Program / Course 3: The Rule of Life / Lesson 2.4
What you will learn
- List the common parts of a daily office.
- Draft a short morning and evening office from Scripture and the Lord’s Prayer.
- Choose a plan for reading the Psalms and Scripture across a week.
- State when to use a printed book of the person’s own tradition instead of a home-made pattern.
The big idea
A daily office does not need to be long or elaborate. Its common parts are few: an opening, a psalm, a reading, the Lord’s Prayer, some intercession and a closing. A person can build a version of ten minutes for morning and evening and keep it through the year. The simple pattern borrows from the church’s long tradition, and a person who belongs to a tradition with an official book should use it or consult it. The aim is steadiness, not novelty.
Key terms
- Office
- A set form of prayer for a time of day, with fixed parts.
- Versicle and response
- A short line said by a leader and answered by others, as in O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise (Psalm 51:15).
- Collect
- A short prayer that gathers the intentions of a service into one petition.
- Intercession
- Prayer on behalf of other people or of the world.
- Lectionary
- A schedule of Scripture readings for days, weeks and seasons.
- Canticle
- A song of praise taken from Scripture outside the Psalms, such as the Song of Mary (Luke 1:46-55).
Background
The previous lessons described the long offices of monasteries and the shorter ones of parish churches. For a lay person living alone or in a household, those can seem too large. Yet the common structure is simple, and it is the same in nearly every tradition. A short opening invites God to hear. Psalms follow, then a reading from Scripture, then a response in prayer, then intercession and a close. A person can use that structure for five minutes or for thirty.
The simple office is not an attempt to replace the church’s liturgy. It is a way to build a daily habit using the church’s shape. A person who belongs to a tradition with a prayer book, such as the Book of Common Prayer, a Catholic breviary or an Orthodox prayer book, should look first at what the tradition provides, because those books carry the church’s wisdom and are prayed with others. The pattern below is for those who have no such book or who want a shorter version.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The parts of an office
A short office has seven parts. First, an opening verse such as Psalm 51:15 in the morning, O Lord, open thou my lips, or Psalm 70:1 asking God to make haste to help. Second, a psalm or part of one. Third, a short reading from the Gospels or an epistle, perhaps one paragraph. Fourth, a time of silence. Fifth, a canticle or the Lord’s Prayer. Sixth, intercession for family, neighbors, the sick and the world. Seventh, a short closing prayer and blessing.
Not every part is necessary every day. On a day of little time, the psalm and the Lord’s Prayer are enough. Benedict’s counsel that prayer be short and pure unless prolonged by grace applies here.
Step 2: A morning pattern
A morning office might begin with the opening verse and a moment of thanks for the new day. Then it would read a psalm of praise or trust, such as Psalm 63, Psalm 5 or Psalm 95. A few verses from a Gospel follow, read through the week in order, and then a time of silence. The Lord’s Prayer comes next, then a short prayer for the day’s work and for the people to be met in it, and a closing blessing.
Morning prayer looks ahead. It offers the day to God and asks for help in specific duties. Ten minutes is adequate, and five can be enough.
Step 3: An evening pattern
An evening office looks back. It begins with the same kind of opening, then reads a psalm suited to the end of a day, such as Psalm 4, Psalm 91 or Psalm 141. A reading follows, and the Lord’s Prayer. In the middle, a brief review of the day: what to thank God for, and what to ask forgiveness for. Intercession for those in need comes next, and a prayer for protection through the night. Traditional night prayer ends with the words of Jesus on the cross, Into thy hands I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46).
The evening office is also the best place for the examination of conscience treated in a later lesson, but a beginner should keep the review short and gentle.
Step 4: Choosing readings and keeping the pattern
There are three simple ways to choose readings. One is to read a book of the Bible in order, a few verses a day. A second is to follow a lectionary, such as the Revised Common Lectionary used by many Protestant churches, or the Catholic lectionary. A third is to read the Psalms in order, a few each day. The first is easiest to start. The second connects the person to the wider church. A person may combine them, for instance by following the Gospel of the day in the morning and a psalm in the evening.
To keep the pattern, attach it to something already fixed: coffee, the first light, the end of a meal or brushing teeth. Choose a place, perhaps a chair or a corner. Write the office on a card. When a day is missed, simply begin on the next, without making up the lost time.
- Which of the seven parts do I most want to keep, and which can I leave out for now?
- What existing habit could carry my morning prayer?
- What existing habit could carry my evening prayer?
- Would I prefer a printed book of my tradition or a home-made card?
