It does require small sacrifices, but if we start small, keep it manageable, make it habit and not a burden, it will become life-giving! So many have said “I wish I could do this more often ” then time and our busy lives make that hard.

Many have come to Our Lady of the Holy Cross on retreat or to mass or for one of our services.

These liturgical “hours” or “offices” can also be prayed using the embedded webpage below.ħ:00 am – Lauds, followed by ~ 7:25 am Massġ0:00 am – Terce (private, in workplaces) Just as the Psalmist says, the monks here come together in prayer “seven times a day,” starting with Vigils, in “the watches of the night.” We invite you to join us in this ancient prayer, whether by coming to our chapel or from your own homes as described below. (See Matthew 26:41, Luke 21:36, and 1 Thess 5:17.) Following the prayer of Israel, of Jesus, and of the apostles, it has been the unbroken prayer of the universal Church throughout history, and it remains the prayer of Holy Cross Abbey.įor well over 1500 years, Christian monks and clergy have used a particular format for the Liturgy of Hours to help the Church fulfill Our Lord’s command. Our Lord commands us to “pray without ceasing,” and keep watch, waiting in hope for His second coming. Very similar to the prayers said in synagogues and homes by Jesus and the apostles, and by many Jewish generations before, the greatest part of this “work of God” is simply the singing of Psalms and the reading of Sacred Scripture. Benedict refers to it in his Rule, the Work of God (Opus Dei). This could be loosely translated as the divine commission, or the task of heaven, but is traditionally called “the Divine Office.” This ancient Christian practice is also called the Liturgy of the Hours (Liturgia horarium) or, as St. Christians throughout history, especially monks and nuns, have practiced a communal form of prayer known as the Officium Divinum.

Divine office morning prayer audio