her dying mother and high-functioning autistic brother. Her life gets upended by the Englisch woman and her young daughter who live next door and become an integral part of her life. (Read for a book review publication)

1/15/23 Visual Thinking - Temple Grandin - Dr. Temple Grandin is a well-known autism advocate. I've  read other books by her and I was eager to read this book because I am always interested in neuroscience, brain differences, and educational topics. This book covers all three. Dr. Grandin discusses the gifts of people who think in pictures and patterns rather than words. As a verbal thinker (I am a writer, after all), this is fascinating to me, especially since all three of my children fall in this category. She also explores the minds of geniuses. Dr. Grandin makes some valuable statements about how today's education system fails visual thinkers to the detriment of our future. Anyone interested in education should be aware of these concerns. There was also a discussion of animal brains, which not necessarily relevant to the main topic, was interesting. 

 

1/15/23 Christmas Roses - Amanda Cabot - One last Christmas book for the season. I don't even recall where I saw this one listed (It is from 2012), but the title appealed to me and I requested it from the library. Set in 1882 Wyoming, it was a sweet Christmas romance about a widow and an itinerant carpenter. It was a light, easy short novel, great for a brief burst of escapism. 

 

 

1/19/23 Loving Lydia - Susan Pope Sloan - This is an enjoyable Civil War romance between a millworker taken prisoner by Union forces and a Confederate soldier out to avenge his wife's murder. They'll both have to make peace with the past before they can move forward to their future. (Read for a book review publication)

1/20/23 The Diary of Saint Gemma- St. Gemma Galgani - One of the wonderful things about the Catholic Church is that there are so many saints to look up to, to emulate, and to be spiritual friends with. Not every saint is going to speak to every person. I wanted so much to love this book and make a new spiritual friend, but I just can't relate to St. Gemma. She was a mystic who lived from 1878-1903. During the course of her short life, she experienced visions of Mary and Jesus as well as her guardian angel. She also experienced the stigmata. She was often ill and in great pain. Under the order of her spiritual director, she wrote her autobiography and kept a diary of her experiences. Now, she is obviously a saint, but God works differently with different souls. Jesus and Mary in her visions were sometimes angry and punished her for seemingly small things, withdrawing their presence and their love. If Jesus and Mary were angry with her, I can only imagine how they feel about me! St. Gemma did remind me of valuable truths, namely to seek consolation only in Jesus and not in worldly things and to pray and sacrifice for the souls in purgatory. So, I will donate this book to my parish library where hopefully it will bless and speak more to someone else! 

1/20/23 Let Go of Your Fear - Gary Zimak - I've been worried about so many things lately that I decided to pull this book out of my to-be-read pile (where it has been sitting for a year). I'm glad I did. Zimak offers meaningful reflections on the two stories of the apostles being caught in storms in the Gospels. If you are caught in one of life's storms, or just worried in general, I highly recommend this book.

 

1/21/23 Handcrafted Journals, Albums, Scrapbooks, and More - Marie Browning - I was browsing through the library and this book caught my eye. My daughter is learning bookbinding in her homeschool co-op and I wanted to learn more about it. This book features some lovely images and good how-to instructions. I don't think I will be pursuing this art form any time soon, but it was interesting to look at and I learned more about what my daughter is doing in class. 

1/22/23 Thimbleberries Classic Country - Lynette Jensen - This was another book I picked up browsing in the library. I was looking for some eye candy to relax with and this fit the bill. I enjoyed looking at the pictures!

 

1/22/23 The Worlds of Tomie dePaola - Barbara Elleman - Like many moms, I read some of Tomie dePaola's books to my children when they were young, but I really didn't know much about him. This book offers a wonderful overview of his life and work. It is the perfect combination of text and image, with many depictions of his illustrations and his non-book art. I especially enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at the development of his book Quiet. Reading book prompted me to request some of his books that I have not read from the library. If you have any interest in Tomie dePaola or children's book publishing, I highly recommend this book!

1/28/23 Windswept Way - Irene Hannon - If you enjoy Christian romance, I highly recommend the Hope Harbor series from Irene Hannon. This newest book is #9 in the series, but you don't need to have read the others to appreciate this tale of a young women who uses her inheritance to help renovate an old home in conjunction with the eccentric older woman who lives there to open it as an event venue. In the process, she'll fall for a wounded ex-soldier who now works as a gardener. (Read for a book review publication)
 

 

1/29/23 Quiet - Tomie dePaola - This is a lovely picture book to share with children about the importance of slowing down and paying attention to the beautiful world around you.

Since spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for sophomore year). 

1-9-23 On Duties by Cicero. I finished Cicero's thoughts on duties and ethics. The world would be a better place if more people followed Cicero's advice in this work. Much of it is very consistent with Christian thought. 

1/14/23 Manual by Epictetus. Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher who lived from 50-135 AD whose teachings were written down by his pupil Arrian. This is a short work, but its main focus is that we shouldn't worry about what we can't control. We have no influence over what other people say about us or do to us. We have no control over things that happen to us. We shouldn't let it bother us at all. We can only control ourselves. Focus on that. Don't be overly attached to anyone or anything because everything is transient. Don't get upset about anything. Let nothing disturb your inner tranquility. I have to say, his level of detachment was impressive!

My twelve-year-old daughter and I read the following books this month:

 

1/23/22 The Twelve - Cindy Lin - My daughter picked this one out of the library. This is a work of fantasy about individuals who have Zodiac and elemental powers. The main character has rabbit and wood powers. It had lots of action and good versus evil and my daughter enjoyed it. It's hard to explain, so here is the Amazon description:

Usagi can hear a squirrel’s heartbeat from a mile away, and soar over treetops in one giant leap. She was born in the year of the wood rabbit, and it’s given her extraordinary zodiac gifts.

But she can never use them, not while the mysterious, vicious Dragonlord hunts down all those in her land with zodiac powers. Instead, she must keep her abilities—and those of her rambunctious sister Uma—a secret.

After Uma is captured by the Dragonguard, Usagi can no longer ignore her powers. She must journey to Mount Jade with the fabled Heirs of the Twelve, a mystical group of warriors who once protected the land.

As new mysteries unfold, Usagi must decide who she stands with, and who she trusts, as she takes on deadly foes on her path to the elusive, dangerous Dragonlord himself.

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