The Divine Office
The Divine Office (or “the Liturgy of the Hours” in some traditions) is an arrangement of psalms, scriptural readings, and prayers said at various times of day in order to sanctify the entire day and night. It has been part of the public prayer (or liturgy) of the Church since her earliest days, although many Catholics today are unfortunately unfamiliar with it. The Office “is truly the voice of the bride addressed to her bridegroom; It is the very prayer which Christ Himself, together with His body, addresses to the Father.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 84.)
The Office has been especially prominent in the spirituality of the Anglican Patrimony as retained in the Ordinariate. According to the Vatican’s most recent document on the Ordinariates, “distinctive [in the Ordinariates] is a liturgical, almost monastic rhythm drawn from the English spiritual tradition. Essential to this is the communal praying of the Divine Office . . . .” (Characteristics of the Anglican Heritage Lived in the Ordinariates Established Under the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.)
Our community has public celebrations of Mattins (morning prayer from the Divine Office) on Fridays at 9:30 a.m., on First Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. (during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament), and on Sundays at 9:45 a.m. We celebrate Evensong (chanted evening prayer) on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. All are encouraged to come and take part in this rich liturgical and spiritual tradition.
For those who would like to say the Divine Office on their own throughout the week, here is the order of each day’s Office according to the form used in the Ordinariate.
A new printing of the Office will be released by the Ordinariate at a later date.