Praying the Hours

Just about every Catholic, and most people in the street, knows that Catholic priests (in the Latin Church) promise lifetime celibacy and celibate chastity.  But fewer know that all priests and deacons in the Catholic Church make a lifetime promise to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.  This is the system of praying according to the times of day.  There are three principal times (morning, evening and the office of readings), and three minor “hours” (mid-day, afternoon, and night, also known as Compline). 

When I was ordained a priest my brothers bought me a (then) expensive four volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours.  I still have it, and use it.  But a recent innovation has changed how I pray—a downloaded app for my smart phone.

Last fall at our multi-day priest convocation I heard about an electronic app for my Blackberry which had the complete breviary, or Liturgy of the Hours.  This company charged about $15 a year.  Being the cheappo that I am, I passed.  In January at a continuing ed workshop we priests concluded the day with evening prayer in common.  While we prayed from our books the guy next to me pulled out his iPad and prayed with the rest of us.  Huh???  After prayer he showed me the “Catholic One” app free download.  In April I put it on my new Droid, and have been using it ever since.  I’ve since learned that this is a British product, with a different translation of the psalms.  I learned that when a couple of weeks ago I was praying morning prayer with my seminarian intern, and his translation (from an American book) and my translation (from this Brit app) were words apart.  I’ve subsequently found an “iBreivary” American free app, with the same translations as the books my brothers bought for me three decades ago.

Our bishop has lifted the visibility of the Liturgy of the Hours in our diocese tremendously.  At every meeting he attends, whether with priests alone, diocesan staff, or with laity, he leads the appropriate hour.  He has exposed this prayer by the Church for the Church and the world to thousands of the faithful – and probably to a few priests who would rather ignore it.  It is a good thing that he is doing, praying in public the daily prayer the Church recommends.  Growing number of the Christian faithful are now praying the Liturgy of the Hours along with the priests and deacons.  Now I can even follow him from my Droid.

Ain’t modern conveniences wonderful?