WOF 542: Why All Catholics Should Pray the Liturgy of the Hours

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. The Liturgy of the Hours, or the "Divine Office," is often associated exclusively with the spiritual practices of priests, monks, and nuns. To be sure, praying the Hours is an essential part of the lives of those who have formally taken religious vows. However, the prayer of the Church, as the Liturgy of the Hours is also called, is precisely that: a way of sanctifying the day for the whole Church, both laity and clergy alike. With so many forms of prayer already available, however, why should lay Catholics also consider praying the Hours? What, substantively, is distinctive about it? What are its origins? Moreover, given the size and complexity of the Hours—the full liturgy occupies four thick volumes of text with multiple ribbons to mark different sections—how, practically, can we get started? Here to explain the enduring theological and spiritual richness of the Liturgy of the Hours and how it deepens and enriches all Catholics' lives, is Bishop Robert Barron.

Topics Covered

00:00 | Introduction

01:11 | Bishop Barron's diocesan travels

02:35 | Why the Liturgy of the Hours matters to Word on Fire

03:57 | Leading with beauty

04:57 | Prayer and the importance of embodiment

08:06 | The origins and practice of praying the Divine Office

12:13 | How the Liturgy of the Hours shapes priests

13:26 | Understanding the Liturgy of the Hours as the Divine Office

14:22 | Relating the Liturgy of the Hours to the liturgy of the Mass

15:11 | What makes a prayer liturgical?