![]() ![]() The primary purpose of the Divine Office isn’t our personal sanctification, although that is certainly something to be desired. Francis of Assisi adoring the Crucifix by Bernardo Strozzi Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church The Purpose of the Divine Office He places them within salvation history, the heart of which is the mystery of Christ’s. …the prayer of the Church, closely bound to the rhythms of nature, fills the daily, weekly, and yearly cycles with celebration of the feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, as well as memorials of the saints.Īs they pray, God enters into the time of people’s lives. In the Divine Office the Church Militant (which exists in time) unites with the Church Triumphant (which exists in eternity) in unending praise and worship of our Creator. Caritate Christi Compulsi, Encyclical of Pope Pius XI Thus prayer of itself assures the presence of God among men, according to the promise of the divine Redeemer: “Where there are two or three gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt.18:20). ![]() What a spectacle for heaven and earth is not the Church in prayer! For centuries without interruption, from midnight to midnight, is repeated on earth the divine psalmody of the inspired canticles there is no hour of the day that is not hallowed by its special liturgy there is no stage of life that has not its part in the thanksgiving, praise, supplication and reparation in common use by the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church. At every hour of every day these communal prayers of the Church render glory to God and unite us with the saving work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. Just as the Mass is continuously offered to God all over the world each day, so also is the Divine Office. The Divine Office is intimately connected with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Mediator Dei, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on the Sacred Liturgy Praying Throughout the Day ![]() Since the divine Master commanded “that we ought always to pray and not to faint,” the Church faithfully fulfills this injunction and never ceases to pray: she urges us in the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, “by him Jesus let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God”. The word “office” means “service” the Divine Office is the service in which we render continual praise and thanksgiving to our Creator. The purpose of the Divine Office is to sanctify the entire day by offering it to the glory of God. After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Church’s primary liturgical prayer is the Divine Office, or the “Liturgy of the Hours.” This is the official public prayer of the Church which takes place at regular hours throughout the course of the day. ![]()
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