Liturgy of the Hours: Sanctifying time and work for the Kingdom

As I've continued to understand myself in this process of discernment, I've realized that it is essential for me to live a life where the Liturgy of the Hours (aka the Divine Office) are prayed. The reasons are several, and I understand them to be universal, not tied to my own personal preference.

• We are called to pray unceasingly by Jesus Christ.
• Sanctifying the hours of the day permeates what we do, who we are, and how we love one another.
• Stopping our work to pray is a reorientation toward God against the temptation to make our work about us, rather than about the Kingdom.
• The Benedictine Ora et Labora isn't just a simple "prayer and work" translation; rather, prayer is work/work is prayer and it all points to God's will. The classic Catholic both/and, in other words. Prayer informs our ministry, ministry informs our prayer. There is an ebb and flow here, not a "now we do this" and "now we do that" binary concept.

In the short term, The Liturgy of the Hours allows us to unclench our minds, to sit waiting in the presence of God. Chanting the psalms has the effect of switching our brains to a different "mode" if you'll forgive the non-scientific term. We no longer seek to figure everything out, remember everything, worry about things. It is like taking a hot soothing bath for our minds, and the water is the Holy Spirit. When the mind is unclenched, the Holy Spirit has room to move and breathe in us. 

Eventually, this mindfulness and practicing the presence of God permeates the day and our entire lives, so that the flow of prayer and work is seamless. At first, stopping work and turning to prayer may feel forced or somehow chopping up the day, but when done with an open mind and heart over time, and if we in fact have the grace to live that life, it will produce fruit of constant mindfulness - prayerful living and living prayer.

If you work full time and still want to consecrate your day, The Church has also created the book of Shorter Christian Prayer just for you, and in fact encourages the laity to join in the prayer of the Church. It contains Morning Prayer (Lauds), Evening Prayer (Vespers), and Night Prayer (Compline). It is what I am using now on my own while doing active ministry as I discern. In addition, I pray the Angelus at the traditional times of noon and 6:00, and at 3:00 p.m. I either pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet or if I can't take that much time, I pray an Act of Contrition. 

I encourage you to try to pray as much of the Liturgy of the Hours as you can. If you can't quite get that together, try just slowly and thoughtfully reading a psalm and then praying the Our Father in the morning and evening, and at night, review your day and offer it in all its complexities and successes and failures to God. 

At the very least, consider making a daily "Morning Offering" to set the intention for your day:

O Jesus,

through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer You my prayers, works,

joys and sufferings

of this day for all the intentions

of Your Sacred Heart,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

throughout the world,

in reparation for my sins,

for the intentions of all my relatives and friends,

and in particular

for the intentions of the Holy Father. 

Amen.