'A gift from God': Parishes encouraged to start Liturgy of Hours ahead of new edition

(OSV News) -- Father Matthew S. Ernest still remembers when he oversaw evening prayer celebrated by Pope Francis at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in 2015.

"It was a beautiful event, and we were very grateful to welcome the Holy Father," Father Ernest, director of the Office of Liturgy for the Archdiocese of New York, said of the liturgy, which is part of an ancient prayer called the Liturgy of the Hours.

Ahead of a new English edition of the Liturgy of the Hours for the Latin Church, Father Ernest and other liturgical experts are encouraging parishes and other Catholic communities to embrace this prayer, which is said at different points throughout the day. They spoke with OSV News and shared practical tips for parishes to introduce the Liturgy of the Hours to their congregations. In particular, they advised communities to start small and integrate the prayer into their already established schedules.

Their comments came after they addressed the national meeting of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, an organization established by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops dedicated to liturgical formation, held Sept. 30-Oct. 2 in Baltimore.

The Liturgy of the Hours, or the Divine Office, is the daily prayer of the church and sanctifies the day with prayer. This liturgical prayer also takes different set forms within the Latin and 23 Eastern Catholic churches that together make the Catholic Church, and each form has prayers that vary in accordance with each particular church's calendar.

The standard Liturgy of the Hours in the Roman Rite of the Latin Church is divided into five "hours" or parts prayed at different times each day: the office of readings; morning prayer or lauds; daytime prayer; evening prayer or vespers; and night prayer or compline. These five parts, which draw from Scripture, particularly the Psalms, usually take less than 20 minutes to pray.

"It acknowledges that every hour that we have is a gift," Carolyn Pirtle, program director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said of the Liturgy of the Hours. "It's a gift from God, and it's a gift that's meant to be offered in praise and thanksgiving back to God."

Many of these experts emphasized that, while priests and other religious are required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the laity are encouraged to pray it too, particularly the two principal hours of morning and evening prayer.

"The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of God," the Catechism of the Catholic Church confirms before citing "Sacrosanctum Concilium," the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. "The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually."

Pope St. Paul VI also expressed the wish that the Liturgy of the Hours, after its revision following Vatican II, would become "the prayer of the whole people of God," and also recommended that it be prayed in parishes and by individuals at home in union with the church throughout the world.

Father Ernest, who also serves as academic dean, professor and director of liturgy at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, added that Christ's command to "pray always" is given to all Christians. He called the Liturgy of the Hours an opportunity for parishes to embrace that call.

-- With Liturgy of the Hours, it's one step at a time

Parishes interested in introducing the Liturgy of the Hours should start with small, simple steps, these experts recommended.

Churches can begin by praying parts of the Liturgy of the Hours, Father Ernest said. He referenced Vatican II's instructions for pastors to introduce parts of the Liturgy of the Hours, such as Sunday vespers.

"I recognize that sometimes Mass schedules can make this hard, because many of our parishes have Sunday evening Masses," he said. "But even if a parish were to organize a monthly Sunday evening prayer that was well celebrated with music and incense and light, that can be a profound beginning."

He also suggested parishes introduce evening prayer during special occasions, such as a church's patronal feast day. He added that he has encouraged pastors in his archdiocese to consider concluding times of Eucharistic exposition with evening prayer.

As director of music and liturgy at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Bay Shore, New York, Christopher Ferraro likewise encouraged parishes to incorporate the Liturgy of the Hours into their regular schedules. Among other things, he suggested praying the Liturgy of the Hours before or after parish meetings.

"Try to connect it to something you're already doing," he said. "This way the people can get used to doing it, and they may see the benefits of it ... and then maybe you might expand that as you go."

-- Divine Office's special link to the Mass

At the University of Notre Dame, Pirtle encouraged Catholic communities, including universities, to especially connect the Liturgy of the Hours with the Mass, also known as the Divine Liturgy in many Eastern Catholic churches.

"It's meant to be viewed as a way to keep the graces of the Mass overflowing throughout the hours of the day," she said of the Liturgy of the Hours. "So linking the Liturgy of the Hours to the celebration of the Mass in this kind of setting is a great way to introduce people to it and to kind of build in a fidelity to this practice."

The University of Notre Dame practices the tradition of evening prayer at its Basilica of the Sacred Heart every Sunday, she said, crediting its Office of Campus Ministry. Before the pandemic, the university's Center for Liturgy also hosted a monthly vespers service. Today, they work to educate ecclesial leaders about the hours.

Like other experts, she recommended that Catholic communities find a rhythm that works for them.

"I think the opportunity is to look at your routine and look at the things you offer as they currently exist, and determine whether there are moments within the current existing routine that could be further punctuated by the Liturgy of the Hours," she said.

-- Music in the Liturgy of the Hours

For those interested in the music of the Liturgy of the Hours, Steven R. Janco, director of liturgy and music with the Dominican Sisters of Racine, Wisconsin, shared his recommendations.

"In terms of music and an order of service with which to start, I suggest that folks take a look at the hymnal or worship resource in their pews (if they have one)," Janco said in emailed comments. "Most of these provide an outline for evening prayer or a simpler version that uses fewer elements" as well as a selection of psalm settings and metrical versions of the two prominent canticles in the Liturgy of the Hours that can be sung to familiar hymn tunes.

He also pointed to the USCCB's document "Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship," as a resource.

"If a parish has little or no experience with community celebration of this prayer form, the parish needs to introduce it in a gradual and accessible way that helps people feel 'competent' from the get-go, highlights key elements, and gradually deepens the community's appreciation of the hours with time and repetition," he said.

In anticipation of the newly translated English edition, these experts encouraged parishes not to be afraid to start the Liturgy of the Hours.

"This is a great opportunity to catechize folks and to get them excited about the church's prayer," Ferraro at St. Patrick's said. "I'm hoping that parishes can take advantage of this time of transition to get people to pray the hours."