The sanctification of time has long been a very important practice for God’s people. Frequent corporal prayer has been a mainstay of devotion and religion toward the One True God. God commanded Moses: “This is what thou shalt sacrifice upon the altar: Two lambs of a year old every day continually. One lamb in the morning and another in the evening.” (Exodus 29:38-39—Douay Rheims) Also, in the 6th century BC, in the Babylonian exile, being away from the Temple led to recitation of hymns and psalms and the like in the synagogue instead. They were able to return to Judea and build a second Temple, but they continued those services they had developed away from the Temple. They had practices of Morning and Evening Prayer that went with the sacrifices of the lambs. However, they also had customs of praying at the Third, Sixth, and NInth Hours of each day. Although Christians did not continue the animal sacrifice, hours of prayer did continue– in the earliest days of Christianity, the second Temple was still around, although it was destroyed relatively early. The Christians added readings from the New Testament to such hours, and then further changes developed over time. There was also the Jewish practice of praying at midnight customarily continued by the Apostles. This accounts for six hours of prayer; it seems the last two were not developed until the 4th century. Compline was a repetition of Vespers, although also serves as a completion (Completorium) of all the day’s hours. It was at the end of the day, and then the Office of the Night was Matins and Lauds (now Lauds is usually considered a Day Office), which ended with sunrise. Cassian actually speaks of Prime developing because monks (particularly in Bethlehem) could be lazy because of how long they had to do nothing between Lauds and Terce. Regardless, with all this existing tradition of daily prayer, it was natural for figures like St. Benedict to want to institute particular communities with very specific guidelines for praying these Hours as they partake in the beauty of communal prayer.
Now, to clarify, the Divine Office I use is based on the 1963 Monastic version, rather than the version that was later developed with the Second Vatican Council. I also use it in Latin, so the guidelines and breviaries I pray with are really identical with what the monks at Clear Creek Abbey use. To give a sense of timing, they pray Matins and Lauds in a row, starting sometime around 5:15am (4:50am on Sundays), then Prime at 8am, Terce at 10am, Sext at 12:50pm, None at 2:35pm (3:00pm on Sundays), Vespers at 6:00pm (5:00pm on Sundays), Compline about 8:35pm.
Now, in the Divine Office there are some elements that repeat consistently and others that appear less often. The more common elements are part of the weekly cycle, for which I have provided a table (at least of the Psalms) below, and in which generally each Psalm appears every week (for example, if you are looking for Psalm 16, that is the second one for Prime on Friday). (This numbering can bring some confusion, because often the Psalms are numbered so that most are shifted one off, so that Psalm is actually called Psalm 17
Yet there is a lot that changes week to week; for this, let’s discuss Easter. It may seem long past, but with the 1963 Rubrics, this year the period of Paschaltide continues until May 30, the Saturday after Pentecost (as it ends the Octave of Pentecost). Paschaltide makes the Office moderately different; there was the Octave of Easter the first week, in which each day was exalted liturgically. For later weeks there is an Ordinary that gives the antiphons, readings, etc to use generally for days of the week, and then some that changes for each day, and specific guidelines for the Sunday Hours. The big element added is “Alleluia”-- it was not used in the liturgy throughout Lent, but now is used more than usual. Many antiphons are simply the repetition of Alleluia, but Alleluia also occurs in verses and responsories, as well as being added to the end of all antiphons. Usually that is written explicitly are Alleluia is in parentheses for when it is Paschaltide, but in some occasions it is not written whatsoever, so the reader is (brutally) expected to remember it, since it should indeed appear in all responsories, verses, and antiphons during Paschaltide.
