Catholic
Almanac:
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Saturday, April 20 |
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Liturgical Color: White |
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What is the Liturgy of the Hours?
The Liturgy of the Hours is the universal, public prayer of the Church. Biblical readings lead the person who prays it ever deeper into the mystery of the life of Jesus Christ. Throughout the world this gives the Triune God the opportunity at every hour of the day to transform gradually those who pray and also the world. The Liturgy of the Hours is prayed not only by priests and religious. Many Christians who take their faith seriously join their voices with the many thousands of praises and petitions that ascend to God from all over the world.
The seven "hours of prayer" are like a treasury of the Church's prayers. It also loosens our tongues when we have become speechless because of joy, sorrow, or fear. Again and again one is astonished in reciting the Liturgy of the Hours: an entire reading "coincidentally" applies precisely to my situation. God hears us when we call to him. He answers us in these texts - often in a way that is so specific as to be almost disconcerting. In any case he also allows us to have long periods of silence and dryness so that we can demonstrate our fidelity. (YOUCAT question 188)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (1174-1178) and other references here.