Divine Office

Divine Office: Universal Prayer of the Church

The Liturgy of the Hours—also called the Divine Office or — is the Church’s daily liturgical prayer, marking the rhythm of each day with praise and intercession. In this prayer, the Church unites herself to Christ, who “always lives to make intercession for us” (Heb 7:25). When we pray the Hours, we join the whole Body of Christ in giving glory to God and sanctifying time itself.

“The divine office is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ Himself, together with His Body, addresses to the Father.”
— Sacrosanctum Concilium §84

History of the Divine Office

The practice of fixed-hour prayer has ancient roots. The Jewish people prayed at set times throughout the day (see Ps 55:17; Dan 6:10). The first Christians inherited this rhythm, praying morning and evening in remembrance of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection.

By the fourth century, local communities and monastic groups began developing structured cycles of psalms and readings. St Benedict’s Rule (6th century) organized the day into distinct “hours,” forming the pattern of prayer that shaped Western monastic life: ora et labora—“pray and work.”

In the Middle Ages, the various monastic offices were condensed into the breviary, making it possible for clergy and religious to carry the Office with them. After the Council of Trent, Pope Pius V standardized the Roman Breviary for the whole Latin Church.

The Second Vatican Council called for a renewal of the Liturgy of the Hours so that “the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praises of God” (Sacrosanctum Concilium §84). Pope Paul VI’s apostolic constitution Laudis Canticum (1970) established the form of the Hours we use today.

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Beauty and Meaning

The Liturgy of the Hours sanctifies time. It is a way for the Church to lift up the passing hours of every day to God.

It unites heaven and earth: The psalms prayed on earth echo the eternal praise of heaven.
It fills life with Scripture: Over a four-week cycle, the entire Psalter is prayed, immersing the faithful in God’s Word.
It unites the whole Church: Clergy, religious, and laity around the world pray the same psalms and readings, forming a single voice of prayer.
It shapes the heart: Through repetition and rhythm, the Hours teach patience, recollection, and gratitude.

“By tradition going back to early Christian times, the divine office is so devised that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of God.”
— General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours §10

Participation for the Faithful

Though priests and religious are bound to pray the Hours, all the faithful are invited to take part. The General Instruction encourages the laity to pray at least some Hours, especially Morning (Lauds) and Evening Prayer (Vespers). To pray the Hours is to join the Church’s unending hymn of praise. Every psalm, every canticle, every hour is a reminder that our time belongs to God. Through this prayer, the ordinary rhythm of human life—morning, work, evening, rest—becomes a continual act of worship, rendered by the Mystical Body of Christ on Eart, the Universal Church. You can pray the Hours:

Alone or in community
Using a printed breviary (e.g. Christian Prayer or Liturgy of the Hours)
With digital resources or apps such as iBreviary or Universalis

Key Documents

General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours (1971) – ‘GIRM’
Sacrosanctum Concilium — Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Vatican II):
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html Vatican+1
Laudis Canticum — Apostolic Constitution on the revised Divine Office (1 Nov 1970):
https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/la/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_p-vi_apc_19701101_laudis-canticum.html

These define the purpose, structure, and spiritual fruit of the Divine Office, making clear that the Liturgy of the Hours belongs to the very heart of the Church’s liturgical life.