INTRODUCTION
The
Christian life is a life of incessant prayers as a witness to the life of
Jesus. Private prayers alone will rid the Christian witnessing of any ecclesial
sense. The church as founded by Christ is a church of prayer. The development
of the liturgy of the hours is based on the need for a public prayer in the
life of the church. Therefore, like all liturgical celebrations, the Liturgy of
the Hours is not a private act.[1]
The
liturgy of the hours had its origin in the spiritual ideal of ceaseless prayer
that is set before us by the New Testament. [2]
The liturgy of the hour is an official prayer of the church. Sacrosantum
Concilium 84 says that it is the very prayer which Christ himself together with
his Body addresses to the Father. It consists of psalms, readings, hymns etc.
that are either to be recited or chanted at specific hours of the day and night.
These prayers are intended
to sanctify particular parts of the day and are contained in a
volume called the breviary which is a liturgical book that contains the daily
service of the divine office. Since the Liturgy of the
Hours is the means of sanctifying the day, the order of this prayer was revised
so that the canonical hours could be easily related to the chronological hours
of the day in the circumstances of contemporary life.[3]
THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
The praying of the hours had been a practice in the cathedrals
and monasteries as early as the 4th century. However, the
practice of saying public morning and evening prayer is very ancient, and early
writings attest to the tradition of prayer at the third, sixth, and ninth hours
of the day.[4] Originally they were performed
using the Book of Psalms, readings or lessons from the Bible, and collections
of hymns and prayers. By the 13th century the hours were incorporated into one
volume, called the Breviary, for the private use of monks and clergy. However,
The Second Vatican Council revised the Breviary and changed its name to Liturgy
of the Hours. Recitation of the Divine Office has been obligatory for all
priests (and some nuns) in the Roman Catholic Church since 1918.[5]
CONTENT OF THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
The liturgy of the
hours basically contain within it psalms, readings, responsorials, versicles,
hagiographical writing, antiphons, ecclesiastical writings, intercessions.
PSALMS:
the
psalms are the collections of one hundred and fifty hymns, also known as the Psalter.
They are hymns of praise (acclaiming God as the creator of the world, as the ruler
of history and as king), supplications and laments, songs of faith and trust in
God, wisdom teachings and meditations and maledictions. However the psalms
are not readings or prose prayers. They can on occasion be recited as readings,
but they are properly caller tehillim
which means songs of praise in Hebrew.[6]
ANTIPHONS: these are
the refrains meant to be sung before and after a psalm is said. It is one of
the three elements that greatly contributed to the understanding of the psalms.
The antiphons help in bringing out the character and the literally genre of the
psalms; they highlight particular sentences in other to draw a meditative
attention to them. They are also constructed for repetition after each psalm.
There are equally antiphons before and after the canticle in both the morning
and evening prayers respectively.
CANTICLES: these are
from the Old Testament and are inserted between the first and second psalm at
the Morning Prayer. Each weekday of the four weeks cycle have its proper
canticle. There are equally canticles from the New Testament; ‘the Benedictus’
which is the canticle of Zachariah used in the Morning Prayer and ‘the
Magnificat’ which is the canticle of Mary used in the evening prayer and also
‘Nunc Dimittis’ the canticle of Simeon.
READINGS AND VERSICLES: the
readings vary with the days, the season and feast. This is to be read and
received as a true proclamation of God’s word. Each day of the Psalter cycle
has its own reading. However in the office is not contained only readings from
the scriptures, but there are equally readings from the writings of the
fathers, and hagiographical readings. On the other hand, the versicles are
appendices to the readings. They help us meditate on the text read and they
contribute a new light to the text proclaimed, inserting the text into the
story of salvation.[7]
HYMNS: these
are designed for the praise of God because of their musical and poetic
character. These are the chief poetic element contributed by the church.[8]
Following the traditional rule, it ends with a doxology. Hymns are liturgical
compositions which dispose us and lead us into the mystery which is being
celebrated at that hour, feast or liturgical cycle.[9]
INTERCESSIONS: following from the Christian
tradition there is no separation between prayer of petition and prayer of
praise. This is a response to the exhortation to offer prayer in the morning
and evening. The tradition of intercession during the Morning Prayer is to
commend and consecrate the whole day to God. This is attached to the office in
the interest of variety, and especially to give fuller expression to many needs
of the church and of mankind in relation to different states, groups, persons,
circumstances and seasons.
COMPOSITION OD THE LITURGY OF THE
HOURS
The
liturgy of the hours had gradually developed and improved in the life of the
church. The content and form of the liturgy of the hours were fixed in the
Roman rite by the 7th century and in the Carolingian Europe in the
10th century. However, during these times the offices were
celebrated by the communities in a solemn way but required the use of several
books by the ministers while the congregation recited its parts from memory.[10]
The
first systematic arrangement of the offices into a breviary appeared first in
the 11th century as a choir book. However with the advent of the
mendicant orders in the 13th century, some of whose work didn’t
allow them to reside in common, the need for a portable breviary arose. Much
later, Pope Innocent III approved a shortened form of the office for his curia
and it was adopted and modified by the Franciscan order who made it known and
it became ultimately accepted throughout Europe. However, pope Pius V, in 1568
revised the breviary and imposed its use on the Latin Church. They had also
been some revisions of the breviary since then; particularly in the 20th
century, some notable reformers include Popes Sixtus V, Clement VIII, Urban
VIII, and Clement XI.[11]
However the second Vatican Council did a thorough revision of the divine office
and also permitted the use of vernacular.
DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE LITURGY OF
THE HOURS
The liturgy of the hours consists
primarily of psalms,
canticles and vesicles supplemented by hymns,
readings (scriptural, patristic, ecclesiastical and hagiographical), antiphons
and intercessory and other prayers. These hours are presented to us by the
church as a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ.
PSALMS AND CANTICLES: from
the time of the fourth century when the prayer of the hours was organized as a
communal prayer, the psalms were always the essential element.[12] The
psalms are religious compositions and religious works, prayer texts that accompanied
and nourished the faith of the people of Israel.[13] Each
of the seven canonical Hours includes selections from the Psalms that culminate
in a scriptural proclamation. There is an established system of two psalms
and a canticle in each hour. Together with the psalms in the liturgical
Psalter, there are thirty-five biblical canticles; twenty-six of them are from
the Old Testament and nine are from the New Testament.[14] The
canonical hours are the certain periods of the day set apart for prayers and
devotions. The seven canonical hours are Matins and Lauds,
Prime, Tierce, Sext, Nones, Vespers, and Compline. However the Lauds as Morning
Prayer and the Vespers as evening prayers are the two hinges on which the daily
office turns. They are the chief hours and are to be celebrated as such
(constitution on the sacred liturgy, n.89). Thus, they are of the highest
importance. The morning and the evening prayer contains a Gospel canticle: the
canticle of Zechariah known as the Benedictus
in the gospel of Luke 1:68-79 and the canticle of Mary known as the Magnificat from Luke 1:46-55. These
canticles are extensions of the scriptural proclamation of the Christ event.
Included in the morning and evening prayer are the intercessory prayers (Preces) which are always flowing from
the scriptural proclamation. It is added to the Morning Prayer to proclaim the
consecration of the day and to offer prayers for the day’s work about to begin.
There is equally an act of supplication in form of a general intercession at
the evening prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is positioned at the end of these prayers.
Since it is also said during the mass, it is a turn to the early Christian
tradition of saying the ‘our father’ three times in a day.[15]
MATINS AND LAUDS:
This is designed to sanctify the
hours of the morning. In the words of St. Basil the Matins consecrates to God
the first movements of our minds and hearts; no other care should engage us
before we have been moved with the thought of God.[16]
The Lauds thus recalls the resurrection of the Lord Jesus just as it is recited
as the light of a new dawn. However the Matins is a lengthy office of psalms and readings celebrated
at dawn. Vatican II simplified this office, calling it the Office of Readings,
to be celebrated at any time of the day.[17]
The lauds contain three psalms and a reading.
VESPERS: this
is said in the evening hours when the day is drawing to an end. This hour is
basically a pray of thanksgiving for what have be given us during the day and
for the success of our activities of the day. However, we also call to mind our
redemption. Here we also invoke the light of our heavenly father’s sacred and
eternal glory as the sun sets.[18]
PRIME: this
hour is the first of the four ‘little hours’ and was originally celebrated at
the beginning of the workday. However, this office was suppressed by the
Vatican II, although it still survives in the orthodox churches and some
monasteries. TIERCE is the prayer of
the office celebrated at the third hour. In some monasteries and cathedrals the
tierce is followed by the mass. SEXT is
celebrated at the sixth hour; the COMPLINE
is celebrated at night before retiring to sleep. The second Vatican council
obligated those bound to the recitation of the Divine Office to recite only one
of the three remaining little hours.
CELEBRATIVE
PARTS OF THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
The principal
celebrations in the liturgy of the hours are the Sundays, solemnities, the
saints, memorials, feasts and vigils. The celebrative content of the Sundays begins
with an evening prayer one. A saint’s day may be celebrated as a solemnity, as
a feast, or as a memorial. The memorials may either be obligatory or optional.
However, celebrating an optional memorial in common depends on the genuine
devotion of the congregation. The memorials often make references to the
different commons, for example common of the pastors. Feasts are liturgical
celebrations that rank higher and above memorials. Feasts always have their own
hymns, antiphons, readings, intercessions and concluding prayer different from
the Psalter of the particular day of the week, but they always make use of the
psalms of the Sunday week one. However, they don’t have a first evening prayer
unless it is a feast of the Lord celebrated on a Sunday. The solemnities are
the highest ranking celebration in the office; they have first and second evening
prayer and the texts for all the hours of the offices are taken from either a
proper of the appropriate common.
