The Liturgy of the Hours and the Sanctification of the Day

ST610: The Mystery of Liturgical Time

Rev. Denis McManus

Br. Paul M. Nguyen, OMV

Congregationis Oblatorum Beat Mari Virginis
April 27, 2015

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This paper deals with the sanctification of the day through the universal prayer of the
Church, the Liturgy of the Hours. As solar and cosmic time passes, the Church has identified the
fitting times to give praise to God and commemorate certain moments in the economy of
salvation, many of which correspond directly to the original annual time of that saving event.1
Within an annual framework, the Liturgical Year is thereby composed of days, in turn composed
of hours, in which these feasts are celebrated, along with those of holy men and women worthy
of imitation.
The principal liturgies of the Church, the Eucharist and the Liturgy of the Hours, both
follow this calendar of feasts. With that broader framework in mind, we would like to explore
how each day is sanctified by the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, not only by entering
into prayer explicitly and periodically, but by entering into prayer on certain themes intentionally
correlated to the time of day.
Much of our reflection will come from the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours
published in 1970. We will use the temporal structure of the day to show how the Liturgy
sanctifies it, turning first to the day as a whole, then to the hinge hours of Lauds and Vespers,
and finally Matins, the additional daytime hours, and Compline.
The Liturgy of the Hours embraces an entire day of prayer, from rising to retiring. This
means, simply, that the one praying the Liturgy of the Hours will be in prayer for the whole day,
in contact with God and present to the saving mysteries commemorated, and they to him.2 Each
celebration of this Liturgy contains hymns, psalms and canticles with their antiphons, a scriptural
reading and response, and a general prayer. Certain hours also contain an examination of
conscience, a Gospel canticle and the Lord's Prayer, or a selection of scriptural and non1
2

Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963), 94.

General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours (1971), 11.
and Sacrosanctum Concilium, 84.

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scriptural spiritual reading.3 All of these are selected precisely to assist the one praying to enter in
a thematically-consistent way into various mysteries of our faith that are also coordinated with
the hour of the day in a way preordained in the unfolding of salvation history. In this way, every
day becomes saturated with a harmonious, divinely-ordained rhythm of prayer in concert with
the whole Church.4
The Liturgy of the Hours, in its present form, is structured around the principal or hinge
hours of Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Vespers (Evening Prayer).5 Lauds is synchronized with
dawn and recalls the poetic scriptural images of the coming of light, a beginning, a chance to
dedicate ourselves and the dawning day to God, with particular reference to the Resurrection, by
which our salvation was won.6 This hour contains the Gospel canticle of Zechariah (whose name
means remember the Lord), the song of praise on the occasion of the birth of John the Baptist,
the forerunner of the Messiah. This canticle already looks forward to the Paschal triumph and the
outpouring of Divine Mercy that will begin on that eighth, eternal day. It recalls God's fidelity to
His promises spoken through the prophets. In this way, Jesus' resurrection on the morning of that
first day of the week is made present each morning in the recitation of Lauds.7 Together with
the petitions for the consecration of the day and its work to God, this is precisely how this hour
sanctifies the first part of the day. The second principal hour is Evening Prayer. This is
predominantly a prayer of thanksgiving for the graces and blessings received throughout the day,
even as an evening sacrifice, full of hope for the next day.8 There is an emphasis on New
Testament texts here, the work of redemption having been completed both definitively by
Jesus' earthly ministry, and by our participation in that mystery in our own day. The Gospel
3
4
5
6
7
8

GILH, 100-200.
GILH, 20.
GILH, 37.
GILH, 38.
cf. GILH, 50.
cf. GILH, 39.

