how to pray the divine office

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An Introduction and Tutorial to the Liturgy o the Hours

— 5th Edition 2007

Seth H. Murray



All original material copyright 2000, Seth H. Murray. All rights reserved.Excerpt rom The Art o Praying, copyright 1957, 1985, Sophia Institute Press with Pantheon Books. Usedwith permission rom Sophia Institute Press. All rights reserved.

Excerpts rom the English translation o the Catechism o the Catholic Church or use in the United Stateso America Copyright 1994, United States Catholic Conerence, Inc. -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Usedwith permission.

Some Bible selections are rom the Revised Standard Version o the Bible, copyright 1952 by the Divisiono Christian Education o the National Council o the Churches o Christ in the USA. Used by permission.All rights reserved.

Liturgy o the Hours Excerpts:

The texts o all Biblical Readings and Canticles (except the Gospel Canticles) are reproduced withpermission rom The New American Bible, Copyright 1970 by the Conraternity o Christian Doctrine,Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

Psalm Texts except Psalm 95 copyright The Grail (England) 1963 and published by Collins, London,1963.

English translations o the Te Deum, Magnicat, Nunc Dimittis, Benedictus and Doxology by the In-ternational Consultation on English Texts.

Other material copyright 1970, 1973, 1975, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc.All rights reserved.



Contents

Preface. 4

IntroductIon.to.Prayer.and.the.LIturgy.of .the.hours. 5

PrayIng.the.LIturgy.of .the.hours. 7

the.caLendar.of .the.LIturgy.of .the.hours. 10

f requentLy.asked.questIons. 11settIng.uP.your.Prayer.Book. 12usIng.thIs.tutorIaL. 13

InvItatory.tutorIaL. 15

offIce.of .readIngs.(MatIns).tutorIaL. 17

MornIng.Prayer.(Lauds).tutorIaL. 21

daytIMe.Prayer.tutorIaL. 25evenIng.Prayer.(vesPers).tutorIaL. 29

nIght.Prayer.(coMPLIne).tutorIaL. 33

seasons,.MeMorIaLs,.f easts.and.soLeMnItIes. 35hyMns,.sIngIng.and.chant. 39

PrayIng.In.LatIn. 45chant,.revIsIted. 47

tones.for.coMMon.LatIn.Prayers. 60

suPPLeMentaL.PaMPhLet. 63

startIng.a.Prayer.grouP. 67

InvItatIon.f Lyer 71PrayIng.wIth.the.saInts. 72

recoMMended.resources. 73aBout.the.author. 74



PrefaceLike so much in the world, this booklet exists

or selsh reasons, but not necessarily bad ones. Istruggle to nd time to pray and recognized that,though I would like to pray regularly, I neededsome additional motivation. Given human, com-

munal nature, some healthy peer pressure wouldsuce in the absence o perect charity, and sobegan an eort to organize what good people donaturally — gather and pray.

But pray how and about what? All prayer,especially the “spontaneous” kind, becomes hor-ribly monotonous (i not to the individual, thencertainly to God). For example, i prayed beoreeach meal by every Christian, Jew and Muslim onthe ace o the earth, our poor Father in Heavenhears “God, thank you or this ood,” or words to

that eect, several billion times a day. An indi-vidual person expresses the same sentiment about75 thousand times in his own lie.

Somewhere along the way, the question mustoccur to the rational person, “why do I keep say-ing the same things over and over? What am I re-ally doing?” Some people try to make their prayersmore eloquent, more interesting to themselves orto whoever else might be listening, but then whatreally is the point o such prayers? Is God some-how impressed by our creative use o language? Isit only some kind o sel-armation or comort?“Ah, that was a good prayer.”

At the heart o these questions are more sub-tle ones: What is prayer and what is its purpose?These are not simple questions and they cannot besimply answered.

Thankully, the Catholic Church has, rombeore its very beginning, possessed a source o prayer that is rich, enriching, and virtually inex-haustible. The modern version is called Liturgy o the Hours ( LOTH ), and it is among the Church’sbetter-kept secrets. Based almost exclusively onSacred Scripture, LOTH leads one to pray withother Christians in the Spirit, through Christ, tothe Father.

Having discovered what to pray, then camethe task o learning how to pray it. This is notas easy as one might expect. To begin with, theinstruction, called the “General Instruction or theLiturgy o the Hours” (GILH ), though a rich docu-ment, was not intended and does not serve well as

a standalone guide to learning the Hours. Ideally,one would learn to pray LOTH by regularly prayingwith other groups, but these are in short sup-ply. Teachers, clear instructions, time and supportsystems are scarce. Hence this book.

That said, it must be admitted that this proj-ect, now ten years in the making, has grown wellbeyond its original concept and led unexpectedlyto an entirely new section on simple chants (andthen Latin prayers and Gregorian chant). Instruc-tion on how to chant and the Church’s modernview o chanted prayer are all but nonexistent. Asit turns out, chant plays a much more importantrole in prayer than may be imagined.

I must oer my thanks to the many individu-als and organizations who have oered helpul

comments towards improving this text.

Finally, though the text draws almost exclu-sively upon Catholic sources, Liturgy o the Hours lends itsel readily to ecumenical prayer groups.Even those Christians who would not naturally re-er to themselves as Catholic will nd within LOTH an inspiring and moving ont o prayer.

Best wishes in your — in our — pursuit toopen our minds and hearts Jesus.

SHM



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Introduction to Prayer and the Liturgy of the Hours

Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer andsupplication. To that end keep alert with all per-severance, making supplication or all the saints,and also or me, that utterance may be given me inopening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery

o the gospel, or which I am an ambassador inchains; that I may declare it boldly, as I ought tospeak. (Ephesians 6:18-20)

Christians are called to consecrate every mo-ment o every day to God. Every action. Everythought. Every word. This is a tremendous andseemingly impossible task, but it is part o ourgit as a people who participate in Christ’s priestlyactivity.

Those who attempt to live a lie o prayer ndit dicult: How quickly the mind is distracted;

how quickly we nd ourselves alling into monoto-nous patterns; how quickly we nd that we simplydon't know how or what to pray, and i we knew,we may not want to do it.

In matters o prayer we are only too apt todeceive ourselves because, generally speaking, mandoes not enjoy praying. He easily experiences bore-dom, embarrassment, unwillingness, or even hostil-ity. Everything else appears to him more attractiveand more important.... [But without] prayer, aithbecomes weak and the religious lie atrophies. Onecannot, in the long run, remain a Christian withoutpraying, as one cannot live without breathing.(Msgr. Romano Guardini, The Art o Prayer.)

But Christ, through the Church, helps us.Prayer is certainly more than inorming God whatis going on in our lives — something He alreadyknows. At its essence, prayer is a liting, openingand oering o the heart and mind to God. The

Liturgy o the Hours is an incomparable guide.

One could write volumes on what prayer isand how one engages in prayer. Dierent authorsidentiy dierent elements, levels, types, expres-sions, intentions and ruits o prayer. It is not theintention o this text to provide such an edu-cation. Rather, we highly recommend reading thelast quarter o the Universal Catechism on prayer,especially paragraphs 2626-2643 on elements o prayer and 2700-2719 on expressions o prayer.The Art o Prayer, by Romano Guardini, is alsorecommended. For the sake o this tutorial, we willallow the prayer to teach us as we pray it.

I you have never heard o Liturgy o the Hours, don't eel bad. Even those very amiliarwith Catholicism and methods o prayer are re-quently unamiliar with it. I one has not heardthe phrase, he has requently heard o the indi-

vidual prayers. From the Latin; Lauds, Vespers,Compline, etc.

In act, Liturgy o the Hours is known by sev-eral names:

• Liturgy o the Hours• Divine Oce• Breviary (reerring to the book)• Opus Dei (Work o God)• Christian Prayer• L.O.T.H. or L.O.H. (acronym)

To understand the meaning and importance o LOTH , one must rst understand the meaning o "Liturgy." We can then move on to the substanceo the prayers and how to participate in them.

Liturgy...Liturgy is an "action" o the whole Christ (Chris-

tus totus).... It is the whole community, the Bodyo Christ united with its Head, that celebrates."Liturgical services are not private unctions butare celebrations o the Church which is 'the sacra-ment o unity,' namely, the holy people united

and organized under the authority o the bishops.Thereore, liturgical services pertain to the wholebody o the Church. They maniest it, and have e-ects upon it.... (CCC 1136-1140)

Liturgy is an action o the entire Church,responding to and acting under the infuenceo Christ's grace within her. It is distinct rompopular piety or devotions, which are certainlygraced, but not in the same way as a liturgicalaction. This is because liturgy is not merely an ac-tion o individual Christians or even a group, butan action o Christ, Himsel. In liturgy, the People

o God participate in and are caught up into thepriestly, prophetic and kingly work o Christ in away not otherwise accessible. Hence the Church'sgreat emphasis upon increased understanding o and participation in liturgy.

... o the Hours Liturgy o the Hours is not a sacrament, butwith the Liturgy o the Word, the Liturgy o the



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Eucharist and the other liturgical actions, it is theGreat Prayer o the Mystical Body o Christ, theChurch. As such, it existed inchoate even prior toChrist's death and resurrection with the peopleGod chose or Himsel, the people known in vari-ous times and places as the Hebrews, Israelites orJews.

Among the earliest monotheistic traditionswas that in which, two or three (or more) timesper day, the people would individually or commu-nally stop to oer prayer to God; morning, middayand evening. This tradition — a response to God'slove and grace — continues uninterrupted totoday in Christianity as the Liturgy o the Hours.

From the Catechism o the Catholic Church...

1174 The mystery o Christ, his Incarnationand Passover, which we celebrate in the Eucharistespecially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and

transgures the time o each day, through thecelebration o the Liturgy o the Hours, "the divineoce." This celebration, aithul to the apostolicexhortations to "pray constantly," is "so devisedthat the whole course o the day and night is madeholy by the praise o God." In this "public prayero the Church," the aithul (clergy, religious, andlay people) exercise the royal priesthood o thebaptized. Celebrated in "the orm approved" by theChurch, the Liturgy o the Hours "is truly the voiceo the Bride hersel addressed to her Bridegroom."It is the very prayer which Christ himsel togetherwith his Body addresses to the Father.

1175 The Liturgy o the Hours is intended tobecome the prayer o the whole People o God.In it Christ himsel "continues his priestly workthrough his Church." His members participate ac-cording to their own place in the Church and thecircumstances o their lives: priests devoted to thepastoral ministry, because they are called to remaindiligent in prayer and the service o the word; reli-gious, by the charism o their consecrated lives; all

the aithul as much as possible: "Pastors o soulsshould see to it that the principal hours, especiallyVespers, are celebrated in common in church on

Sundays and on the more solemn easts. The laity,too, are encouraged to recite the divine ofce,

either with the priests, or among themselves, or

even individually." (Emphasis added, quoted romthe Vatican II document, Sacrosanctum Concilium,The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.)

1176 The celebration o the Liturgy o the Hoursdemands not only harmonizing the voice with thepraying heart, but also a deeper "understanding

o the liturgy and o the Bible, especially o thePsalms."

1177 The hymns and litanies o the Liturgy o the Hours integrate the prayer o the psalms intothe age o the Church, expressing the symbolism o the time o day, the liturgical season, or the eastbeing celebrated. Moreover, the reading rom theWord o God at each Hour (with the subsequent re-sponses or troparia) and readings rom the Fathersand spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal moredeeply the meaning o the mystery being celebrat-ed, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepareor silent prayer. The lectio divina, where the Wordo God is so read and meditated that it becomesprayer, is thus rooted in the liturgical celebration.

1178 The Liturgy o the Hours, which is like anextension o the Eucharistic celebration, does notexclude but rather in a complementary way callsorth the various devotions o the People o God,especially adoration and worship o the Blessed

Sacrament.

he Rosary Connection The Liturgy o the Hours is historically the

orm o prayer rom which the Catholic rosaryis derived. LOTH developed into its modern ormaround the traditional recitation o the Psalms. Indierent times and places, however, illiteracy andother pressures made such recitation dicult, i not impossible, especially among laity.

Consequently, while clergy and religious

continued the traditional recitations, the workersin the eld could participate in part by recitingshorter, easier prayers while meditating upon theundamental events (mysteries) in the aith. Andso, rather than reciting 150 Psalms, the personpraying a complete rosary recites 150 Hail Maryprayers while meditating upon various unda-mental truths o the Christian aith. Though theseshorter prayers — the rosary, other chaplets, theway o the cross, etc. — are not liturgical butdevotional in nature, they do maintain a con-nection to liturgy and sacraments. Hence, they arerequently called sacramentals or para-liturgicalprayers.



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Learning to pray the Liturgy o the Hours requires discipline. The books are big with di-erent, poorly marked sections. The instructionswere apparently written or people who alreadyknew the prayers and didn’t need any instruction.

There simply aren't many teachers or examples outthere, and as with any act o prayer, an innitenumber o other opportunities vie or one's timeand attention. But as with many good things,the more dicult it is, the greater the reward orperseverance.

In this section we present a useul step-by-step outline, accessible to most lay persons, orlearning to pray the Divine Oce.

1. Get a Prayer Book (ree online to $120.00)

2. Get a supplementary Guide Book or calen-dar (ree to $2.00)

3. Familiarize yoursel with the dierent sec-tions o your book

4. Learn the Order o Prayer (go through atutorial or two)

5. Find a teacher or companion

6. Make the time and do it

Step 1. Get a Prayer Book

There are several publications o the Liturgy o the Hours. It is important to choose the one thatwill be appropriate to your budget, temperamentand available time. These are available throughyour local Catholic bookstore or various Internetbook stores, and will set you back twelve to onehundred and twenty dollars, depending on whatyou choose (in Latin they are much more). Seethe appendix or contact inormation or orderingthese books.

I you intend to pray with a group, it will behelpul or you all to have the same version. There

are minor dierences between the same prayersin dierent books that can be conusing to begin-ners. In addition, i everyone has the same books,then it makes it easier to make sure everyone ison the right page number.

T C L F V

I you seek a resource to last your entire lie,this is the one or you. Each volume covers ap-

proximately one quarter o the year, so you canpurchase them one at a time (about $30 each)without setting your bank account back too ar.It is, however, the most complicated set, and notrecommended or those who are easily intimidated

by lots o ribbons and page-fipping.

The largest part o the complete set is “Oceo Readings” and “Readings or Feasts, Memori-als and Special Occasions.” This is one o the bestand easiest ways to become amiliar with Scriptureand the writings o the saints and Church. I youwould like to delve more deeply into Scripture andlearn rom the saints, then this is the set or you.

It is available in vinyl or leather-cover, and ispublished by Catholic Book Publishers.

T S VBy removing most or all o “Oce o Readings”

and “Readings or Special Occasions,” the Liturgy o the Hours is reduced to a single volume. It isslightly easier to ollow than the complete set,and some even include simple music/chant scoresin the back or those wishing to learn to chant thePsalms. Publishers include Catholic Book Publish-ers and Liturgical Press.

S M E P

Also a single volume, the shorter prayer bookhas been pared down to only the Morning andEvening Prayers, though it sometimes includesNight Prayer, as well. This is a great starting pointor those who want to learn the prayer, but aren'tinterested in the “Oce o Readings.” It is alsogreat or travel since it is so small (some can justabout t into a large coat pocket). This version isavailable rom several publishers.

A

Perhaps the best adap-tation we've seen is producedby Magnicat. It is a monthlyperiodical that contains theentire Liturgy o the Mass,readings or each day, and ab-breviated versions o Morningand Evening Prayer. Very easyto ollow, it can be ordered di-rectly rom the publisher andis an excellent response to the

Praying the Liturgy of the Hours



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Church's exhortation that the laity be helped topray at least part o the Liturgy o the Hours. Atlast check, a subscription was approximately $35per year.

O R

As o this printing there are two web sites that

provide partial, online versions o the Liturgy o the Hours or personal and group use:

http://www.universalis.com/

http://www.liturgyhours.org/

S

See the tutorial section or Morning Prayeri you have a condensed prayer book. It includesnotes specic to smaller prayer books, and is eas-ily adapted to evening and night prayer.

Step 2. Get a "St. Joseph Guide orthe Liturgy o the Hours"

This is a little paperback pamphlet that costs ~$2.00 and has the exact page numbers to whichto turn on any given day o the year. IMPORTANT:Get the one that goes with your particular book!There are dierent versions; some or the completeset, and others or the single volume books. Theyare not interchangeable.

An alternative to the “St. Joseph Guide” iscalled the “Ordo.” This pocket-sized annual guideis commonly used by priests to locate the day-by-day readings, colors and brie summaries orthe “Celebration o the Eucharist”, along with thereadings rom the Liturgy o the Hours. However, itdoes not give specic page numbers, is not keyedto a particular book, and is also a little crypticuntil one becomes amiliar with its acronyms.

We also publish and distribute (electronically)a ree calendar that olds neatly into most anyLOTH prayer book. The calendar identies the cur-rent week and any special easts one may wish to

optionally observe.

Once you are amiliar with the prayers, calen-dars and supplements will rarely be needed.

Step 3. Familiarize yoursel with the Dierent Sections in the

Prayer Book Your book may have more (or ewer) parts

than are listed here. They are arranged dierentlyin various books.

T G I L H (GILH)

This is included in its entirety at the be-ginning o volume one o the our volume set. Anabridged version is ound in most others. This isan introductory document explaining some o thehistory, meaning and revisions to the Liturgy o the Hours. It has a great deal o good inormation,and is somewhat inspiring, but most people willnd the GILH conusing or less than helpul inassisting them to actually learn how to pray theDivine Oce rom square one. This is not due toany deciency in the document, exactly, but duesimply to the complexity o the Liturgy o theHours.

T O

The outline and detailed instructions orthe prayers contained in your volume, it is usu-ally ound towards the beginning o the smallervolumes, and right ater the “Proper o the Sea-sons" in the middle o the larger ones. Get amiliar

with it, and place a bookmark in it. Anytime youget lost, which won't be uncommon when start-ing out, just turn back to the ordinary to nd outwhat is next. It also contains those smaller prayers— openings and closings — that are shared by allo the greater prayers.

T P ( P)

The heart o the Divine Ofce, it will mostlikely be near the middle or in the ront o yourbook. Sometimes the pages are marked with rededges to make them easier to nd. At the top o every page is a heading like "Week I," "Week II,""Week III," or "Week IV."

The psalter contains introductory text, hymns,psalms, canticles, prayers, and other importantparts in a our-week cycle. Your volume willcontain the material or at least the Morning andEvening Prayers. More complete volumes will alsocontain parts or the “Oce o Readings” and“Mid-day Prayers.”







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T P S

This contains hymns, antiphons, Scripturereadings and prayers unique to particular days andseasons. The complete Proper is ound only in theour volume set, the bulk o which is the “Oceo Readings,” but a condensed version is in thesingle volume, and a highly distilled version in

some shorter prayer books.

N P

Even the Shorter Christian Prayer books con-tain a ew Night Prayers (also known as Compline).“Night Prayer” has a one-week cycle, and is similarto the other prayers, but shorter.

T P S

Like the “Proper o the Seasons,” it is oundonly in the comprehensive volumes. The “Proper

o the Saints” and the “Proper o the Seasons”compliment each other (and are a source o muchconusion). The “Proper o Saints” contains alter-native readings, usually the second reading or the“Oce o Readings,” associated with a particulareast, solemnity or memorial day in the Church'scalendar.

T C

Usually ound near the back o larger prayerbooks, it is closely related to the “Proper o Saints.” Many places in the “Proper o Saints” reer

readers to the “Commons,” which contains com-mon prayers and readings shared by dierent eastdays.

