Monday, July 27, 2020
Liturgy of the Hours – Part I
![breathe[1]](https://thenoontimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/breathe1.jpg?w=300&h=300)
Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and praying to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
The liturgical observation of Canonical Hours has its origin in the old Judaic tradition of praying seven times in the twenty-four hour cycle as Psalm 119:164 tells us: Seven times a day do I praise you. With the rise of Christianity and its spread through the Roman Empire, these seven prayer intervals, or eight if both Prime and Lauds are prayed at separate intervals, have come to us through the ages. We have spent time reflecting about Lauds, Vespers and Compline. Today we take another look at how we might join our voices at other times of the day and night when we know that millions around the globe are praying. In this small way we take our large and little problems to God . . . to find solace and peace in troubled times.
The Night Watch Prayer is sometimes referred to as Matins and is prayed at any hour between 2 a.m. and sunrise. We know that the early apostles prayed throughout the day and night as we read in Acts 16:25-26: About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened, there was suddenly such a great earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose. When we awake in the middle of the night there is a certain comfort in remembering this story of the jailed disciples whom God miraculously freed. We also find a certain peace in offering our petitions when we know that millions in other time zones gather during their waking hours to pray the daytime offices. In this way we join our own prayer to the cascade of prayer lifted to God without ceasing.
The Prayer of Terce is traditionally prayed at 9:00 a.m. at the time when modern-day employees typically arrive in their offices. If we find ourselves in difficult workplaces we might seek a few trusted colleagues who will agree to pause at an appointed morning hour to quietly petition God for the repair of the broken places in our offices, and to give us the insight we need to better understand the cold hearts and stiff necks of stubborn co-workers. This agreed upon appointment with God does not require that we physically gather; the mingling of our prayers from our separate cubicles or offices in a common call for goodness is pleasing to God who loves to see faithful children come together in any way they can to ask for justice and mercy.
Matins, early in the morning when we cannot sleep or when we awake, and Terce, as the working part of our day begins . . . we must remember God in all we ask. We must call on God with all we say. And we must live in God in all we do.
So let us join our voices with the millions that rise to God at Matins or Terce, and let us be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and praying to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. Amen.
The Benedictus, Magnificat and Compline posts earlier this week describe other times in the cycle of prayer or conversation with God. Tomorrow, the prayers of Sext and None. For more information on fixed hour prayer, this constant dialog with God at regular intervals, go to: http://www.explorefaith.org/prayer/prayer/fixed/index.php
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