The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: Liturgia Horarum) or Divine Office (Latin: Officium Divinum) or Work of God (Latin: Opus Dei) or canonical hours, often referred to as the Breviary, is the official set of prayers “marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer”. It consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns, readings and other prayers and antiphons prayed at fixed prayer times. Together with the Mass, it constitutes the official public prayer life of the Church. The Liturgy of the Hours also forms the basis of prayer within Christian monasticism. The official post Vatican II structure of the hours is as follows:
- Office of Readings, (Matins) – major hour
- Morning Prayer (Lauds) – major hour
- Daytime Prayer – minor hour or hours, one or more of:
- Midmorning Prayer before Noon (Terce)
- Midday Prayer (Sext)
- Afternoon or Midafternoon Prayer (None)
- Evening Prayer (Vespers) – major hour
- Night Prayer (Compline) – minor hour
The Hours are a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ, using scripture and prayer. At times the dialogue is between the Church or individual soul and God; at times it is a dialogue among the members of the Church; and at times it is even between the Church and the world. 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.” The dialogue is always held, however, in the presence of God and using the words and wisdom of God. Each of the five canonical Hours includes selections from the Psalms that culminate in a scriptural proclamation. The two most important or hinge Hours are Morning and Evening Prayer. These each include a Gospel canticle: the Canticle of Zechariah from Luke 1:68-79 for Morning Prayer (known as the Benedictus), and the Canticle of Mary from Luke 1:46-55 for Evening Prayer (known as the Magnificat). The Gospel canticle acts as a kind of meditative extension of the scriptural proclamation in light of the Christ event. Morning and Evening Prayer also include intercessions that flow from the scriptural proclamation just as the Psalms prepare for it.
The recitation of the Prayer of the Church (Yaama Yaduma) in Sinhala language was introduced on a weekly basis in the year 2019. The Parish has books for anyone who is interested in learning and starting this most central and ancient of prayer practices in the Church. It was initiated on every Sunday before the 7:00 am Mass at 6:40 am. Due to the lack of participation it had to be stopped. Every Saturday before the 6:00 pm Sunday Mass at 5:30 pm is the most appropriate day to have this prayer according to the current observations. Daham Pasal Students will be given an opportunity to learn and conduct this prayer in the future with the help of those elders and teachers who are interested.
