Pray with us
The Liturgy of the hours
Blessed are we, if, for the Kingdom of God,
in time and beyond time,
we learn to pardon and to persevere,
to work and to serve,
to suffer and to love.
Pope Paul VI
The Liturgical Hours are the prayer of Holy Church. The introduction to the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom says this to us:
God has freely chosen us in his goodness that we might share in his glory. He wishes to share with us his beauty, holiness, divine nature, his love. We are called to live in the real loving presence of the Trinity through the mediation of Jesus Christ. Through faith, we breathe in this presence of God among us - communion with the Precious and Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ given to us for the remission of our sins and for eternal life. We carry this Presence and communion out into our world extending the Liturgy into our day, throughout the day in every thought, word and deed for the Glory of God, vibrantly aware of Jesus Glorified living within us and working through his Spirit to transfigure the world bringing it to fullness in the sharing of his divine nature.
We know that whilst on earth Jesus regularly went up to the Temple to pray.
We know that he also prayed the psalms with his apostles. It was a part of his nature, for the human body of the man Jesus, was so united to the Word of God, that it became the very flesh of the Word, the Only-begotten Son of the Father. When we too pray the psalms, we share in a special way in the very prayer of Jesus, that he himself prayed whilst on earth.
We actually prolong the prayer of Christ on the earth by sharing in his life and praying the Divine Office of the Liturgical Hours, in the name of Holy
Church. The General Instructions of Vatican II encourage everyone, not just Priests and Religious, to pray at least a part of the Divine Office everyday:
18. Whoever takes part in the Liturgy of the Hours makes the Lord's people grow by imparting to them a hidden fruitfulness. For the goal of apostolic works is that all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of his Church, to take part in her sacrifice, and to eat the Lord's Supper. The faithful thus express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church. It is of the essence of the Church that she be both…visible and yet invisibly endowed, eager to act and yet devoted to contemplation, present in this world and yet not at home in it. The Christian life is nourished by sacred scripture and by prayer is strengthened. The Lord alone, without whom we can do nothing, can when we ask him give fruitfulness and increase to the works in which we are engaged. Day by day we are built into the Temple of God in the Spirit until Christ's full stature is achieved and we are strengthened to preach Christ to those who are outside.
19. With the same mind as the Redeemer, they should praise God and pray to him.
22. If the faithful come together and unite their hearts and voices in the Liturgy of the Hours, they manifest the Church celebrating the mystery of Christ.
27. Wherever groups of the laity are gathered and whatever the reason which has brought them together…….they are encouraged to recite the Church's Office by celebrating part of the Liturgy of the Hours. For they should learn to adore God the Father in spirit and truth especially through liturgical worship..…..Finally, it is fitting that the family, as the domestic sanctuary of the church, should not only offer common prayer to God but also say certain parts of the Liturgy of the Hours, in this way uniting themselves more closely to the Church.
We have to live and work in the world but our first work is always to seek God by continual prayer and union with his will. We believe that the Divine Presence is everywhere; the Benedictine stands before God.
When praying the Liturgical Hours we offer direct worship to God with the angels; heaven upon earth, giving glory to God, the Holy Trinity, for in the Liturgy, Christ, our perfect priest, gives the Father the perfect worship of his human nature for the human race with whom he has become one.
Not only does Christ pray through us but also we glorify the Father, through him, with him and in him, because we are in him.
Praying the Liturgy of the Hours is the official prayer of the Church. It is the Church at prayer: we are the Church - in Russia, China, Bosnia, Africa, Iraq, Rome - wherever in the world the Church is troubled, persecuted; clothing our world, the dying, the sick, the poor, all the depressed and lonely people, indeed, all men, in the transfiguring light of God's love in Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit who graces us to return that love in self-emptying service to every person. And this prayer may be for someone the first loving touch of another human being and the beginning of their discovery of God - the loving presence of the Holy Trinity touching our world, the Receptacle of His Love.
We lose our life only to beget life outside of ourselves in Truth in the family of God. We become receptacles of the Trinitarian act of God as love only in Jesus Christ, for this love is the Trinitarian Persons giving themselves to us, divinizing us through their uncreated energies of love. It is their gift to us to share in their divine nature.
