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!