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THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
According to the Rule of the
Secular Franciscan Order, Article 8, Secular Franciscans are to
"join in liturgical prayer in one of the forms proposed by the
Church, reliving the mysteries of the life of Christ." The
Ritual of the Secular Franciscan Order gives several suggestions
for fulfilling this responsibility, one of them being morning and
evening prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. This page provides
links to instruction and tutorials on the Liturgy, Franciscan prayers and Mass
readings.
In the section on The Liturgy of
the Hours, 1168 - 1178, The Catechism of the Catholic Church
describes the Liturgy at 1174:
The mystery of Christ, his
Incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the Eucharist
especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the
time of each day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the
Hours, "the divine office." This celebration, faithful to
the apostolic exhortations to "pray constantly," is
"so devised that the whole course of the day and night is made
holy by the praise of God." In this "public prayer
of the Church," The faithful (clergy, religious, and lay
people) exercise the royal priesthood of the baptized. Celebrated in
"the form approved" by the Church, the Liturgy of the
Hours "is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her
Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with
his Body addresses to the Father.
SOURCE: Catechism of the
Catholic Church, Vatican
website.
Book
of Hours Leaf 1527
DETAILED
FORMAT FOR
MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER
(click
here
and print in Word document)
 
TUTORIALS AND
INSTRUCTION
FOR LITURGY OF THE HOURS
There are many websites offering
instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours. The following are very
helpful with excellent information and tutorials:
1. St.
Thomas More House of Prayer - The St.
Thomas More House of Prayer is dedicated to the mission of praying and
promoting the Liturgy of the Hours. Go to the School
of Prayer page for exceptionally
well-done audio tutorials on the Liturgy and the Psalms. Also, go
to the Liturgy
of the Hours page. Click here
for Today's Prayers, Christian Prayer
Book
of Hours, 1400-1425
2. The
Rosary Shop (click) - An online apostolate
dedicated to promoting the Liturgy of the Hours with some helpful
printed materials which may be downloaded. For example, Discovering
Prayer is an easy-to-understand tutorial on the Liturgy of the Hours
which may be downloaded and printed. This fifth edition (2007)
adds sections on how to pray on special feast days, a detailed tutorial
for praying with the abridged prayer books, chanting and basic Latin
prayers.
Book
of Hours, 1430-1450
3. The
Beginner Guide to the Divine Office -
This site has a PDF file which may be downloaded. It makes a
good handout, especially to provide basic information for those in the
initial stages of formation.
PDF File: Beginner's
Guide to Divine Office (download
flier)
ANTIPHONAL
LEAF
16th c.(?), Spain
Parchment leaf
from Matins,
Invitatory, Psalm 94:2b - 5a
4. Monastery
Podcast - Listen to the Liturgy of
the Hours, sung by the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.
5.
Morning and Evening Prayer - audio:
Pray Station
6. Lauds & Vespers.
Good information on Liturgy. Click
here.
7. For General Audiences
of Pope John Paul II, beginning March 28, 2001, there is a series of
catecheses on the Psalms and Canticles found in the morning prayer of
Lauds on the Vatican website. Our Holy Father said, " In
this way I would like to encourage and help everyone to pray with the
same words that Jesus used, words that for thousands of years have
been part of the prayer of Israel and the Church." This
series is followed by another on the Psalms and Canticles found in the
evening prayer of Vespers. For first in the
series of Lauds,
click here.
For an index to the 2001 audiences, click here.
PRAYERS
OF ST. FRANCIS
PSALMS
OF ST. FRANCIS
FRANCISCAN
DEVOTIONS
FRANCISCAN
PRAYERBOOK
The above pages are on
the website of Franciscan Friars, Third Order Regular of St. Francis,
Province of the Immaculate Conception. Home
Page.
Book
of Devotion Late 1500's
EUCHARISTIC READINGS
Listen to the Daily
Readings on your computer
Listen to the Daily
Reflection
Bible in Latin 1250
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