O S

Additional supplementary materials are oundin the larger volumes. These contain alternativepsalms, readings, poems, and prayers.

Step 4. Learn the Order o PrayerThis will take some time. Prayer requires e-

ort, and the Liturgy o the Hours requires morethan most. Now you have your book, but probablycan't tell where to start. Don't worry, there is ageneral orm common to all o the prayers.

G O

All o the individual "Hours" or "Oces" ollowa similar pattern, but some have longer parts thanothers. Though there are sometimes strict instruc-tions or religious and clerics who pray the Divine

Ofce, the general rule or laity is "do whateveryou can," but whatever you do, don't try to do toomuch! Certainly don't try to memorize all o this.It is tempting or the beginner to attempt toomuch and quickly get rustrated. Remember, youare under no obligation to pray it in its entirety orollow its directions exactly.

• Introductory Prayers

• Hymn

• Psalms and Canticles with their Antiphons

• Scripture Reading

• Responsories

• Gospel Canticle

• Intercessory Prayers

• Concluding Prayer and Blessing

Once you've gone through the tutorials, you

should have a good eel or the overall fow o theLiturgy o the Hours. Following are some impor-tant keys to successully praying the Divine Oce:

1. Get to know the Ordinary. The Ordinary isyour riend.

2. The labels don't always mean what theymean (e.g., Sunday Evening Prayer I). Thiswill make sense later.

3. Don't recite (but do be aware o) red print,headings, refective or instructional text.

4. A lot o it is optional. For laity, it's alloptional. Focus on those parts that areinteresting to you and grow rom there.Don’t eel bad or praying only one prayer,or even just part o one.

5. Be aware o "Liturgical Shorthand." Manyentries in the prayer books are only therst ew words to larger prayers. In somecases, the entries aren’t even in the sameorder in which they are prayed (don’t askme why).

6. Be aware o "invisible prayers." These areprayers that are customarily prayed atcertain points, but don't always show upin the instructions (e.g., "Glory Be..." aterevery Psalm or canticle).

7. Get nimble at page-fipping and be sure tomake good use o ribbons or bookmarks.This comes with practice.



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8. Don't worry i you get lost. It is better todo it poorly than not at all, and it getsmuch easier and more intuitive over time.

Step 5. Find a eacher...... or someone else who wants to learn with

you. Though it is perectly permissible to pray the

Oce in private, and private prayer is immenselybetter than none at all, it is ideally suited andintended or communal prayer.

But teachers can be dicult to nd, and evenmore so i you need to nd one who you canmeet outside o normal work hours. It is amongthe responsibilities o your parish priest to makehimsel available to teach and lead the Liturgy o the Hours, but many are too busy. Consider your-sel very ortunate i your priest is willing to workwith you on this.

Try local convents or monasteries. They re-quently welcome guests and are eager to teachthis orm o prayer. Further, they generally praythe complete Liturgy o the Hours every day, soyou'll have a choice o times at which to jointhem. One word o warning: Some religious orderspray a dierent "psalter" (group o psalms). Thismay be conusing i you are trying to learn to prayrom the standard English books.

I you can't nd a teacher, try to nd some-one who will learn with you. Quite apart rom the

complexity o the prayer, numerous obstacles willpresent themselves to your attempts to pray. I you are committed with someone else, this willhelp both o you continue.

Step 6. Make ime and DO I Start small, maybe ve minutes at a time. Dis-

tractions will readily present themselves, especial-ly at the beginning, but gradually move to 10-20minutes per day. Jesus exemplies the importanceo private prayer time; he requently went to a

"lonely place" to pray. No disruptions. Take o the pager and the cell-phone. Find a private room.Lock the door. Do whatever it takes.

Another solution is to nd a lay group in yourbusiness or area that regularly prays.

The Calendar of theLiturgy of the Hours

Knowing what to pray on what days can beconusing at rst. The easiest solution is to getan inexpensive guide or calendar. It will save you

countless rustrations, wondering where to turnand what prayers to pray, because it lists the exactpage numbers or every day o the year. But i youdon't have the guide, ollowing is a basic rule orstaying on the correct week in the Psalter:

Week I begins on the ollowing days. Countrom there to get to the proper week and day,

• First Sunday o Advent

• Monday ater the Baptism o the Lord

• First Sunday o Lent

• Easter SundayOn the Monday ater Pentecost, use the Week

indicated.

• Year 2004 - Week I

• Year 2005 - Week III

Knowing which prayers to pray in the “Propero Seasons” and “Proper o Saints” is a little morestraightorward (no higher math skills are re-quired): For the “Proper o Seasons,” simply matchthe week, day, or event. I it is the 18th week o Ordinary Time, use that section o the Proper. I itis November 30, the Feast o the Apostle Andrew,substitute those parts ound in the “Proper o Saints.” I it is December 1, or which there is noentry in the “Proper o Saints,” remain in the Psal-ter and “Proper o Seasons.” I this is too conus-ing—and it really can be at rst—just stick to thenormal Psalter and Proper.

Once you begin praying with some regularity,keeping track o where to begin becomes mucheasier. Simply move your ribbon(s) to whereveryou ended, then pick up there the next time. More

details on observing memorials, easts and solem-nities are in a later section in this tutorial.

We also have a small calendar available as aree download rom the web site that can help.



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Frequently Asked Questions

Unless cost prevents you, we strongly encourageyou to purchase the prayer books that include theOce o Readings. I cost is a actor try purchasing

just the volume or the present season. By spread-ing the cost out, you'll spend about $10 a month

and have the entire set within a year (which mightlast your whole lie).

I you travel requently, Shorter ChristianPrayer is convenient due to its size. The largersingle volume is nice, too, but it is the same size asany single book rom the our volume set, and sodoesn't do much or convenience.

Are the prayer books available in other languages?

Yes, but they can be expensive. It will require

contacting publishing houses in the various nation-al conerences. See the appendix or a list o booksand sources.

Can music besides chant be usedwith the Liturgy o the Hours?

Yes. It is important, however, that the musicselections not detract rom the prayers themselves.Rather, the music should harmonize with theprayers and help you to lit and open your mindto God. I it isn't doing this, then it may be better

to have no music at all, or use a dierent orm o music.

Which parts o the prayers can bechanted?

The entire prayer can be chanted, but it is mostcommon to chant/sing only the psalms and can-ticles. However, one isn't required to chant or singany part.

Why is the "Glory Be" (doxology)

dierent than the one I know? It is merely a convention used in the revised

Liturgy o the Hours. I you preer, or i you arepart o a group that prays the more traditional one,eel ree to do so.

My prayer book has [1,2,3,4,5] ribbons. Where do I put these?

See the next section.

How much should I try to pray at once?

Only as much as you have time or, but domake time every day to try at least one o the

prayers, preerably Morning or Evening Prayer.

Why are there two dierent Sunday Evening Prayers in my prayer book?

Sunday Evening Prayer I is or Saturday Eve-ning. Sunday Evening Prayer II is or Sundayevening. Why? According to tradition, "tomorrow"begins at sundown, today. (Ever wonder why youcan go to Mass on Saturday evening and have it"count" as a Sunday Mass? Now you know.)

Where can I learn more? Check to see i your parish has a group that

prays the Liturgy o the Hours (sometimes justunder the names Lauds, Vespers or Compline).Another good place to start is the nearest conventor monastery. They pray the Divine Oce in itsentirety and most are happy to share it with you.You might also try arranging an appointment withyour parish priest or deacon or instruction.

Where can I get prayer books and

how do I choose the right one or me? You can nd them on the Internet or at your

local Catholic bookstore.

We have received many persuasive requests todevelop a tutorial specic to the one volume ver-sions o the Liturgy o the Hours. Thus ar we haveinstinctively resisted or two reasons:

1. The smaller books are much simpler to ol-low, and only minor adaptation o the pres-ent tutorial is required.

2. One o the greater needs in today's Church isa renewed understanding o the aith by thelaity. A superb source or this is Scriptureand prayer, o course, but also the inter-pretation and application o Scripture asis ound in the Oce o Readings. ThoughMorning and Evening prayer constitute thecardinal prayers o the Liturgy, we believethat the Oce o Readings is an invaluablesource or today's laity.



12

Setting Up Your Prayer Book

RibbonsAlmost every version o the Liturgy o the

Hours shares one thing in common: Ribbons. De-pending on which book you have, you might see

anywhere rom one to ve ribbons popping out o the binding.

Some ribbons aren’t even attached to the bind-ing, but to a plastic card that is inserted into thebinding. With use, the ribbons are the rst itemsto wear. By not attaching them to the book, youcan replace them without replacing the wholebook. An easy way to do this is to get ribbon ma-terial o your choosing rom your local abric store,align them on a small piece o cardboard that hasbeen cut to size to t into your book's spine, thenstick them to the cardboard with duct tape, cutthe other ends to the desired length, and insertthe cardboard into the spine.

O R B

Some shortened prayer books will have oneribbon. Place this ribbon in the Psalter.

R B

Books with two ribbons usually have twodistinct sections; a Psalter and the Readings. Placeone ribbon in each area.

F R B

Okay, here we go! Place one ribbon in each o the ollowing sections. You’ll move them to thecorrect page as you go through the tutorials:

• Proper o the Seasons

• Ordinary

• Psalter

• Night Prayer

• Proper o the Saints

Don’t have any ribbons? Lost them? Holy cardsor other bookmarks are good substitutes.

As you nish each prayer, simply move theribbons ahead to the beginning o the prayer orthe ollowing day. I you get into the habit o do-ing this (and don’t miss too many days in a row),then it becomes airly easy to stay on-track withthe right prayers or a given day.

Sticky HelpCommon prayers like the Canticle o Zecha-

riah or Canticle o Mary (the Gospel Canticles) arein the Ordinary. Some prayer books come with

additional cards with these and other commonprayers on them. It can be helpul to keep thesecards tucked into the ront or back cover o yourprayer book or easy locating. Some people pastethe Gospel Canticles inside the covers using rubbercement.



13

Using this Tutorial

BooksThe tutorial is drawn primarily rom volume

I o the complete our-volume set, though it iseasily adapted to the shorter versions (notes are

included or other editions, especially in the tuto-rial or Morning Prayer). Volume I is usually blue,and covers Advent and Christmas. It is easier tobegin and learn the order o prayer in an 'ordi-nary time' volume or 'ordinary time' section in acondensed/abridged version — it can almost beprayed 'straight through,' with little or no pagefipping — but we are starting here because itincludes an 'average' amount o fipping rom onearea to another in the books.

Day o the YearThe tutorials use the First Monday o Advent

as the example or all prayers.

FontsFor the sake o clarity, every attempt has been

made to have the excerpts rom LOTH look like theactual text. In general, headings and any words inred or italics are not said aloud while praying. Theonly words that are prayed out loud appear in thisont and color:

TimesNewRoman

Sequences and Optional PartsThose parts that are generally considered

optional are noted as such in the tutorials. In theorder outlines preceding each tutorial, optionalitems are marked with an asterisk (*).

Second, not all groups (or geographical re-gions) pray the Liturgy o the Hours in the sameway. Some religious orders use a dierent psalmsequence. Some groups add small parts or prayers,or might suppress others. Some say the antiphon

twice at the beginning and once at the end. Somesay it once at the beginning, or omit it at the end.Some sing and chant. Finally, the order in whichthe individual prayers are listed is not necessarilythe order in which they are prayed by all.

This can cause some conusion, and it did soeven in the ormation o this text. For the mostpart, the order o the prayers can be determinedby a careul and thorough reading o the General

Instruction or the Liturgy o the Hours (i one hasthe time and patience). But some parts, especiallyoptional or supplemental ones, remain ambigu-ous. For example, the American English editiono the Liturgy o the Hours includes an optional

“psalm-prayer” in the text right beore the nalrepetition o psalm antiphons. In early editions o this text we directed people to pray the nal verseo the psalm, the psalm-prayer, the doxology, andthen the nal antiphon.

We then received the ollowing excerpt romFrom Breviary to Liturgy o the Hours: StructuralReorm o the Roman Oce, 1964-1971:

...it was clearly the mind o Group 9 that the psalmprayer occur ater the antiphon (i used) and pauseor silent prayer and not beore the antiphon, as

is the case in [the US Liturgy o the Hours]. Theantiphon, said the canon, may be considered asalmost part o the psalm, and it is erroneous toplace it ater the psalm prayer. (Footnote #300rom Chapter 5)

The contributor went on to argue that theposition o the psalm-prayer in the American Eng-lish edition was an editorial decision o CatholicBook Publishing Company. Lacking evidence to thecontrary, we were convinced, and so have changedthe tutorials to refect the order. However, thereader should be wary o becoming overly scrupu-

lous regarding every posture, phrase and sequence.I visiting other groups, one is likely to encountervariation, and charitable liberty is important insuch matters.

LeaderThe tutorial assumes that only laity — one or

more — will be present or the prayer. I a priestor deacon is present, it is normative or him tolead the people in prayer and give the nal bless-ing. In the absence o clergy, any prepared lay

person may do so.

Chanting

Chant is a moving and important part o theLiturgy o the Hours. However, it is also a topicunto itsel, so a complete introductory tutorial onchant is included at the end o this tutorial. Learnthe basics rst, then learn chant.



14

Invitatory Order stand

+ “Lord, open my lips...”

Antiphon

Psalm 95 (or 100, 67 or 24)

Doxology

Antiphon

Proceed to Ofce o Readings or Morning Prayer



The Invitatory precedes the Oce o Readingsor Morning Prayer, whichever you pray rst in theday. The Invitatory is recommended, but sometimesomitted in private recitation by laity.

The bulk o the Invitatory is in the Ordinary,but the correct antiphon is sometimes ound inthe Psalter. It is a good habit to always turn to thePsalter rst (go ahead and do so now).

How is it prayed?

For this example, nd the beginning o thesection Monday, Week I, Invitatory in your Psal-ter. We will assume that it is the First Monday o Advent. It will begin:

Monday, Week IIvittr

Lord,openmylips.

Antiphon,asintheOrdinary,647.

InvitatoryPsalm,648.

This is not the ull text. It serves only as areminder. The ull text is in the Ordinary. Turnthere now, keeping a nger (or ribbon) on Mon-day, Week I, Invitatory.

Stand, and while making the sign o the crossover your lips, say:

Lord,openmylips.

—Andmymouthwillproclaimyourpraise.

I there are two or more o you praying to-gether, then one could pray the rst line, whilethe other prays the second.

Next fnd the “antiphon” or the InvitatoryPsalm (but don’t pray it yet). These vary romseason to season. An antiphon is usually a shortphrase or sentence that acts as a brie rerainthroughout a psalm.

Notice that the Psalter stated “Antiphon, as inthe Ordinary.” Sometimes the Invitatory Antiphonwill be listed right in the Psalter, but in this casewe are directed to nd it in the Ordinary, wherewe read that the antiphon or the days betweenthe First Sunday o Advent and December 16 is:

Come,letusworshiptheLord,theKingwhoisto

come.

Invitatory Tutorial

Now that you’ve ound the right antiphon,look or the Invitatory Psalm, usually Psalm 95, onthe same or ollowing page.

Psalm95

AcalltopraiseGod

Encourage each other daily while it is still today

(Hebrews3:13)

(Theantiphonisrecitedandthenrepeated)

Come,letussingtotheLord

andshoutwithjoytotheRockwhosavesus.

Letusapproachhimwithpraiseandthanksgiving

andsingjoyfulsongstotheLord.

(Antiphonrepeated)

...

There is some text in italics beore the Psalm,a passage rom Hebrews. Do not say this aloud.Merely refect upon it or a moment.

Now it’s time to actually say the antiphon.The antiphon is typically said beore the psalm,between verses as noted in your book, and againater the doxology, below. I you are praying aspart o a group, it is common or the leader torecite the antiphon once, have it repeated by thegroup, and then begin the rst verse o the psalm.

Groups vary on whether or not to repeat the anti-phon between each verse, but it is common to doso between each verse o the Invitatory Psalm, oras noted in your particular book.

Psalm 95 is said, while standing, with itsantiphon (other Psalms, such as 100, 67 or 24 aresometimes substituted, especially i Psalm 95 ap-pears in later prayers or the day).

Ater nishing the Psalm, pray:

GlorytotheFather,andtotheSon,andtotheHoly

Spirit:

asitwasinthebeginning,isnow,andwillbeforever.

Amen.

Repeat the antiphon one last time. Thisconcludes the Invitatory. I you have a ribbon inthe Ordinary, this is a good time to make sure itis moved to the beginning o the next prayer youplan to pray (in the Ordinary), and then proceedto the Oce o Readings or Morning Prayer.



6

Office of Readings Order stand

Invitatory or + “God, come to my assistance...”

Hymn*

sit

First Antiphon, Psalm and Doxology

First Antiphon*, Silence* and Psalm-Prayer*

Second Antiphon, Psalm and Doxology

Second Antiphon*, Silence* and Psalm-Prayer*

Third Antiphon, Psalm and Doxology

Third Antiphon*, Silence* and Psalm-Prayer*

Transitional Verse

Scripture ReadingResponsory*

Document Reading

Responsory*

stand

Canticle / Te Deum (Sundays, Feasts and Solemnities)

Concluding Prayer



Office of Readings (Matins) Tutorial

The Oce o Readings may be prayed at anytime o the day. It is oten prayed in the earlymorning, and depending on your speed will taketeen to thirty minutes.

The Oce o Readings is ound only in thelarger editions. The bulk is in the Proper o theSeasons. There is an abridged Oce o Readingsin the large single volume Christian Prayer book.It ollows the same principles, but in a our-weekcycle. As with the other tutorials, turn rst to thePsalter.

Introductory PrayersFor this example, nd the beginning o the

section Monday, Week I, Oce o Readings in thePsalter o your prayer book. We will assume that itis the First Monday o Advent. I you just prayedthe Invitatory, then skip these introductoryprayers and go immediately to the hymn, below.Otherwise, turn to the section or the Invitatoryor continue, below, with the words 'God, come tomy assistance.....'

Monday, Week I

Ivittr

Lord,openmylips.

Antiphon,asintheOrdinary,647.

InvitatoryPsalm,648.

Ofce of Readings

God,cometomyassistance.GlorytotheFather.

Asitwasinthebeginning.Alleluia.

Thisverseandresponseareomittedwhenthehour

beginswiththeinvitatory.

This is not the ull text. It serves only as a re-minder. The ull text is in the Ordinary. Turn there

now, keeping a nger (or a ribbon) in the Psal-ter on Monday, Week I, Oce o Readings. Whilestanding, make the sign o the cross and pray:

Ofce of Readings

God,cometomyassistance.

—Lord,makehastetohelpme.


Spirit:

asitwasinthebeginning,isnow,andwillbe

forever.Amen.

I there are two or more o you praying to-gether, then one could pray the rst line, theother prays the second, and so on.

The "Alleluia," noted in the Psalter but not inthe Ordinary, is omitted during Lent.

Hymn (Optional)Turning back to the Psalter, the listed hymnbegins:

OGodoftruth,prepare...

The hymn is entirely optional. It may be sung,chanted, read, substituted or omitted altogether.Sometimes the hymn won't be listed directly, oroptional ones will be listed. When included, it isusually sung standing.

Psalmody

Psalmody

Ant.1 Showmeyourmercy,Lord,andkeepme

safe.

Psalm6

AsufferingmancriestoGodformercy

I am lled with dismay . . . Father, save me from

this hour (John12:27).

Lord,donotreprovemeinyouranger;

punishmenotinyourrage...

