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SophieGirl
1-7-12, 11:58am
I'm Catholic --- and I can't really say for certain whether that's because that's my true religion of calling, or if that's just because it's closer to Catholic than to anything else available around here. (And yes --- unless you want to be a solitary believer who has no spiritual community, availability *is* an issue.)

I have difficulty working the Divine Office into my life. And to be honest, it seems anything *but* simple. It may be simple in the context of a monastery, where one of the residents can be in charge of all the calendar work of getting things straightened out. But as an individual, I have to have a high-tech app just to keep up with what prayers and psalms to say on a given day!!!!

Furthermore, often the office turns out to be so long, that I find myself rushing through it rather than saying it prayerfully as I should.

I'm thinking of substituting it with something, well, something *simpler*. But I have a few concerns. Primarily, I'm not sure whether such a move would seriously glorify God, or whether it would just be my stubborn self-will acting.

I feel it would fit in my life very well if I had something that I didn't need any electronic app to use and which had a very bare-minimum of fiddling-with-tables to follow.

And though I don't want to be quickly in-and-out with the prayers ---- I want to make sure that whatever prayers I say I can say them slowly and thoughtfully rather than feeling a *strong* pressure to get through the prayers quickly. I feel very *strongly* that less is more in that regard. And by "less" I don't mean praying less times a day --- as I'm sure some people will suggest that I don't have to pray *every* office, just *some* of them will do.

As for my question? Well ---- it's not exactly phrased as a question, coz it's fairly open-ended. If you have a way that I can make the Divine Office really *work* as-is, I'm all ears. But if you have a suggestion how I can be sure that a simpler alternative glorifies God rather than my self-well, I'm all ears to that too.

If you say I should pray and bring this question to God, then I agree. As a matter of fact, I am doing that right now. But I know it's possible that God may speak through someone else in this simplicity community --- or through the community as a whole ---- so I ask here anyway.

Anyway ---- thanks. :-)

Miss Cellane
1-7-12, 12:55pm
I'm Catholic, too. (Just so you know where I'm coming from.)

First, why do you want to pray the Divine Office? It is not a requirement for Catholics to do this. So why did you choose this particular form of prayer? It takes a lot of discipline to follow the Divine Office--are you seeking discipline/order/regularity in your life?

Not that I'm knocking it, by any means. Many people pray this regularly and get a great deal of benefit from it. But if it is causing this much stress for you, I'm wondering if it is the best choice for you at this point in your life.

Second, what you want to get from your prayer? I see in your post that you are looking to glorify God. But is there anything else that you want prayer to bring into your life? Maybe identifying that will help to determine what type/form of prayer is best for you.

Other forms of prayer you could try are just saying morning and evening prayers, either a set prayer or a more spontaneous, meditative prayer. You could explore the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, which is a sort of "retreat in daily life." It's a bit intense, but it might help you find the direction you want to go in.

You could, for the next few months, spend some of your prayer time reading. The Bible, if that isn't a regular part of your reading schedule. Or a book about prayer or an aspect of Catholicism. Or a book about meditation--because something in your post makes me think that might be a good avenue for you. Or read a Bible passage and meditate on that.

Be open to change. At various points in my life, I have gone to daily Mass. And at other points, just Sunday Mass. Sometimes I pray a lot. Sometimes I don't. I think your struggle with the Divine Office is a sign that right now, you need something different in your spiritual life, or something more, something in addition to the Divine Office.

One book I'd suggest is "The Good Enough Catholic: A guide for the perplexed," by Paul Wilkes.

And a final thought--Sister Pulcharia, my 4th grade nun, who struck terror in to the hearts of all her students, taught me a lasting lesson. Prayer, she said, doesn't need a particular place or time. It doesn't need special words. Prayer is the concern you have for the people involved who you see when you drive by a car accident. Prayer can be as simple as saying "Alleluia" on the way down the hall in your school. During the school day, if she heard a siren in the distance, she would simply pause what she was doing and lead the class in a Hail Mary, then just pick up where she left off. It's not so much what you pray, or how, but the fact that you are weaving prayer into your life that's important.

