His words formed his thoughts and this thought formed his being.” We hope this little explanation of the meaning of the various hours of prayer will enrich your own appreciation of the Work of God. Placid: “The liturgy put into his mouth words he never dared utter. It is also the chief means for achieving incessant prayer, mindfulness of God and transformation in Christ. In this manner it consecrates to God the cycle of night and day, the liturgical seasons and the whole gamut of human activity. ![]() Here at Genesee we strive to maintain the traditional character of each hour of the Work of God by celebrating it at as close to its proper time as we are able. It is the abbot’s duty to promote zeal for the Work of God among the brothers.” Constitution 19.2 The Constitutions go on to situate the Work of God among the other components of monastic life when they continue, “The Liturgy of the Hours is a school of continual prayer and an outstanding component of the monastic way of life. Accordingly, the Liturgy of the Hours is to be celebrated by the community which, in union with the Church, fulfills Christ’s priestly function offering to God a sacrifice of praise and making intercession for the salvation of the whole world.” Constitution 19.1. For our purposes we will refer to this form of prayer as the Work of God since that is the traditional Benedictine term.Īccording to the Constitutions of our Order: “‘Nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God. One of the blessings flowing from the liturgical reforms of Vatican II is the resurgence of the Divine Office among the laity. Due to various circumstances however, in the Christian Church it soon became the particular prayer of clergy and monks for many centuries. In both the Jewish and Christian traditions, this work of God was the prayer of all the people, clergy and laity. As such, it was carried over into the devotion of the early Christian Church and continues in an unbroken tradition down to our own day. This form of prayer was prayed by Jesus and his disciples. ![]() ![]() The roots of this prayer go all the way back to Jewish practices before the time of our Lord. The official prayer of the Roman Catholic Church is known variously as Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, Opus Dei (Work of God).
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