Be seated or the psalmody, which consists o three psalms (or parts thereo), along with theirassociated antiphons. For the First Monday o Ad-vent the antiphon is (go ahead and recite it now):

Showmeyourmercy,Lord,andkeepmesafe.

Then ollows the Psalm number, an editorialheading, and some text in italics beore the actualPsalm. Do not say these aloud. Merely refect upon



8

them or a moment. When the prayer is said (andnot sung or chanted) some groups preer to praythe text in black italics in place o the antiphon.

Psalm 6 is then said while seated. I prayingwith others, it is common to alternate reading/chanting individual verses, lines or entire para-graphs.

It might not be listed in your book, but theollowing is recited ater every psalm and canticle:


Spirit:


Amen.

Many books will show an optional “psalm-prayer” immediately ollowing the psalm. However,this does not appear to be the intended order o LOTH. Rather, ater the Doxology (“Glory to theFather...”), repeat the antiphon or the rst psalm

a nal time, then pray the psalm-prayer.

Psalm-prayer

LordGod,youlovemercyandtenderness;you

givelifeandovercomedeath.Lookuponthemany

woundsofyourChurch;restoreittohealthbyyour

risenSon,sothatitmaysinganewsonginyour

praise.

Ant. Showmeyourmercy,Lord,andkeepme

safe.

Repeat the above pattern two more times— antiphon, psalm, doxology, antiphon, psalm-prayer — with the appropriate psalms and anti-phons as ound in your prayer book, then notethe instruction that reads, “Verse, reading andprayer, as in the Proper o the Seasons.” Thisis instructing you to turn to the Proper o theSeason to continue with the Oce o Readings. Itis where we will nd the Verse. Be sure to leavethe ribbon or bookmark where you are leaving o (or move it ahead to the beginning o your next

intended prayer) in the Psalter.

VerseThe verse acts as a transitional prayer between

the Psalmody and the Readings. It is ound in theProper o the Seasons. Turn now to the beginningo your volume. Look or the page headings or theFirst Week o Advent, and then nd Monday, O-

ce o Readings. Immediately below this headingwill be the verse.

The verse, which begins, “Lord, show us yourmercy...” is read aloud.

Monday

Ofce of Readings

Lord,showusyourmercyandlove.

—Andgrantusyoursalvation.

First r eading

FromthebookoftheprophetIsaiah

1:21-27;2:1-5

The judgement and deliverance of Zion. The

gathering of the nations.

Howhassheturnedadulteress,

thefaithfulcity,soupright!

Justiceusedtolodgewithinher,

butnow,murderers.

...

Readings and ResponsesThe readings in the Oce o Readings are long.

In private recitation, they are sometimes readsilently and meditatively. In communal recitation,they may be read by a lector, or antiphonally aswith the psalms (alternating between readers).

The reading or the First Monday o Adventbegins by saying:

FromthebookoftheprophetIsaiah.

There ollows some italic text in red. This isnot read aloud, but merely summarizes the read-ing. Then proceed to the reading.

It is common to have a short time o silenceollowing the reading. The Responsory is some-times omitted or adapted in private recitation. I you choose to say the Responsory, or are prayingin a group then say:

r esPonsory micah 4:2; John 4:25Come,letusgouptothemountainoftheLord,to

thehouseoftheGodofJacob.

—Hewillteachushisways,andwewillwalkin

hispaths.

TheMessiah,whoiscalledtheChrist,iscoming.

Whenhecomes,hewillteachuseverything.

—Hewillteachushisways,andwewillwalkin

hispaths.



As with other similarly structured prayers, thiscan be prayed antiphonally.

Repeat the above instructions or the SecondReading, which is typically rom the history o theChurch or the writing o a saint.

e Deum Were this a Sunday, east or solemnity, you

would now stand and say, sing or chant the "TeDeum," ound in the Ordinary. Otherwise, proceedto the Concluding Prayer.

Concluding PrayerNow you might nd an enigmatic text that

reads "Prayer, as in Morning Prayer." This meansthat concluding prayer or the Oce o Readingsis ound at the end o Morning Prayer, right aterthe second reading (probably one or two pages

past your present place in the prayer book). Whilestanding, begin by saying:

Letuspray...

On this day the prayer is:

Prayer

LordourGod,

helpustoprepare

forthecomingofChristyourSon.

May he nd us waiting,

eagerinjoyfulprayer.

WeaskthisthroughourLordJesusChrist,your

Son,wholivesandreignswithyouandtheHoly

Spirit,oneGod,foreverandever.

Amen.

When celebrated communally, a nal accla-mation is added (ound in the Ordinary):

LetuspraisetheLord.

—Andgivehimthanks.

This concludes the Oce o Readings. Be sure

to move your ribbon to the beginning o the nextprayer or the day — probably on the same or ol-lowing page — or next prayer you intend to pray.



0

Morning Prayer Order stand

Invitatory or + “God, come to my assistance...”

Hymn*

sit



Second Antiphon, Old Testament Canticle and Doxology

Second Antiphon*



Scripture Reading

Silence* and Message*Responsory*

stand

+ Antiphon, Canticle of Zechariah and Doxology

Canticle Antiphon*

Intercessions

Our Father

Concluding Prayer and + Blessing



(This tutorial section, though geared towardsthe our volume prayer book set, also includesnotes or the one volume editions. I you have aone volume prayer book, make similar adaptations

or Evening and Night Prayer.)

Morning Prayer is prayed in the morning, usu-ally sometime between 7:00 and 9:00 A.M.

Morning Prayer is ound, almost in its entirety,in the Psalter (during special seasons, easts, me-morials or the like, the second hal o the prayer isin the Proper o the Seasons, the Proper o Saintsor the Common). Find and turn to your Psalternow.


section Monday, Week I, Morning Prayer in thePsalter o your prayer book. We will assume that itis the First Monday o Advent. Depending on youredition, it is ound on the ollowing page:

Shorter Christian Prayer; p 54

A Shorter Morning and Evening Prayer; p 44

One volume Christian Prayer; p 718

Four volume Liturgy o the Hours; p 702

It will begin with the words:

Morning Prayer



(I you just prayed the Invitatory, then skipthese introductory prayers and go to the hymn,below.) As beore, this is not the ull text. Itserves only as a reminder. The ull text is in theOrdinary. Turn there now, keeping a nger (ora ribbon) on Monday, Week I, Morning Prayer.

Depending on your book, the introductory prayersor Morning prayer are ound in the Ordinary onthese pages:

Shorter Christian Prayer; p 18 — NOTE: Thisversion (correctly) incorporates the Invita-tory into Morning Prayer, and does not havetext or beginning Morning Prayer with'God, come to my assistance.....


One volume Christian Prayer; p 689

Four volume Liturgy o the Hours; p 653

Stand, make the sign o the cross and pray:

Morning PrayerGod,cometomyassistance.



Spirit:


forever.Amen.

Alleluia.

I there are two or more o you praying to-

gether, then one would pray the rst line, whilethe other prays the second, and so on.

The "Alleluia" is omitted during Lent.

Hymn (Optional)Turning back to the Psalter, the listed hymn

begins:

BrightnessoftheFather'sglory...

Some one volume prayer books do not showthe hymn text, but include numbers reerringto the hymns listed in the back o your book. It

might also read 'Outside Ordinary Time, see Guide'and a page number. This reers to a seasonal list o hymns, so that you can select a hymn appropriateto the current season (or this example, you wouldchoose a hymn rom the Advent section).

The hymn is optional. It can be sung, chanted,read, substituted or omitted altogether. Sometimesthe hymn won't be listed directly, or optional oneswill be included. I you include the hymn, it isusually sung standing.

Psalmody Be seated or the psalmody, which consists o

a psalm, an Old Testament Canticle, and anotherpsalm along with their associated antiphons. Forthe First Monday o Advent the antiphon is:

Iliftupmyhearttoyou,OLord,andyouwill

hearmymorningprayer.

Go ahead and pray it now. Shorter prayerbooks may list alternative antiphons or special

Morning Prayer (Lauds) Tutorial



2

seasons immediately under the standard one. Forexample, Shorter Christian Prayer lists the ollow-ing antiphon or Easter directly under the stan-dard antiphon:

Allthosewholoveyournamewillrejoiceinyou.

Alleluia.

Psalmody

Ant.1 Iliftupmyhearttoyou,OLord,andyou

willhearmymorningprayer.

Psalm5:2-10,12-13

Amorningprayeraskingforhelp

Those who welcome the Word as the guest of their

hearts will have abiding joy.

Tomywordsgiveear,OLord,

giveheedtomygroaning.

Attendtothesoundofmycries,

...

There is text in italics beore the psalm. Donot say this aloud. Merely refect upon it or amoment. When the prayer is said (and not sung orchanted) some groups preer to pray the text inblack italics in place o the antiphon.

Then Psalm 5:2-10,12-13 is said, while seated.I praying with others, it is common to alternatethe praying o individual verses. Unless noted oth-erwise, the ollowing is recited ater every psalm

and canticle: GlorytotheFather,andtotheSon,andtotheHoly

Spirit:


Amen.

Many books will show an optional “psalm-prayer” immediately ollowing the psalm. However,this does not appear to be the intended order o LOTH. Rather, ater the Doxology (“Glory to theFather...”), repeat the antiphon or the rst psalma nal time, then pray the psalm-prayer.

Psalm-prayer

Lord,alljusticeandallgoodnesscomefrom

you;youhateevilandabhorlies.Leadus,your

servants,inthepathofyourjustice,sothatallwho

hopeinyoumayrejoicewiththeChurchandin

Christ.

Ant.1 Iliftupmyhearttoyou,OLord,andyou

willhearmymorningprayer.

Observe a brie period o refective silence.Repeat the above pattern two more times, withthe appropriate psalms and antiphons as ound inyour prayer book. Note that there is not a "psalm-prayer" ater the canticle.

Readings

During Ordinary Time you will generallyproceed straight through to the Scripture Read-ing. But because it is Advent (or the sake o thetutorial), it gets a little tricky. For the ScriptureReading we will turn to a dierent section in theprayer books to complete Morning Prayer:

Shorter Christian Prayer; p 362


One Volume Christian Prayer; p 47

Four Volume Liturgy o the Hours; p 153

The reading or the First Monday o Advent isIsaiah 2:3 (some will have Isaiah 2:3-4):

Morning Prayer

r eading isaiah 2:3

Come,letusclimbtheLord’smountain,

tothehouseofGodofJacob...

Allow a short time o silence ollowing thereading. A brie message or refection may evenbe prepared. Normally, a priest or deacon wouldpreach in such a situation, but in their absence, aprepared layperson may give a message.

Responsory (Optional)The Responsory is sometimes omitted or

adapted in private recitation. I you choose to saythe Responsory or are praying in a group, thensay:

r esPonsory

Yourlightwillcome,Jerusalem;theLordwill

dawnonyouinradiantbeauty. —Yourlightwillcome,Jerusalem;theLordwill

dawnonyouinradiantbeauty.

Youwillseehisglorywithinyou;

—TheLordwilldawnonyouinradiantbeauty.


Spirit.

—Yourlightwillcome,Jerusalem;theLordwill

dawnonyouinradiantbeauty.



OurFather,whoartinheaven...

The concluding "Amen" that you instinctivelywish to say is omitted.

Concluding PrayerThe concluding prayer ollows immediately

without any preatory words. While standing, say:

Prayer

LordourGod,

helpustoprepare

forthecomingofChristyourSon.

May he nd us waiting,

eagerinjoyfulprayer.



Spirit,oneGod,foreverandever.

Amen.

Sometimes alternative concluding prayers areprovided. Pray whichever one you wish.

In individual recitation or when prayed com-munally without any clergy present, MorningPrayer concludes by making the sign o the crosswhile praying:

MaytheLordblessus,

protectusfromallevil

andbringustoeverlastinglife.

—Amen.Make sure the ribbons get placed correctly or

your next prayers, and you are nished. The otherstep-by-step tutorial sections are or the ourvolume prayer book set. I you have a smaller edi-tion, make adaptations similar to those mentionedin this tutorial section.

In groups, either a leader or hal o the grouprecites one line, then the remainder say the linebeginning with the dash.

Canticle o Zechariah The antiphon or the canticle will be ound

right ater the Responsory. Stand, make the sign

o the cross, and recite the antiphon:

canticle oF Zechariah

AntLiftupyoureyes,Jerusalem,andseethegreat

powerofyourKing;yourSaviorcomestoset

youfree.

But where is the canticle, itsel? It's in theOrdinary. Hold this page with your nger and fipto the Ordinary. Look or the section on MorningPrayer and you will nd the Canticle o Zechariah.

Now pray the canticle ollowing the same orm asthe psalms.

Ater reciting the canticle, say:


Spirit:


Amen.

And then repeat the antiphon.

IntercessionsNow return to the Proper o the Seasons.

i ntercessions

ChristtheLord,SonofthelivingGod,lightfrom

light,leadsusintothelightandrevealshis

holiness. With condence let us make our prayer:

Come, Lord Jesus

Lightthatneverfades,dispelthemistsaboutus,

—awakenourfaithfromsleep.

Guardusfromallharmtoday,

— may your glory ll us with joy.

Giveusunfailinggentlenessatalltimes,

—towardeveryonewemeet.

Cometocreateanewearthforus,

—wheretherewillbejusticeandpeace.

The intercessions are also said while stand-ing ater the same pattern as the responsory, andlead directly into the Lord's Prayer, which may bepreceded by a brie invitation such as:

AndnowletusprayasChristtaughtus:



4

Daytime Prayer Order stand

+ “God, come to my assistance...”

Hymn*

sit







Scripture Reading and Responsory

stand Concluding Prayer



Daytime Prayer Tutorial

Daytime Prayer (also called Mid-Day Prayer) isprayed between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. The text isound only in the larger prayer volumes.

Daytime Prayer is ound, almost in its entirety,

in the Psalter (during special seasons, easts, me-morials or the like, the second hal o the prayer isin the Proper o the Seasons, the Proper o Saintsor the Common). Go ahead and turn to the Psalternow.


section Monday, Week I, Daytime Prayer in thePsalter o your prayer book. We will assume thatit is the First Monday o Advent. It will begin withthe words:

Daytime Prayer



Hymn,asintheOrdinary,658.

As beore, this is not the ull text. It servesonly as a reminder. The ull text is ound in theOrdinary. Turn there now, keeping a nger (or aribbon) on Monday, Week I, Daytime Prayer.

While standing, make the sign o the cross andpray:

Daytime Prayer




Spirit:


forever.

Amen.Alleluia.

I there are two or more o you praying to-gether, then one would pray the rst line, whilethe other prays the second, and so on.


Hymn (Optional)The Psalter reerred to the hymn in the

Ordinary. There are three sets to choose rom;midmorning, midday and midaternoon. Simply

choose the hymn most appropriate to your time o day.

The hymn is entirely optional. It can be sung,chanted, read, substituted or omitted altogether.I you include the hymn, it is usually sung stand-ing.

Psalmody

Psalmody

Antiphon,asintheProperofSeasons

Psalm19BPraiseofGodwhogaveusthelawoflove

You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is

perfect (Matthew5:48).

ThelawoftheLordisperfect,

itrevivesthesoul.

TheruleoftheLordistobetrusted,

itgiveswisdomtothesimple.

...

Be seated as you turn back to the Psalter or

the psalmody, which consists o three psalms.Note that the antiphon is missing. The red let-tering indicates that the antiphon is in the Propero Seasons. Turning to the Proper o Seasons, wend that the antiphon, like the hymn, variesdepending on the time o day; midmorning, mid-day or midaternoon. Let us assume it is midday,around noon. Go ahead and recite the antiphon:

Ant. TheangelGabrielsaidtoMaryingreeting:Hail,

fullofgrace,theLordiswithyou;blessedare

youamongwomen.

Notice the text in italics beore the psalm. Donot say this aloud. Merely refect upon it or amoment. When the prayer is said (and not sung orchanted) some groups preer to pray the text inblack italics in place o the antiphon.

Then Psalm 19B is said, while seated. I pray-ing with another, it is common to take turns read-ing/chanting individual verses.



6

o silence, recite the responsory — 'Remember us,Lord...' — then let your eyes ollow past the otherDaytime readings. Note the text at the end:

Prayer,asinMorningPrayer.

Concluding PrayerThe concluding prayer rom Morning Prayer is

one page back in the Proper o Seasons. Turn backto the prayer, stand, and without any preatorywords say:

Prayer

LordourGod,helpustoprepareforthecomingof

ChristyourSon.

May he nd us waiting, eager in joyful prayer.



Spirit,oneGod,foreverandever.Amen.

When prayed communally, Daytime Prayer con-cludes with:

LetuspraisetheLord.

—Andgivehimthanks.

I you now make sure your ribbons are placedwhere you let o (in the Proper, Ordinary andPsalter) then you will be able to resume prayereasily later.

Some individuals and groups pray multiple

daytime prayers on a single day. However, onlyone set o psalms and readings are provided ora given day. Groups that pray multiple daytimeprayers generally supplement the psalms andreadings by utilizing materials rom other daytimeprayers or Complimentary Psalmody.



Spirit:


Amen.

Some books will show a “psalm-prayer” im-

mediately ollowing the psalm. However, this doesnot appear to be the intended order o LOTH.Rather, ater the Doxology (“Glory to the Fa-ther...”), repeat the antiphon or the rst psalm anal time, then pray the psalm-prayer.

Psalm-prayer

Mayourwordsinpraiseofyourcommand-

ments nd favor with you, Lord. May our faith

provewearenotslaves,butsons,notsomuch

subjectedtoyourlawassharingyourpower.

Repeat the above pattern two more times, withthe appropriate psalms and antiphons as oundin your prayer book. Antiphon patterns vary ordierent seasons. In Advent, or example, thereappears one antiphon or the entire set o Day-time Prayer psalm readings. Some people chooseto recite this antiphon once at the beginning, andthen again only ater the conclusion o all o thepsalm readings. Others still recite the antiphonbetween each reading. Feel ree to proceed as youand your group desire.

Readings and Responsory Turn again to the Proper o the Seasons to

continue. The reading or the First Monday o Ad-vent, Midday, is Isaiah 10:24a, 27:

r eading isaiah 10:24a, 27

ThussaystheLord,theGodofhosts:

Omypeople,whodwellinZion,

donotfear.

Onthatday,

Theburdenshallbetakenfromyourshoulder, andtheyokeshatteredfromyourneck.

Rememberus,Lord,becauseoftheloveyouhave

foryourpeople.

—Comeandbringusyoursalvation.

Notice that the reading included a brie re-sponsory. Observe a short time o silence ollowingthe reading, beore the responsory. Ater the time



8

Evening Prayer Order stand


Hymn*

sit





Third Antiphon, New Testament Canticle and Doxology

Third Antiphon*

Scripture Reading

Silence* and Message*Responsory*

stand

+ Antiphon, Canticle of Mary and Doxology

Canticle Antiphon*

Intercessions

Our Father

Concluding Prayer and + Blessing



Evening Prayer is usually prayed between 4:00and 7:00 PM. It is ound, almost in its entirety, inthe Psalter (during special seasons, easts, memo-rials or the like, the second hal o the prayer isin the Proper o the Seasons, the Proper o Saintsor the Common). Go ahead and turn to the Psalternow.

I you have a condensed prayer book, see thetutorial or Morning Prayer or details specic toyour edition.


section Monday, Week I, Evening Prayer in thePsalter o your prayer book. We will assume that itis the First Monday o Advent. It begins with thewords:

Evening Prayer



This is not the ull text. It serves only as areminder. The ull text is ound in the Ordinary.Turn there now, keeping a nger (or a ribbon) onMonday, Week I, Evening Prayer. While standing,

make the sign o the cross and pray:

Evening Prayer




Spirit:


forever.Amen.