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canticle prescribed for Evening Prayer is Mary's Magnificat, a hymn of thanksgiving and praise
for God's work of salvation wrought through her trust and abandonment to that mystery. The
prayers of intercession that accompany this hour petition favors for all classes of society, and for
the eternal repose of all the deceased. It is especially appropriate to consider death at the end of
the day, both because the sunset is such an apparent reality and so immediately refers to an end
and because Jesus, Himself died and was buried late in the day, and later rose in the morning.
This gives a tangible sense of hope in these saving mysteries recalled, and thereby also sanctifies
the latter part of the day.
Apart from the hinge hours, there are 5 hours, 4 fixed and one variable. The Office of
Readings (Matins) may be said at any time of day,9 but plays its own definite rle in the
sanctification of the day by incorporating a longer scriptural reading and another reading that
may be hagiographical, patristic, or conciliar, and that comments on the scriptural text directly or
indirectly. These readings are coordinated with the liturgical season and evidence a reading cycle
that covers a substantial portion of the bible. Notably, feast days may have proper scriptural
readings, and usually have a proper second reading that comes from the writings of the saint
celebrated or closely follows his life, in the words of those who knew him or the Pope who
canonized him. By recalling certain longer passages of the Sacred Scriptures, and the Tradition
that has accompanied them, together with its own psalmody and prayers, the Office of Readings
thus sanctifies the day.10 The Liturgy of the Hours also contains three shorter hours intended to
sanctify the day in smaller increments: mid-morning, midday, and mid-afternoon. These
designations necessarily interrupt the work day and, by the discipline required for their
observance, sanctify that same work day.11 Liturgically, the psalmody for these daytime hours is
9 GILH, 59.
10 GILH, 56.
11 GILH, 74-76.

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built from psalms too long to be included in the normal cycle of psalms at the other hours, or
from those psalms that compose a natural cycle in the Hebrew psalter. Finally, Night Prayer
(Compline) concludes the day. In some communities, it is said at dusk, the last light of the day;
in others, it is said much closer to retiring, often followed by the observance of (grand) silence in
the community. This hour contains an examination of conscience, appropriate for the end of the
day, especially as night is symbolic of death.12 The texts for Night Prayer refer to holy practices
for the end of the day, especially fraternal reconciliation and admonitions to fidelity to God's law,
and as a whole entrust the one praying to God's merciful providence. The Gospel canticle
assigned to this hour is that of Simeon, with his beautiful act of surrender at the end of a faithful
life dedicated to God, certainly worthy of imitation. We pray with him that we may be protected
while we keep watch for Christ's second coming, and for the gift of His peace, the very same gift
for which Simeon asked upon seeing his salvation in the flesh.13 At this hour, the Church
recommends a hymn in honor of Mary, as our model of the Christian life, but also of a holy and
peaceful death.14 In this way, even the end of the day and our last waking moments are dedicated
to the Lord and sanctified by this hour.
Through this exposition, we have seen that the Liturgy of the Hours is designed to
punctuate and fill the entire day with prayer, turning to God and praising Him for so many gifts,
especially the marvelous project of our salvation. We have also seen that the distribution of the
celebration of these mysteries in the day corresponds with rich meaning to the way that God
placed them in human history, and that their commemoration at these fitting hours truly makes
our day holy.

12 GILH, 86.
13 GILH, 89.
14 GILH, 92.

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The Liturgy of the Hours is a beautiful prayer that keeps men and women in touch with
the God who saved us; this is all too important in the contemporary world that constantly
demands our attention. What the Church has designed in formulating an Office that is accessible
even to those carrying out very active apostolates (including the laity, who are not bound to
recite it in full) still demands the discipline of those who pray it.15 Despite the time-bound
demands of daily life, a certain priority should be attached to praying these hours at their
appropriate times. It seems, too, that the Church was quite wise to not specify the hours of the
day at which each hour should be said this preserves the rightful autonomy of each community
to set the schedule for their own work and responsibilities in harmony with their satisfaction of
the command to pray unceasingly,16 while at the same time preserving the sense of the canonical
hours and the mysteries to which they are bound. Most of what we have discussed here pertains
directly to religious communities, particularly monastic communities. Questions remain as to
which of the hours retain the highest priority for clergy and religious in active communities, and
which parts should be recommended to laypeople. For the laity, too, the question arises
concerning other means to sanctify one's day; if not in a public liturgy such as this, other
devotions such as the Rosary and Spiritual Communions could obtain many graces in like
manner for those not bound by law to sanctify their day by the Liturgy of the Hours, but who
nonetheless desire to respond to the strong inclination of their heart to praise God throughout the
day. To the extent that they embrace this specific prayer, however, they participate in the great
mystery of the unity of the Body of Christ, continuously offering this sacrifice of praise
throughout the whole world.

15 cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 88-92.

16 cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 83, 86.

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References
General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours. 1971.
Sacrosanctum Concilium. 1963.