The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office or the Work of God (Opus Dei), is the daily prayer of the Church, marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer.  The Hours are a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ, using scripture and prayer.  At times the dialogue is between the Church or individual soul and God; at times it is a dialogue among the members of the Church; and at times it is even between the Church and the world.  The Divine Office “is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father.” (SC 84) The dialogue is always held, however, in the presence of God and using the words and wisdom of God. Each of the five canonical Hours includes selections from the Psalms that culminate in a scriptural proclamation.

The two most important or hinge Hours are Morning and Evening Prayer. These each include a Gospel canticle:  the Canticle of Zechariah from Luke 1:68-79 for Morning Prayer (known as the Benedictus), and the Canticle of Mary from Luke 1:46-55 for Evening Prayer (known as the Magnificat). The Gospel canticle acts as a kind of meditative extension of the scriptural proclamation in light of the Christ event.  Morning and Evening Prayer also include intercessions that flow from the scriptural proclamation just as the Psalms prepare for it.

In the Hours, the royal priesthood of the baptized is exercised, and this sacrifice of praise is thus connected to the sacrifice of the Eucharist, both preparing for and flowing from the Mass.

“The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia) and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer.” (CCC 1177)

The five Hours of the Divine Office are:

• Office of Readings, major hour
• Morning Prayer (Lauds), major hour
• Daytime Prayer (including Terce, Sext, and Non)
• Evening Prayer (Vespers), major hour
• Night Prayer (Compline)

Source: The previous text was taken from the USCCB and the Ave Maria Press websites. Please  refer to their sites for additional information.

In the tabs above, four options for praying the Liturgy of the Hours are provided as embedded pages. The links below will take you directly to several websites offering online or app versions of the Liturgy of the Hours. We encourage you to visit their sites and to make a donation and/or purchase their apps as you learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours,

As you become more comfortable praying the Divine Office, we encourage you to purchase your own physical four volume set of the Breviary (or the shorter, one volume Christian Prayer), preferably from your local Catholic bookstore. We hope to come to live the Liturgy of the Hours such that it becomes like breathing… your own Ecce, Fiat, and Magnificat.