Morning Prayer for June 3

For the Liturgy of the Hours, here is a podcast of Morning Prayer (aka Lauds), the prayer of pure praise.

I’m sure many of you will be pleased to learn that this podcast contains no chanting of any kind, not even for the Canticle, as it was done in the wee small hours, and the throat would not bear it! I spare you, today!

As usual, I am reading from the Christian Prayer Breviary, published by the Catholic Book Publishing Company; it is the Breviary most commonly used here in the US, and I happen to be partial to the Grail translations of the psalms.

There are many sorts of breviaries – shorter ones, more “modern” ones with gender-sensitive language and so forth, and they’re all good for helping one to establish a rhythm of work and prayer (“ora et labora” advised St. Benedict, “pray and work,” although he appreciated holy leisure, too). If you begin to pray some form of “Hours” – some small office – every day, you will find that the practice both sanctifies time and enlightens you to its construct. You will also find yourself, over the long haul, changed in ways large and small. But it takes time, and nothing instructs us as to the tricks of time – in terms of its fleetness and its illusions – like the Divine Office.

If you believe you are “too pressed for time” to pray with a breviary, I cannot recommend Magnificat Magazine enough. Many of you know that during Lent I borrowed very heavily from its wonderful readings and meditations, and yes, when a day is all-too-full, the Magnificat, which slips into a purse or pocket, can keep you grounded and praying.

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