SPIRITUAL
FOCUSES OF THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
It is not enough to see
the liturgy of the hours as simply a form of prayer proposed as a model to be
followed, rather, it has an essential role to play in the very mission of the
church. The church must be zealous in action and dedicated to contemplation.
Its prayer is truly the voice of the bride addressed to the bridegroom. This is
why it is profoundly engaged with the history of salvation.[19]
The spiritual value of
the liturgy of the hours depends basically on the fact that in the complexity
of its prayers and readings. The liturgy of the hours is a wellspring of the
Christian life. It is a means of gaining the manifold grace of God, deepening
our personal attitudes to prayer. The liturgy of the hours is part of the
mystery of Christ and a reflection of the Trinitarian mystery. The typical
example and model is contained in the trinity and in the eternal praise exchanged
between The Father, The Son and Holy Spirit. The liturgy of the hours is an
earthly expression of the heavenly praises. It is the prayer of the church with
Christ and to Christ. It is the church continuation of Christ’s prayer; making
present and ritualizing in the church today the paschal mystery of Christ. This
prayer is intimately linked to the baptismal dignity of the Christians.[20]
When the church offers praise to God in the liturgy of the hours, it unites
itself with the hymn of praise sung through the ages.
PRACTICAL
USES OF THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
The liturgy of the
hours has an important goal towards a pastoral action. The people who are
faithful to the liturgy of the hours contribute to the growth of the people of
God. Their prayer becomes a spring of Christian life. The celebration of the
liturgy of the hours therefore makes visible the church of Christ. It brings
about a relationship in communion. The liturgy of the hours is a sanctification
of life by turning to God at the beginning and end of each day.
CONCLUSION
The church has been a
praying church from the apostolic times. It is the character of the church to
pray. However, the liturgy of the hour is not just of the church, but it is a
prayer that Christ himself offers to the Father. In the church, the system and
formulas of prayers have improved gradually. Thus the liturgy of hours has also
undergone a number of improvements and reformations down the ages. This liturgy
of the hour is a divine duty binding especially on the clergy. This liturgical prayer
of the church encompasses the whole of the daily human affair; it sanctifies
the hours of the day and night, consecrating them to God.
[2] A.G MARTIMORT, The Church at Prayer Volume IV: Liturgy and
Time, the liturgical press, Collegeville (MN) 1985, 157.
[3] PAUL VI, Apostolic Constitution
Promulgation, in The Divine Office:
Liturgy of the Hours Advent and Christmas Seasons, N.B.C.L.C., Bangalore
2005, 14.
[4] Divine Office, Encyclopædia
Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, Chicago: Encyclopædia
Britannica, 2014
[5]
P.M JOSEPH, Divine Office, in Microsoft Encarta, 2009 [DVD], Redmond, WA:
Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
[6] General Instructions of the
Liturgy of the Hours, in The Divine
Office: Liturgy of the Hours Advent and Christmas Seasons, N.B.C.L.C.,
Bangalore 2005, 60.
[7] A.J. CHUPUNGCO Ed., Handbook for Liturgical Studies: Liturgical
time and space, Liturgical press, Collegevile (MN) 1997, 85
[8] General Instructions of the
Liturgy of the Hours, in The Divine
Office: Liturgy of the Hours Advent and Christmas Seasons, N.B.C.L.C.,
Bangalore 2005, 75.
[9] A.J. CHUPUNGCO Ed., Handbook for Liturgical Studies: Liturgical
time and space, Liturgical press, Collegevile (MN) 1997, 85
[10] Breviary, Encyclopædia Britannica,
Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, Chicago: Encyclopædia
Britannica, 2014.
[11] PAUL VI, Apostolic Constitution
Promulgation, in The Divine Office:
Liturgy of the Hours Advent and Christmas Seasons, N.B.C.L.C., Bangalore
2005, 12.
[12] A.G MARTIMORT, The Church at Prayer Volume IV: Liturgy and
Time, the liturgical press, Collegeville (MN) 1985, 197.
[13] A.J. CHUPUNGCO Ed., Handbook for Liturgical Studies: Liturgical time
and space, Liturgical press, Collegevile (MN) 1997, 83
[14]
Ibidem, 83.
[15] PAUL VI, Apostolic Constitution
Promulgation, in The Divine Office:
Liturgy of the Hours Advent and Christmas Seasons, N.B.C.L.C., Bangalore
2005, 16.
[16] Everyday Prayer from the Divine Office, Theological publications,
New Delhi 1977, x.
[17] P.M JOSEPH, Divine
Office, in Microsoft Encarta 2009 [DVD], Redmond, WA: Microsoft
Corporation, 2008.
[18] Everyday Prayer from the Divine Office, Theological publications,
New Delhi 1977, xi.
[19]
A.G MARTIMORT, The Church at
Prayer Volume IV: Liturgy and Time, the liturgical press, Collegeville (MN)
1985, 187.
[20] A. J. CHUPUNGCO Ed., Handbook for Liturgical Studies: Liturgical
time and space, Liturgical press, Collegevile (MN) 1997, 81.
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