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By E. William Sockey
On December 4, 2003, Pope John Paul II published an apostolic letter marking the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium). In his letter, the Pope said that pastoral efforts to improve the prayer life of the faithful "will not be content with the ‘minimum.’" Quoting the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, he explained:
The Church’s teaching must be able to "dare." It is important to introduce the faithful to the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, "which as the public prayer of the Church, is a source of piety and nourishment for personal prayer." It is an action that is neither individual nor "private, but is proper to the entire body of the Church. . . . Thus, if the faithful are summoned for the Liturgy of the Hours and gather together, joining heart and voice, they make manifest the Church, which celebrates the mystery of Christ."
Up to the time of the Second Vatican Council, the altar servers generally recited the responses at Mass on behalf of all the people attending. With the renewal of the liturgy after Vatican II, we lay members of the Church were asked to make these responses for ourselves—in order to participate more fully in the Mass.
Similarly, even though the Liturgy of the Hours is a prayer of "the entire body of the Church," for the most part bishops, priests, and members of religious orders have been saying these prayers on behalf of the laity for a long time. Now, however, the Church is exhorting us to join our own voices with theirs so that the Liturgy of the Hours may become a more perfect expression of the whole Church praying together throughout the world.
Active Participation
Since praying the Liturgy of the Hours is "optional" for lay people, just how seriously should we take the Church’s call for our active participation?
The Liturgy of the Hours is, like the Sacrifice of the Mass, part of the official public prayer offered to God every day by the whole Church. Therefore, as far as possible all Christians should join together with the bishops, clergy, and religious in offering this prayer to God daily. This means we should make a conscientious effort to fit into our schedule each day at least one of the Hours. The Church encourages us to pray at least morning or evening prayer whenever we can.
From a personal perspective, the Liturgy of the Hours offers several spiritual advantages. Scripture exhorts us to "pray always." Being a Christian is not a part-time occupation. It is supposed to permeate our whole life and all that we do here on earth, just as it will in heaven. The Liturgy of the Hours helps us live our Christian calling throughout each day. It also keeps us better aware of the special seasons of the Church: Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, in which our secular culture does not adequately participate.
A Special Treasure
Christians who take their faith seriously have always wanted to know how to pray. Many books have been written on this subject. The translation of the Liturgy of the Hours into modern languages provides the best means for fulfilling this desire. For the psalms are prayers given to us by the Holy Spirit. As such, they far surpass any prayers we could devise on our own. Those who pray the psalms with attention and devotion find in them a rich harvest of grace, including inspiration, consolation, instruction, and spiritual nourishment.
The Office of Readings is a special treasure. In addition to the psalms, we are offered a daily reading from Sacred Scripture, from the Old and New Testament, and a daily reading from the great spiritual writings of the Church. The readings from Scripture are always different from those read at Mass, expanding our knowledge of the Bible. The great spiritual writings contain lessons on the spiritual life from Church documents and the writings of the saints and inspirational stories from the lives of the saints (e.g., one reading gives a very inspiring eyewitness account of the martyrdom of the Japanese martyrs St. Paul Miki and companions).
Bearing in mind that the Church has asked the laity to participate in the Liturgy of the Hours to the extent they are able, and also the great spiritual benefits to be acquired, we should all make an effort to develop a habit of praying at least part of the Liturgy of the Hours every day.
E. William Sockey is a member of CUF’s advisory council. |
