November 8

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

It may seem a bit strange, but I’d like to talk this week about the Liturgy of the Hours in my letter. That term may be unfamiliar or strange to you, and that’s okay. But I like to share an insight I’ve recently had about it.

The Liturgy of the Hours is an ancient practice of prayer, using the Psalms as its basis. Broken down into various times of the day and traditionally named by the hour, the general breakdown is this: Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, Night Prayer, and the Office of Readings. It is deeply rooted in Scripture, with the recitation/chanting of 3 segments of Psalms and biblical canticles, depending on the particular ‘Hour’ of prayer. Over the course of 4 weeks, the bulk of the 150 Psalms are used, and then the pattern repeats. It can be a bit complicated as one first learns to pray in this way, but as you go on, there’s a definite rhythm that emerges. Clerics and those in religious life make promises to pray the Liturgy of the Hours as part of their way of life, as a way to lift up the Church in prayer and for continued structured prayer in the life of the individual. This is both good and a bit challenging at times, speaking from my personal experience of it.

At this point, I have been praying the Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours for 22 years. And at times, there’s a certain tedium that can set in. Even Bl. Fulton Sheen wrote in one of his works of the challenges of the Hours (though in his time it was still all in Latin). But I’ve recently come across something that has really helped reframe why the Hours are necessary, particularly on the part of the individual and for myself. And it has to do with REST.

We all need rest, especially given the busyness of modern living. And so many of us may think of leisure activities as the way to be resting; watching a new show, doing our favorite hobby, and the like. But psychologically speaking, that’s not really rest, because it demands brain power from us to engage in such things. And rest is about getting your brain to take a break. But you know what is restful? Doing something that you’re deeply familiar with and that isn’t mentally taxing, such as praying with Psalms one has encountered thousands of times before. Prayer, especially if it’s deeply familiar to us, like the Liturgy of the Hours or the mysteries of the Rosary, can be the kind of rest we need in our lives. And rather than being bored or seeing it as tedious, it’s really being offered to us as a way to enter into a sacred, restful space with God. I hope that we all might find the rest we need in our time in prayer with the Lord!

Peace and Goodness, Fr. Dan