Tradd
1-7-12, 2:51pm
Sophie,

I'm Orthodox and the Hours (as we simply call the Canonical Hours) are a large part of our tradition, as well. In our tradition, the monastic services (the Hours) served as the basis for the daily prayers of the laity. Each national Orthodox tradition (Russian, Greek, Serbian, etc.) has a "prayer rule" for the laity drawn from the Hours, but done in a different way. I'm in the Russian tradition - morning prayers are essentially from the Midnight Office and evening prayers come from Compline and the Midnight Office. Many prayerbooks also include compline ("after dinner prayer"). Compline, done in a simpler fashion privately, rather than in a monastery, takes 15-20 minutes. Since it's in my prayerbooks, I'll do it sometimes, but usually I just do the regular evening prayers. In the Greek tradition, Midnight Office is prayed in the morning and Compline in the evening among the laity. There are Psalms appointed for each hour.

It's become popular in more recent years in some Orthodox countries for laity to pray the Hours at home - or at least some of them - First, Third, Sixth, Ninth, and Compline. Matins and Vespers are very liturgically complicated. These are the two Hours that are done in Orthodox parishes each weekend. As one of my choir duties, I help put Vespers together. You need a rubrics guide and two other books (The Menaion - one volume for each month) and the Ochtochos (book of the 8 tones, cycles through each week), in addition to a special book during Lent (The Lenten Triodion) and Easter season (the Pentecostarion) to put services together. There are also sections of the Psalter appointed to be read, but they're either abbreviated or left over, in average parish use. This all being said, Vespers is at least an hour and Matins an hour (in a shortened form) on Saturday evening/Sunday morning. Folks don't do those at home because they're so complicated.

I know in Greece a monastery produced a shorter form of the Hours (First, Third, Sixth, Ninth) for laity in the past 15 years, which was translated into English (I've seen the English version). I have a another small book, with the basic First, Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours. Each Hour takes about 15 minutes. However, during Great Lent, you add Psalms to each of the Hours, which probably adds 15-20 minutes to each Hour. During the rest of the year, the Psalter is only read at Matins and Vespers, not the Hours. I need to clarify that - there are specific Psalms appointed for each Hour, but to read continuously through the Psalter is done at Matins/Vespers outside of Great Lent.

This is all to say, I have some idea of where you are coming from. I've got some suggestions.

1. Are you trying to do ALL the Divine Office? I don't know your personal situation, so are you working, have a husband/family, and so forth, that make such a big time commitment to prayer perhaps impractical, time wise?

2. I'd suggest looking at other options out there. Are you using the standard 4 volume set? You might want to look on a good Catholic bookshop website to see what is out there. Is there an edition of the Divine Office scaled down/simplified for laity? Is there a good Catholic prayer book - perhaps an older, pre-Vatican II edition - with more substantial morning/evening prayers that you might use with the Psalter and the daily Scripture readings? Are there Catholic editions of just the Psalter with the Psalms broken down for each day? I know there are in the Orthodox use, and the Episcopalians/Anglicans have such in the Book of Common Prayer.

3. My priest has said (and it's standard Orthodox advice) to not take on too much in the beginning. You start small, and as such prayer rule becomes a good part of your life, not too much, not too little, you gradually add more, until you're at a good point. Taking on too much at once can eventually lead you to just chuck the whole thing when you can't go on, and then you're worse off than before you began. Such can be spiritually harmful, is the advice given.

I have experience with this. I am SO not a morning person. I've struggled for years with my morning prayer rule. Since my schedule is rather insane, my priest and I have worked out that I do something very short in the morning - prayers I've long ago memorized - in the car on the way to work! I find that's also a good place to pray for those on my personal prayer list. The very standard prayerbook I've got takes about 25 minutes in the morning and about 25 in the evening. On Saturday evening/morning, it takes longer as there are a bunch of pre-Communion prayers.

