The Who of Prayer: The Monastic Example

When some people think about prayer, they imagine monks or nuns, in their brown cowls or black habits, chanting and praying in a monastery or abbey. There is good reason for this -- for centuries most monastic orders have committed themselves to praying the Divine Office, a series of prayers used throughout the day. Also called the Liturgy of the Hours, these prayers at specific times every day developed out of early Christian practice of praying morning, noon, and night.

Over the centuries, the times of the prayers were formalized and named (in Latin).

• Matins - prayer during the night, sometimes called Nocturns
• Lauds - prayer at dawn
• Prime - prayer in the early morning (or at the first hour, 6:00 am)
• Terce - prayer in the midmorning (at the third hour, 9:00 am)
• Sext - prayer at midday (at the sixth hour, Noon)
• None - prayer in the midafternoon (at the ninth hour, 3:00 pm)
• Vespers - evening prayer; traditionally at sunset
• Compline - prayer at the completion of the day; traditionally prayed just before going to bed

In recent centuries, the prayers have been joined together in some cases; very few monasteries hold eight prayer services a day. The Daily Office, which is the Anglican form of the Liturgy of the Hours, merges the eight prayers into four: Morning Prayer (Matins and Lauds), Prayer During the Day (roughly an abridged version of Terce, Sext, and None), Evening Prayer (Vespers), and Compline.

In the upcoming Saturdays, we will learn a little about the four parts of the Daily Office, which millions of regular church people pray every day.

Today's Prayer Prompt: At sunset tonight, take a brief break. Read a psalm and pray.