These questions fell out of a recent series of talks on praying the Liturgy of the Hours, at which I was an “assistant tutor”.
Q: Why is it recommended to use the Everyday Prayer book instead of a Divine Office app or web site?
It isn’t. I personally use the Universalis mobile app whenever I travel, just so I can have each day’s mass readings and Liturgy of the Hours without extra weight, bulk or Internet charges.
Now, paper tends to be more useful, once you get used to flipping back and forth:
- Some electronic versions don’t have accent marks to indicate syllabic stresses, which are very useful when chanting.
- You may be in a place where electronic devices are not permitted.
- Screens can be hard on the eyes.
- Books don’t run out of battery, or crash in the middle of prayer.
Then again, there’s no flipping needed for apps, and you can pray in the dark with a smartphone.
Use whatever makes more sense to you, just start praying.
Q: I have no time to pray even twice a day. What can I do?
Do NOT skip the first Hour of the day. Lauds (morning) and Vespers (evening) are the two hinges on which the rest of the Divine Office hangs. Imagine a door to eternal life, with Lauds representing the top hinge, and Vespers the bottom one.
If you religiously pray Lauds, that starts you off each day on a Godly note. Then, if your day ends so late that you are too tired to pray Vespers, that’s like a door missing its bottom hinge: It’s not as stable as one with both hinges intact, but it still swings properly with a little care.
If you decide to skip Lauds…a door that’s missing its top hinge will soon twist right off the bottom one and fall flat, constantly battered by temptations and distractions, and upended by daily cares.
(For added assurance, add more hinges…er…Hours.)
Q: I’m having trouble finding the motivation to pray the Divine Office. What can I do?
Play to win, so that you can pray to win. Or, “proper preparation prevents poor performance.” Waking up and staggering past an empty altar is no way to win the crown of life, so it pays to do whatever prep work is necessary to replace motivation with convenience and/or workflow.
So after Lauds, I’ll always turn to the next day’s Lauds and leave the prayer book open on my home altar. (Before Vespers, I bookmark the Lauds page, then pray the evening prayers, and flip back to Lauds. Even if I end without Vespers for a reason, the book’s at the correct page for the next day.)
I’ll also make sure there’s a chair in front of the altar, and switch on the altar light manually at night, so that when I wake up and stagger towards the kitchen the next morning, I inevitably reach out to switch off the altar light, look up at Jesus staring down at me…then sit down and begin my morning prayer without having to figure out which page to start on.
Q: I’m a late sleeper, so I can’t wake up at 6am to pray Lauds. What do I pray then?
Pray Lauds whenever you wake up, then Vespers at the usual evening hour. The exact time of each hour isn’t as critical, especially when your waking hours get complicated, as in…
Q: I’m on shift duty. How can I pray the Divine Office when I’m on night shift, since my hours don’t match the Hours?
There are two options I’ve seen in use:
Option 1: Follow the wall clock. Pray today’s Vespers before you head out for work in the evening, and tomorrow’s Lauds when you return in the morning. It can be a bit jarring at first, but it’s easy to figure out with an Ordo or other prayer timetable.
For night-shift workers, this can also mean praying Compline in the middle of the night, which is quite appropriate as a ward against both physical and spiritual darkness.
Option 2: Follow your internal clock. Lauds before you head out, Vespers when you get back. This is in spiritual harmony with the intent of Lauds to “consecrate 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.” (St. Basil the Great) It’s especially appropriate to begin your “day” with the Lauds invitatory: “Lord, open my lips.” Going to bed with Compline’s conclusion of “a quiet night and a perfect end” is also a nicely literal way to finish your “day”, even if the sun’s blazing at “night”.
If you use this option, I recommend that you use the next day’s prayers, e.g. pray Friday’s Lauds and Vespers on your “day” that starts Thursday night. Think of it as “anticipated prayers”; you’re praying in union with the worldwide Church, just a few hours ahead of your local brethren. This also leads to praying a “connected” set of prayers on feasts and solemnities, e.g. praying both Lauds and Vespers of St. John the Baptist together in a “day”, instead of starting with 2nd Vespers of St. John and ending with Lauds of the next day.