Now, it was fairly confusing for me moving from Passiontide to Paschaltide because so much of the routine and structure changed, and I also got this confusing book for praying Matins, called the Nocturnale Monasticum, from Clear Creek on Easter Sunday (although I am quite happy I did, I had lost hope that such a book existed). However, I think the hardest part to get right is when there is a particular Feast. They are of various classes, and there is a long section for when they occur that is quite convenient. They often refer the one praying to a more general section for Saints, like the Common of a Confessor Bishop, and much is prayed from that Common, although generally some parts like the Antiphon for the Benedictus are from the Proper for that Saint, even if there is an Antiphon for the Benedictus provided in the Common for a Confessor Bishop. In fact, for some Saints multiple Offices are given as possible, and perhaps I was being bad but I just arbitrarily decided which one to use. The Proper for the Saint might also direct the person praying to another section like the Common of Doctors for other elements of the Office, and I was confused about how I would determine the Collect because that was in the Common of a Confessor Bishop, but not the regular Collect, the Collect for a Doctor. The Proper of the Season must also be kept in mind, since Alleluia still needs to be used in all responsories, verses, and antiphons, and any elements (other than the ones from the weekly cycle, from which the Psalms need to be prayed like normal) not provided by the Common of a Confessor Bishop or Common of Doctors or Proper for the Saint (or at least which the Proper for the Saint says should be used from those Commons)are taken from the Ordinary for weekdays of Easter. This at least is a specific example, it was how the Office was for St. Anselm on April 21st.
With that being said, when it comes to the Divine Office it can feel like insider baseball of sorts–if you want to know what you would pray today, you could simply use something online like the link I have at the end of the works cited, but if you use a physical book, as I prefer to, what you pray today would simply not be right in a row; you have to be familiar with the sections. Thus it may seem not worth learning, but consider what a venerable, ancient tradition you are participating in, the kind of prayer that to some extent Moses himself began the practice of. The sanctification of time is critical for the Christian; time is one of our most valuable commodities, so it is very important to entrust it to God rather than letting it go to waste. I have found joy by partaking in such prayer, I know I am part of a much larger movement and I am given the words already to help me pray. It often is difficult to find words to say to God, I love being able to use ones He has given me.
Definitions
(V. demonstrates that something is read by a main reader, loosely speaking, whereas R. means that something is read by the others present.)
- Antiphon– line said before and after a canticle, psalm, or group of psalms, or said multiple times throughout the psalm. It is often particular to the day of the liturgical calendar, although during Paschaltide many antiphons for the Psalms are simply Alleluia said three or four times (or nine for Sunday Lauds)
- Benedictus– Canticle of Zachary from Luke 1:68-79 after his son John the Baptist was born (Benedictus is the first word of the Latin). The Benedictus, with its proper antiphon said before and after, is said at Lauds after the verse and before the Kyrie.
- Breviary– book from which the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed
- Canticle– excerpt from Scripture but not from the book of Psalms, although its structure within the Divine Office parallels that of the Psalms, and tends to have an antiphon like the Psalms. The Benedictus and Magnificat are canticles which appear every day in Lauds and Vespers, respectively.
- Chapter– Appears in any hour of the Divine Office after the psalms with their antiphons. The Chapter is a reading from Scripture without an Antiphon, but is usually followed by the response Deo Gratias, and then usually a responsory at lauds and vespers and a verse at other hours.
- Collect– Concluding prayer such as “O God Who by the humility of Thy Son hast raised up a fallen world…”(Second Week after the Octave of Easter), prayed near the end of each Hour of prayer
- Commons– general elements of the Divine Office which could be used at various times. For example, the Common of a Confessor not a Bishop is used on January 17 for St. Anthony, February 7 for St. Romuald O.S.B., September 30 for St. Jerome, etc.
- Conclusio– End of hour of prayer, Latin for the following:
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto thee.
V. Let us bless the Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.
V. May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.
(Then, in the public recitation of the Office, if the Community is to leave the Choir, the following Versicle is said.)
