Catholic Liturgy
10/19/2021
I wanted to go through the Liturgy of the Hours (4-Volume Set) starting at the begining of the Advent Season. I come from a Christadelphian background, and remain one, and therefore there is no liturgy. The closest thing to a liturgy is the daily bible readings that most Christadelphians follow, which many will base their exhortation on. However, I also come from a Jewish background and attended Yeshiva and some shul. Therefore, I’m somewhat familiar with Jewish liturgy, the Siddur, and Machzor. I wish my faith community had a liturgical background. Because of the lack of liturgy, I want to investigate various liturgical traditions and find out more. I’m starting with the Catholic faith and will eventually get to other faith traditions.
I have a complicated background with Catholicism. My mother converted from Catholicism, and my father’s side were forced to convert to Catholicism in the old country, helped build two Catholic churches, and then for the most part the family deconverted. The Christadelphian faith tradition came out of the radical reformation, and therefore, tend to differ from Catholicism a lot, from theology to practice. Therefore, my true knowledge of Catholicism is very limited. Especially when it comes to the Liturgy of the Hours. Therefore, I’m starting with this book A Layman’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours: How the Prayers of the Church Can Change Your Life.
I will be updating this post regularly.
The Liturgy of the Hours has historically been used only by priests, monks, and nuns for around 1,500 years. However, after Vatican II, it was encouraged and recommended by the Pope and the council that the lay person engage in praying the Liturgy of the Hours. The reason given is that since Jesus Christ is High Priest those baptized in his name become priests as well, making them a nation of priests (Rev. 5:10). Therefore, the layman is also a priest, though they are not under the same requirements of an ordained priest.
The Liturgy of the Hours has 5 times to pray. It is generally recommended that the layman do at least two of them, the morning and evening prayers, due to contemporary life. However, it isn’t expected for all laymen to do all five prayers everyday, nor should they feel like they are sinning if they don’t.
I would recommend highly A Layman’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours: How the Prayers of the Church Can Change Your Life before starting. Once that is read, the general instructions found in the first volume of Liturgy of the Hours (4-Volume Set) is a great help in understanding the Liturgy of the Hours. The instructions are about 70 pages long.
11/8/2021
The Liturgy of the Hours can be a little difficult to navigate if you are a novice. There are multiple ribbons and it seems like almost every day there is something different, and nothing is routine. However, after some time you will have it down, especially if you read the book I recommended above. With that said, I have found this video helpful. This video will show you where to put the ribbons and how to use the breviary. You can also download the Liturgy of the Hour from your App store for your smartphone. This may make it much easier, as they will easily bring up all the correct readings without having to flip through the pages of a book in a manner you may not be familiar with.
I am an old soul, so I prefer the book version!