This fourth volume of the official English edition of the Divine Office, for use during Weeks 18-34 of Ordinary Time, contains the translation approved by the International Committee on English in the Liturgy. Includes the current ST. JOSEPH GUIDE FOR THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS (Product 400/G) and INSERTS FOR THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS (Product Code 400/I). Additional copies of the current ST. JOSEPH GUIDE FOR THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS (Product 400/G) are available.
I do wonder what exactly prompted the publishers of the current LotH to replace the standard chants with a wide variety of often-difficult-to-sing hymns, and why they packed it chock-full with unnecessary 'psalm-prayers' and appendices of stuff you never use. I have heard rumblings that the upcoming Vox Clara alterations will involve compelling publishers to stick closer to the Editio Typica.
for the last several years this has been my daily companion. bought the large print in ~2008 for when we can't read fine print anymore. totally life changing and would recommend to every Catholic. i look forward every morning to hearing what God has to say to me and how He wants me to serve Him today. the Office of Readings is my favorite! this along with Divine Intimacy and the In Conversation with God series are my go-tos for guidance and inspiration. God's Word and His saints' never fail me.
During the holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament I felt called to read more Psalms. Today I found out that morning prayers in the Liturgy of the Hours consist of psalms. Just seemed an interesting connection. I'd like that.
The Liturgy of the Hours is the official prayers of the Church. If you're a person who's prayer life has been mostly "personal relationship" conversation with God or "praying with the Bible", this is the next step in your prayer life. At first, the LOTH, smacks you right in the gut with "I'm not getting anything out of this." RIGHT! The LOTH takes you out of yourself and directs your attention to God. In time, the prayer transforms you and your life. Your relationship with God will change from "rubbing a lamp to the cosmic genie" to ending spiritual suffering by emptying yourself and letting God fill you. Adoration of God replaces the ego's drive for supplication. You'll go from "God, please give me ...." to truly taking up your cross, truly confronting the spiritual battle for your soul, and a deeper experience of yielding to God. But, it's NOT a read, it's not head knowledge, it's a practice, a discipline - day and night, every day, every night until we can hear Christ's words, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." Personally, I recommend the Mundelein Psalter and chant the prayer.
Notice the days, notice the hours, notice the presence of God.
These prayer books have kept me company and helped me attend to the presence of God for a while now. I'll keep them close.
While I'm Lutheran, I've benefited a great deal from this extended practice of prayer. I know this isn't everyone's thing, but I'm enjoying the time. I feel a correlation as well. When the days are measured with prayer, the days also carry more gratitude, more consideration of God's presence. This is a gift to receive and I'm appreciating it, though I don't always keep with the practice.
On a rare occasion, a prayer will catch me, have me cock my head a bit. I'll re-phrase it some and have it make a little more sense from my theological perspective. That's rare, but it happens.
This is a four volume set used as a "lookup" for a prayer or prayers for the year; It is divided into sections; Advent(Christmas) Easter and ordinary(regular times of the year) It is not a"reading tool" unless you take say Easter and a part of the week in Easter and reflect on the days, prayers of the time spent; since I know this edition, I would without any hesitation recommend it; It comes in three styles; Leather, imitation leather, and paperback; you would be surprised as to the forgotten prayers you would miss on a daily basis. This is a wonderful reference tool! Excellent!
I am just awe struck by these volumes. We had to buy a second set so that we wouldn't have to keep passing it back and forth! They aren't cheap, so that tells you how I feel about them. I will be using these books for the rest of my life.
In the summer before my senior year in high school, a priest who became a dear friend and a life-long mentor gave each of the members of his Young Christian Students' study group a copy of "A Short Breviary," a much condensed version of the full Liturgy of the Hours which consists of four two-thousand page plus volumes giving psalms, readings from the Old and New Testaments, and commemorations for saints for each day of the 356 day Liturgical Year.
Unlike the calendar year, the Liturgical Year varies slightly by end and start date, beginning with the 1st Sunday of Advent and ending with the Saturday of the 34th and last Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Although I have prayed and thought on thethe 1-volume "short breviary" daily since that long-ago summer of 1960, I "graduated" to using the full 4-volume version in 1981.
While admittedly the full 4-volume edition might be a tad "much" for the average person, given how hectic life has become for most of us, I have found it a welcome retreat into language, world-view, and ethical/moral mind-set that is so very different from our own troubled times.
One of the features I most welcome is the two texts given for reading in the aptly named Hour of Readings: the first of these comes from either the Old or New Testament and offers a semi-continuous reading of many of the books and letters from Scripture; the second comes from either a long-ago letter or sermon by one of the early "Church Fathers" or from one of the documents issued by the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.
Coupled with the daily texts from the Old and New Testaments that are featured in the eucharistic liturgy for each day of the years, this readings present a lot of what is in the Bible for annual study and refreshing.
Even though there is substantial disagreement among people of various faiths about the "use" or "authenticity" of the Bible texts, I have found much wisdom -- and much-needed peace -- in using these volumes.
The best edition of the four volume Liturgy of the Hours set is from Pauline Press, which has the Revised Grail Psalms. They were published for the African Church, but anyone in any English-speaking country can easily use them. I look forward to the day when the USCCB updates the Liturgy of the Hours to the Revised Grail translation.
So it's not a book you read, but what you pray with. Frankly, I'm kinda surprised that this has a GR entry, but I guess since Amazon sells it and they just kinda info dump it ended up in here.
This is the daily prayer book of the Church. Priests, deacons, and religious are required to use it and laity are encouraged to as well. Among other things, the practice gets one into a pattern of prayer allowing for deeper time with God.
Enter the rhythm of daily prayer life in the Church with the Liturgy of Hours. Often this is done in community in parishes or shrines, but can also be prayed alone. Regardless this is the prayer of the Church, so when you do recite these prayers, you are uniting your voice with the voices of all those in the Church.
These prayers are a wonderful way to integrate The presence of the spiritual into your daily life. They can be a time of meditation, helping one to rise above the noise and existential feeling of separation so present in today’s society.
I absolutely love The Liturgy of the Hours and highly recommend these prayers, at a minimum the Office of Readings and Vespers to anyone wishing to deepen their spiritual life.
I balked at praying the Liturgy of the Hours for years. When my hubby became a deacon, I decided I must be on board with him in this path. So I have now learned to love it. Honestly, I pray morning and evening prayer mostly.