By Barb Arland-Fye
Forty-two years ago the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship published the Latin book for celebration of The Liturgy of the Hours, prayers said at fixed times of the day, based on a tradition of the early Church. I have only discovered the beauty of this form of prayer in the last four years, but most especially in the last six months that I have been praying them with Sister Laura Goedken, O.P.
In passing conversation I mentioned to Sr. Laura, the Davenport Diocese’s development director, that I enjoy praying Liturgy of the Hours with deacon candidates and their spouses each month. My husband and our younger son also pray Liturgy of the Hours on occasion.
As a vowed member of a religious community, Sr. Laura is very familiar with communal prayer and suggested we choose a time of day to get together for The Liturgy of the Hours. We settled on 3 p.m. each day in the chapel of diocesan headquarters, unless one of us is out of the office or in a meeting.
My lovingly worn copy of “Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of The Hours” contains a general instruction that explains the origins of this prayer form and why the Church encourages all of the faithful, not just clergy and members of religious communities, to pray it…
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