THE LITURGY OF

THE HOLY HOURS

DEFINTION OF
LITURGY OF THE
HOURS
LITURGY OF THE HOURS

• Latin: Liturgia Honorarum, or Divine Office (Officium Divinum), or

Work of God (Opius Dei) or canonical hours
• Together with the Mass, it constitutes the official public life of the
church.
• The celebration is an obligation undertaken by priests and deacons
intending to become a priests, while deacons intending to remain
deacons are obliged to recite only a part.
CANONICAL
HOURS
CANONICAL HOURS
• Before
– By the time of Saint Benidict of
Nursia, the liturgy of Hours is
composed of seven daytime
hours and one at night.
– Based on Psalm 118/119:62
“Seven times a day I praise
you” and Psalm 118/119:62 “ At
midnight I rise to praise you”
• Current
– After the Second Vatican Council,
Pope Paul VI decreed a new
arrangement.
– The distinction are expressed in
the 1960 Code of Rubrics
between the three major hours
(Matins, Lauds and Vespers) and
Minor Hours ( Terce, Sext, None,
and Compline) has been
retained.
CANONICAL HOURS (CURRENT)
• The Officium Lectionis, or office
readings (formerly Matins) – Major
Hours
– (during the night, at about 2 a.m.)
• Lauds or Morning Prayer – major
hour
– (at dawn, about 5 a.m., but earlier
in summer, later in winter)
• Daytime Prayer – minor hour or
hours, one or more of:
• Terce or Midmorning Prayer
before Noon
• (approximately 9 a.m.)
• Sext or Midday Prayer
• (approximately 12 noon)
• None or Afternoon or
Midafternoon Prayer
• (approximately 3 p.m)
CANONICAL HOURS (CONT.)

• Vespers or Evening Prayer – major

hour
– ("at the lighting of the lamps", about 6
p.m)
• Compline or Night Prayer – minor
hour
– (before retiring, about 7 p.m.)
MA JOR HOURS
( M AT I N S , L A U D S A N D V E S P E R S )
MAJOR HOURS
• The Office of Readings consists of:
–opening versicle or invitatory
–a hymn
–three psalms or portions of psalms
–a long passage from scripture, usually arranged consecutively
from the same book of the Bible for one or more weeks
–a long patristic or magisterial passage or, on the feast of a
saint, a hagiographical passage concerning the saint
MAJOR HOURS
– on nights preceding Sundays and feast days, the office may be
expanded to a vigil by inserting three Old Testament canticles
and a reading from the gospels
– the hymn Te Deum (on Sundays, solemnities, and feasts, except in
Lent)
– the concluding prayer
– a short concluding verse (especially when prayed in groups)
MAJOR HOURS
• The character of Morning Prayer is that of praise; of Evening Prayer,
that of thanksgiving. Both follow a similar format:
– opening versicle or (for morning prayer) the invitatory
– a hymn, composed by the Church
– two psalms, or parts of psalms with a scriptural canticle. At Morning Prayer,
this consists of a psalm of praise, a canticle from the Old Testament,
followed by another psalm. At Evening Prayer this consists of two psalms,
or one psalm divided into two parts, and a scriptural canticle taken from
the New Testament.
– a short passage from scripture
– a responsory, typically a verse of scripture, but sometimes liturgical poetry
MAJOR HOURS
– a canticle taken from the Gospel of Luke: the Canticle of
Zechariah (Benedictus) for morning prayer, and the Canticle of Mary
(Magnificat) for evening prayer
– intercessions, composed by the Church
– the Lord's Prayer
– the concluding prayer, composed by the Church
– a blessing given by the priest or deacon leading Morning or Evening Prayer,
or in the absence of clergy and in individual recitation, a short concluding
versicle.
MINOR HOURS
( T E R C E , S E X T, N O N E , A N D C O M P L I N E )
MINOR HOURS (DAYTIME)
• The daytime hours follow a simpler format, like a very compact
form of the Office of Readings:
– opening versicle
– a hymn
– three short psalms, or, three pieces of longer psalms; in the daytime hours
when only one is said it follows a variable psalmody which usually opens
with part of the longest psalm, psalm 118/119, when all three are said this
psalmody is used at one of the hours, while the other two follow the
complementary psalmody which consists of 119/120–121/122 at Terce,
122/123–124/125 at Sext and 125/126–127/128 at None
MINOR HOURS

– a very short passage of scripture, followed by a responsorial

verse
– the concluding prayer
– a short concluding verse (V. Benedicamus Domino R. Deo
gratias)
MINOR HOURS (NIGHTTIME)
• Night prayer (Compline) has the character of preparing the
soul for its passage to eternal life:
– opening versicle
– an examination of conscience
– a hymn
– a psalm, or two short psalms; The psalms of Sunday – Psalm
90/91 or 4 and 133/134 – may always be used as an alternative
to the psalm(s) appointed on weekdays
– a short reading from scripture
MINOR HOURS (NIGHTTIME)
– the responsory In manus tuas, Domine (Into Your Hands, Lord)
– the Canticle of Simeon, Nunc dimittis, from the Gospel of Luke, framed by
the antiphon Salva nos (Save us Lord)
– a concluding prayer
– a short blessing (Noctem quietam et finem perfectum concedat nobis
Dominus omnipotens. Amen.)
– Marian antiphon without versicle and concluding prayer; either one of the
four traditional seasonal antiphons, or Sub Tuum, or another antiphon
approved by the local episcopal conference; the Regina Caeli is always used
in Eastertide.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
• An Invitatory precedes the canonical hours of the day beginning with the
versicle "Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise" (Ps
50/51 v.17), and continuing with an antiphon and the Invitatory Psalm, usually
Psalm 94/95.
• All psalms and canticles are accompanied by antiphons.
• Unless the Invitatory is used, each Hour begins with the versicle "God, come
to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me" (Ps 69/70 v.2), followed by a
hymn. Each Hour concludes with a prayer followed by a short versicle and
response.