The Liturgy of the Hours, also called "the divine office"
and "the prayer of the Church" consists of these
hours (prayer times):
Morning Prayer (Lauds)
Prayer During the Day - Before Noon (Terce)
Prayer During the Day - Midday (Sext)
Prayer During the Day - Afternoon (None)
Evening Prayer (Vespers)
Office of Readings (Matins)
Night Prayer (Compline)
I. THE EXPRESSION "DIVINE OFFICE"
This expression ... in ecclesiastical language, (means) certain prayers to be
recited at fixed hours of the day or night by priests, religious, or clerics,
and, in general, by all those obliged by their vocation to fulfil this duty. The
Divine Office comprises only the recitation of certain prayers in the Breviary,
and does not include the Mass and other liturgical ceremonies.
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Divine Office
("Liturgy of the Hours")
I. THE EXPRESSION "DIVINE OFFICE"
This expression signifies etymologically a duty accomplished for God; in virtue
of a Divine precept it means, in ecclesiastical language, certain prayers to be
recited at fixed hours of the day or night by priests, religious, or clerics,
and, in general, by all those obliged by their vocation to fulfil this duty. The
Divine Office comprises only the recitation of certain prayers in the Breviary,
and does not include the Mass and other liturgical ceremonies.
II. PRIMITIVE FORM OF THE OFFICE
The custom of reciting prayers at certain hours of the day or night goes back to
the Jews, from whom Christians have borrowed it. In the Psalms we find
expressions like: "I will meditate on thee in the morning"; "I rose at midnight
to give praise to thee"; "Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and
declare: and he shall hear my voice"; "Seven times a day I have given praise to
thee"; etc. (Cf. "Jewish Encyclopedia", X, 164-171, s. v. "Prayer"). The
Apostles observed the Jewish custom of praying at midnight, terce, sext, none
(Acts, x, 3, 9; xvi, 25; etc.). The Christian prayer of that time consisted of
almost the same elements as the Jewish: recital or chanting of psalms, reading
of the Old Testament, to which was soon added reading of the Gospels, Acts, and
Epistles, and at times canticles composed or improvised by the assistants.
"Gloria in excelsis" and the "Te decet laus" are apparently vestiges of these
primitive inspirations. At present the elements composing the Divine Office seem
more numerous, but they are derived, by gradual changes, from the primitive
elements. As appears from the texts of Acts cited above, the first Christians
preserved the custom of going to the Temple at the hour of prayer. But they had
also their reunions or synaxes in private houses for the celebration of the
Eucharist and for sermons and exhortations. But the Eucharistic synaxis soon
entailed other prayers; the custom of going to the Temple disappeared; and the
abuses of the Judaizing party forced the Christians to separate more distinctly
from the Jews and their practices and worship. Thenceforth the Christian liturgy
rarely borrowed from Judaism.
III. DEVELOPMENT
The development of the Divine Office was probably in the following manner: The
celebration of the Eucharist was preceded by the recital of the psalms and the
reading of the Old and New Testaments. This was called the Mass of the
Catechumens, which has been preserved almost in its original form. Probably this
part of the Mass was the first form of the Divine Office, and, in the beginning,
the vigils and the Eucharistic Synaxis were one. When the Eucharistic service
was not celebrated, the prayer was limited to the recital or chanting of the
psalms and the reading of the Scriptures. The vigils thus separated from the
Mass became an independent office. ... This development of the Divine Office, as
far as concerns the Roman liturgy, was completed at the close of the sixth
century.
Source: The Catholic Encyclopedia (2003) Divine Office. By Fernand Cabrol. www.newadvent.com
This site was last updated 16/09/03