Alleluia.

I there are two or more o you praying to-gether, then one would pray the rst line, whilethe other prays the second, and so on.


Hymn (Optional)The listed hymn begins:

LordJesusChrist,abidewithus...

The hymn is entirely optional. It can be sung,chanted, read, substituted or omitted altogether.Sometimes the hymn won't be listed directly, oroptional ones will be included. I you include thehymn, it is usually sung standing.


two psalms and a New Testament Canticle alongwith their associated antiphons. For the First Mon-day o Advent, the antiphon is:

Psalmody

Ant.1 TheLordlookstenderlyonthosewhoare

poor.

Psalm11

Godistheunfailingsupportofthejust

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for jus-

tice; for they shall be satised (Matthew5:6)

IntheLordIhavetakenmyrefuge.

Howcanyousaytomysoul:

“Flylikeabirdtoitsmountain....

Go ahead and pray the antiphon now. Shorterprayer books may list alternative antiphons orspecial seasons immediately under the standard

one. For example, Shorter Christian Prayer lists theollowing antiphon or Easter directly under thestandard antiphon:

Havecourage;Ihaveovercometheworld.Alleluia.

Notice the text in italics beore the psalm. Donot say this aloud. Merely refect upon it or amoment. When the prayer is said (and not sung orchanted) some groups preer to pray the text inblack italics in place o the antiphon. Then Psalm11 is said, while seated. I praying with another, itis common to take turns reading/chanting indi-

vidual verses.It might not be listed in your book, but the

ollowing is recited ater every psalm and canticle:


Spirit:


Amen.

Some books will show a “psalm-prayer” im-mediately ollowing the psalm. However, this doesnot appear to be the intended order o LOTH.

Evening Prayer (Vespers) Tutorial



0

Rather, ater the Doxology (“Glory to the Fa-ther...”), repeat the antiphon or the rst psalm anal time, then pray the psalm-prayer.

Psalm-prayer

LordGod,yousearchtheheartsofall,boththe

goodandthewicked.Maythosewhoareindanger

for love of you nd security in you now, and, in thedayofjudgment,maytheyrejoiceinseeingyou

facetoface.

Ant.1 TheLordlookstenderlyonthosewhoare

poor.

Repeat the above pattern two more times,with the appropriate psalms and antiphons asound in your prayer book. Note that there is nota "psalm-prayer" ater the canticle.

ReadingsI you are using a larger volume, it probably

now instructs you to turn to the Proper o theSeasons to continue. In some books, a standardreading will ollow immediately. However, sincethis is Advent (or the sake o the tutorial), turnto the Proper o the Seasons, First Week o Ad-vent, Monday, Evening Prayer. (Shorter prayerbooks may have just a single week o readings orAdvent. I this is your situation, just use the oneor Monday.)

The reading or the First Monday o Advent isPhilippians 3:20-21:

Evening Prayer

r eading PhiliPPians 3:20b-21

WeeagerlyawaitthecomingofourSavior,the

LordJesusChrist....

Observe a short time o silence ollowing thereading. A short message or refection may even

be prepared. Normally, a priest or deacon wouldpreach in such a situation, but in their absence,laity may give a message.

Responsory (Optional)The Responsory is sometimes omitted in pri-

vate recitation. As with other similarly structuredprayers, this can be prayed antiphonally.

r esPonsory

Comeandsetusfree,LordGodofpowerand

might.

—Comeandsetusfree,LordGodofpowerand

might.

Letyourfaceshineuponusandweshallbesaved,

—LordGodofpowerandmight.GlorytotheFather,andtotheSon,andtotheHoly

Spirit.

—Comeandsetusfree,LordGodofpowerand

might.

Canticle o Mary The antiphon or the canticle is ound right

ater the Responsory. Stand and pray it now whilemaking the sign o the cross.

canticle oF mary

AntTheangeloftheLordbroughtGod'smessage

toMary,andsheconceivedbythepowerof

theHolySpirit,alleluia.

But where is the canticle? It's in the Ordinary.

Mark this page with your nger and fip to theOrdinary. Look or Evening Prayer and you shouldsoon nd the Canticle o Mary. Stand, make thesign o the cross, recite the antiphon, the re-

cite the canticle, ollowing the same orm as thepsalms.



Spirit:


Amen.

And then repeat the antiphon and return tothe Proper o the Seasons to continue with theIntercessions.



2

Night Prayer Order stand


Examination of Conscience

Hymn*

sit


First Antiphon*


Second Antiphon*

Scripture Reading

Silence*

Responsory* stand

+ Antiphon, Canticle of Simeon and Doxology

Canticle Antiphon*

Prayer

Conclusion

Antiphon in Honor of the Blessed Virgin



Night Prayer is prayed shortly beore bedtime.It has only a one-week cycle, and is its own sec-tion near the middle o most books. Go ahead andturn to Night Prayer now.

Introductory PrayersAssuming that it is the First Monday o Ad-

vent, nd the Night Prayer or Monday. The rstthing we are instructed to do is to turn to theOrdinary, where we see that Night Prayer beginswith:

Night Prayer




Spirit:


forever.Amen.

Alleluia.

I there are two or more o you praying to-gether, then one would pray the rst line, whilethe other prays the second, and so on. Theseintroductory prayers are prayed while standing.


Examination o ConscienceTake a moment to think back through the day

and recall those areas where you ailed to loveothers as Christ has loved us. Oer these to God,seeking his orgiveness.

In communal prayer, some will also use thepenitential prayer rom the Mass ('Lord havemercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy').

Hymn (Optional)The Ordinary instructs us to turn to a dierent

part o the Psalter to nd the hymn. This is actu-ally a collection o hymns. Feel ree to select oneyou like.

The hymn is entirely optional. It can be sung,chanted, read, substituted or omitted altogether.Sometimes the hymn won't be listed directly, oroptional ones will be included. I you include thehymn, it is usually sung standing.


one or two psalms with their associated antiphons.In this case the antiphon is:

Ant. OLord,ourGod,unweariedisyourloveforus.

Go ahead and pray the antiphon.

Psalmody

Ant. OLord,ourGod,unweariedisyourlove

forus.

Psalm86

Poorman’sprayerintrouble

Blessed be God who comforts us in all our trials (2

Corinthians1:3,4).

Turnyourear,OLord,andgiveanswer forIampoorandneedy.

Preservemylife,forIamfaithful:

savetheservantwhotrustsinyou....

Notice the italic text beore the psalm. Do notsay this aloud. Merely refect upon it or a mo-ment. When the prayer is said (and not sung orchanted) some groups preer to pray the text inblack italics in place o the antiphon.

Then Psalm 5:2-10,12-13 is said while seated.I praying with another, it is common to taketurns reading/chanting individual verses.



Spirit:


Amen.

Repeat the antiphon or the rst psalm a naltime.

Night Prayer (Compline) Tutorial



4

Readings

The reading or the Monday is 1 Thessalonians5:9-10:

r eading 1 thessalonians 5:9-10

Godhasdestinedusforacquiringsalvation

throughourLordJesusChrist.Hediedforus,that

allofus,whetherawakeorasleep,togethermight

livewithhim.

It is not uncommon to have a short time o silence ollowing the reading.

Responsory (optional)In individual recitation, people oten say only

the rst line o each couplet rom the responsory.Feel ree to pray it as is appropriate to your group:

r esPonsory

Intoyourhands,Lord,Icommendmyspirit.

—Intoyourhands,Lord,Icommendmyspirit.

Youhaveredeemedus,LordGodoftruth.

—Icommendmyspirit.

GlorytotheFather,totheSon,andtotheHoly

Spirit.

—Intoyourhands,Lord,Icommendmyspirit.

Canticle o Simeon (GospelCanticle)

The antiphon or the canticle will be oundright ater the Responsory. Stand, make the signo the cross and say:

Ant. Protectus,Lord,aswestayawake;watchover

usaswesleep,thatawake,wemaykeepwatch

withChrist,andasleep,restinhispeace.

Then pray the canticle:

gosPel canticle luke 2:29-32

ChrististhelightofthenationsandthegloryofIsrael

Lord,nowyouletyourservantgoinpeace;

your word has been fullled:

myowneyeshaveseenthesalvationwhichyou

havepreparedinthesightofeverypeople:

alighttorevealyoutothenations

andthegloryofyourpeopleIsrael.



Spirit:


Amen.

And then repeat the antiphon.

Concluding PrayersThe concluding prayer ollows immediately

without any preatory words. While standing, say:

Lord,

giveourbodiesrestfulsleep

andlettheworkwehavedonetoday

bearfruitineternallife.

WeaskthisthroughChristourLord.

—Amen.

... and then ...

Maytheall-powerfulLordgrantusarestfulnightanda

peacefuldeath.

—Amen.

Antiphon in Honor o the BlessedVirgin

The last part o Night Prayer is a brie an-tiphon in honor o Mary. Whether you are ollow-ing rom the Ordinary or rom the Night Prayersection, it will usually direct you to another pagethat has a list o short prayers.

Choose rom any o those provided in yourprayer book. They are read, chanted, and some-times sung.



35

Seasons, Memorials, Feasts and Solemnities

The easiest way to become amiliar with theLiturgy o the Hours is to simply pray the prayersstraight through as ound in the Psalter. This ishow the prayers are usually prayed during the'Ordinary Time' o the year. It requires little or

no page fipping and is not dicult to ollow. Weencourage you to become amiliar with the generalorder o prayer through practice beore attemptingto integrate the complete calendar.

In the Church's calendar there are seasons inaddition to Ordinary Time: Advent, Christmas, Lentand Easter. There are also specic celebrations o historical events and individuals recognized onparticular days. The purpose o these seasons anddays is to remind us throughout the entire year o Christ's lie, death and resurrection, and to call to

mind particular people and events that best exem-pliy his transorming grace.

Feast Days, or Holy Days, are days which arecelebrated in commemoration o the sacred mys-teries and events recorded in the history o ourredemption, in memory o the Virgin Mother o Christ, or o His apostles, martyrs, and saints, byspecial services and rest rom work. A east notonly commemorates an event or person, but alsoserves to excite the spiritual lie by reminding us o the event it commemorates. At certain hours JesusChrist invites us to His vineyard (Matt., xx, 1-15);

He is born in our hearts at Christmas ; on GoodFriday we nail ourselves to the cross with Him; atEaster we rise rom the tomb o sin; and at Pente-cost we receive the gits o the Holy Ghost. Everyreligion has its easts, but none has such a rich and

judiciously constructed system o estive seasonsas the Catholic Church. The succession o theseseasons orm the ecclesiastical year, in which theeasts o Our Lord orm the ground and ramework,the easts o the Blessed Virgin and the Saints theornamental tracery. (New Catholic Encyclopedia)

These particular celebrations are collectivelycalled easts or east days, and are categorized interms o their centrality to the aith and, well,'pomp' rom least to greatest as memorials, eastsor solemnities (there are additional divisions andcategorizations, but or the sake o simplicity wewill leave it at this). Though even the smallestprayer books have a ew alternative prayers andantiphons or special seasons, Sundays and solem-nities, only the larger prayer books have compre-hensive prayers or specic memorials, easts and

solemnities. The prayers and readings during thesespecial seasons and days are adjusted to relate tothe celebration and help us to meditate upon it.

There are three questions in regard to ollow-ing the calendar; knowing which seasonal or eastday it is, nding the prayers or the day in ques-tion, and what to do when multiple easts all onthe same day.

An Example

Let us assume it is January 31, 2004, and wewould like to pray Morning Prayer. I we are notaware that January 31 is a memorial day (or wedon't have a prayer book that includes memori-als, anyway), we might just pray the prayers orSaturday o the third week o Ordinary Time. By

checking a Church calendar, the Proper o theSaints, or the little help calendar provided at ourweb site we see that January 31 is the memorial o John Bosco. So how does this memorial aect ourprayers or this day?

Prior to beginning our prayers, page throughthe prayers in the Proper o the Saints or January31. There is a short introduction to John Bosco,and then some text that reads (rom the our-vol-ume set):

Fromthecommonofpastors,1728,orofholymen:

teachers,1871.

Following the above text is a supplementary(replacement, actually) second reading or the O-ce o Readings.

In general, any prayer elements specifc to a

east day replace the same elements in the stan-dard prayer. Antiphons replace antiphons, readingsreplace readings, intercessions replace interces-sions, etc. This all means that instead o prayingthe standard prayers ound in the Psalter, we arebeing directed to substitute some dierent prayers

or this particular day, and are being provided aspecial second reading should we choose to praythe Oce o Readings.

We could use either set o recommendedprayers — the Common o Pastors or Common o Holy Men, Teachers — but not both. I we turnto 1728, we then skip orward several pages untilwe come to Morning Prayer where we nd an ab-breviated entry that includes a hymn, antiphons



36

and other partial elements o Morning Prayer.These are substitutionary elements to the standardMorning Prayer or the day. So we pray rom thePsalter or Saturday o Ordinary Time, Week 3 aswe normally would, but we substitute dierentantiphons and other elements rom the Common o Pastors.

Had we arbitrarily decided to turn to 1871,'For Teachers,' we would nd only a substitutionor the antiphon to the Gospel Canticle and aconcluding prayer in the Morning Prayer entry.Otherwise, everything remains the same as theregular prayer or the day.

I you examine the prayers or a east orsolemnity, you will nd a similar pattern, but usu-ally with more substitutionary text.

Solemnities are Special

Solemnities require more orethought thaneasts and memorials. Solemnities actually beginon the evening prior to the date or the solemnity,itsel — on the vigil. Let's review the Solemnity o Peter and Paul, Apostles, which alls on June 29.

Turning to June 29 in the Proper o the Saints,the rst prayer listed is Evening Prayer I. Justlike a Sunday, the Evening Prayer I is EveningPrayer or the night beore the day in question.So observance o the Solemnity o Peter and Paul,Apostles, actually begins on the evening o June

28. I you waited until June 29 to gure this out,you were late to the party!

Like our previous example with the memorialo John Bosco, the Proper o the Saints provideselements that substitute or the antiphons andother portions o the standard prayers beginningwith Evening Prayer or June 28, and proceedingthrough the Evening Prayer or June 29.

But wait... there's more....Solemnities (and a ew other celebrations)

can sneak up on you not only by beginning theirobservance earlier than you might have suspected,but also in that they don't always all on the sameday. For example, let's look to the Solemnity o Corpus Christi, which is on June 10 o 2004. I youlook or this in the Proper o the Saints, you won'tnd it. There is no entry or June 10. The reasonor this is that some celebrations are set not orthe same date each year, but or a day in relationto another key date like Easter or Christmas (also,

this is a ''seasonal' solemnity, not a solemnity or asaint). These date-relative celebrations are usuallyound near the end o the Proper o the Seasons,not in the Proper o the Saints.

This can make it all a little conusing attimes, but an easy solution is to consult a liturgi-cal calendar prior to beginning your prayers or

any given day, looking not only at the prayers ortoday, but checking to see i tomorrow is a solem-nity.

Solemnities are not merely days to observewhen praying the Liturgy o the Hours, but theyare also usually Holy Days o Obligation, so besure to get to Mass! (In some cases a diocese ornational conerence suppresses them or movestheir observance to the nearest Sunday. Checkwith your local parish or diocese or inormationspecic to your area.)

Solemnities and Smaller Prayer Books

Smaller prayer books contain sections withalternative antiphons, readings, etc., not only orspecial seasons and particular solemnities, but alsoor Sundays in Ordinary Time. So during specialseasons, solemnities, Sundays (and even someeasts), look to the supplemental sections o yourprayer books or alternative prayer elements.

Do I have to do all o this? Thankully, no. Remember, laity are encour-

aged to pray part o the Liturgy o the Hours oran adaptation thereo. You local priest is stronglyencouraged to make at least Evening Prayer pub-licly available once a week at the parish, whichis a useul indicator o the Church's expectationsregarding lay participation. Sometimes we willdraw some satisaction rom praying it ully or 'ac-curately,' but most laity do not nd themselves ina state o lie that allows or one or two hours o

prayer each day.Dierent religious orders, dioceses and nation-

al conerences have dierent regulations regard-ing the observance o particular easts and whichprayers are required to be prayed, when. Someare quite rigorous. In general, permanent deaconsand some in religious orders are obligated to prayMorning and Evening prayer daily. Priests, bishops,and most religious orders vow to pray all o thedaily prayers in their entirety. Some orders even



37

pray additional prayers that were removed romthe daily schedule or historical reasons. Thosewho are obligated to pray the Hours are to do soproperly, ollowing the calendar o seasons andeasts.

When Feasts Collide...

I you wish to accurately ollow the calendaro easts (and have a book with the appropriatesections to do so), the rules are detailed in theGeneral Instruction. In summary, i there is noeast or a particular day, then you just pray theregular prayers or the day. I there is an optionalmemorial on the day, then you choose betweenthe regular prayers and the optional memorial. I there is a regular memorial, east or solemnity,then you pray the associated prayers. Most cal-endars use capitalization to indicate the kind o

east day:• SOLEMNITY (all capitals)

• Feast (small capitals)

• Memorial (regular text)

• Optional Memorial (italics)

Sometimes multiple easts will all on the sameday. See the 'Table o Liturgical Days' in the Gen-eral Instruction or the specics on which celebra-tions take precedence when multiple ones all onthe same day. Though there are some exceptions,

in general the order o precedence is:1. Major seasonal liturgical days and solem-

nities like Easter Triduum and Octave o Easter, Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension,Pentecost, Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, etc.

2. Other solemnities including Sundays

3. Feasts

4. Obligatory memorials

5. 'Standard' readings or optional memorials, i desired

I multiple celebrations all on the same day,you simply pick the highest rom the list. Sup-pose, or example, that it is January 4, 2004.Several available prayers intersect on this day;Epiphany (a solemnity and liturgical day), Sunday(always a solemnity) in Christmas season, and theobligatory memorial o Elizabeth Ann Seton (inthe Americas), or even just the general prayers orweek II o the Psalter. I you have the our-vol-ume set, prayers are available therein to observe

any o these celebrations. Which one would youcelebrate?

According to the above table, Epiphanytakes precedence over the other celebrations, soyou would look to the Proper o the Seasons orEpiphany, and ollow the prayers ound therein.

Our calendar includes inormation on eastdays that all on Sunday and on days with greatereasts or inormative purposes only. Some cal-endars purposeully and rightly omit east andmemorials rom the calendar when they all ona Sunday or on the same day on which a greatereast is observed. This is because we are to observeonly one east on a given day, the most solemnone o the day in question. Obviously, the Lord'sDay always takes precedence over easts and me-morials (and most other solemnities). Thereore,on Sundays we will almost always be praying the

prayers or that Sunday, not the prayers or a eastor memorial that happened to all on Sunday. Andon days with multiple easts we pray the mostimportant east or that day. In outline orm, weollow this pattern when preparing to pray:

1. Determine the current season and anyspecial east that should be observed today(including 'Sunday' observances). We useour own little calendar or this. You canalso use the calendars provided by manyparishes.

2. See i your prayer book has special materi-als or today's celebration, i any. All o theprayer books have supplementary sectionsor the seasons o Advent/Christmas, Lentand Easter; also Sundays o Ordinary Time,and major solemnities. Some include a eweasts. The our volume edition includesoptional and obligatory memorials. Thechanges may be as small as a dierentantiphon or the Gospel Canticle or a di-erent concluding prayer, or as complete asa nearly total replacement o the standardreadings (or anything in between).

