My Daily Prayer Project

exploring the liturgy of the hours - Brett Pavia

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Prayer Walls, Prayer Stations, and Prayer Banners, a set on Flickr.

Most monastic communities, cathedral church, and families that prayer the liturgy of the hours daily also practice a wide range of devotional habits in and round the Daily Office. Here are a few that we use in our liturgical 24-7 Prayer ministry.

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Prayer Walls, Prayer Stations, and Prayer Banners

In our 24-7 Prayer ministry, between our Daily Office group gathering times, we make use of a wide range of prayer devotional prayer areas. These include prayer walls for posting and reading prayers for personal needs, local social justice issues, non-Christian friends and family, and for world needs and the salvation of the nations. In addition we also use prayer stations with reflection questions regarding the scripture readings in Daily Office, an altar for praying around the crucifix, stations of the cross, and others. We include prayer banners that help remind us of the themes of the prayer vigil. (photo album)

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St. Mary and St. Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church - Oak Creek on Flickr.

Coptic Orthodox Vespers

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Coptic Orthodox Book of Hours

Being deeply rooted in the monastic desert devotional supplications, the Coptic liturgy of the hours is an office of prayer and psalmody in its purist form, closely interwoven with the practice of fasting, private prayer, night vigils, silence, and contrition of the heart. In general the Coptic Daily Office is more penitential, contemplative, and solemn than other traditions. There are eight hours of prayer in the Coptic office, including three nocturnal prayer watches. The variation between the offices in terms of structure is minimal and basic flow of each day follows the passion of Christ. (more info)

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231 by renidemus on Flickr.

Here is an example of a Orthodox Icon Corner, home altar, or family altar to do morning and evening prayer around using a liturgy of the hours prayer book.

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Icon Corners, Family Church, and Daily Prayer

In the early church Christians met in homes of the faithful, this tradition was continued in the Eastern Orthodox Churches in the practice of the "family church". The home is considered to be a microcosm of the church, it is treated as an integral part of and continuation of the parish with no separation between the liturgy and private devotions. The icon corner and horologion (liturgy of the hours prayer book) become the focal point of family worship and aid the family in fulfilling the Biblical command to prayer without ceasing. (more info: Little Church or Marriage and Christian Home) In the west, the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican churches also have a rich practice of the domestic church, family altars, and practice of daily prayer.

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Vesper Prayers @ Sunset on Flickr.

Another great picture Vesper Prayers at Sunset from our balcony.

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Group Retreat on Flickr.

There are many places to pray the Daily Office, not just in formal church and monastic settings, but also in tents and Hungarian Yurts like this one. Great place to practice Laus Perennis (praying without ceasing).

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Laus Perennis

This is the practice of continual or perpetual prayer carried out by a group of people. Normally such a practice goes on much longer than vigil being kept on the eve before a feast day and can go on for  week, a month, or even years. The Liturgy of the Hours was actually designed to help communities keep a non-stop prayer watch with not only fix times to pray during the day but also nocturnal prayer hours.

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Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe - La Cross, WI on Flickr.

An example of incense being used in a Roman Catholic evening prayer gathering.

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Liturgical Incense During Daily Office

In many of the Christian traditions praying the hours, liturgical incense is used. In the Coptic Orthodox church they have a morning service called "raising of the incense". In Roman Catholic tradition instructions are given for use of incense in matins and vespers. Anglicans and Lutherans most often us incense in evening prayer. in Eastern Orthodox churches, incense is also used in home use of Daily Prayer around the family icon corner or home altar.

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Advent Vespers on Flickr.

Traditional Lutheran Advent Vespers as a church with Slovakian background and use of the The Christmas Wafer called the Oplatky.

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Oplatky Christmas Wafer

Christmas wafers (oplotky) is part of our Slovak Christmas Eve Vespers supper, Vilija. In this experience we recall that God sent manna to His people as they sojourned in the desert. We also recall that Jesus said that He was "the bread of life," and that He left us His Body and Blood under the appearances of bread and wine in the Eucharist. This unique tradition is celebrated in both the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches in Slovakia and Poland. (more info)

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Vesper Prayer Walk - Oak Leaf Trail on Flickr.

A nice place for a prayer stop to reflect and meditate on the scripture passages in the Daily Office.

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“lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi”

This translates to "as we pray, so we live, and so we believe" and is the  foundational concept behind Liturgy of the Hours. This is one of the best Christian formation tools available.

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October Youth Event on Flickr - This is an example of a past vespers prayer service we lead, which included prayer walls, an altar, multi-media slide show, and art stations for praying in color. Changing the context in which Daily Office is done, changing everything but the liturgical and theological content.

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Lectio Continua

Latin for continuous reading, refers to the practice of reading Scripture in sequence over a period of time. This is one of the many elements of the Liturgy of the Hours. Most of the prayer books are designed around a two year legionary, which takes the user thought the entire Bible in 24 months.