Liturgy of the Hours Increases Hope

For the past few weeks, I've been praying Morning and Evening Prayer from Liturgy of the Hours. I'm finding it gives me a big infusion of hope despite my pessimism for the future of the United States. Take today's Morning Prayer. The first psalm (87) reminds us that it's the Lord who builds the city and gives each of us our place in it. The psalm prayer harks back to Jesus weeping over Jerusalem,  "soon to be destroyed for its lack of faith." But Holy Mother Church doesn't leave us with that gloomy picture. She tells us, "He established the new Jerusalem firmly upon rock and made it the mother of the faithful" leading us to "rejoice in [our] Church."

The Canticle (Isaiah 40) shows us the power of God "who rules by his strong arm." He is no tyrant like so many worldly leaders, but a loving God. "Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs." We have nothing to fear because it's He "Who has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea...Who has held in a measure the dust of the earth....Behold, the nations count as a drop of the bucket, as rust on the scales; the coastlands weigh no more than powder." Yes those blue "coastlands" on our eastern and western shores and all the nations of the earth "are as nought, as nothing and void he accounts them."

So, let us never stop fighting the Culture of Death, but neither should we let the state of the world get us down. As Psalm 99 and its antiphon remind us today, "The Lord is king....He is throned on the cherubim; the earth quakes....He is holy, full of power."

And for the faithful who persevere, "The Lord, the mighty conqueror, will come; he will bring with him the prize of victory."

God will never abandon us and so, "Let us joyfully cry out in thanks to God the Father whose love guides and nourishes his people." Amen!

If you need an infusion of hope, pray the Liturgy of the Hours. 

New Year's Resolution: Pray Liturgy of the Hours

I'm happy to say that I kept my new year's resolution in 2012 not to buy any new clothes. I even kept out of the thrift stores and didn't buy any used clothes either. Yesterday at Costco was the first time I've purchased an item of clothing. After a year, I'll leave you to guess what I bought. I also found some sparkly pink slippers on sale at Kohl's for 80% off. Why should the little ones get all the glittery fun?

This year's resolution is a work in progress. I'm going to follow in the steps of St. Catherine of Sienna and pursue joining the Third Order Dominicans, something I've thought about for years. (Yes, St. Catherine was a third order LAY member of the Dominicans, not a nun as many think.) I met with the novice master and went to my first community gathering last week. One of the commitments is to pray Morning and Evening prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. I had the book already because I've tried (unsuccessfully) to do it in the past. My discipline was lacking as well as the confusion of the one-volume book. But the internet is a big help. I check where I think I'm supposed to be with the schedule online and if I'm in the wrong place, get myself back to the right one. After the Eucharist, the most importance practice in the Church is Liturgy of the Hours. (Although, I think the practice a person follows through on is the most important in practical terms.)

But there is something particularly exciting about praying through the day with the Church knowing millions of others are in union with you. That union is one of the signs of the Church, or maybe two. We are one and we are Catholic (universal). I am happy to be with the one true Church that surrounds the entire globe praying in union with my spiritual brothers and sisters. Kind of exciting, don't you think? Of course we do that every day at Mass as well and daily Mass is the most important spiritual work anyone can do.

You don't have to be a member of a religious or lay order to pray Liturgy of the Hours. Just buy a copy of it and refer to the help sites on the internet. Actually, you don't even need to buy the book. You can pray it on-line and even download it to your I-pad or I-phone. If I'm not mistaken there's an app if you have technology to support one.