V. May the divine assistance + remain with us always.
R. And with our brothers, who are absent. Amen. - Diurnal–opposite of the nocturnale—book for praying the Hours for throughout the day—that is, all of them except Matins
- Doxology–segment at the end of a psalm, canticle, or hymn during which everyone bows their heads because the doxology is more directly paying homage to God. Usually at the end of Psalms and Canticles the doxology is “Gloria Patri. Sicut erat.”, which is explained in its own entry, but hymns usually have their last stanza as their doxology, and it changes based on the occasion
- Feast– at least for the 1963 Monastic Rubrics which I am using for my discussion of the Divine Office, there are III classes of Feasts which occur in honor of various people and occasions
- Feria– any day of the week other than Sunday (on Saturday evening, Vespers are for the Sunday). There are IV classes of ferias, and since they can overlap with various Feasts, my diurnal provides a table for what to pray based on the importance of the Feast and the feria
- Gloria Patri. Sicut erat.– abbreviation of “Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. So it erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.” It means “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.” It is usually said at the end of every psalm and canticle, but is often not written at all because of how common it is, so its inclusion goes without saying
- Incipit– Usually, the Latin for this begins all hours except Matins and Compline:
V. O God, + come to my assistance;
R. O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Alleluia. - Invitatory–particular to Matins. After Psalm 3, the invitatory is said twice, then a stanza from Psalm 94, then the invitatory, then the next stanza, then the second segment of the invitatory, etc. The “Gloria Patri. Sicut erat.” constitutes the sixth stanza, after which is the second segment of the invitatory, then the whole invitatory.
- Kyrie– abbreviation of “Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.” It is Greek for “Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us.”
- Lesson–particular to Matins, a reading (sometimes from the Bible, sometimes not) said along with a blessing and a responsory. For a day’s entire hour of matins, there could be as few as one or as many as twelve lessons. Between Lesson and responsory is said:
V. Tu autem, Domine, miserere nobis.
R. Deo gratias. - Magnificat–a canticle said in the evening at Vespers—parallels the Benedictus, and is also said between the verse and Kyrie. It is Mary’s song of praise from Luke 1:46-55
- Nocturn–segment of Matins, each of which has a series of psalms with their antiphon and a series of one or multiple readings (lesson or chapter)
- Nocturnale-book used specifically for praying Matins
- Oratio– the word means prayer in generally, but could specifically refer to the Kyrie, followed by Our Father, followed by
V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.
or, recited in common when the main reader has been ordained a Deacon,
R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.V. Dominus vobiscum.
Then the proper Collect.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo. - Propers–parts of Divine Office for the specifically day, whether it be for a Feast such as St. Ambrose on April 21st or the Proper of the Season, such as the Tuesday of the Second Week after the Octave of Easter, which this year is also April 21st
- Psalter–shows the general format of the Divine Office which is in general used every week, especially the psalms
- Responsory– usually occurs at matins after each Lesson and at Lauds and Vespers after the single chapter. It has a repetitive structure, such as:
R.br. Amavit eum Dominus, et ornavit eum, Alleluia, alleluia.
R. Amavit eum Dominus, et ornavit eum, Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Stolam gloriae induit eum.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
R. Amavit eum Dominus, et ornavit eum, Alleluia, alleluia. - Verse– often occurs after a chapter, but not exclusively. It has the structure:
V. Iustum deduxit Dominus per vias rectas, alleluia.
R. Et ostendit illi regnum Dei, alleluia.
Works Cited
Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine. Nocturnale Monasticum: Monastic Matins. Le Barroux, Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine, 2023.
“Divinum Officium Rubrics 1960 - 1960.” Divinum Officium, https://www.divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/horas/officium.pl. Accessed 6 May 2026
Saint Michael's Abbey Press. The Monastic Diurnal: The Day Hours of the Monastic Breviary in Latin and English. Eighth ed., Farnborough, Saint Michael's Abbey Press, 2020.
“Breviary / Divine Office / Liturgy of the Hours | EWTN.” EWTN Global Catholic Television Network, https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/answers/breviary-divine-office-liturgy-of-the-hours-24781. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Prime. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12424a.htm. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
Abaskan, Altynai Maria. “St. Anthony of the Desert: A Life of Radical Solitude and Divine Encounter.” Catholickg.Org, 17 Jan. 2025, https://www.catholickg.org/post/st-anthony-of-the-desert-a-life-of-radical-solitude-and-divine-encounter.
Source for comprehensive Divine Office: https://www.divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/horas/officium.pl