Night Hours

Night Hours

The Night Hours are the fixed times of prayer in the Divine Office of the Roman Catholic Church, that take place after sunset and before sunrise. In the Latin Rite, the main Office is traditionally Matins, said in the early hours of the morning, and which is joined to the office of Lauds, which is concluded shortly before dawn. Vespers, traditionally said just after sunset, and Compline, said immediately before retiring to bed, are also sometimes considered to be part of the Night Hours. The Eastern Christian Churches, including both Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, have a similar structure of night prayer, but the terminology is usually different. Some Protestant communities have similar prayer times.

The contents of these prayer offices vary greatly with season, day of week, and feast days, which is unlike the Daytime Hours, which tend to be invariable. The offices consist of a hymn, psalms and canticles with antiphons, versicles, readings from scripture, Fathers of the Church, Councils of the Church, lives of the Saints, etc., and specific prayers.

Latin Rite Catholic usage

The office of Matins is the longest of the daily offices, and includes a minimum of two lengthy readings, and traditionally had the most number of psalms and canticles. Since the reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council, the Liturgy of the Hours has renamed "Matins" as "Office of Readings", allowing it to be said at any time during the day or night. The Office of Readings has only three psalms or portions of psalms, where the earlier form had nine, and two readings, in length similar to the total length of the readings in the three "nocturns" of the previous form. Clergy who have an obligation to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours may still fulfil their obligation by using the Roman Breviary promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962.[1] A characteristic of Matins or the Office of Readings, is the ancient hymn, Te Deum, said on Sundays and solemnities.

The office of Lauds, traditionally said just before sunrise, is now often called, in English, "Morning Prayer", though the official name (in Latin) remains unchanged. The character of this office is one of praise to God.

The office of Vespers, traditionally said just after sunset, has been renamed "Evening Prayer" after the Second Vatican Council, and is to be said at about 6 p.m. The character of this office is one of thanksgiving.

The office of Compline, is said just before retiring to bed, and has been renamed "Night Prayer" after the Second Vatican Council. The character of this office is a meditation on death.

See also

References

  1. ^ Summorum Pontificum, article 9 §3

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Night flying restrictions — is any regulation or legislation imposed by a governing body to limit the ground perceived exposure to aircraft noise during the night hours, when the majority of residents are trying to sleep. Such regulations may include restrictions to… …   Wikipedia

  • Night Walk (TV series) — Night Walk was the first in a short but frequently repeated series of late night television programs aired on Global Ontario from 1986 to 1993. Night Walk was basically a first person view of a walk through the streets of Toronto during the late… …   Wikipedia

  • night — nightless, adj. nightlessly, adv. nightlike, adj. /nuyt/, n. 1. the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise. 2. the beginning of this period; nightfall. 3. the darkness of night; the dark. 4. a condition or time of obscurity, ignorance,… …   Universalium

  • Night auditor — A night auditor is a person who works at night at the reception of a hotel. They typically handle both the duties of the front desk agent and some of the duties of the accounting department. This is necessitated by the fact that most fiscal days… …   Wikipedia

  • night — [[t]naɪt[/t]] n. 1) the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise 2) the beginning of this period; nightfall 3) the darkness of night; the dark 4) a condition or time of obscurity, ignorance, sinfulness, misfortune, etc 5) (sometimes cap.) an …   From formal English to slang

  • night person — noun A person whose preference or custom is to remain awake and active during the evening and early morning (night) hours, and who usually sleeps during part of the daytime. You see, Im a creature of the night …   Wiktionary

  • night shift — noun a) A regularly scheduled period of work, during evening or night hours, especially 4 PM to midnight or midnight to 8 AM. b) A group of workers who work during the night …   Wiktionary

  • night curfew — curfew that is in force during the night hours …   English contemporary dictionary

  • night shift — group of workers that work through the night; hours they work …   English contemporary dictionary

  • night-time curfew — curfew that is in force during the night hours …   English contemporary dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”