You don't live in a cloister or a monastery, but you take your prayer life seriously and want to explore ways to pray regularly and better. The Liturgy of the Hours is one of those ways—but for those of us who find it a little intimidating, Daria Sockey provides a solid overview to this ancient prayer practice. The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours will answer questions like: What is the history of the Liturgy of the Hours? How can the Liturgy of the Hours fit into a busy schedule? Why is the Liturgy of the Hours relevant today? Print or online resources: Which is better? There is a rhythm of prayer, not just throughout the day, but throughout the year. Sockey explores the spiritual riches of the seasons, the saints, and special feast days, which add depth and variety to prayer. She also addresses the practice of praying the Scriptures, especially the psalms, and helps the reader to appreciate the universal beauty of these ancient prayers. Don't let concerns about "what page am I supposed to be on?" scare you away. Sockey will be your guide to answer common questions and overcome common fears. Your prayer life will never be the same!

The origins and development of the Divine Office are traced through both Eastern and Western branches of the Church, providing a wealth of historical and liturgical information. From the small beginnings of a few Christians in New Testament Jerusalem, the prayer of the Church spread, changing and evolving as it met and was assimilated by different cultures. This classic study is a major resource for the liturgical scholar.

'In liturgical study, and especially in English liturgical study, the subject of the daily office has always been something of the poor relation', writes the author in his preface. This volume aims to do something to fill that gap. It begins with a detailed examination of the Jewish background and of the practice of daily prayer in the first three centuries of the Church, and goes on to trace the evolution of the divine office in both its monastic and secular forms in East and West down to the time of St. Benedict. Intended as a replacement forThe Influence of the Synagogue upon the Divine Officeby C. W. Dugmore (Alcuin Club Collection No. 45), it not only incorporates the results of recent research by continental scholars and others but also challenges traditional assumptions at a number of important points, offering a fresh interpretation of the evidence.

Tracing the origins of daily prayer from the New Testament and Patristic period, through the Reformation and Renaissance to the present, this book examines the development of daily rites across a broad range of traditions including: Pre-Crusader Constantinopolitan, East and West Syrian, Coptic and Ethiopian, non-Roman and Roman Western. Structure, texts and ceremonial are examined, and contemporary scholarship surveyed. Concluding with a critique of the present tenor of liturgical revision, Gregory Woolfenden raises key questions for current liturgical change, suggests to whom these questions should be addressed, and proposes that the daily office might be the springboard for an authentic baptismal spirituality. The author explores how prayer and poetic texts indicate that the thrust of the ancient offices was a movement from night to morning - from death to resurrection.

The purpose of this volume is to make better known the pastoral, theological, and liturgical introduction known as the General Instructuion of the Liturgy of the Hours so that individuals, parishes, and other communities may gain a deeper appreciation of the importance of daily liturgical prayer.

In Introduction to Eastern Christian Liturgies, renowned liturgical scholars Stefanos Alexopoulos and Maxwell E. Johnson fulfill the need for a new, comprehensive, and straightforward survey of the liturgical life of the Eastern Christian Churches within the seven distinct liturgical Eastern rites still in existence today: Armenian, Byzantine, Coptic, Ethiopic, East Syrian, West Syrian, and Maronite. This topical overview covers baptism, chrismation, Eucharist, reconciliation, anointing, marriage, holy orders, burial, Liturgy of the Hours, the liturgical year, liturgical ethos and spirituality, and offers a brief yet comprehensive bibliography for further study. This book will be of special interest to masters-level students in liturgy and theology, pastoral ministers seeking an introduction to the liturgies of the Christian East, and all who seek to increase their knowledge of the liturgical riches of the Christian East.

In 1921, Anton Baumstark delivered two lectures on the development of the Roman Rite to a gathering at the Abbey of Maria Laach. Abbot Ildefons Herwegen offered to publish those lectures, but Baumstark decided to write a book on the topic instead, which was published two years later as On the Historical Development of the Liturgy. It would be another sixteen years before he produced Comparative Liturgy, for which he is better known. Together the two books lay out Baumstark's liturgical methodology. Comparative Liturgy presents his method; On the Historical Development of the Liturgy offers his model. For nearly a century, On the Historical Development of the Liturgy has been valued by specialists in the field of liturgical studies, both for its description of comparative liturgy and for the portrayal of patterns Baumstark discerns in liturgical development. Also significant are the hypotheses Baumstark proposes and the evidence he brings to bear on problems in liturgical history. In this annotated edition, Fritz West provides the first English translation of this work by Anton Baumstark.

This booklet contains a shorter, more transparent and participatory form of the liturgical Hours, including the Typica and additional prayers. It has been formatted to a more pristine usage and freed from repetitious or lengthy prayers, thus making it shorter and hence more appealing to the contemporary Christian.

From USCCB Publishing, this revision of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) seeks to promote more conscious, active, and full participation of the faithful in the mystery of the Eucharist. While the Missale Romanum contains the rite and prayers for Mass, the GIRM provides specific detail about each element of the Order of Mass as well as other information related to the Mass.

Includes bibliographical references and index.