The Christian life is unique among the Abrahamic faiths in the amount of freedom it’s adherents have in the practice of spiritual disciplines. Christians often pray, fast, give alms, make pilgrimages, and make professions of their faith, however within most Christian traditions how that is done by the average lay person is often left to the person themselves to decide. What emerges out of this are a myriad of tools and options all designed to help Christians focus on God with every part of their lives, and I believe this is a great thing! However with the great diversity of options can breed a consumerist mindset on spirituality.
Prayer can become a product to satisfy us and we can try out one product after another trying to satisfy us, and make us more spiritual. Having thousands of options means it’s very easy to never settle on one, or to settle into a lifestyle that holds them all so loosely that when dry spells, dark nights, and times in the wilderness come all the practices can so easily fall away. It is because of that tendency in myself that I have committed to I pray the Divine Office at least two times a day.
I incorporate other practices in my life as well, but having one that I stick too no matter what has helped me continue in the rest in different times and seasons. I believe every Christian should have at least one daily practice they are committed to. Not all of them have to be the same as mine, but find something you can really hold on to and stick with it.
For me the Divine Office works well for a number of reasons, and I’d like to use the rest of this article in an attempt to elucidate them:
- It offers bookends to my day. I pray morning and evening prayer. Since I’ve started this practice my whole life seems to stick together better. Each part of my day is held up by prayer life books on a shelf are kept from falling like bookends.
- It educates my consciousness. There are certain elements to the daily liturgy that become deeply rooted in how I think about the world. In the same way a song can get stuck in your head the antiphons, doxologies, and requests seem to always by on the tip of my tongue and at the forefront of my heart.
- The Roman Breviary fits my family. My wife is Catholic, I am not. This makes our prayer together is a continual give and take. By reading the Roman Breviary when my wife chooses to join me she feels at home. It’s a spiritual practice we can both easily share without stepping on one another’s toes.
- It joins me with Christians throughout time and around the world. Christians have been praying the Psalms since the Church consisted of 12 guys following a Rabbi around Galilee. I know every morning I am joining with countless others who are praying the same prayers at the same time, as well as becoming familiar with the oldest prayer book in the Church, the Holy Bible.
- It keeps me in the cycle of the church year. Every year the church begins a remarkable journey living the story of God’s redeeming work in the world. This is seen through the various church seasons which focus us ultimately on the Resurrection of Jesus on Pascha. The prayers and songs continually place me in the setting of the year I am in, I love that.
- It keeps me in the cycle of the week. The feast of the Resurrection is celebrated every week on Sunday in the church. By praying the hours I have found a much deeper appreciation for the Lord’s Day.
- It Keeps me connected to the Saints that have Gone Before. The Divine Office offers special prayers and stories of saints throughout the year. By praying the offices I am always aware and connected to the lives, and feasts of the Saints.
- It Equips me with God’s Word. By following the regimen of the Divine Office I get to know the scriptures better. I often find the words of the Psalms and Canticles some to me while in prayer with others, or in times of distress. They offer me a great deal of life, and have equipped me in many ways to comfort those around me.
- It draws me together with other believers in my own community. It’s amazing to me how many people I have found that love to pray the Divine Office with me. It’s a great format for prayer together and is adaptable to many different settings. If you want to get started find a group in your area that’s already doing it. There probably is one!
- It opens my heart more to God. I have seem my life changed by this prayer, by asking Jesus into my life regularly I have seen him begin some major renovations within me. This practice has helped me love God more and more, and opened my eyes to so much of what God is at work doing around me. I don’t know what I’d do without it!
If you are interested in praying the Offices here are a few resources:
I use the print volume “Christian Prayer”
You can also read them Online at Universalis or DivineOffice.org
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