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The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: Liturgia Horarum), Divine Office (Latin: Officium Divinum), or Opus Dei ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, [a] often also referred to as the breviary, [b] of the Latin Church. The Liturgy of the Hours forms the official set of prayers "marking the hours of each day and ...
As the form of fixed-hour prayer developed in the Christian monastic communities in the East and West, the Offices grew both more elaborate and more complex, but the basic cycle of prayer still provided the structure for daily life in monasteries. By the fourth century, the elements of the canonical hours were more or less established.
Mental prayer was defined by John A. Hardon in his Modern Catholic Dictionary as a form of prayer in which the sentiments expressed are one's own and not those of another person. Mental prayer is a form of prayer whereby one loves God through dialogue with him, meditating on his words, and contemplating him. [9]
A typical book of hours contains the Calendar of Church feasts, extracts from the Four Gospels, the Mass readings for major feasts, the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the fifteen Psalms of Degrees, the seven Penitential Psalms, a Litany of Saints, an Office for the Dead and the Hours of the Cross. [5]
Forty Hours' Devotion, in Italian called Quarant'ore or Quarantore, is a Roman Catholic liturgical action in which continuous prayer is made for forty hours before the Blessed Sacrament in solemn exposition. [1] It often occurs in a succession of churches, with one finishing prayers at the same time as the next takes it up.
Book of hours open at compline (Eisbergen Monastery in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). Compline (/ ˈ k ɒ m p l ɪ n / KOM-plin), also known as Complin, Night Prayer, or the Prayers at the End of the Day, is the final prayer liturgy (or office) of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours, which are prayed at fixed prayer times.
The development of the other books took place in much the same way. The Missals now contained only the Mass and a few morning services intimately connected with it. Daily Mass was the custom for every priest; there was no object in including all the rites used only by a bishop in each Missal. So these rites apart formed the Pontifical.
If the need arises, in order to receive Communion in a state of grace, a person should also make use of the Sacrament of Penance before attending Mass. In many Catholic communities the practice of the Holy Hour of meditation during the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during the First Fridays is encouraged. [22]