THE DIVINE OFFICE: THE PRAYER OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH

SANCTIFYING THE HOURS OF THE DAY

Today we continue our journey through Sacrosanctum Concilium with Chapter IV and the Council’s teaching on the Divine Office.

The Divine Office is far more than a private devotion reserved for priests and religious. It is the public prayer of the Church – the prayer of the Mystical Body of Christ, offered throughout the hours of the day and night.

Rooted in the Psalms, shaped by the example of Our Lord, and practiced by the Apostles and the early Church, the Divine Office consecrates time itself to God. Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline call the Church to return again and again to prayer, fulfilling the command of St. Paul: “Pray without ceasing.”

In Day Six, we consider the ancient development of the canonical hours, the reforms proposed by the Council, and Pope Benedict XVI’s beautiful understanding of the Psalms as words given by God so that we may learn how to speak to Him.

We also examine what was preserved, what was changed, and what remains to be recovered—especially the Council’s hope that the Divine Office, and particularly Sunday Vespers, would become more deeply rooted in the prayer of parish communities.

Please join us for Day Six.

May we learn to return every hour of our lives to God, joining our voices to the unceasing prayer of Christ and His Church.