Prayer is the essence of Benedictine life because we have one purpose - to seek God alone. We seek him in prayer and finding him we enjoy living with him. Praying at periods throughout the day nourishes us to continual prayer and like Jesus we can dismiss the crowds and go up onto the mountain to pray, returning refreshed in the knowledge that God not work is the reason for our existence. Periods of private prayer bring more meaning to our Liturgy when we give adoration, praise, love and thanksgiving worship to God - we bless God.
It is a very wonderful thing that by participating in this worship and prayer we can have an impact on all men and contribute to the salvation of the whole world. Liturgical prayer is the work of God - the Opus Dei. It is Christ at prayer in his people, offering to the Father the prayer of his own life.
One does not always have to be in a Church to pray the Hours. It is quite acceptable to pray at home or wherever you may be. It is then, not about you. It is about Christ. You do not have to be in the right mood, nor feeling anything in particular. You pray when you are happy, when you are sad, irritated, out of sorts, distracted, sick or in good health. In good times and bad, you pray; you place yourself into prayer and it is Christ who prays through you offering to the Father his own prayer - the prayer of the Church.
And we pray at certain times of the day simply because it is time to pray.
THE HOURS
You are asked to pray a part of the Office daily. There are several Hours each day to choose from but Lauds and Vespers are the two "hinges" of the day and are highly recommended. It is best to pray the Hours at the right time of day to keep their traditional character.
Vigils: The Office of Readings - traditionally a nighttime prayer.
Lauds: Morning Prayer - Prayed at the dawn of a new day as the sun rises.
PRAY AND WORK:
Terce: Before Noon The 3rd Hour -9am, Christ carries his own Cross.
Sext: Midday Prayer The 6th Hour - Noon, Christ hangs on the Cross
None: Afternoon Prayer The 9th Hour - 3pm, Christ dies on the Cross.
Vespers: Evening Prayer - Praise at sunset. Thank you Lord, for all you do for me,
Compline: Night Prayer - As we prepare to sleep, we cast ourselves once more
into the Father's hands with the certainty of knowing that
we will rise to new life, to a new beginning at dawn.
You can buy a complete 3-book set of the Divine Office. Also available is a daily prayer book of Morning and Evening Prayer. They are very expensive, so we offer to you a means of sharing in the Hours that is simple.
On the following pages is a general formula to follow; an ordering of the Psalms, from which you can choose 1, 2, up to 3 Psalms for each Hour that you pray.
The readings can be taken from the letters of St. Paul. For a Vigil you could use the readings of the day's Mass from your Missal.
We include some general intercessions, which you can use if you are not sure what to say, and a concluding prayer.
Generally, Vigils takes 1 hour. Lauds and Vespers 20-25 minutes. Prayer during the day about 12-15+ minutes, depending on how long you stay.
Compline is also a short hour.
Thank you lord for all you do for me, my family, my friends and my world.
If you need help, please contact us.
THE GENERAL FORMULA:
The day begins. We reverently take up our Bible and pray:
Thou, O Lord, will open our lips, + + +
And our tongue will announce Thy praise.
(As we pray we make the sign of the Cross on our lips 3 times.)
Glory be to the Father +…..
The Invitory Psalm: This psalm is the same everyday, psalm 95.
The psalm invites us to prayer in the rising to new life in the new day. It is said at the start of the new days' prayer before the beginning of the first Hour.
ANTIPHON: Come, let us adore the Lord for it is He who saves us.
Psalm 95. Glory be to the Father……. Repeat Antiphon.
EACH HOUR follows the same formula:
It begins with silence. We sit silently for 2/3 minutes.
We stand.
We begin with the sign of the cross,+.
We pray:
O God come to my assistance,
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father…..
We sit down.
The Psalms: Choose 1, 2, up to 3 psalms from the table for each Hour that you pray. Pray the words of the psalm out aloud. Say 1 Glory Be to the Father at the end of each psalm.
Spend a few moments reflecting on what you have just prayed before moving on to the next psalm.
This ordering of the psalms, taken from the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, begins with psalm 21 at the Vigil on Sunday. Try to follow the ordering through logically so as to include the whole psalter over a period of time.