So, maybe do regular morning prayers with Psalter and Scripture readings. Do one of the evening Hours. I suggest this since I'm always harried in the morning. More time in the evening. Do more on weekends/days off from work. You get the idea.

Add the Magnificat and the Nunc Dumittis to the appropriate morning/evening prayers.

I poked around online and found some options:

These two books appear to be a simplified form, given they're taken from the Liturgy of the Hours:

http://www.catholicbookpublishing.com/BrowseByDepartments.aspx?DepID=13&HierID=13

There's one for daytime prayer and another for night prayer. Price is right, too - $20 together.

This page has some other options (one volume editions):
http://www.catholicbookpublishing.com/BrowseByDepartments.aspx?DepID=89

And here's a just a volume of the Psalter. Description says it gives different ways to pray the Psalms, which sounds like it might be very handy for you.

http://www.catholicbookpublishing.com/ShowProduct.aspx?ProductID=416&DepartmentID=106

Maybe a new Bible, too? I got this Catholic one late last summer and really like it (lots of cross-referencing and foot notes, even in it's small size, although I usually read the Revised Standard Version):

http://www.amazon.com/New-American-Bible-Revised-Paperbound/dp/1935302590

So, my suggestions from personal experience:

Get a simplified version of the Hours. Get a separate Psalter (so you can continually read through them - lectio continua - a separate Psalter is just easier to handle). Read the daily readings. http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010712.cfm

Take it easy and gradually build up. Perhaps you might save the full Divine Office for special times of the year or feast days. Add more during Lent, for example.

If you can, set up a special prayer corner/place for yourself. See Stella's thread for that. I have my "icon corner" - a small, chest-high bookcase with my icons on top, a candle, and my Bibles, prayer books, etc. underneath (but this is also my only bookcase). My prayer rope and bottle of holy water live there, too. Palms and pu$$y willows get added after Palm Sunday (Russian tradition uses pu$$y willows since palms aren't exactly readily available in Russia!).

You might want to add some reading on Catholic doctrine and such for other times, if you need some brushing up. There are lots of good books out there for adults, especially ones who've not been particularly knowledgeable before.

Lastly, do you go to Confession? In Orthodoxy, spiritual practices, your prayer life, etc., is commonly talked about during Confession or right after. Perhaps you might pick the brain of your parish priest or even one of the RCIA instructors.

Have you ever read the books of Kathleen Norris? She's a Presbyterian poet from the Dakotas who became an oblate of a Benedictine monastery. Her books I've read - The Cloister Walk and Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith are incredible. She has a great affection for the Divine Office.

SophieGirl
1-7-12, 3:08pm
Second, what you want to get from your prayer? I see in your post that you are looking to glorify God. But is there anything else that you want prayer to bring into your life? Maybe identifying that will help to determine what type/form of prayer is best for you.
Well ---- what I am trying to do is to bring God more into my life. Of course, God is omnipresent, but my awareness of Him isn't. Neither is my in-tunedness with Him.

Why the liturgy of the hours? I guess because it seems *closest* to what I feel led to do --- but far removed enough from that to perplex me. I suppose I was just concerned because I feared that what I felt led to do would be less effective if not in a canonical form.

So after starting this thread earlier today, I prayed --- and I got the sense (that sense *possibly* being an answer from God) that whether or not what I felt led to do was the best thing --- it was better than the *nothing* I was *currently* doing as a result of being in this (self-imposed?) impasse.

So, as I headed to my car to get that little tiny-volume I have that has the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs, I prayed to God that He stop me if this isn't from Him, and that He propel me forward if it is. Instantly I felt as though something were pushing me forward faster than I was moving on my own.

