The Liturgy of the Hours: How to Pray the Church's Daily Prayer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Choir of the Capuchin Church in Rome (1814–1815), François-Marius Granet. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Public domain.

 

"Seven times a day I have given praise to thee," sings the psalmist (Psalm 119:164). From the first days of the Church, Christians have prayed at set hours. St. Peter and St. John went up to the Temple "at the ninth hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1), Peter climbed to the rooftop to pray "about the sixth hour" (Acts 10:9), and St. Paul and Silas praised God at midnight in their prison cell (Acts 16:25). That rhythm grew into the Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Divine Office or the Breviary: psalms, hymns, Scripture readings, and prayers that the whole Church prays at fixed times through every day.

 

The Liturgy of the Hours is not a private devotion. It is the public prayer of the Church, and through it, the Catechism teaches, the mystery of Christ that we celebrate at Mass "permeates and transfigures the time of each day" (CCC 1174). Priests and deacons pray it every day, and so do monks, nuns, and sisters in many orders. The Second Vatican Council also invited lay people to pray it, "either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 100). When you pray it, even alone at the kitchen table, your voice joins the same psalms being prayed in parishes, monasteries, and homes around the world.

 

This page explains each Hour, how to begin, and where to pray the official texts free online. The approved modern English texts of the Liturgy of the Hours are copyrighted, so we link to the official sources rather than copy them. The canticles and prayers on this site that come from the Office are given in traditional public-domain translations.

 

Daily Catholic Prayers is a private passion project, and if these prayers help you keep the hours of the day with God, you can support the site starting at $5.

 

The Hours of the Day

 

• The Invitatory: the call to prayer that opens the first Hour of the day. It begins with the verse "O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise" (Psalm 51:15), followed by a psalm of invitation, usually Psalm 95, "Come let us praise the Lord with joy."

• The Office of Readings: the longest Hour, with psalms, a long passage of Scripture, and a second reading from the Church Fathers, a saint, or a Church document. It may be prayed at any time of day. On Sundays outside Lent, and on solemnities and feasts, it ends with the Te Deum.

• Morning Prayer (Lauds): prayed as the day begins, to give its first hours to God and to recall the Resurrection. A hymn and psalms lead to a short reading, the Benedictus, which Zechariah sang at the birth of his son St. John the Baptist (Luke 1:68-79), then intercessions, the Our Father, and a closing prayer. Psalm 63 is the classic morning psalm, and Psalm 51, the Miserere, opens Morning Prayer every Friday.

• Daytime Prayer (Terce, Sext, and None): a short Hour of a hymn, three psalms, a brief reading, and a prayer, for midmorning, midday, or midafternoon. Most lay people pray just one of the three, often at lunchtime. These hours recall the coming of the Holy Spirit at the third hour (Acts 2:15), and the darkness over the land at the sixth hour and the death of Jesus at the ninth (Matthew 27:45-50).

• Evening Prayer (Vespers): the evening Hour of thanksgiving, when "the lifting up of my hands" becomes an "evening sacrifice" (Psalm 141:2). Two psalms and a New Testament canticle lead to a reading, the Magnificat, the song of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 1:46-55), and intercessions that always end with a prayer for the dead.

• Night Prayer (Compline): the last prayer of the day, said just before bed, even if that is after midnight. It opens with a brief examination of conscience, then a hymn and one or two psalms of trust, such as Psalm 91 on Sundays and the De Profundis (Psalm 130) on Wednesdays. After a short reading come the words of Jesus on the Cross, "Into thy hands" (Luke 23:46), and the Nunc Dimittis, Simeon's song: "Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace" (Luke 2:29). Night Prayer ends with a blessing and an antiphon to Our Lady. For simpler bedtime prayers, see Night Prayers.

 

The psalms follow a four-week cycle, called the Psalter, so over a month you pray nearly all 150 psalms. Night Prayer repeats each week, which makes it the easiest Hour to learn.

 

How to Start Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

 

1. Start with one Hour. Most people begin with Morning Prayer or Night Prayer. Night Prayer is one of the shortest, about ten minutes, and its weekly pattern soon becomes familiar.

2. Add the other "hinge." The Church calls Morning and Evening Prayer the two hinges on which the daily Office turns (Sacrosanctum Concilium 89). Once the first Hour is a habit, add the second.

3. Use a free app or website at first. They put the right psalms, readings, and prayers for each day in order, so you don't have to master the ribbons and calendar of a printed breviary on day one. See the free sources below.

4. Pray it aloud and slowly. The psalms were written to be sung or spoken. If you miss an Hour, simply pick up with the next one. Lay people are not bound to make up a missed Hour.

5. Pray with others when you can. Some parishes pray Morning or Evening Prayer together, especially Sunday Vespers in Advent and Lent. Ask at your parish, or pray along with an audio recording of the day's Office.

6. Learn the three Gospel canticles by heart. The Benedictus, the Magnificat, and the Nunc Dimittis are prayed every day of the year, and you can learn them from the traditional translations on this site.

 

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Where to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours Online, Free

 

Each of these trusted sources gives the texts of every Hour for today, free, except the USCCB, which explains the Hours rather than posting them. None of them is connected with this site.