3. Begin the prayer, incorporating the specialamendments due to the season or east. I there is no special season or east, or ourprayer book does not include the relevantinormation (or we just can't nd it at themoment), then we just pray the standardprayers or the day.



38



39

Hymns, Singing and Chant

HymnsEach prayer includes a hymn near the begin-

ning. Some have several rom which to choose. Inthe 4-volume set, the hymn text is included with

the prayer text. In other versions, hymn numbersare included that reer a hymn section near theback o the book. Christian Prayer (the large, onevolume edition) includes a melody line with thehymn verses, useul to those who can sight readmusic. Other editions have only the text or thehymns, useul to those who already know themelodies.

I you wish to sing the hymns — especiallyi you would like to play organ or piano with thehymns — we recommend a supplementary book.

Hymnal or the Hours (GIA Publications) includescomplete music or the English hymns ound inthe Liturgy o the Hours. It also includes tonesor common psalms and antiphons. Hymns can belooked up by rst line or common titles; compos-ers, authors and sources; even by metric numberin the hymnal.

(Following is a transcript of the audio CD included

with this booklet. You are encouraged to follow along

here while listening to the CD. If you downloaded

the electronic version of the booklet, you will need to

purchase the CD to hear the sample chants. The audio le

is too large at 30MB to make available electronically.)

Singing and Chant As is the case with many prayers, the Lit-

urgy o the Hours — and the Psalms in particular— are intended to be sung. The exact method o singing prayers varies with time, place, ability,culture and context. A method o singing prayercommon to the Catholic Church is chant (alsoknown as plainchant or plainsong). Like almostany genre o music, chant can be as dicult oreasy as one chooses, and there are many dierent

styles, but we’re going to keep it simple; you don’tneed to be able to read music, play an instru-ment, or even sing well to participate in and enjoychant.

We are maintaining this level o simplicity orseveral reasons. First, or some reason that escapesus, the editors o almost all English publicationso the Liturgy o the Hours omitted any notationmarks that might help someone learn to chant

the Psalms. Most people cannot sight-read modernmusic notation, are not amiliar with chant, anddo not have voice training (the author included).Consequently, simplicity is not only good, but it isa necessity.

The good news is that sung prayer can helpa person worship in ways not always accessibleby spoken prayer alone. But many people eel alittle uncomortable, sel-conscious or perhapsembarrassed about singing. Though we hope youwill try chanting the prayers or awhile, i ater aweek or so you nd it continues to distract yourom the prayers, go back to reading them. It maybe that chant just isn’t right or you, or perhapsthe time and place make it inconvenient. It is alsopossible that a more comprehensive introduction

to chant would make it more interesting. I youseek additional chanting examples and orma-tion, we recommend Liber Usualis, reprinted by St.Bonaventure Publications. The Adoremus Hymnal,published by Ignatius Press, also has some helpulexamples o chant, but both it and Liber Usualis assume a signicant mastery o music, includingthe ability to read plainchant and modern musicnotation.

In our commitment to simplicity we will teachby hearing and doing, rather than by reading.

We are also going to avoid the decorative andbeautiul but dicult additional notes o 'ull-on'Gregorian chant.

Why Chant at All? As is oten the case, the Church and her saints

have already answered this question better thanthe author can, so let us reer to an excerpt romthe Preace to the Vatican Edition o Roman Chant:

Holy Mother the Church has received rom Godthe charge o training the souls o the aithul inall holiness, and or this noble end has ever madea happy use o the help o the sacred Liturgy.Wherein — in order that men’s minds may not besundered by dierences, but that, on the contrary,the unity which gives vigour and beauty to themystical body o Christ might fourish unimpaired— she has been zealous to keep the traditions o our oreathers, ever trying diligently to discoverand boldly to restore any which might have beenorgotten in the course o the ages.



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Notice that it was chanted at nearly the samespeed as the spoken version, without imposing abeat upon it. Try it with me:


giveheedtomygroaning....

The exact pitch is not important as long asyou can stay airly level, and almost anyone canwith little practice and eort. I you are prayingwith others, it also needs to be in a range thatthe others can match; not too high or too low.Extremes can make the prayer eel (and sound)strained and unpleasant. Pick your normal talkingvoice, and go up a little.

It is common to chant more slowly than thesame words would be spoken, especially the nalword in a sentence, but don’t chant more quicklythan you would speak the same words to a group(and this is usually about hal the speed at which

we read silently). I praying with others, you mayhave to slow down a little more so that everyonecan stay together, but not too much. Some peopleslow way down when singing and chanting; don'tdo that in group prayer. It is okay or private reci-tation, but in groups it turns the prayers into a bito a marathon grind.

Breathe as necessary. For our purposes, theexact point at which you inhale is not very impor-tant and will come naturally, usually at the end o a line or ater a punctuation.

The next step is to add a change in pitch onthe second line:



Go ahead and try it:



Most Psalms in LOTH are arranged into ourline verses, but this isn’t always the case. Somehave one, two, three, ve or even six lines. We’ll

cover how to handle these variations later, but ornow, let’s look at how to chant a complete verse.Just repeat the same tone pattern.




myKingandmyGod.

In conversational English, thoughts are gener-ally concluded with a slight drop in pitch. It is

Now among those things which most nearlytouch the sacred Liturgy, being as it were inter-woven therein and giving it splendour and im-pressiveness, the rst place must be assigned tothe Sacred Chant. We have, indeed, all learnt romexperience that it gives a certain breadth to divineworship and uplits the mind in wondrous wise toheavenly things. Whereore the Church has never

ceased to recommend the use o the Chant, and hasstriven with the greatest assiduity and diligence toprevent its decline rom its pristine dignity.

To this end liturgical music must possess thosecharacteristics which make it preeminently sacredand adapted to the good o souls. It must surelyemphasize above all else the dignity o divineworship, and at the same time be able to expresspleasantly and truly the sentiments o the chris-tian soul. It must also be catholic, answering tothe needs o every people, country and age, andcombine simplicity with artistic perection....

I anyone is now eeling a little shortchangedby the quality o the music at his parish, hereis your chance to benet rom the Church’s richmusical heritage in your private prayer lie. Whoknows, maybe your parish’s music group wouldlike to learn, too.

Introducing Psalm onesIn modern music we are used to a beat, tempo

or rhythm. We break and stretch words and syl-lables so that they t a metered orm, and usu-

ally some kind o rhyming pattern. Consider thechildren’s song, “Mary had a Little Lamb.” Eachsyllable is broken so that it alls on a beat:

Ma-ryhadalit-tlelamb....

In chant, the rhythm is the words, themselves.It isn’t a regular, clock-like beat as much as anorganic movement, like waves on a shore. Simplechant, like that we will practice, is almost iden-tical to speaking except that one speaks the wordsat a constant pitch. For our main example, turnto the rst Psalm or Week I, Monday, Morning

Prayer: Tomywordsgiveear,OLord,


Without any eort, one can chant these samewords at a particular pitch:





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similar in chant. Conclude the verse by droppingdown in pitch on the nal word, “God.”




myKingandmyGod.

Now let’s go through the entire Psalm to-

gether: Tomywordsgiveear,OLord,



myKingandmyGod.

ItisyouwhomIinvoke,OLord.

Inthemorningyouhearme;

inthemorningIofferyoumyprayer,

watchingandwaiting.

YouarenoGodwholovesevil;

nosinnerisyourguest.

Theboastfulshallnotstandtheirground

beforeyourface.

Youhateallwhodoevil:

youdestroyallwholie.

Thedeceitfulandbloodthirstyman

theLorddetests.

ButIthroughthegreatnessofyourlove

haveaccesstoyourhouse.

Ibowdownbeforeyourholytemple,

lled with awe.

Leadme,Lord,inyourjustice,

becauseofthosewholieinwait;

makeclearyourwaybeforeme. Notruthcanbefoundintheirmouths,

theirheartisallmischief,

theirthroatawide-opengrave,

allhoneytheirspeech.

Allthoseyouprotectshallbeglad

andringouttheirjoy.

Youshelterthem;inyoutheyrejoice,

thosewholoveyourname.

Itisyouwhoblessthejustman,Lord:

yousurroundhimwithfavoraswithashield.

Notice how we handled the verse with onlythree lines.

Leadme,Lord,inyourjustice,

becauseofthosewholieinwait;

makeclearyourwaybeforeme.

Any verse with an odd number o lines can behandled in the same way. Just use the same pitchon the last line as on the next to last.

Antiphons

The antiphon is, among other things, theopportunity to announce the tone or the entirePsalm. In this example, we could have chanted theantiphon as:

Iliftupmyhearttoyou,OLord,andyouwillhear

mymorningprayer.

I chanting with others, a common way to pro-ceed is or a single person to chant the antiphon,which the group repeats. He then chants the rstverse o the psalm. The group copies the tone orthe second verse. They alternate verses. This isnot the only way to proceed — other methods arementioned earlier in the tutorial — but merely asuggestion or when the group is rst learning tochant.

Example 2: Canticle

Incorporating some o the above points, let’schant together the Canticle or Week I, Monday,Morning Prayer.

(ant )Wepraiseyourgloriousname,OLord,ourGod.

(repeated )Wepraiseyourgloriousname,OLord,our

God.

Blessedmayyoube,OLord,

GodofIsraelourfather,

frometernitytoeternity.

Yours,OLord,aregrandeurandpower,

majesty,splendorandglory.

Forallinheavenandonearthisyours;

yours,OLord,isthesovereignty:

youareexaltedasheadoverall.

Richesandhonorarefromyou,

andyouhavedominionoverall.

Inyourhandarepowerandmight;

itisyourstogivegrandeurandstrengthtoall.

Therefore,ourGod,wegiveyouthanks

andwepraisethemajestyofyourname.

(ant )Wepraiseyourgloriousname,OLord,ourGod

Common Variations

O

Rather than praying an entire line on one tonethen the second line on a dierent tone, it can benice to adjust the tone to the new pitch on thelast word o the rst line. This is more dicult toexplain than it is to demonstrate. Instead o:



42



try:



As another tone variation to single words, itis common to have the rst word/syllable or twostart one or two steps below the tone or the line.For example:



E

Instead o alternating the tone on each line oreach pair o lines, you can extend a tone across anentire verse. For example, instead o chanting:



you could extend the tone rom the rst lineover both lines:



P

As you have certainly guessed by now, thesimple tone pattern we’ve been using is onlyone o the thousands o possibilities. There is noreason that you could not try dierent tonal pat-terns. Sticking with the same tone day in and day

out can become tiresome (or 'monotonous'); somevariation can improve attentiveness while praying.

In Gregorian Chant there are eight standardmodes. A chant's 'mode' is similar to our use o 'key' in modern music. Where we might say 'thekey o E minor' or 'the key o G', in chant onereers to 'tone 1,' 'Murray tone 3,' or the like.

A conusing point is that 'tone' can reer notonly to the key in which something is sung orchanted, but to the particular melody. In modernuse, we use these two terms quite distinctly, but

not so in general chanting.

Due to their complexity it is highly unlikelythat you will be able to chant all o these modesand tones with others in a small prayer groupwithout extensive preparation and practice.However, nothing would prevent you rom prayingthese or similar modes in private:

Mode1:OGod,giveyourjudgmenttotheking,

toaking’ssonyourjustice,

thathemayjudgeyourpeopleinjustice

andyourpoorinrightjudgment.

Mode2:Maythemountainsbringforthpeaceforthe

peopleandthehills,justice.

Mayhedefendthepoorofthepeople

andsavethechildrenoftheneedy

andcrushtheoppressor.

Mode3:Heshallendurelikethesunandthemoon

fromagetoage.

Heshalldescendlikerainonthemeadow,

likeraindropsontheearth.

Mode 4: In his days justice shall ourish

andpeacetillthemoonfails.

Heshallrulefromseatosea,

fromtheGreatRivertoearth’sbounds.

Mode5:Beforehimhisenemiesshallfall,

hisfoeslickthedust.

ThekingsofTarshishandtheseacoasts shallpayhimtribute.

Mode6:ThekingsofShebaandSeba

shallbringhimgifts.

Beforehimallkingsshallfallprostrate,

allnationsshallservehim.

Mode7:Forheshallsavethepoorwhentheycry

andtheneedywhoarehelpless.

Hewillhavepityontheweak

andsavethelivesofthepoor.

Mode8:Fromtheoppressionhewillrescuetheirlives,

tohimtheirbloodisdear.

Longmayhelive, maythegoldofShebabegivenhim.

Theyshallprayforhimwithoutceasing

andblesshimalltheday.

Example 3: Psalm 29 rom Week I, Monday, Morning Prayer

Now, using a simple tone, we will incorporatesome o the variations rom above. We do notintend that you start chanting at this level o complexity. Though this will hardly be dicult

or someone with musical training, or those o us who do not have such training, it might seemdistracting and rustrating. Remember, the key isto actually pray . Find the “level” o chanting thathelps you pray most sincerely. This will vary romperson to person and time to time. A nice thingabout chant is that, in groups, some people can bechanting more complicated tone patterns aroundthe simple ones, and it can sound quite beautiul.



43

(ant )AdoretheLordinhisholycourt.

(repeat when praying with others)

OgivetheLord,yousonsofGod,

givetheLordgloryandpower;

givetheLordthegloryofhisname.

AdoretheLordinhisholycourt.

TheLord’svoiceresoundingonthewaters,

theLordontheimmensityofthewaters; thevoiceoftheLord,fullofpower,

thevoiceoftheLord,fullofsplendor.

TheLord’svoiceshatteringthecedars,

theLordshattersthecedarsofLebanon;

hemakesLebanonleaplikeacalf

andSirionlikeayoungwild-ox.

The Lord’s voice ashes ames of re.

TheLord’svoiceshakingthewilderness,

theLordshakesthewildernessofKadesh;

theLord’svoicerendingtheoaktree

andstrippingtheforestbare.

TheGodofglorythunders.

Inhistempletheyallcry:“Glory!”

The Lord sat enthroned over the ood;

theLordsitsaskingforever.

TheLordwillgivestrengthtohispeople,

theLordwillblesshispeoplewithpeace.

(ant )AdoretheLordinhisholycourt.

Canticles

The Canticles o Zechariah and Mary are alsolikely to be sung or chanted. Most psalm tones are

suitable to either, but it is common to have tonesspecic to the Canticles.

(The CD contains examples.)

Incorporating Musical InstrumentsHistorically, the organ is the instrument most

likely to complement chant. In modern, “casual”prayer guitar and piano accompaniment are notuncommon, especially as the organ has allen intorelative disuse. An instrument can help peoplestay on key, but there are a ew complications.

First, shiting to and rom an instrument dur-ing the prayer can be distracting and disrupt thenatural rhythm o the prayer. A modern-trainedmusician oten attempts to impose a meter uponthe chant that is not naturally there. There isa dierence between playing, perorming andpraying; even a very skilled musician can be adistraction to prayer i he plays in a way thatdetracts rom the prayer rather than leads peopleto deeper prayer. Finally, we are accustomed to

hearing music in pretty basic modes — major andminor. Most classic psalm tones do not exactly tthese modes, and attempting to impose a musicalkey onto them — usually in the orm o major orminor chords — can distort chant’s unique nature.

I you wish to incorporate musical instru-ments, one might do so on special easts, or or

particular parts o the prayer.

Liturgical Integration As you might have guessed, the context

within which chant is natural (and intended) isthe Mass. Indeed, the Second Vatican Council andsubsequent documents on music and the reorm o the Mass continue to hold orth chant as the pre-erred method o sung prayer, though not to theexclusion o other styles. Strangely, most Englishspeaking parishes seem to have incorporated other

music to the exclusion o traditional chant.The obvious point at which to implement

chant is the responsorial psalm ater the rstreading. However, one must be careul not to jux-tapose non-complementary styles o music in theMass, especially one right ater the other. Con-sequently, one is encouraged to select the musicor other Mass parts such that they and chant areable to “harmonize.” In the many instances wheremultiple Masses are oered over a weekend, it iscommon to have each Mass have a signicantly

dierent musical style, such that people o allwalks o lie are welcomed and assisted in theirprayer and worship eorts.

In any event, i you are a music leader whowishes to incorporate chant in the Mass, we rec-ommend that you do so very gradually and withsensitivity to the needs, abilities and comort o the congregants.

Keep it simple.

Praying Perectly

Please remember this: It is important that youpray perectly, not sing, chant, or perorm perect-ly. This is a vital distinction. Contrary to popularbelie, your “perection” is not to do all thingswithout error, but to become ully who you aremeant to be, or to engage in something as ullyas you are able. To pray perectly, then, does notmean that you do so with precision, dead-on pitchand exact articulation, but in such a way that ittruly involves your entire sel, oering your heart,



44

mind and body to God. Singing and chantingprayer is but one way to move towards this goal.



45

Praying in Latin just liked their novel prayers better is anyone'sguess. Whatever the reason, I believe that Christguides the Church, and that it is best or mysoul to try to understand the aith as the Churchunderstands, practices and teaches it. For this andother reasons I have undertaken the task in myown lie to attempt to learn some Latin so that I

can plunge deeper into Christ's teachings as theycome to us through the Church.

However, while many o Church's prayers ndtheir origins in Latin, many do not. Learning theChurch's prayers that are originally or tradition-ally in Latin serves a useul purpose. But I'm notcertain that much is served in learning to read theScriptures in Latin (unless one is doing so simplyto learn Latin), when the Latin version is, itsel, atranslation rom other languages. I am more likelyto inject misunderstandings in such a case, given

my own lack o expertise in Latin, than i I readsomething that was translated directly rom Greek,Hebrew or Aramaic into English. For example, I tryto pray the shorter prayers and canticles in Latin,and the longer Scripture passages and readings inEnglish.

Pronunciation There are two general modern approaches to

Latin pronunciation; classical and ecclesial. Theyare similar, but ecclesial Latin is more sot andcomplex. For a thorough understanding o pro-

nunciation (and grammar), Wheelock's Latin is thestandard reerence. There are also good audio CDsavailable.

That being said, the pronunciation is not agreat deal dierent rom English, but with thesepoints or ecclesial Latin (rom Liber Usualis):

Most syllables begin with consonants and endwith vowels. There are exceptions o course,most notably words that begin with vowelsor end with consonants.

Most vowels are close to their short counter-parts in English. There are no silent vowels,but there are complex vowel combinations(see Wheelock's or details o classical pro-nunciation).

A as in the ather, not can.

E as in red, men or met.

I as in eet. Same or Y.

O as in or.

The Church encourages us to learn and prayits traditional prayers in Latin. When read, spokenand understood in their original languages, theseprayers bring new insights into the aith. The veryshort, concluding prayer rom Night Prayer is an

excellent (and mostly harmless) example:

In the American English edition: "May theall-powerul Lord grant us a restul night and apeaceul death. Amen."

In Latin: Noctem quietam et fnem perectum

concedat nobis Dominus omnipotens. Amen.

This prayer is oered just beore entering bedby those who pray Compline. The rst thing torecognize is that the English is supposed to bea translation/adaptation o the original Latin,

which is the language in which almost all authori-tative or "source" texts are written or the WesternChurch. The second thing to notice — i you knowor can even guess at any Latin — is that the Eng-lish translation is considerably lacking in meaningexplicit or implied in the Latin source. A rough,literal transliteration o the Latin would read closeto: "A night o quiet peace and an end in perec-tion (or a 'perect end') grant us, Lord almighty.So be it."