What I'm doing is trying to simplify the Divine Office. For each hour, I'm planning to take all the prayers that are standardly said at that hour every day, and divide them from most essential (which I will pray every time I pray that hour) to least essential (which I will pray at times that that will truly enhance the prayer -- yet not at times when it will only cause me to feel rushed). Obviously, in every hour that contains the Our Father, that prayer will be the Most Essential. Canticles will be less-essential.

As for the psalms to be read ---- all of the charts, whether they be charts of what the psalms of the day are, or what the psalms of the hour are ---- all the charts are to be replaced by a simple bookmark. The amount of psalms I read will be enough to immerse myself in the act of reading them -- yet not so much as to cause me to feel rushed.

Not sure how I'm going to deal with getting in the Gospel and other scriptural readings. I guess I should pray to God on that one as well.

I guess one thing I was concerned about with regards to not praying on a canonical chart of what psalm to pray when is the thing of uniting my prayers with those of the Church. After all, previously there was the assurance that even if I'm *seemingly* praying alone, there always is someone else in Florida who is also praying the same office *seemingly* alone, and I and that someone are in fact praying together --- even though several thousand miles separate us physically. But I realized --- just as God bridges the geographical distance, He also bridges time. If I pray a particular psalm right now, even if that's not the psalm that this other person in Vermont is praying right now, that person from Vermont could very well be praying that same psalm another time. The distance in time is no more of a big-deal for God than the distance in geography.

But then, after I came to this realization (and I'm convinced that God led me to it) I read your reply --- and that seemed to affirm this. So thanks. :-)

Tradd
1-7-12, 3:16pm
Sophie, I just had another thought - are you going to Mass most weekends? Communal and private prayer are two halves of the same coin. One without the other, and you get off balance.

And you don't HAVE to do the daily readings as part of one of the Hours. I like sitting down with a cup of tea in bed and reading them that way. :)

SophieGirl
1-7-12, 3:42pm
Sophie, I just had another thought - are you going to Mass most weekends? Communal and private prayer are two halves of the same coin. One without the other, and you get off balance.
I go to Mass every Sunday (or the vigil-mass on Saturday evening in it's place) unless I am somehow prevented from doing so (which is rarely the case, but far from never being the case).

When I can, I also try to make it to daily Mass --- though that I don't get to do quite as often --- and is not as essential as Sunday Mass.


And you don't HAVE to do the daily readings as part of one of the Hours. I like sitting down with a cup of tea in bed and reading them that way. :)
Yeah ---- sometimes, when I'm eating seemingly-alone, I like to take out the Bible and read from it (also by means of a bookmark rather than a schedule). This turns what would otherwise be a mundane, solitary meal into a date with God.

Are you suggesting that this could be instead of including this in the Liturgy of the Hours --- thereby allowing me to focus more on the psalms? Or maybe I could do the scripture-reading during meals when I eat enough meals seemingly-alone ---- but when all-or-most of my meals are with physically-observable company, I could use the Hours to get my scripture reading in instead of during mealtimes?

Stella
1-7-12, 4:07pm
Sophie I can totally relate! You've gotten some great responses too.

I am a Catholic also and someday I hope to do the Divine Office too, but so far I haven't been able to make it happen. I have four little kids and one on the way and it just hasn't worked so far. My Dad is really good at it and uses an app on his iPhone that reminds him when it is time to pray and brings up the prayers on his phone.

I have the same desire to work prayer into my daily life. As Tradd said, I set up a little prayer space that sits there inviting me to use it all day long. I love that. I do this Jesuit prayer podcast (http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/) in the morning. It has music and one of the daily readings with time for reflection. They have an evening prayer too. I also try to pray while I work, especially while I do dishes.

Someday I'll get to the Divine Office. Someday I want to be one of those little old ladies that attend daily mass too. That's going to be amazing and I greatly look forward to it, but I don't think I can make it happen in this season of my life.

I hope you find something that works for you! Keep us updated! I love hearing about other people's prayer life!