 

• Universalis: every Hour of the day, from the Office of Readings to Night Prayer, set to the calendar of the United States. The website is free; the paid apps add offline use and the official psalm translation.

• iBreviary: a free online breviary, begun in Italy, with the Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer in English, as well as in Latin and other languages, and free apps for phones and tablets.

• DivineOffice.org: the US Liturgy of the Hours for each day, with an audio recording of every Hour, so you can pray along or listen on the go. The website and app are free.

• USCCB: Liturgy of the Hours: the US bishops' introduction to the Divine Office, with a short explanation of each Hour from the Church's General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours.

• What the Church teaches: Catechism of the Catholic Church 1174-1178 and chapter 4 of the Second Vatican Council's Sacrosanctum Concilium, on the Divine Office.

 

Prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours on This Site

 

• Benedictus (Canticle of Zechariah): the Gospel canticle of Morning Prayer, every day.

• Magnificat: Mary's song of praise, the Gospel canticle of Evening Prayer.

• Nunc Dimittis (Canticle of Simeon): the Gospel canticle of Night Prayer.

• Te Deum: the great hymn of praise at the end of the Office of Readings on Sundays and feasts. A legend credits St. Ambrose and St. Augustine with composing it together.

• Psalms of the Office: Psalm 63 for the morning, Psalm 51 (Miserere) for Friday mornings, and Psalm 91 and the De Profundis (Psalm 130) for the night.

• Hymns: Veni Creator Spiritus, sung at Vespers on Pentecost, and Ave Maris Stella, the ancient Vespers hymn for feasts of Our Lady.

• The Marian antiphons that close Night Prayer: Hail, Holy Queen (Salve Regina), the Regina Caeli in Eastertide, and the Sub Tuum Praesidium, the oldest known prayer to Mary, restored as an option in the new US edition.

• Prayer for Sleep: the traditional Compline prayer asking God to visit our home and let His holy angels dwell in it.

• Related pages: Morning Prayers, Night Prayers, Daily Prayer, and The Holy Rosary.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is the Liturgy of the Hours?

 

It is the official daily prayer of the Catholic Church: psalms, hymns, Scripture, and prayers said at set times from early morning to bedtime, so that the whole day is offered to God. It is also called the Divine Office, or the Breviary, after the book it is printed in.

 

Together with the Mass and the sacraments, it is part of the Church's liturgy, her public worship. The two main Hours are Morning Prayer (Lauds) and Evening Prayer (Vespers). The others are the Office of Readings, Daytime Prayer, and Night Prayer (Compline).

 

Where can I pray the Liturgy of the Hours online for free?

 

Universalis, iBreviary, and DivineOffice.org all post the full texts of every Hour for free, and DivineOffice.org adds audio. The USCCB explains each Hour.

 

Universalis follows the US calendar of saints and feasts when you use its US pages. All three have phone apps, so you can pray the Office anywhere.

 

Do lay Catholics have to pray the Liturgy of the Hours?

 

No. Lay people are not obliged to pray it, but the Church warmly invites them to, alone or with others. Even one Hour a day joins you to the prayer of the whole Church.

 

Priests and transitional deacons promise at ordination to pray the full Office every day. In the United States, permanent deacons pray Morning and Evening Prayer daily, and religious communities pray the Hours according to their rule.

 

How long does it take to pray the Liturgy of the Hours?

 

Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer each take about 10 to 15 minutes, and Daytime Prayer and Night Prayer about 5 to 10. The Office of Readings takes 15 to 20 minutes.

 

Praying every Hour adds up to roughly an hour, spread across the day. Most beginners start with one Hour, which fits easily into a morning or bedtime routine.

 

What book do I need, and is a new translation coming?

 

You don't need a book to start, because the free sites above have every Hour. In the US the printed Office comes as the four-volume Liturgy of the Hours, or in one-volume editions with the main Hours.

 

A new US translation, the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition, may be used from Ash Wednesday, February 10, 2027, and will be required from the First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2028. One-volume editions are expected in 2028. If you are about to buy a breviary, you may want to wait for the new edition and pray with an app in the meantime.

 

What is the difference between the Liturgy of the Hours and the Rosary?

 

The Liturgy of the Hours is liturgy, the official public prayer of the whole Church. The Rosary is a devotion, a beloved personal prayer that the Church recommends but does not prescribe.

 

They belong together. The Catechism says the Liturgy of the Hours "calls forth the various devotions of the People of God" (CCC 1178). The Rosary's traditional 150 Hail Marys echo the 150 psalms, which is why it was once called Our Lady's Psalter, and the Angelus at morning, noon, and evening echoes the Hours too.

 

Where does the Liturgy of the Hours come from?

 

It grew from the Jewish practice of praying at fixed hours, which Jesus and the apostles kept, and from the psalms they prayed. By the 300s, Christians gathered in churches for morning and evening praise, and the monks added the other Hours.

 

St. Benedict told his monks to put nothing before the "Work of God," his name for the Office. Pope St. Pius V published the Roman Breviary in 1568, and Pope St. Pius X reformed its psalter in 1911. After the Second Vatican Council, St. Paul VI gave the Church the present Liturgy of the Hours in 1970, arranged so that lay people can pray it too.

 

If these prayers help you, you can support Daily Catholic Prayers, a private passion project, starting at $5.