The Latin word perectum does not meanpeaceul, but this is how the editors have trans-lated it or prayer in English speaking countries.Rather, it indicates a sense that one's lie hadled to its proper ullment, its genuine 'end' orpurpose. This meaning is entirely absent in theEnglish translation. I you were attempting to sim-pliy it so that it could be understood by children,perhaps this would be the right thing to do, butthe English is simply not an accurate translationo the meaning o the Latin source. And so it is inmuch translation.

O course, praying at all is better than not

praying. And it is not my intent or action to pickat nits or accuse any translator, editor or commit-tee o purposeully altering the words and mean-ings o the Church's prayers (though many do).It is just a reality o the translation process thatcertain compromises are made, and these com-promises do sometimes include so changing thetext that elements o the original meaning can beentirely lost. Whether these changes are made outo linguistic necessity, or because the translators



46

U as in moon.

An apostrophe (') over a vowel in ecclesialLatin usually indicates an emphasized syl-lable, not a change in the pronunciation o the vowel.

In general, two vowels together are pro-nounced as separate syllables. Ae and oeare exceptions, and are pronounced likee. Other exceptions include u-other vowelcombinations preceded by q or ng; and au,eu and ay, all o which are spoken as singlesyllables.

C is usually hard as in cat. When beore e, ae,oe, i or y it is sot like ch in church. CC be-ore the same vowels is T-ch. SC beore thesame vowels is like sh in shed.

CH is always hard, like k.

V is spoken like a w as in water.G is hard as in gol, except when ollowed by

e, ae, oe i or y.

GN is pronounced like ny (e.g. monsignor).

H is usually silent.

J is usually written as I and pronounced likethe vowel Y (and so sounds like "ee").

R is slightly rolled.

S is usually hard. Somewhat sotened whenbetween two vowels.

TI beore a vowel and ollowing any letter ex-cept S, X or T is pronounced tsee. Otherwiseit is just like the English t.

Th is always pronounced like the English t.

X is ks, slightly sotened when between twovowels. XC beore e, ae, oe i, and y ispronounced k-sh. Beore other vowels it isks-c.

Z is dz.

Double consonants are each clearly sounded.

All else is similar to English

A Few PrayersFollowing are a ew o the common Catholic

prayers in Latin. I you would like to learn theLiturgy o the Hours in Latin, we have the com-plete set available direct rom the Vatican Publish-ing House. It is called Liturgia Horarum, and is thesource or these prayers.

Lord, open my lips.And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Dómine, lábia mea apéries. Et os meum annuntiábit laudem tuam.

God, come to my assistance.Lord, make haste to help me.

Deus, in adiutórium meum inténde. Dómine, ad adiuvándum me estína.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to theHoly Spirit.

Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will beorever.

Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc et semper, et insaecula saeculórum.

Our Father...

Pater noster, qui es in caelis:sanctifcétur nomen tuum;

advéniat regnum tuum; fat volúntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra.

Panem nostrum cotidiánum da nobis hodie;et dimítte nobis débita nostra,sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris;

et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem;sed líbera nos a malo.

Hail Mary...

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Bene-dicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus ructusventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccato-

ribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.

These and many more Latin prayers are listedin Liber Usualis along with psalm tones or chant-ing. However, the simplied instruction or chantrom the prior section can be applied to the Latinprayers, as well.



47

Chant, RevisitedBy now perhaps you've tried simple chant, and

even a little o the common Latin prayers, and ithas occurred to you: "Hey! I'll bet that these gotogether!"

Yes, they do. It is the Church's express wish

that we chant/sing most liturgical prayers, andpreerably in the language o the Church, Latin.

This chapter presents the minimal basics o actual chant notation or each o the eight tradi-tional psalm tones, how to chant the precedingcommon Latin prayers, and how to adapt simpleGregorian chant to the English breviary (thethought o which will cause purists to shudder).We'll revisit the topics covered in the two previouschapters, but with a little more depth. This is notan attempt to comprehensively, accurately intro-

duce the Church's rich chant heritage and everyne nuance o proper chant. There are multipletexts over 1000 pages long dedicated to such e-orts. This is just the basics.

The rst quarter o this chapter covers theo-retical topics such as the technical relationshipsbetween music notation, scales, and physical re-quencies. You don't need to know this to learn tochant, but it might help. It then shows how theserelate to the historical notation used or chanting,along with the names or the dierent symbols. It

leads you step-by-step through chanting part o evening prayer in Latin and in English, and thenprovides a reerence page o various chant tones.

This chapter assumes that you have a piano orsome other instrument on which you can play amajor scale such as C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. In addition,this symbol ( ) indicates content or which thereis a musical sample on the CD identied by tracknumber. I you are viewing the electronic versiono this text, you can click the symbol to hear thesample.

In Brie Modern music notation is complex, precise

and absolute; it covers a huge range o notes ordozens o instruments. It species nearly everypossible variable; speed, pitch, duration, tempo,volume, etc.

Chant music notation is relative and lessprecise. Its only instrument is the human voice.Simple chant melodies, called psalm tones, rarely

span a range greater than three or our pitches.Chant does not have a set tempo or absolutepitch. Words are chanted at approximately thespeed they would otherwise be spoken, and at apitch that is comortable to those chanting.

Chanting revolves around an apparently-uni-versal musical scale called the major or diatonic

scale ("do re mi a so la ti do"). However, thechant eels dierent depending on where onestarts and ends in that scale, and which notesare emphasized. These dierent personalities arecalled modes.

Similar to how there are many dierent songswritten or modern major key music, there aremany dierent psalm tones or each mode. Howev-er, there are eight conventional psalm tones, eachcorresponding to a dierent mode.

For more detail on the above matters, continue

with the next section. To proceed immediately tolearning chant notation and to begin chanting,skip ahead to the section titled Staves and Cles.

General Music Notation and ScalesMusic is a kind o language. Music notation

is a tool to record an expression in a way that itcan be reliably read and repeated by others. Ithas evolved throughout history to accommodatedierent cultures, instruments and musical styles.Modern music notation is precise and objective

in terms o meter, speed, pitch, duration, volumeand other relevant variables. But it is also fexibleand comprehensive enough to cover many dier-ent instruments and ranges. Among other things,with the assistance o fat and sharp symbols itcan express every pitch o the chromatic scalerom the lowest organ oot pedal at about 8Hz tothe highest note rom a piccolo, ~4500Hz. ("Hz" isshort or or Hertz, which is a unit that stands orbeats per second. Low hertz notes are low notes.High hertz notes are high notes.) That range isabout 9 octaves, or over 100 individual notes. Forthe sake o comparison, the average person talksover a range o just a ew notes, and can comort-ably sing across a little more than one octave.

Let's zoom in on one o those octaves andlearn about how these notes are related to eachother. Starting at C4, or middle C on your piano,you'll depress 13 keys to go up to C5 (C5 reers tothe C above middle C).



48

The pitches o these notes are mathematically-related to each other, and, i your piano is prop-erly tuned, to a standard reerence. The requencyo the next higher note is roughly 1.0595 x therequency o the current one. I A is 440Hz, thenB♭, the next note up is 440 x 1.0595, or 466Hz.B is B♭ x 1.0595, and so on. (This is only an ap-

proximation. There are dierent tuning methods,and or the sake o simplicity I'm presenting the12th-root system. It is called this because therequencies are related by the twelth root o two,which is 1.0595.)

In musical terms, the "distance" between twodierent notes is spoken o using a unit called astep (also sometimes a tone or interval). The table,below, shows the note letters, requencies andsteps. Moving rom one row to the next is a hal step. There are 12 hal steps rom C4 to C5. I you

play all o those notes in sequence, it is called achromatic scale. ( 10)

Hal-steps Note Letter Frequency

0 (starting point) C4 262

1 C # 277

2 D 294

3 E♭ 311

4 E 330

5 F 349

6 F # 370

7 G 392

8 A♭ 415

9 A 440

10 B♭ 466

11 B 494

12 C5 523

But the most common scale is not the chro-matic scale; it is the major or diatonic scale. Itomits some o the notes rom the chromatic scale.To go rom C4 to C5 using the diatonic scale, youwill play 8 notes — hence the term "octave"

— skipping hal steps here and there. For exam-ple, to go rom C4 to D, skipping the C# betweenthem is two hal-steps, or a ull step. The greylines indicate notes that are skipped, and happento correspond to the black keys on a piano. ( 11)

Number Note Letter Frequency

0 (starting point) C4 262

1 (skip) C# 277

2 D 294

3 (skip) E♭ 311

4 E 330

5 F 349

6 (skip) F# 370

7 G 392

8 (skip) A♭ 4159 A 440

10 (skip) B♭ 466

11 B 494

12 C5 523

There is nothing magical about the letter C, orit being assigned to a requency o 262Hz. That ismerely the present convention. In modern musicthese rules hold true, but in ancient music theredoes not appear to be a standard requency oruniversal notation system that relates notes toobjective pitches.

There is a sense in which the requency o therst tone does not matter. What matters is that,collectively, the employed tones are in the properrelationship to each other. In other words, pickany requency or N, and i you create tones at theproper multiples o that requency, you will createa diatonic scale. Consider the same scale chart,but without letter notes or reerences to absoluterequencies:

Hal Steps Tone Name Relative Pitch0 Do N

1

2 Re N * 1.0595^2

3

4 Mi N * 1.0595^4

5 Fa N * 1.0595^5

6

7 So N * 1.0595^7

8

9 La N * 1.0595^9

10

11 Ti N * 1.0595^11

12 Do(2) N x 2

This begs a question, but one which may bedicult to answer: Why these notes? There aredierent theories as to why this particular serieso relational requencies (or a subset thereo) arealmost universally recognized by human beings asmusical. My own theory is that we are simply de-



49

signed to recognize and respond to these relation-ships.

The relationships in question are called har-monics. When a note is sounded in a real instru-ment, the result is not only one requency. Thereare overtones, harmonic requencies, soundingsimultaneously at a lower volume. Some harmonics

are pleasing and others are not. Without harmon-ics, an A on a guitar would sound the same asan A rom a piano, organ, clarinet or any otherinstrument; we wouldn't be able to tell the dier-ences between people's voices. Harmonics are whatgive depth to sound.

Harmonics generally occur at multiples o the undamental requency (and they diminish inamplitude rapidly). The rst harmonic is at twicethe undamental requency. The next at threetimes. The next at our times, and so on. (This

isn't precisely true, because the physical mattero the string, vibrating air and instrument bodysubtly aect the harmonic requencies, but it isclose enough or our demonstration). So i webegin with middle C4 atapproximately 262Hz,or example, it producesharmonics at its mul-tiples; 524Hz and 786Hz.To see where these all ina scale, let us extend ourtable rom beore.

524Hz is just anotherC, but an octave higher.786Hz corresponds with aG. It turns out that i weplay Cs and Gs together,they usually sound pleas-ing. In act, i you playC4 loudly and G5 quietly,a unsuspecting listenermight not be able to tellthat a separate G was

played at all. I we goa little higher with theharmonics, we'll arriveat ~1310Hz, less than1% rom a mathematicalE. This is starting to getinteresting, because thenotes C, E and G are whatmake up the C majorchord. So starting rom a

Note Letter Frequency

C5 523

C sharp 554

D 587

E fat 622

E 659

F 699

F sharp 740

G 784

A fat 831

A 880

B fat 932

B 988

C6 1047

C sharp 1108

D 1175

E fat 1245

E 1319

F 1397

F sharp 1480

G 1568

A fat 1661

A 1760

B fat 1865

B 1976

C6 2093

single note, we've ound two others that naturallyoccur with it. Let's have these be elements o ourstarting scale: C - E - G.

Continue this process, but start now with theG. I we perorm the same iteration beginningwith a G4, we'll nd that the strongest harmonicor the G (apart rom other Gs) is 1175Hz, a D, and

1960Hz, very close to a B. As with the C, thesethree notes make up a G major chord. Our growingscale now includes: C - D - E - G - B.

We're moving away rom the C, so let's hopback and consider what note might have the C asit's strongest harmonic? Take C6 at 1047Hz and di-vide it by 3 to get 349Hz, an F. F has A as a higherharmonic. Our scale is now C - D - E - F - G - A - B.

O course, this isn't the only possible result. I we start at a dierent requency, we'll end up withdierent notes in the scale, but they'll have the

right relationship to each other so as to result ina diatonic scale. Some cultures arrived at shorter,pentatonic scales (C-D-E-G-B), leaving out someo these notes. My only purpose here is to showthat there is a kind o connectedness betweenthese requency relationships and our humanrecognition o them as musically pleasing. Whenyou discover that (1) something is aestheticallypleasing to most people, (2) it has an underly-ing mathematical connection, and (3) a physicalconnection, it is sae to assume that it isn't just

someone's arbitrary opinion or invention — thereis some kind o design at play. Now back to thecurrent state o aairs....

Staves and ClesIn modern music the combination o cle and

lines is a system or identiying specic note let-ters and requencies. The set o ve lines is calleda sta. The cle mark is the key that tells youwhat each o the lines and spaces stand or. Forexample, the most common cle, the treble cle,tells us that the lines and spaces stand or thenotes o the diatonic scale beginning at the bot-tom with E4 at 330Hz.

FDBGE

ECAF



50

The modern sta communicates individualnote letters as they correspond to specic re-quencies. For example, the A above middle C, thesecond space rom the bottom in a treble cle sta, is a tone with a requency o 440Hz. I youplay a note o a dierent requency — i you goto the piano and depress any key other than the A

above middle C — then you are playing the wrongnote.

Dierent cle symbols indicate that the lineso the sta represent a series o notes startingat a dierent letter/requency. For example, thelowest line o the bass cle sta represents the Gnote. Each line and space still represents one o the notes rom a diatonic scale, in order, but thespecic cle tells the musician that the lines standor dierent notes than on the treble sta.

A

FDBG

GECA

Go back and note the central swirl o the

treble cle. It is centered over the line represent-ing the G note. In the bass cle there are two dotscentered over the F. These are the reerence pointsor these cles.

This isn't generally done with the treble orbass cles, but imagine or a moment that youcould move the cle up or down a little, and that

doing so would shit the position o G or F on thelines with the cles. All o the other notes wouldshit, as well. That would make or some veryconused musicians, so it isn't usually done withtreble or bass cles. But it is done with some oth-ers, and something much like it is done in chantnotation.

But why do something like that in the rstplace? Because it is easier to read a note's locationwithin the sta, especially i it is close to the cle reerence point, than i it is outside o the cle.

That is one o the reasons that, in modern music,we have both bass and treble cles. Notes that aretoo high to appear in the bass cle sta are shownin the treble cle sta. And notes that are too lowor the treble cle sta are shown in the bass cle sta.

Chant notation concerns itsel with the ar-ticulation o sung prayer, and consists o a sta o our lines and three spaces, two dierent cles, avariety o note symbols (or neums), other reer-

ence marks, and the words to be chanted. Some-times breath marks are added.

Unlike modern music notation, it generallydoes not speciy speed, objective pitch or volume,or precise note duration. It isn't concerned withbeing able to communicate 100 dierent pitchesover nine octaves or dozens o dierent instru-

ments playing in concert, but only the pitcheswithin which people naturally chant — about oneoctave. And usually only a ew o the availablepitches within that range.

Like the modern sta, the lines and spaces o a chant sta correspond to the steps or intervalsbetween musical notes rom the diatonic scale.However, unlike modern notation, these notes arenot bound to specic requencies. Each line andspace does not represent a specic letter note orpitch. Rather, the cle indicates one o the notes

o a major scale; "do re mi a so la ti do." Andthe scale may be in any pitch/range that you cancomortably chant or sing.

Vertical bars in chant notation do not servethe purpose o measuring out time as they do inmodern music, but indicate breathing points andrests. Short vertical lines are or short breaths andshort rests, longer bars or longer ones.

The most common chant cle is the C or Docle. It looks kind o like a C and is centered overthe line that represents not a specic requency,

but the root note o a diatonic scale. The actthat it is called a C cle does not mean that anynote on that line must correspond to the C pitch(~263Hz) rom a properly tuned piano or anyother instrument. The other notes are related tothat one by the intervals — the hal and ull steps— o the diatonic scale, as shown on the table ona previous page.

Re

Ti

So

Mi

Do

La

Fa

In the above example the C cle appears on thesecond to top line. But it is also oten ound onthe top line, in which case the note relationshipsshit accordingly:



53

immediately preceding the * ollow the pattern o the mediant, ater which the pitch returns to thetenor note.

One usually takes a small breath ater themediant.

5.

At the end o a chant sentence, oten noted bya period (.), one ollows the tones indicated by thetermination.

There is usually a short pause and a momentor a breath ater a termination.

A H N

Latin, like English, has strong and weak syl-lables. The apostrophes (´) over the notes indicatewhere the emphasized syllables should ideallyall. Some Latin texts clearly indicate this in the

psalms with their own apostrophes and even boldtext on the strong syllables. For example, rom the

Liber Usualis:

Dí-xitDóminusDóminomé-o:*Sédea déxtrismé-is.

In this line we have all kinds o great clues tohelp us chant well. The apostrophes show all o the emphasized syllables. The italics show whereto begin the cadence changes. And the bold syl-lables show the peak o the cadences. For reasons

explained later, this kind o detail is not and can-not be ound in the modern prayer books.

In most cases the strong syllable is ollowedby a single, weaker syllable or the nal note. Butnot always. The hollow note ( ) is just an indicatoro the tone on which syllables between the strongand nal ones should be chanted. In this examplethey happen to be the same pitch as the nal syl-lable, so it may seem to be an unnecessary nota-tion. However, there are a handul o terminationswhere the intermediate termination syllables all

on a dierent pitch.

B

As mentioned elsewhere, the speed and temposhould approximate normal conversation. Take abreath beore beginning, chant the sentence, thenbreath and repeat. Short breaths are oten takenright ater the fex and mediant, as well. Breathmarks in chant notation are vertical lines in thesta (|). The larger the line, the longer the pause.

A very short line indicates a recommended breathpoint at which there should be practically nobreak in the sentence. A breath is sometimes alsosignied by an apostrophe that is not over a neum(as in modern notation).

ime to Chant

Now you know the dierence between fex andmediant, neum and podatum, and you are readyto go, right? Okay, maybe not. Let's apply yourlearning, rst to the Latin text rom the Litu-

gia Horarum — the ocial Liturgy o the Hours— and then to the same text in English. We'll usethe prayers rom Lent, Week 1, Friday Vespers. Seethe prior chapter or pronunciation helps. Laudsbegins with:

Deus,inadiutóriummeuminténde.

Dómine,adadiuvándummefestína.

GlóriaPatri,etFílio,etSpirítuiSancto.Sicuteratinprincípio,etnuncetsemper,etin

saeculasaeculórum.

Then the psalms appear in the book as:

A 1

Sana,Dómine,ánimammeam,quiapeccávitibi.

P 40 (41)

Beatusquiintellegitdeegeno,*

indiemalaliberabiteumDominus.

Dominus servabit eum et vivicabit eum †

etbeatumfaciateuminterra*

etnontradateuminanimaminimicorumeius.

Dominusopemferatillisuperlectumdoloriseius;*

universumstratumeiusversabis

in inrmitate eius.

Egodixi:‹‹Dominemisereremei;*

sanaanimammeam,quiapeccavitibi››.

Inimicimeidixeruntmalamihi:*

‹‹Quandomorietur,etperibitnomeneius?››.

Etsiingrediebaturutvisitaret,vanaloquebatur;†

coreiuscongregabatiniquitatemsibi,*egrediebaturforasetdetrahebat.

Simuladversummesusurrabant

omnesinimicimei;*

adversummecogitabantmalamihi:

‹‹ Malecium effusum est in eo; *

et,quidecumbit,nonadicietutresurgat››.

