The Structure of The Divine Office or Liturgy of The Hours
Each 'Hour' (the name for the different prayer times) has a similar structure. There is an Introduction, a hymn, some psalms, a reading from Scripture, and some prayers, followed by a Dismissal. Over the course of two weeks, we pray all 150 psalms, nearly 40 of them every week.
Starting The Divine Office or Liturgy of The Hours
The first Office of the day starts with an Invitatory. This is Matins, except for Sunday, when we start the day with Lauds, because we pray Vigils on Saturday evening. The person leading the liturgy for the week, known as the Hebdom, says, 'O Lord, open my lips', and the others reply, 'And my mouth shall declare your praise'. All then say the Glory Be. The Hebdom then gives an antiphon, which the others repeat, and then the Hebdom recites a psalm, with the others repeating the antiphon at the end of each verse. As with all psalms, it ends with the Glory Be. The rest of the Hours start with an Introductory. The Hebdom says, 'O God, come to my assistance', and the others reply, 'O Lord, make haste to help me', followed by the Glory Be.
Matins or The Office of Readings
This is the first and longest of the liturgies. In the Roman Office it is called the Office of Readings. It starts with the Invitatory. After the Invitatory, we sing a hymn. Hymns and psalms are usually sung with one side of the choir singing one verse, and the other side singing the next. Following the hymn we chant three psalms. Someone then reads a passage from Scripture. This is a bit longer than readings at Mass and is arranged so that over a two-year cycle we read most of the Bible. After the reading there is silence for meditation on the reading. An important part of praying Scripture is silent meditation. After a pause to meditate on what has been read there is a responsory. This is followed by a second reading. The second reading is not from the Bible. Instead, it is usually taken from one of the early Church Fathers, often a commentary on the passage of Scripture in the first reading. On saints' days, the reading is either about the saint or from the saint's writings. Again, the reading is followed by silent prayer. After a pause to meditate on what has been read there is a responsory. Then the Hebdom says the Collect for the day, followed by 'Let us bless the Lord', to which the others reply, 'Thanks be to God'.
Lauds/Morning Prayer
Lauds, or Morning Prayer, starts with the Introductory, as described above. The Cantor starts to chant a hymn, appropriate to the day, saint or feast. After that we chant one psalm, a canticle (song) from the Old Testament or New Testament, then we chant other psalms all ending with the Glory Be. The Lector then reads a short passage of Scripture. After a pause to meditate on what has been read there is a responsory. This is a line sung by the cantor and repeated as a response by the rest of the others, followed by another line from the cantor and the others repeating the second half of the response, and then the cantor sings, 'Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit' and the others again repeat the response. Then we sing the Benedictus (Lk 1:68-79), also called the Gospel Canticle, ending with the Glory Be, after which the Hebdom reads the intercessions from the breviary. Next the Hebdom says, 'Our Father', and we all join in the prayer. Then the Hebdom reads the Collect for the day and gives the blessing.
Vespers/Evening Prayer
Vespers is similar to Lauds in its overall structure. Hebdom starts the Introductory. The Cantor starts to chant a hymn, followed by two psalms. Next is a canticle from the New Testament. The psalms and the canticle each end with Glory Be. After the psalmody we have a short Scripture reading, followed by a responsory. The Gospel Canticle for Vespers is the Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55), ending with the Glory Be. As with Lauds, the Gospel Canticle is followed by the intercessions. The Hebdom says 'Our Father', and the others join in. Then the Hebdom reads the concluding prayer. The dismissal is the same as for Lauds.
Compline/Night Prayer
The final Office of the day is Compline. This has very little variation from day to day, the only changes being the hymn, Scripture reading, and concluding prayer. After the Introductory by hebdom, followed by silence moment, a pause to reflect on the day, the Hebdom starts the penitential rite. Then comes the hymn, followed by one or two psalms.After the Scripture reading the responsory is, 'Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit', repeated by the others, 'You have redeemed us, Lord God of Truth', with the response, 'I commend my spirit', and the Glory Be with the full response. The Gospel Canticle for Compline is the Nunc Dimittis (Lk 2:29-32). Then follows the concluding prayer for the day and give the blessing.