#Divine office universalis full#

Vespers means the “evening hour” of prayer, and Compline–in Latin, completorium–is the prayer “for things done,” in repentence, praise, and thanksgiving at day’s end. Terce, Sext, and None are prayed at the t ertia (third), s exta (sixth), and nona (ninth) hour of the day, using the ancient reckoning of daylight hours. Most of the names of these rituals of prayer were adopted directly from the Latin terms for the time of day at which they were to be prayed.

Joined to Christ and one another in the one mystical Body, we offer immeasurably greater praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together–and we, the brothers of Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey, mean together–we will offer up a worthy prayer to our Lord. If you can pray every day, in any way, you are with us, joining your voice to our Abbey choir, the Church, and the choirs of angels. Then simply scroll down to the bottom of this page and find the Divine Office for today, and don’t forget to pray for us! Then, if it’s helpful, come back and use this page to pray with us daily. Let us know if there is anything you want us to pray for, under “Contact Us”, so we can remember your intentions as we pray. While you’re here, we invite you to do two each things to get started.

#Divine office universalis full#

If the demands of your vocation prevent you from praying a full “hour” from the Breviary, you could stop for a moment and say the Lord’s Prayer seven times a day as your Office. It becomes part of your life and something you can’t do without. Perhaps not all seven offices or hours, but many people start and end their day with this prayer, and if you get into the habit and rhythm of prayer, you will find yourself missing it when you don’t do it. Many lay people make a point of praying the Liturgy of the Hours during the day. In doing so, you can join the monks who stand daily in choir at Our Lady of the Holy Cross Abbey, as well as the millions of other Christians who pray the Divine Office. We encourage you to breathe with the psalms daily, and let your heart beat as one with Christians everywhere, in the rhythm of the Liturgy of the Hours. Hence, the Church calls all of us to liturgical prayer, beginning with Sunday Mass. The Liturgy is the life-blood, connecting and nourishing the members of the Mystical Body of Christ–first the Mass, or Divine Liturgy, and second the Liturgy of Hours, or the Divine Office. It does require small sacrifices, but if we start small, keep it manageable, make it habit and not a burden, it will become life-giving! So many have said “I wish I could do this more often ” then time and our busy lives make that hard. Many have come to Our Lady of the Holy Cross on retreat or to mass or for one of our services. These liturgical “hours” or “offices” can also be prayed using the embedded webpage below.ħ:00 am – Lauds, followed by ~ 7:25 am Massġ0:00 am – Terce (private, in workplaces) Just as the Psalmist says, the monks here come together in prayer “seven times a day,” starting with Vigils, in “the watches of the night.” We invite you to join us in this ancient prayer, whether by coming to our chapel or from your own homes as described below. (See Matthew 26:41, Luke 21:36, and 1 Thess 5:17.) Following the prayer of Israel, of Jesus, and of the apostles, it has been the unbroken prayer of the universal Church throughout history, and it remains the prayer of Holy Cross Abbey.įor well over 1500 years, Christian monks and clergy have used a particular format for the Liturgy of Hours to help the Church fulfill Our Lord’s command. Our Lord commands us to “pray without ceasing,” and keep watch, waiting in hope for His second coming. Very similar to the prayers said in synagogues and homes by Jesus and the apostles, and by many Jewish generations before, the greatest part of this “work of God” is simply the singing of Psalms and the reading of Sacred Scripture. Benedict refers to it in his Rule, the Work of God (Opus Dei). This could be loosely translated as the divine commission, or the task of heaven, but is traditionally called “the Divine Office.” This ancient Christian practice is also called the Liturgy of the Hours (Liturgia horarium) or, as St. Christians throughout history, especially monks and nuns, have practiced a communal form of prayer known as the Officium Divinum.