Tradd
1-7-12, 4:22pm
I go to Mass every Sunday (or the vigil-mass on Saturday evening in it's place) unless I am somehow prevented from doing so (which is rarely the case, but far from never being the case).

When I can, I also try to make it to daily Mass --- though that I don't get to do quite as often --- and is not as essential as Sunday Mass.


Yeah ---- sometimes, when I'm eating seemingly-alone, I like to take out the Bible and read from it (also by means of a bookmark rather than a schedule). This turns what would otherwise be a mundane, solitary meal into a date with God.

Are you suggesting that this could be instead of including this in the Liturgy of the Hours --- thereby allowing me to focus more on the psalms? Or maybe I could do the scripture-reading during meals when I eat enough meals seemingly-alone ---- but when all-or-most of my meals are with physically-observable company, I could use the Hours to get my scripture reading in instead of during mealtimes?

I would do them OUTSIDE of the Hours - every day. Looking at this liturgically, the Scripture readings are NOT part of the Hours. In both Orthodox and Catholic tradition, the daily appointed readings are for the Divine Liturgy/Mass. The Psalter is the only Scripture normally read during the the Hours. In the Orthodox tradition, on certain feast days, there are OT readings for Vespers - our liturgical day starts at Vespers - that specifically related to the feast. And a Gospel of one of Christ's post-Resurrection appearances at Sunday Matins. And special Scripture readings for the "Royal Hours" on Christmas Eve, Theophany Eve, Good Friday - but this is not an everyday occurrence during the Hours.

So, yes, I would say to do the daily readings outside of the Hours. That way you can concentrate/meditate on them better without the Psalter reading also in your head. Does that make sense?

SophieGirl
1-7-12, 5:01pm
I would do them OUTSIDE of the Hours - every day. Looking at this liturgically, the Scripture readings are NOT part of the Hours. In both Orthodox and Catholic tradition, the daily appointed readings are for the Divine Liturgy/Mass.
Granted, I am only familiar with the modern (post-Vatican-II) version of the Roman Catholic Divine Office. Probably I should get familiar with the old version as well (as I suppose it is to that which you are referring). (Just as I wish I had the opportunity to attend a Tridentine Mass --- well, I can't do that even if I want to, but at least I can familiarize myself with the pre-Vatican-II version of the Office.)

The modern version I'm familiar does have a scripture reading for each of the Hours (generally from the Old Testament, though I think sometimes from the New Testament as well) -- which is separate and distinct from the Mass reading of the day. Most of it is just psalms --- but a bit of it is from elsewhere in scripture.

Then again --- this could be why I was having difficulty with the Office ---- maybe they made it needlessly complex after V2?

catherine
1-7-12, 6:17pm
I also work to get the Divine Office into my life. I started out with the four books, which were, as you said, far from simple to even figure out what pages to go to!! I had my ribbons all over the place--and most of the time they were in the wrong place.

And I also struggled with paying attention while saying them. I've never really been that into the Psalms, so obviously enjoying the Divine Office would be difficult in that case. But I took the word of many wise people--particularly some Benedictine monks that I've retreated with--when they said that praying the Psalms deepens your spiritual life.

One thing that really has helped is technology: I have a Divine Office app on my iPhone, which I got through Universalis.com. It's great. I am more reminded in my off moments to simply go to the app, and page through it. Because the screen is small, you can only get a few lines on the page which helps to focus me.

I also heed the advice of a very prayer-ful colleague of mine who taught me a lot about the Divine Office, and basically, you don't need to beat yourself up if you don't pray five times a day. Be a little more realistic in your goals and maybe try for the morning and evening prayers. Whatever you do will be a blessing.

So, I pray it maybe once or twice a day, and do other things as well, such as meditation/centering prayer, and some of my favorite prayers, and even some Buddhist gathas. I really don't think the Divine Office has to be all or nothing.

But definitely check out Universalis.com, and if you have a smart phone, you might consider investing in the app.