Sedethomopacismeae,inquosperavi,*

quiedebatpanemmeum,



54

levavitcontramecalcaneum.

Tuautem,Domine,misereremei*

etresuscitame,etretribuameis.

Inhoccognoviquoniamvoluistime,*

quianongaudebitinimicusmeussuperme;

meautempropterinnocentiamsuscepisti*

etstatuistimeinconspectutuoinaeternum.

BenedictusDominusDeusIsrael*

a saeculo et usque in saeculum. Fiat, at.

Several things to note about the Latin text:

1. It is arranged in verses o 2-3 lines — cou-plets and triplets — grouped into para-graphs. The pattern o lead and indentedlines shows the starting points or eachchant phrase.

2. It includes the † and * marks to help usidentiy the fex and mediant points.

3. The antiphon does not include assistingnotation.

4. There is a new mark, usually called a chev-ron (‹‹ or ››). This corresponds to quota-tions in English. It does not aect ourchanting.

There are very simple, traditional tones speci-ically or the common prayers like Deus, in adiuto-riun, etc. Liber Usualis also lists more complexversions o Gloria Patri or use with each o theeight common psalm tones. Here is the chant orDeus, in adiutorium or vespers. I list other ver-sions o this and other common prayers ater thetutorial. ( 14)

This is the Gloria Patri chant that corresponds

to the above Deus, in adiutorium. Other optionsare listed ater the tutorial. ( 15)

Note that the above chants are almost com-pletely monotone except or an occasional move-ment o o the "do" note up to "re" or down to

"ti."In individual prayer you will then chant the

antiphon once, then go straight through thepsalm, chant the gloria, then repeat the antiphon.But there is a great deal o variation with groups:

A G

1. Chanted once by a the leader/cantor, thenrepeated by the group entire.

2. Chanted by one hal o the group, thenrepeated by the other hal.

3. Chanted once by all.4. First hal chanted by cantor or hal o the

group, then remainder chanted by all.

P

1. Chanted only by the cantor, with the grouprepeating the antiphon between paragraphs(rare today, but some psalms will evenspeciy this pattern).

2. Alternate with hal o the group chantingone 2-3 line verse, the other hal chant-

ing the next, etc., regardless o paragraphbreaks.

3. Alternate complete paragraphs with hal o the group chanting all o the lines o therst paragraph, the other hal chanting thenext, etc.

Back to the antiphon. It is short enough thatone could omit the fex and mediant. We're goingto include a mediant, and treat the antiphon as i it was written out as:

Sana,Dómine,ánimammeam,* quiapeccávitibi.

We then chant it like this: ( 16)

I we choose to omit the mediant, then it islike this: ( 17)



55

The ideal is to include the mediant in the an-tiphon; the antiphon establishes the tone patternor the upcoming psalm. But you can probably al-ready see a ormidable complication: Proper imple-mentation o the mediant (and fex and termina-tion), requires you to either have very well notedpsalms, exceptional chanting skill, or the abilityto look ahead and count syllables leading to themark so that you know when to start the mediantchange. We had to count back our syllables romthe * to know where to begin the mediant. Howelse would you know to begin the mediant on "ni"o animam? None o these expectations are realis-tic given the current books, our skills or the time

we have to dedicate to this practice. Besides, thepurpose o chanting is to assist your lie o prayer,not to turn it into an intellectual test.

Older prayer books have ewer psalms andprinted each o them at least eight times withnotation specic to each psalm tone. As seen inan earlier example, italic and bold text was usedto help. Our modern breviaries have almost theentire psalmody. They are already about threetimes the size o the prior breviary, and that iswith the psalms printed only once. Simple practi-cality requires that a dierent approach is taken.To this end I strongly recommend an adaptationthat allows us to retain the traditional psalm tonesand their beauty, but adapt them to the currentpsalmody without harming either.

Flexes, mediants and terminations — whichI will reer to collectively as cadences rom thispoint orward — consist o one or more neumsthat dier rom the tenor. When there is a singleneum, whether that is one punctum or a combina-tion, we have a very easy situation on our hands;we merely change the tone o the nal cadence

syllable to match the neum. Our termination inthe present example is, eectively, a single neumone pitch below the tenor. Even two neums is nottoo bad. But many tones have three or more (thereare our neums in the mediant o our currentpsalm tone). My recommended adaptation is toapply the nal neum to the last syllable, and stack all other cadence neums, i there are any, on thesecond to last syllable. This eliminates the mentalanguish and distraction o having to try to count

syllables in advance, while keeping the integrityo the psalm tone. So in this case, our chant be-comes: ( 18)

It might also be noted as:

The three punctum stacked as shown arecalled a scandicus. Simply sound the tones inorder rom the bottom to top.

The instruction given in the introduction to

chant regarding speed and beat holds true here.The chanting should not ollow a rigid beat asdoes most western music. Rather, it should soundnatural, organic. Like breath or a heartbeat, notan outside, mechanical metronome. Any rhythmis provided by the syllables o the spoken words,themselves. Approximately equal length is givento each punctum/syllable. An exception to this iswhen multiple tones all upon a single syllable, orthe punctum is ollowed by a dot. In the ormercase, the syllable is extended so that the multipletones can be clearly and unhurriedly sounded. In

the latter, the syllable is given a duration roughlytwice that o the common syllables.

Continuing with our example psalm, we arenow on the rst verse. Chant as ollows: ( 19)

This is the rst line o the psalm, so we are in-cluding the intonation at the beginning. Then we

use the tenor to chant the bulk o the words. Aswe approach the end o the line, we see an * aterthe word egeno, so we know to apply the tones o the mediant to the nal syllables. In keeping withour adaptation, we stack the mediant tones on thenext to last syllable, and end on the nal medianttone. I you'd rather, you could instead distributethe tones across several syllables, beginning withde. Take a short breath, and continue with thenext line. ( 20)



56

We are at the end o this couplet, so we usethe termination. The strong syllable o Dominus alls conveniently such that we end up utilizingthe hollow/optional neum rom the terminationor mi. The solid line indicates a longer pausebeore beginning the next verse. ( 21)

Because we are now starting a second (orlater) verse, we do not include the intonationtones, but go directly to the tenor. Ater eum isa †, noting that we use the fex. The emphasized

syllable ca o vivifca is a little ar rom the †, sowe will not utilize it as a key point or the fextonal shit, and instead just drop down on thenal syllable o the line. Take a short breath, andcontinue on. ( 22)

Ater terra is the mediant mark (*). As beore,we stake the three tones on the second to lastsyllable, and the nal mediant tone on the lastsyllable. Then a short breath and on to the nalline o the verse. ( 23)

We chant the tenor tone, and then the termi-nation. It isn't marked, but the e in eius can be anemphasized syllable, so I have used the optionalneum in the termination on the i. We take abreath, and continue with the next verse. ( 24)

As beore, we begin the verse with the tenortone. At the mediant I've stacked the notes on thee in eius. Then a short breath, and on to the lasthal o the verse. ( 25)

Got it now? Chant the tenor tone, then shitto the termination at the end. As beore, I've ap-plied the optional termination neum to the i sincethe e is an emphasized syllable.

At this point we've completed the rst para-graph o the psalm. Apply your learning rom theabove examples to the remaining verses o thepsalm. When complete, chant the Gloria Patri ac-cording to your current psalm tone: ( 26)

GlóriaPatri,etFílio,*

etSpirítuiSancto.

Sicuteratinprincípio,etnuncetsemper,*

etinsaeculasaeculórum.

Then repeat the antiphon:

Latin or English? Trying to learn chant while reciting prayers in

a oreign, unamiliar language may be a bit muchor some people. I so, here is a repeat o theabove tutorial, but with the prayers as they appearin the American/English breviary. We will use thesame psalm tones, but adapt them to the language

and structures ound in the vernacular breviaries.

Almost all traditional, ecclesial styles o chantdeveloped within the context o the Latin lan-guage. When a dierent language is used or thewords, even i the tones are the same, the tempoand the overall character are necessarily dierent.This is, in part, because Latin contains an inherentsystem o syllabic emphasis that makes it soundalmost musical on its own. English lacks thischaracteristic. Consequently, the chants will havea very dierent timbre to them.

Another element is architecture. Chant de-veloped within a certain kind o architecture andmusical technology. Today we have sound-absorb-ing rooms with as little refection as possible, mi-crophones, equalizers and amplication systems.None o this existed during the period in whichchant fourished. Instead, singing typically tookplace in either small rooms, or large open spaceswith a lot o echo and reverberation. Words andtones washed together. Chant evolved within that



57

context and simply doesn't sound as good whenltered through modern music technology andarchitecture.

Finally, Latin tends to have ewer words toexpress an idea, but the words are longer andhave more syllables. The same ideas expressed inEnglish tend to have more, but shorter, words. The

end result is that we tend to have to stretch someEnglish syllables across multiple neumes where wewouldn't do so in Latin, and it just doesn't fowthe same.

But I'll quit pointing out dierences andproblems. Let's just begin with the introductoryprayers. We take the tones or the same lines inLatin, and adapt them to the English syllables. (27)

God,cometomyas-sis-tance.

Lord,makehastetohelpme.

GlorytotheFather,totheSon,andtotheHolySpirit.

Asitwasinthebeginning,isnow,andwillbeforever.

Amen.

I omitted one o the infections in "God, cometo my assistance," because in English it has abouthal o the syllables o the Latin. Otherwise, the

tones are close to those used or the same prayersin Latin.

Now to the psalm. The undamental obstacleor chanting the prayers in English is that none o the English books contains the helpul marks toassist you. Forget about trying to count syllablesbackward to nd where to start the fex, medi-ant or termination. There are no landmarks romwhich to count back. Where does the mediantgo? Which lines should have a fex? Where does

the verse begin or end? None o this is very clearin the English books. We can't blithely copy andollow the pattern rom Liturgia Horarum, becausethe sentence structures are dierent enough as toresult in a dierent number o lines per paragraph(and, in some cases, entirely dierent numbers o paragraphs).

My recommendation is to take a minute beorebeginning prayer. Skim the psalms you are aboutto pray. I they are simple couplets and triplets,then it is easy. On couplets add a mediant at theend o the rst line, and terminate at the period.With triplets apply a fex at the end o the rstline, a mediant at the second, and end on thethird. I it is this simple, then no notation maybe necessary. But quite oten one or more o thepsalms will contain paragraphs that won't be thateasy to map on-the-fy. I really don't like to write

in books, but this is an exception. Go throughand put in the marks or the fex and mediant.I've noted, below, where I would put them in thisEnglish psalm. You could also place an x or someother symbol at the end o verses. In this particu-lar psalm verse ends are easy to identiy withoutspecial notation, but that isn't always the case.

Use a pencil. You may want to change it later.Note, too, that on some very short sentences youmight omit both the fex and the mediant.

Antiphon:

Lord,layyourhealinghanduponme,*

forIhavesinned.

Psalm 41:

Happythemanwhoconsiders*

thepoorandtheweak.

TheLordwillsavehiminthedayofevil,†

willguardhim,givehimlife,makehim

happyintheland*

andwillnotgivehimuptothewillofhis

foes.

TheLordwillhelphimonhisbedofpain,*

hewillbringhimbackfromsicknessto

health.

Asforme,Isaid:"Lord,havemercyonme,*

healmysoulforIhavesinnedagainstyou."

Myfoesarespeakingevilagainstme.*

"howlongbeforehediesandhisnamebe

forgotten?"



58

Theycometovisitmeandspeakemptywords,*

theirheartsfullofmalice,theyspreadit

abroad.

Myenemieswhispertogetheragainstme.*

Theyallweighuptheevilwhichisonme.

"Somedeadlythinghasfasteneduponhim,*

hewillnotriseagainfromwherehelies."Thusevenmyfriend,inwhomItrusted,*

whoatemybread,hasturnedagainstme.

Butyou,OLord,havemercyonme.*

LetmeriseoncemoreandIwillrepaythem.

BythisIshallknowthatyouaremyfriend,*

ifmyfoesdonotshoutintriumphoverme.

IfyouupholdmeIshallbeunharmed*

andsetinyourpresenceforevermore.

BlessedbetheLord,theGodofIsrael*

fromagetoage.Amen.Amen.

Now, as with the Latin chant tutorial, let's gothrough a ew verses with the ull chant notation.I introduce a new neum symbol in this set. It isintoned as three pitches; one starting at the toplet o the sweep, one at the lower right, and thenthe punctum on the top right. It allows us to com-bine the tree tones o the intonation on the onesyllable o "Lord." This three-tone neum is called aporrectus:

( 28)

T A

Lord,layyourhealinghanduponme,

forIhavesinned.

T P

Happythemanwhocon-si-ders*

thepoorandtheweak.

TheLordwillsavehiminthedayofev-il,†

willguardhim,givehimlife,makehim...

happyintheland*

andwillnotgivehimuptothewillofhisfoes.

TheLordwillhelphimonhisbedofpain,*

hewillbringhimbackfromsicknesstohealth.

Given the lack o markings, this is not theonly way to do this. You might decide to incorpo-rate more or ewer cadences (or more or less com-plex ones), depending on your tastes and chantingskill.

Take note o the line that ends with "in theland." The tradition in Latin is to have the ca-dence peak on an emphasized syllable. "The" isnot an interesting word musically (or in perhapsany other way). To emphasize "the" is just silly.Nothing would be wrong with chanting the tenoron "the" and moving all our neums to "land." O course, i you start making a lot o various excep-tions, it will be hard to keep track o them all, letalone chant them with others. Use your best judg-ment.

Then repeat the Glory to the Father using thesame tone. The orm is:

GlorytotheFather,totheSon,*

andtotheHolySpirit.

Asitwasinthebeginning,isnow,*

andwillbeforever.Amen.

And then repeat the antiphon. A brie rest.Then you are on to the next psalm.



60

Tones for Common Latin PrayersA ew new symbols appear here. The punctum with a line over it is held slightly longer than a lone

punctum, but not as long as the punctum ollowed by a dot. The diamond shaped punctum is slightlyshorter than a regular punctum.

Deus, in adiutorium / Gloria Patri / Sicut Erat

... V ( 29)

Deus,inadiutó-ri-ummeuminténde.Dómine,adadiuvándummefestína.

Gló-ri-aPatri,etFí-li-o,etSpi-rí-tu-iSancto.

Sicuteratinprincípi-o,etnuncetsemper,etinsaecu-lasaecu-lórum.Amen.Alleluia.

... V ( 30)

♭ ♭


♭


♭ ♭ ♭


... ( V ) ( 31)






61

Psalm ones

The key or each tone is arranged as: Intonation | Tenor | Flex † | Mediant * | Termination. Each sec-tion is separated by a solid vertical line. Some tones have multiple, optional mediants and terminations.Where this is the case, the options are separated by a dashed vertical line.

I´ ´ ´

† *♭ ´ ´ ´ ´

D f g a

II´ ´ ´

† *´

III´ ´ ´† * ´ ´b a g

IV´ ´ ´

† *´ ´g E

V´ ´ ´

† * ´

VI´ ´ ´

† *♭ ´ ´

VII´

´´

† *´ ´ ´ ´a b c d

VIII´ ´

´† * ´G c

BenedictusFollow the psalm tone o your choosing, but include the intonation on each verse or paragraph. Each

line is one verse; intonation, tenor, mediant, tenor, termination.

Benedíctus Dóminus Deus I srael, * quia visitávit et fecit redemptiónem plebi suæ

et eréxit cornu salútis nobis * in domo David púeri sui ,

sicut locútus est per os sanctórum, * qui a sæculo sunt, prophetarum eius,

salútem ex inimícis nostris * et de manu ómnium, qui odérunt nos;

ad faciéndam misericórdiam cum pátribus nostris * et memorári testaménti sui sancti,

iusiurándum, quod iurávit ad Abraham patrem nostrum, * datúrum se nobis,

ut sine timóre, de manu inimicórum liberá ti, * serviámus il li

in sanctitáte et iustítia coram i pso * ómnibus diébus nostris.

Et tu, puer, prophéta Altissimi vocá beris: * præíbis enim ante fáciem Dómini paráre vias eius,

ad dandam sciéntiam salútis plebi eius * in remissiónem peccatórum eórum,

per víscera misericórdiae Dei nostri, * in quibus visitábit nos óriens ex al to,

inlumináre his qui in ténebris et in umbra mortis sedent * ad dirigéndos pedes nostros in viam pacis.



62

Magniicat

Follow the psalm tone o your choosing, but include the intonation on each verse or paragraph. Eachline is one verse; intonation, tenor, mediant, tenor, termination.

Magní fcat * ánima mea Dóminum,

et exultávit spíritus meus * in Deo salvatóre meo,

quia respéxit humilitátem ancîllae suæ. * Ecce enim ex hoc beátam me

dicent omnes generatiónes,quia fecit mihi magna, qui potens est , * et sanctum nomen eius,

et misericórdia eius in progénies et pro gé nies * timéntibus eum.

Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo, * dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;

depósuit poténtes de sede * et exaltávit húmiles;

esuriéntes implévit bonis * et dívites dimísit iná nes.

Suscépit Israel púerum suum, * recordátus misericórdiæ,

sicut locútus est ad patres nostros, * Abraham et sémini eius in sæcula.

Nunc Dimittis

Follow the psalm tone o your choosing, but include the intonation on each verse or paragraph. Each

line is one verse; intonation, tenor, mediant, tenor, termination.

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Dómine, * secúndum verbum tuum in pace,

Quia vidérunt óculi mei * salutáre tuum,

quod pará sti * ante fáciem ómnium populórum,

lumen ad revelatiónem géntium, * et glóriam plebis tuæ Israel.



T o n e

2 :

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´

´

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*

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T o n e

3 :

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*

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´

b

a

g

T o n e

4 :

´

´

†

*

´

´

´

g

E

T o n e

5 :

´

´

´

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T o n e

6 :

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*

♭

´

´

T o n e

7 :

´

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*

´

´

´

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a

b

c

d

H e h a s s h o w n t h e s t r e n g t h o h i s a r m ,

*

h e h a s s c a t t e r e d t h e p r o u d i n t

h e i r c o n c e i t .

H e h a s c a s t d o w n t h e m i g h t y r o m t h e i r t h r o n e s ,

*

a n d h a s l i e d u p t h e l o w l y .

H e h a s f l l e d t h e h u n g r y w i t h g o o d t h i n g s , *

a n d t h e r i c h h e h a s s e n t a w a y e m p t y .

H e h a s c o m e t o t h e h e l p o h i s s

e r v a n t I s r a e l *

o r h e h a s r e m e m b e r e d h i s p r o

m i s e o m e r c y ,

t h e p r o m i s e h e m a d e t o o u r f a t h

e r s , *

t o A b r a h a m a n d h i s c h i l d r e n

o r e v e r .

M a g n í f c a t * á n i m a m e a D ó m i n u

m ,

e t e x u l t á i t s p í r i t u s m e u s * i n D e o

s a l v a t ó r e m e o ,

q u i a r e s p é x i t h u m i l i t á t e m a n c î l l a e s u æ . * E c c e e n i m e x h o c b e á t a m m e

d i c e n t o m n e s g e n e r a t i ó n e s ,

q u i a e c i t m i h i m a g n a , q u i p o t e n s

e s t , * e t s a n c t u m n o m e n e i u s ,

e t m i s e r i c ó r d i a e i u s i n p r o g é n i e s e t

p r o g é n i e s * t i m é n t i b u s e u m .