- How will I respond when I miss a day?
- Who could I ask to review my pattern after a month?
Examples
A five-minute morning office
Opening verse (Psalm 51:15), one psalm, the Lord’s Prayer, one sentence of intercession and a closing blessing. The whole thing takes five minutes before the household wakes. (A constructed example.)
A fifteen-minute evening office
Opening, an evening psalm, a Gospel reading in order, silence, the Magnificat or the Lord’s Prayer, a brief review of the day and a prayer for the night. (A constructed example.)
A reduced office for a bad week
During a week with a sick child, a father says only the Lord’s Prayer at morning and bedtime and one verse of a psalm in the car. When the week passes he resumes his fuller pattern. (A constructed example.)
Different perspectives
The Catholic view
The Church encourages lay people to pray Morning and Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, using Christian Prayer or similar one-volume books or an app. Where this is too much, short prayers such as the Angelus are customary. The Church holds that the Office is the prayer of Christ and the whole body.
The Orthodox view
Orthodox lay people usually use morning and evening prayers from a prayer book, with parts that the spiritual father may add or reduce. Teachers caution against making up a private office with no guidance, since the prayers are the church’s inheritance.
The Protestant view
Anglicans use the Book of Common Prayer or its modern counterparts. Lutherans use the Small Catechism’s household prayers. Many other Protestants rely on a daily time of Bible reading and free prayer and may adopt a simple pattern for structure. Protestants usually say that no form is required but that forms can be useful.
A critical view
Some Christians are suspicious of borrowed forms and worry about empty repetition (Matthew 6:7). The traditions answer that repetition is not vain if the mind and heart go with the words, and that forms also protect against self-centered prayer.
Why it matters
A simple office gives a beginner a concrete plan for the first thirty days. The pattern is common to the traditions and small enough to survive a hard week. Starting small respects Benedict’s advice about measure and avoids the pattern of heroic beginnings that collapse. It also prepares for the later lessons, which add Scripture reading, short prayer, fasting and examination.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: A real office must be long and use the full Psalter.
Correction: Long offices were made for monasteries. A short office with one psalm and the Lord’s Prayer is still a real office if prayed with attention.
Misunderstanding: A home-made office replaces the church’s prayer.
Correction: A home-made office is a help, not a replacement. Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant teachers urge lay people to learn the church’s own books as well.
Misunderstanding: If I miss a day I have broken the rule.
Correction: A missed day is a missed day. The traditions teach beginning again without making up the time or punishing oneself.
Knowledge check
List the common parts of an office.
Opening verse, a psalm, a reading from Scripture, silence, the Lord’s Prayer or a canticle, intercession and a closing prayer. Not all are necessary every day. The structure is shared by most traditions and can be done in five minutes or in thirty.
How does morning prayer differ from evening prayer in character?
Morning prayer looks ahead and offers the coming day to God, asking help for specific duties. Evening prayer looks back, giving thanks, reviewing the day, asking forgiveness and asking protection through the night. Both can use the same basic structure with different psalms.
What are three ways to choose Scripture readings?
Read a book of the Bible in order, follow a lectionary such as the Revised Common Lectionary or the Catholic lectionary, or read the Psalms in order a few each day. The first is the easiest to begin, and the second joins the person to the wider church.
When should a person use a printed book of the tradition rather than a home-made office?
When the person belongs to a tradition that has an official book, such as the Book of Common Prayer, a Catholic breviary or an Orthodox prayer book, it is wise to begin there, since the books carry the church’s wisdom and are prayed with others. A home-made office suits those without such a book.
Think it through
- What is the smallest office you could pray on your worst day?
- Does having a printed form help you or tempt you to hurry?
- How could the end of your day become a time of looking back with honesty and gratitude?
Independent assignment
Write your own morning and evening offices
In your notebook, write out a morning office and an evening office, each on half a page. Name the opening verse, the psalm, the reading, the prayer and the closing. State how many minutes each takes. Use them for seven days. At the end of the week, write 150 to 250 words on what worked and what you will change. Do not post it.
Further study
- Martin Luther, The Small Catechism Read the morning and evening prayers.
- Benedict of Nursia, The Rule of St. Benedict Read chapter 20 on reverence in prayer.
- Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read the section on the Liturgy of the Hours.
- Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God A reminder that formal prayer and ordinary work belong together.
- Psalm 51:15 Open my lips.
- Psalm 63 A morning psalm.
- Psalm 4 An evening psalm.
- Luke 23:46 Into thy hands I commend my spirit.