Saints LightThe Liturgy of the Hours: What Is the Church's Daily Prayer?
The Liturgy of the Hours is the Church's daily prayer of psalms at set times, and any Catholic can join it, starting with short Night Prayer.
What this lesson teaches
- The Liturgy of the Hours is the Church's official daily prayer, built mostly on the psalms.
- Its hours are the Office of Readings, Morning, Daytime, Evening and Night Prayer.
- Morning and Evening Prayer are the two hinges of the day.
- Lay people are invited to pray it, and Night Prayer is an easy place to start.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 1174-1178
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Psalm 118:164 (119:164 in most modern Bibles); Psalm 140:2 (141:2 in most modern Bibles); 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
A sample question from this lesson
What makes up most of the Liturgy of the Hours?
- Readings from the Catechism
- The psalms
- Prayers to the saints
- Rosary decades
Show the answer
The psalms. The Hours are built mainly on the psalms, spread over a four week cycle, along with hymns, readings and intercessions.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Divine Office
- Another name for the Liturgy of the Hours.
- Compline
- Night Prayer, the last hour of the day, prayed before sleep.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"The Liturgy of the Hours: What Is the Church's Daily Prayer?" is lesson 7 of Learning to Pray. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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