F e c i t p o t é n t i a m i n b r á c h i o s u o , * d

i s p é r s i t s u p é r b o s m e n t e c o r d i s s u i ;

d e p ó s u i t p o t é n t e s d e s e d e * e t e x a l t á i t h ú m i l e s ;

e s u r i é n t e s i m p l é i t b o n i s * e t d í i t e s d i m í s i t i n á n e s .

S u s c é p i t I s r a e l p ú e r u m s u u m , * r e c o r d á t u s m i s e r i c ó r d i æ ,

s i c u t l o c ú t u s e s t a d p a t r e s n o s t r o s , * A b r a h a m e t s é m i n i e i u s i n s æ c u l a .

C a n t i c l e o f S i m e o n / N u n c D i m i t t i s

A n t . :

P r o t e c t u s , L o r d , a s w e s t a y a w a k e ; w a t c h o v e r u s a s w e s l e e p ; t h a t

a w a k e , w e m a y k e e p w a t c h w i t h

C h r i s t , a n d a s l e e p , r e s t i n h i s p e a c e .

L o r d , n o w y o u l e t y o u r s e r v a n t g o i n p e a c e ; *

y o u r w o r d h a s b e e n f u l f l l e d :

m y o w n e y e s h a v e s e e n t h e s a l v a

t i o n *

w h i c h y o u h a v e p r e p a r e d i n t h

e s i g h t o e v e r y p e o p l e :

a l i g h t t o r e v e a l y o u t o t h e n a t i o

n s *

a n d t h e g l o r y o y o u r p e o p l e I s r a e l .

A n t . :

S a l a n o s , D ó m i n e , i g i l á n t e s ,

c u s t ó d i n o s d o r m i é n t e s , u t i g i l é m u s

c u m C h r i s t o e t r e q u i e s c á m u s i n p a

c e .

N u n c d i m i t t i s s e r v u m t u u m , D ó m

i n e , * s e c ú n d u m v e r b u m t u u m i n p a c e ,

Q u i a i d é r u n t ó c u l i m e i * s a l u t á r e t u u m ,

q u o d p a r á s t i * a n t e á c i e m ó m n i u m p o p u l ó r u m ,

l u m e n a d r e e l a t i ó n e m g é n t i u m , * e t g l ó r i a m p l e b i s t u æ I s r a e l .



67

Starting a Prayer GroupStarting or joining a prayer group in your area

is not dicult. Following is a step-by-step guideon how to do so:

1. o Start or Join?

First things rst: Do a little research to see i there is already a LOTH prayer group in your areathat meets at a time and place convenient to you.

• Check the prayer group directory at http://

prayer.rosaryshop.com/ .

• Call your local parish, or talk with otherCatholics in your work or neighborhood.

• I there is a convent or monastery nearby,they might be able to meet your needs.

I you discover a prayer group not listed at

the apostolate’s web site, please add it using thegroup registration page. Joining an already-exist-ing group is obviously the easiest way to becomeinvolved in a richer prayer lie.

However, you might not nd any other groupsin your area, maybe those that exist do not meetat a time or place convenient to you, or perhapsthere is something about the group that does notsuit your personality. In such cases, it may betime to start one.

2. Find Interested OthersThe rst step, assuming that you are alreadyamiliar with LOTH , is to nd a handul o otherpeople who are interested in praying together.This may not be easy at rst, but consider yourimmediate social group. Are there people in yourpeer group — amily, neighbors, co-workers,riends — who might be interested and who havea schedule similar to your own? Probably.

I so, simply ask a ew o them i they wouldbe interested in spending twenty minutes a week

growing closer to God through prayer. Some maybe too busy or not understand what you are ask-ing. Some may say yes, but then not show.

It is important to correct a common conusionat this point; the dierence between prayer andBible study groups. The two are quite dierent! Adecent Bible study requires special texts, home-reading, and lots o preparation on the part o one or more group leaders — it can be a very good

thing. Many people will immediately assume thatyou are asking them to join a Bible study and mayhesitate based on their assumptions about what itmay require, or because o poor past experienceswith Bible study groups. Another source o hesi-tation will come rom wondering what, exactly,the purpose o the prayer group will be, or rom

unamiliarity with prayer groups in general. I there is already a Bible study taking place, peoplemay wonder what the point is o a prayer group(some might even suspect that you are makinga subtle statement about the inadequacy o theBible study). Finally, there is the unortunate hu-man inclination to simply avoid prayer.

See the appendix or apostolate web site or abrie, explanatory invitation fyer. You are ree toprint, copy and distribute it. It addresses most o these questions.

3. Get Your MaterialsOrder this book and a prayer book or each

person who is interested in participating. You maywant to purchase a couple extra prayer books, aspeople may begin to drop in on the prayer meet-ings unexpectedly. Ideally, your core group willpool their money or this initial purchase. By mak-ing the purchase rst, you are becoming investedin the idea and are more likely to ulll the com-mitment.

4. Arrange a Location and Weekly ime

It is important that the place be ree o distractions, not be disruptive to others, and notcause a confict with the management. Some pos-sibilities include:

• Someone’s home

• Local parks or trails (weather willing)

• Library or private oce meeting rooms

• Unused classrooms• Local churches and chapels (perhaps even

non-Catholic ones, under certain circum-stances)

You should be able to nd a location that doesnot cost anything. I the room or building you areusing is not your own, it is important that themeeting rst be cleared with the building man-ager, and that the prayer meeting not intererewith other people’s work.

http://prayer.comboard.com/






68

The meeting location and liestyle o yourcore group members will dictate the timing o themeetings. Common times include:

• Beore work (Morning Prayer or Oce o Readings)

• Morning, lunch or aternoon break (Day-time Prayer)

• Ater work (Evening Prayer)

• Mid- or Late-evening (Night Prayer)

• Or any other time o day that is convenient

I you can meet together more requentlythan once a week, that is ne, but be sure not toattempt too much at the beginning. Doing so maycause people to drop rom the group who wouldotherwise benet greatly rom praying together.

Write down the meeting times in your personal

calendar!

5. Appoint a Prayer LeaderIt is important that your prayer group have

the “right” leader or the rst ew times together.This person will likely be the one who is initiatingthe group, perhaps you. In any case, the prayerleader should be especially amiliar with LOTH , butalso be a good and personable teacher. He or shewill help people ollow the prayers in the rightorder.

Once your group is generally amiliar with LOTH , rather than have a single person lead thegroup, it is common or the group to divide intotwo halves. Then the “halves” alternate verses,prayers, readings, etc., throughout the prayer.Still, a single person should remain responsible orcoordinating the group and initiating many o theprayers. It is recommended that this responsibilitybe rotated among the regular attendees, but don’tpush leadership responsibility on anyone who doesnot want it.

6. Begin Praying ogetherRemind each person in your core group o the

prayer meeting a day or two ahead o time, espe-cially or the rst couple months. Individually oras a group, go through the tutorial(s) that applyto your prayer meeting. Make a personal com-mitment to stick with it or at least one month.

Make sure that all pagers and cell phones areturned o during the prayer time. Otherwise, they

will surely ring, beep, play annoying tunes orvibrate at the most inopportune moments.

Always be respectul o other people’s time.Start and end promptly, but be courteous and wel-coming to those who might arrive late (e.g., makea place to sit or them, someone show them whereyou are in the prayers, etc.).

Questions will arise in the process o learningthe prayers. Try to work through these as best youcan, remembering that the ecacy o the prayeris not a actor o how perectly you pray, or whatgestures or postures are assumed, but o what Godwants to do in your lives and how open you areto it. We oer this book as a neutral reerence tosettle such disputes. I this book does not coverthe question, please submit the question to theweb site.

7. Register Your GroupPlease register your prayer group with the

apostolate’s web site. This allows others in yourarea to nd your group and helps the apostolateto support you with special messages rom time totime.

The Apostolate o Prayer invites and welcomesregistration by any Liturgy o the Hours prayergroup — one need not be an apostolate memberto be listed.

8. Invite Others to Join Once your core group is comortable with the

prayers, it is time to open the group up to others.There is an unortunate tendency in small groupsor them to become rather introverted and inhos-pitable to new participants. One way to avoid thisis to take a brie moment beore prayer to welcomenewcomers, and then minimize social discussionduring your prayer meetings. Participants shouldcommit themselves to making others eel welcomeand to helping others learn and participate in the

prayers.

9. Group Growth Healthy prayer groups will grow and multiply.

Unhealthy ones will stagnate, racture and eventu-ally all apart. As your group grows, you may ndthat you are outgrowing your acilities, or thatanother time and place have become convenientor part o the group.



69

Do not be araid o starting new group timesand locations. Participants should eel ree to shitrom group to group, as all such prayer is partici-pation in the universal prayer o the Church. Theneed or additional meeting times and locations isa very good sign.

You may also nd that, due to any number

o actors, a particular meeting time is no longerconvenient to the group, and participation willdrop. I the reason or the lack o participationis the time or location, then do change so as toaccommodate people’s schedules. However, i thereis another reason or the low participation, try tohonestly discern what that is and address it.

Special ConsiderationsFollowing are some issues that most groups

may encounter at one time or another.

E P

Some companies have special programs ornon-work-related employee-groups. I your com-pany has such programs, this may be a unique op-portunity to communicate inormation about yourprayer group to others in the company. On theother end o the spectrum, some companies maybe openly hostile to such groups, especially onesthat have any religious connections. Sometimesboth situations will exist in the same company.

E RI your prayer group is meeting on company

property, or i employees are leaving the com-pany site to pray, it is imperative that the prayertime present absolutely no confict with normalcompany business. No company materials or timeshould be used to promote your prayer group.Any company posting, communications or e-mailsshould be approved in advance.

It may come about that other company groupsor the company as a whole will become polarized

against the group. Such polarization requentlystems rom misunderstandings about the group’snature, hostility towards individuals in the group,or other mysterious sources. Insoar as is possible,make sure that the group ocusses only on prayingtogether, and not on engaging in other activitiesas a group or on behal o the group. Don’t drawunnecessary attention to the group. Encourage allparticipants to maintain exemplary work and lie-style habits.

A strange and unhealthy dynamic can be cre-ated in the group i participation is encouraged orlooked upon with avor by company management.It is a very positive (and unusual) sign or themanagement to encourage employees towardsprayer, but this can lead to a situation in whichemployees may join the group unwittingly (or

wittingly) attempting to please management. Thesituation is compounded i high-level managersare participating, especially i they are doing soin any kind o leadership capacity. To avoid thisdestructive dynamic, company management thatwould otherwise encourage group participationmust commit itsel to the ollowing:

• Never mandate group participation

• Never include group participation in anykind o employee review or evaluation

• Never take a leadership role in the prayer

group

• Never give preerence to the group or groupparticipants

E

In modern use, ecumenism reers to the dialogand relationship between Christian communitieswho hold diering doctrinal-belies, or who havebeen theologically separated to varying degreesby some historical event. The ultimate purposeo ecumenism is unity. It is perectly acceptable

or Christians not in ull-communion with Ca-tholicism to pray LOTH together. This is a singularopportunity to share with separated brothers andsisters the christocentric nature o Catholicismand Catholic prayer. It is highly unlikely that onewould object to the group or the prayers.

However, it should be clearly explained to anyseparated Christians that LOTH is the prayer o theCatholic Church. In it are ound writings not onlyrom Scripture, but saints and the Church as well.For example, certain Christian groups might raise

objections to the Marian prayers ound in NightPrayer. Be prepared or this i you are prayingNight Prayer in an ecumenical setting. There is aseparate handout in the appendix or this pur-pose.

I P

“Interaith” reers to relationships betweendistinct religions; Christianity, Islam, Judaism,Hinduism, etc. The Liturgy o the Hours assumes



70

that the participant is Catholic, and though sepa-rated Christians would still be able to relate to andparticipate in it, LOTH will rarely be appropriateor interaith meetings. The disparity o belie issimply too great.

C S

Many Catholics and some Christian groups areparticularly blessed by charisms o the Spirit like“tongues,” in which they pray in an unknown lan-guage. In general, such activity is not appropriateto a liturgical service. However, i the group isopen to it, there is not necessarily anything wrongwith a short time o such prayer as part o yourprayer group meeting beore, during or ater theLiturgy o the Hours.

T I O

Prayer is a very good thing, so anticipate op-position. When it is time to gather to pray, yourmind will suddenly discover a thousand otherthings it needs or wants to do. Distractions andtemptations will pop up like weeds. This canhappen beore prayer, or even during prayer. Itis important in such circumstances to rememberthat there is really nothing more important thanprayer, and that it is only 20 minutes out o yourweek (or day). Almost any distraction can wait 20minutes.

Sometimes the opposition to prayer will come

rom within your own group. People who are will-ing to take time out o their day to pray togetherare requently sincere and intense, sometimes tothe point o making others eel a little uncomort-able. It may be that disagreements arise abouthow particular parts o LOTH should be prayed,or what postures and gestures are appropriate. Insuch cases, the group should be reminded that, orlaity, the entire prayer is optional. Laity are reeto adapt it to their needs. However, it is good toollow the General Instruction, and in those areas

where the instruction is ambiguous, the groupis encouraged to internally agree on a norm orsubmit the question to the Apostolate o Prayeror an impartial resolution. In any event, thereare ew concrete rules about how laity should (orshould not) pray the Liturgy o the Hours. Makeevery eort to remain charitable and avoid con-fict within the group.

Finally, people are instinctively attracted tothose things that will improve them. We are allinteriorly hungering or conversion. But peoplebring with them a variety o baggage. It mayhappen that a very disordered person joins thegroup. Do whatever you can to help the person. Bewelcoming, charitable, compassionate. Perhaps it

is through your group or some people in the groupthat God intends to bring about that person’sconversion. Perhaps he is there to bring neededinsight and conversion to others, maybe evenyoursel. But i it comes to a point that the groupis sel-destructing as a consequence o his pres-ence, one person should gently conront him. I itdoesn’t help, then a small handul o group leadersmight do so together. Finally, ailing all else, thegroup may be orced, sadly, to ask him to leave.



71

Invitation Flyer

You are invited to pray with us

When? ____________ to ____________

Where? __________________________

________________________________

We will be praying the “Liturgy o the Hours,”a traditional Christian Prayer based on passagesrom the Bible and spiritual meditations o great

Christians throughout history.

All materials will be provided.

Please contact ________________________ at

__________________ i you wish to attend.

There is no commitment necessary toparticipate.



72

Praying with the Saints

Throughout christian his-tory people have believed thatthose who die at peace with

God go to heaven to be withhim. Though all christians canbe called saints, the word es-pecially applies to those whoare already in heaven withJesus.

A person’s love or us

doesn’t end when they go toheaven, but becomes evenmore intense, and so we knowthat these people who lovedus while on earth continueto love and care or us romheaven, where they continu-

ally commune with, praise andpray to God.

In Catholicism and someother christian religions it isbelieved that we can speak tothese riends in heaven, and just as we might ask a some-one on earth to pray or us toGod, we can make the same re-quest o the saints. And so thepractice o “praying with” or“praying to” the saints has ex-

isted in Christianity or many,many centuries.

Some christians, unamiliarwith the history or reasons or

this practice, nd it troubling.They believe that prayer is aorm o worship and, as such,should only be reserved toGod. But communication withthe saints — asking them topray to God on our behal —

is obviously not a orm o wor-ship, so Catholics and otherchristians who pray to saintsrightly see no confict or prob-lem with the practice.

I you have additional ques-tions about prayer or the

Catholic aith, we encourageyou to talk with your prayergroup organizer, a local Cath-olic priest, or to contact theApostolate o Prayer athttp://prayer.rosaryshop.com/ .



73

Recommended Resources

The Liturgy o the Hours: Ordinary Time Weeks18 to 36, Catholic Book Publishing Com-pany, 1980. ISBN 089942404X

Shorter Morning and Evening Prayer, JohnBrook, Liturgical Press, 1994, 562 pages.ISBN 0814619398

Shorter Christian Prayer, Hard Cover, Catho-lic Book Publishing Company, 1999. ISBN0899424082

Shorter Christian Prayer, Leather Cover, Catho-lic Book Publishing Company, 1999. ISBN0899424236

R C D

Apostolicam Actuositatem

Christideles LaiciGaudium et Spes

Sacrosanctum Concilium

Internet Resources

A P W S

http://prayer.rosaryshop.com/

Source or this and related resources.

L H W S


Daily distributes The Liturgy o the Hours inAdobe Portable Document Format (PDF).

Mf W S

http://www.magnifcat.net/

Monthly publication contains Mass readingsand adapted Morning and Evening Prayers.

U W S

http://www.universalis.com/ Has daily readings rom The Liturgy o the

Hours.

Other Resources

S. T M H P

http://www.liturgyothehours.org/

Retreat house dedicated to teach LOTH.

Print Items(Many are available via the Apostolate o Prayerweb site)

B

The Art o Praying, Msgr. Romano Guardini,Sophia Institute Press, 1995, 192 pages.ISBN 0918477344

Cantors, Cambridge University Press, 1979.ISBN 0521221498

Catechism o the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed.,Hardcover, Our Sunday Visitor, 2000, 928pages. ISBN 0879739770

Catechism o the Catholic Church, 2nd Ed.,Sotcover, Our Sunday Visitor, 2000, 928

pages. ISBN 0879739762

Christian Prayer, Catholic Book PublishingCompany, 1999. ISBN 0899424066

Christian Prayer (Large Print Edition), Catho-lic Book Publishing Company, 1986. ISBN0899424074

From Breviary to Liturgy o the Hours: TheStructural Reorm o the Roman Oce1964-1971, Stanislaus Campbell, PuebloPublishing Company, 1995, 384 pages. ISBN0814661335

Hymnal or the Hours, GIA Publications Inc,1989. ISBN 0941050203

Jubilate Deo, GIA Publications Inc.

The Liturgy o the Hours: Complete Set,Leather Cover, Catholic Book PublishingCompany, 1999. ISBN 0899424112

The Liturgy o the Hours: Complete Set, VinylCover, Moshy Brothers Publishing Company,1980. ISBN 0899424090

The Liturgy o the Hours: Advent and Christ-mas, Catholic Book Publishing Company,1980. ISBN 0899424015

The Liturgy o the Hours: Lent and Easter,Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1980.ISBN 0899424023

The Liturgy o the Hours: Ordinary Time Weeks1 to 17, Catholic Book Publishing Company,1980. ISBN 0899424031



About the Author Seth Murray was born and raised in Oregon,

USA. He received a Bachelor o Science in Physicsand Engineering rom Seattle Pacic Universityin 1992 and Master o Theological Studies romUniversity o Dallas Institute or Religious and

Pastoral Studies in 1998 (now headquartered atAve Maria University).

He has worked or the City o Seattle, IntelCorporation, the Archdiocese o Portland (As-sistant Director or Ministry Formation), EvergreenAviation Museum (Vice President). He is activelyengaged in business technology consulting and,with his wie Tyra, owns and operates The RosaryShop (http://www.rosaryshop.com/ ).

He and Tyra married in 1991. They now haveour beautiul children; Sophia, Isaiah, Margaret

Ruth and Joseph.Raised in various Protestant Denominations,

he turned in his Church o the Nazarene local min-ister license in 1994 and, with his wie, enteredinto ull communion with the One, Holy, Catholicand Apostolic Church.

Seth is thankul to those who helped inspire,create and improve this tutorial, especially TyraMurray, Bernadette Shonka, Arianne Mullis, KentPuntenney and Loren Willbur, who all contributedby voice or comment to the chant audio. He also

is thankul to Bill Sockey o the St. Thomas MoreCenter or Family Lie, who contributed manyhelpul suggestions or improvement to the tuto-rial text.

how to pray the divine office

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