VIGILS:
Sunday: 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32
Monday: 33; 34; 35; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 44; 45; 46
Tuesday: 47; 48; 49; 50; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56; 58; 59
Wednesday: 60; 61; 63; 66; 68; 69; 70; 71; 72; 73
Thursday: 74; 75; 77; 78; 79; 80; 81; 82; 83; 84
Friday: 85; 86; 87; 89; 93; 94; 96; 97; 98; 99
Saturday: 100; 101; 102; 103; 104; 105; 106; 107; 108; 109
LAUDS - MORNING PRAYER:
Sunday: 67; 51; 116; 117; 62; Daniel 3; 150
Monday: 5; 36
Tuesday: 43; 57
Wednesday: 64; 65
Thursday: 88; 90
Friday: 76; 92
Saturday: 143; Deut.4:32 - 40; 148; 149
TERCE - BEFORE NOON:
Sunday: 119 He; Waw; Zayn
Monday: 119 Nun; Samek; Ayin
Tuesday to Saturday: 120; 121; 122
SEXT - MIDDAY:
Sunday: 119 Het; Te; Yodh
Monday:119 Pe; Zade; Qoph
Tuesday to Saturday: 123; 124; 125
NONE - AFTERNOON:
Sunday: 119 Kaph; Lamed; Mem
Monday: 119 Resh; Shin; Taw
Tuesday to Saturday: 126; 127; 128
VESPERS - EVENING PRAYER:
Sunday: 110; 111; 112; 113
Monday: 114; 115; 118; 129
Tuesday: 130; 131; 132; 133
Wednesday: 135; 136; 137; 138
Thursday: 139; 140; 141
Friday: 142; 143; 144; 145
Saturday: 146; 147; Is.38: 10-14, 17-20
COMPLINE - NIGHT PRAYER:
1 Peter 5:8,9; Examen of Conscience, Confiteor;
Psalms 4; 91; 134
Revelation 22:3-5
Nunc Dimittis - Luke 2:29-32
Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen)
PSALMS BEFORE WORK:
Psalms before starting work: 1 through to 20
The Reading: Take a short reading from Scripture,
just a short paragraph or a verse or two; the letters of St. Paul are preferred.
( Please note: For Terce, Sext and None go directly now to the Our Father and concluding prayer.)
For Vigils choose 3 readings - from the Old Testament, a letter of St. Paul and a short Gospel reading.
. Sit for the first 2 readings but always stand for the Gospel.
Morning prayer only: The Benedictus, Luke 1:46 - 55
Evening Prayer only: The Magnificat, Luke 1:68 - 79
The Intercessions: We ask God for all our needs.
Let us pray to Christ, the way, the truth and the life.
R/ Son of the living God, bless your people.
We pray for all the ministers of your Church: - may they be nourished and sustained as they break for their brothers the bread of life.
R/ Son of the….
We pray for the whole Christian people: - may they be faithful to their calling and hold fast in bonds of peace the unity of the spirit.
R/
We pray for those who govern our country that they may exercise their office with justice and compassion; - help them to promote the peace of the world.
R/
We pray for our community and all the members, for their welfare and good of soul.
R/
We pray for all our needs; for an angel of God to guide and guard us; that we may spend the rest of our lives in repentance for our sin. Make us worthy to adore you in the communion of saints.
R/
We pray for a happy death and for a good defence before the awesome justice seat of Christ.
R/
Grant eternal joy to the faithful departed, whom we entrust to your care.
R/
The Our Father.
Concluding Prayer:
Almighty and ever-living God, you offer the covenant of reconciliation to mankind in the mystery of Easter. Grant that we may carry out in our lives what we celebrate in worship; warm our hearts with zeal for your kingdom and a longing for its fulfillment: make our lives rich in good works and so bring us to the glory of Christ.
We make our prayer through our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever,
Amen.
The Sisters of St. John the Beloved
Who we are
Our House, our calling
The daily Horarium
Our work
Fraternal Charity
The Community is a koinonia
The Confraternity
The Little Charter of the poor
The restoration of the Precious Blood
Pray with us
About Saint David
Formation
Rosary of the 7 Dolors
The Chapter of St. John the Baptist
Tydewi Binderie
Tydewi Binderie
All things come from Him;
To Him are all things.
The Monastery of Dewi Sant,
Western Australia.
@Copy Right, the Monastery of Dewi Sant, Australia.
This Page was created specifically for the Monastery of Dewi Sant, Australia,
By Cath Art Creations
|
|
|
|