SophieGirl
1-8-12, 6:14pm
I would like to thank Miss Cellane in her response to my starting this thread. Miss Cellane --- your response stood out not only in being the first response, but by far also the best response I got to this question.

I made it clear that I am no longer comfortable using high-tech apps as a solution to how complex the Divine Office is --- and you respected that feeling, even though it would have been so easy for you to try to talk me out of this feeling. I really appreciate that you didn't do so.

I didn't state up-front what the reason why I *wanted* to use the Divine Office or a substitute for it was ------ so you asked me to elaborate on that.

Valley
1-8-12, 8:41pm
I got a lot out of this discussion...thanks to everyone who contributed. I'm not wanting to judge you Sophie Girl, but your last reply sounds a little mean spirited. Anytime I read information on this board, I realize that I am free to accept the part I want and equally free to reject what I want. But, I'm sure that there is someone else who will gladly accept what I reject. We are a community of diverse individuals seeking answers and advice from each other. Let's always remember we're all in it together!

Stella
1-8-12, 9:13pm
+1 to Valley's post. You asked for opinions. Anytime you ask for opinions in a public forum you are going to get a variety of answers. It's just the nature of the beast. Coming back and backhanding people for giving answers you don't like doesn't seem especially kind or loving.

I say this in all love, but in my experience, God sometimes gives me answers I don't like or am not comfortable with too. You indicated in the quote below that you were open to suggestions. We have no idea what God's answer is for you. We can only offer you our thoughts and experiences.


But if you have a suggestion how I can be sure that a simpler alternative glorifies God rather than my self-well, I'm all ears to that too.

If you say I should pray and bring this question to God, then I agree. As a matter of fact, I am doing that right now. But I know it's possible that God may speak through someone else in this simplicity community --- or through the community as a whole ---- so I ask here anyway.





I made it clear that I am no longer comfortable using high-tech apps as a solution to how complex the Divine Office is

Again, I mean this in love, but you say the reason for your prayer is truly about glorifying God. This last post of your has a feeling of self will to it. You want the exact response that you want, not the real thoughts and experiences of others who have grappled with similar issues. I think that is a common struggle, and I am not trying to judge you.

I'm not trying to talk you into using an app. I'm just suggesting that your reaction to the suggestion is awfully strong, and sometimes in my own prayer life I find my self-will expressing itself in the form of unreasonably strong reactions to things that make me uncomfortable. It's just something to think about. God Bless.

SophieGirl
1-8-12, 10:36pm
I got a lot out of this discussion...thanks to everyone who contributed. I'm not wanting to judge you Sophie Girl, but your last reply sounds a little mean spirited.
I apologize for coming across that way.

Mean-spiritedness is most assuredly not what I meant --- and I am sorry I came across as such.

I was suffering from extreme frustration at the time that I made the previous post --- and that may have come across as mean-spiritedness. But mean-spiritedness is with most certainty not what I meant. And for allowing that to happen, I sincerely apologize.

Tradd
1-8-12, 10:44pm
I forgot to add earlier -

The one person I know who was able to do the Liturgy of the Hours - or at least morning and evening - successfully was someone who had moved far away from her home area, gotten married, and through a variety of circumstances I don't need to get into, was unable to get to Mass for several YEARS. The Liturgy of the Hours WAS church for her. In some ways, she was like a hermit in the desert, far away from a church. She was already in the habit of reading the Hours before the time period of being unable to get to church, so it helped her spiritually survive the several years of being unable to get to Mass. Now she's able to get to Mass just about every week, but with a number of small children, she doesn't have any time for it at all.

SophieGirl
1-8-12, 11:05pm
+1 to Valley's post. You asked for opinions. Anytime you ask for opinions in a public forum you are going to get a variety of answers. It's just the nature of the beast. Coming back and backhanding people for giving answers you don't like doesn't seem especially kind or loving.
Once again --- I sincerely apologize for coming across as back-handed mean-spirited --- but trust me, the frustration I was experiencing was immense --- though I realize now it was a flaw in my own thinking that allowed me to feel this frustration.

I asked a question. I got one response that was useful to me --- and a few that weren't. What I should have done is rejoiced that I did get an answer that was useful to me ---- and realize that the other answers, though not as useful for me, might be very useful to someone else.


I say this in all love, but in my experience, God sometimes gives me answers I don't like or am not comfortable with too.

Again, I mean this in love, but you say the reason for your prayer is truly about glorifying God. This last post of your has a feeling of self will to it.

I'm not trying to talk you into using an app. I'm just suggesting that your reaction to the suggestion is awfully strong, and sometimes in my own prayer life I find my self-will expressing itself in the form of unreasonably strong reactions to things that make me uncomfortable.
There are reasons in my personal history that explain why I would have such a strong emotional reaction to certain things. Not justify --- just explain. Yes, sometimes such strong reactions are a manifestation of self-will ---- but that is far from being the only possible explanation.

For example, sometimes something someone says or does accidentally invokes a past trauma --- does so accidentally, but does so nonetheless. That's far closer to the case in this situation.

Valley
1-8-12, 11:15pm
Your apology is gratefully accepted...I understand now that you didn't mean for your response to come across in a mean spirited manner. Alls well that ends well! Good luck on your search.

SophieGirl
1-8-12, 11:19pm
I forgot to add earlier -

The one person I know who was able to do the Liturgy of the Hours - or at least morning and evening - successfully was someone who had moved far away from her home area, gotten married, and through a variety of circumstances I don't need to get into, was unable to get to Mass for several YEARS. The Liturgy of the Hours WAS church for her.
Yes ---- me, fear of having to survive again spiritually without the Institutional Church is one of my issues ---- not for geographical reasons, but for other reasons.

But my need to have the system be simpler --- as well as shorter per-Hour (not fewer Hours, same number of Hours, just not as long) is very real.

And this is about wanting to glorify God --- but I am pretty certain that having the thought of "I hope we get to the end of this soon" constantly bombarding your head while you try to pray doesn't really glorify God very much at all ---- and short of shortening the Hours, nothing I did about this ever worked.

I guess what I'm looking for is a way to use the book of Psalms in my prayer life that isn't as time-consuming as the Liturgy of the Hours --- and which marks all the Hours of the day, albeit with a shorter and simpler set of prayers than the Divine Office --- better yet, a system that has more content if you have the relaxed time to do so, but less if doing more would make you feel rushed.

redfox
1-9-12, 12:49am
For this non religious person, what a most interesting thread!

Molly
1-9-12, 10:54am
As a lapsed Catholic returning home, I too am intrigued by this thread. Can someone explain in a sentence or two what the Divine Office is? I was laid up for 6 months with an injury, and it sounds like this could have gotten me through that rough time.

Tradd
1-9-12, 1:17pm
Molly, it's praying the Liturgy of the Hours - the canonical hours, prayer services at specific times in the day. Off the top of my head, I think there are 7 Originally and still primarily for monastics, some layfolk have taken it up. Can be an overwhelming undertaking, as you can see from this thread. If you wanted to dip into it, you might investigate a one-volume shorter form- one of the books I linked to earlier.

Molly
1-10-12, 9:17am
Tradd - Is that Lauds, Vespers, etc.?

Tradd
1-10-12, 10:11am
Tradd - Is that Lauds, Vespers, etc.?

Yes.

Anne Lee
1-11-12, 10:02am
I like this for the Daily Office: http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/pray-the-daily-office

leslieann
1-15-12, 5:56pm
I also have appreciated this thread. While I have no interest in participating in this practice, I am very interested in the ways that people develop (or adopt) practices to bring them closer to God. Thanks to everyone who shared their personal experiences, and Sophiegirl, I hope you figure out (or find) something that works well for you.