![Christopher McNicholas](/img/default-banner.jpg)
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Christopher McNicholas
United States
เข้าร่วมเมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2009
This is a video series on how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.. also known as the Divine Office, Opus Dei or the Breviary. I am a lay person that loves this form of prayer and I wanted to share what I've learned in a (hopefully) easy to understand visual method. There are plenty of books and a number of videos out there, but I found the books to be difficult to follow and the videos I found were either too short or went through things to fast without detail.
There is a lot here that I've broken up into playlists. Hopefully it's not too hard to follow the order!
Good luck and God Bless!
P.S... I make the effort to respond to posted questions, so don't hesitate to ask!
There is a lot here that I've broken up into playlists. Hopefully it's not too hard to follow the order!
Good luck and God Bless!
P.S... I make the effort to respond to posted questions, so don't hesitate to ask!
The Ordo
Another resource I discovered. More geared for the technically minded, so may be of limited use to the lay person.
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The Missal
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A short overview of the Weekday and Sunday Missals and the three most popular variants.
2 - Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Performing the Little Office
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A video on how to pray the Little Office of the BVM.. if you want more information about the Little Office, be sure to check out the first video; this is the SECOND video designed for those who just want to get right into it.
1. Little Office of The Blessed Virgin Mary - Introduction
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This is a video to introduce the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (or just Little Office). I give some detail about the history and evolution and briefly show you what's inside. If you prefer to dive right in without a history lesson, skip this video and go right to the "Performing" video which should be next in the playlist. Please note that most of what I said in this video came from ...
Shorter Christian Prayer
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An overview of the third format of the Divine Office; the Shorter Christian Prayer. This overview relies on you having seen the Introduction to the Liturgy of The Hours video series, so please check that out first. It would also be of value to review the Christian Prayer video(s) as this is just a smaller version of that one as well.
SOL5 - Christian Prayer handling of Solemnities/Feasts/Memorials
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A briefer video on how Solemnities/Feasts/Memorials are handled in the CP version of the Liturgy of the Hours. It is not my preferred method of praying, so take it as-is!
SOL4 - Memorials - Liturgy of the Hours
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Explanation and walk-through of Memorial (both optional and obligatory) found in the Liturgy of the Hours. several mistakes were made but I believe I caught and corrected them all during the recording of the video
SOL3 - Feasts - Liturgy of The Hours
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Explanation and walk-through on Feasts found in the Liturgy of the Hours.
SOL2 - Solemnities - Liturgy of The Hours
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Explanation and walkthrough on how to handle SOLEMNITIES in the Liturgy of the Hours. Walk through is for the FULL day. I missed Night Prayer in this one - the next video mentions that fact and what to do about it
SOL1 Introduction to Solemnities, Feasts and Memorials - Liturgy of the Hours.
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Introduction on what solemnities, feasts and memorials are in the Liturgy of the Hours and how to handle them.
Christian Prayer vs Liturgy of the Hours - a Comparison
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A comparison of the two versions of the Divine Office; the abridged single volume "Christian Prayer" and the full 4 volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours.
D. Christian Prayer - Night Prayer
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Performing Night Prayer using the single book "Christian Prayer" version of the Liturgy of the Hours.
C. Christian Prayer - Evening Prayer
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Performing the Evening Prayer utilizing the single book "Christian Prayer" version of the Liturgy of the Hours.
B. Christian Prayer - Invitatory + Morning Prayer
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Performing the Invitatory and Morning Prayer using the single book "Christian Prayer" version of the Liturgy of the Hours.
A. Christian Prayer Introduction
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Introduction to the single book version of the Liturgy of the Hours known as "Christian Prayer". This is NOT the comparison video. This IS a basic introduction to the book. I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU VIEW THE "1. Introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours" VIDEO FIRST!
7. Daytime Prayer - Step 4 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
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7. Daytime Prayer - Step 4 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
5. Office of Readings - Step 2 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
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5. Office of Readings - Step 2 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
9. Evening/Night Prayers on Weekends and Solemnities
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9. Evening/Night Prayers on Weekends and Solemnities
10. Night Prayer - Step 6 (and end) of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
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10. Night Prayer - Step 6 (and end) of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
8. Evening Prayer - Step 5 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours (Step 3 if only doing morning too)
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8. Evening Prayer - Step 5 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours (Step 3 if only doing morning too)
3. Invitatory - Step 1 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
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3. Invitatory - Step 1 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
6. Morning Prayer - Step 3 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours (Step 2 if skip Office of Readings)
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6. Morning Prayer - Step 3 of Praying the Liturgy of the Hours (Step 2 if skip Office of Readings)
1. Introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours
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1. Introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours
Thank you, Christopher! All of your videos helped me so much. I had to get the christian prayer book instead of the 4 book set, unfortunately. Feast and solemnities is really throwing me off, a lot of flipping around. I hope to one day have the 4 volume set because you are right. The structure and flow is perfect in the four books and the office of readings is nicely laid out. Anyway, I really appreciate your videos and you cracked me up in a few of them lol Take care and God bless!
Lee Steven Hernandez Timothy Taylor Karen
Starting the Liturgy tonight, this video series is very helpful God Bless you.
Thank you this is very helpful!
Great video 🙌 thank you for all the details I was really confused on how to read it. Went through lot of video and none of them were as helpful as yours. God Bless for all that you do for us 🙏
What's the guidance on the time when each hours should be prayed? Does morning prayer need to be at 6am?
@ButtercupCruElla Morning prayer should be done as soon as you get up. The rest is how you can fit it into your day.... I try to keep it consistent starting at 6am.. midmorning at 9am, midday at noon, midafternoon at 3pm, evening at 6pm, night prayer before bed.
@@cmcnicholas That sounds ideal. I'm wondering if I wake up later than 6am, if I can do morning prayer at 9am or if it would be better to do it at 7 or 8 or if I should forfeit at this point.
@ButtercupCruElla always do Morning and Evening at a minimum. Drop one of the daytime hours if you're not able to do ALL the hours.
Yo were all gonna pray lets go.
If u attend mass...ur bulliten should tell u where u r in ordinary time...and readings
Watching on August 19th 2024 and its the same.
Today is 8/19/24 = page 883 in the the second volume (blue book). I just got the set and trying to figure it out. Sundays are year A,B,C. Lectionary weekday cycle year 1 or 2.
If Christian Prayer eliminating 3 weeks worth of Daytime Prayer Psalms irritates you from a sake of it being incomplete, check out the changes that occurred between the Divine Office (1960) and the Liturgy of the Hours (1971). In both the 4 volume Liturgy of the Hours and Christian Prayer: -Psalms 58, 83, and 109 are missing entirely. -Psalms 78, 105, and 106 are confined to Advent, Christmastide, Lent, and Eastertide. -Psalms 5, 21, 28, 31, 35, 40, 54, 55, 56, 59, 63, 69, 79, 110, 137, 139, 140, 141, and 143 all have verses removed from them that never appear anywhere in the current breviary.
Any plans to introduce us to The Little Office of Baltimore? That would be GREAT! Thank you 😊
It really is not that hard. Ribbon placement: everything begins with the Psalter--place a ribbon there first. Place another ribbon for the Office of Readings and Proper. Place another ribbon for the repeated prayers (invitatory, our Father, different closing prayers). Place another ribbon at supplementary (afternoon) prayers (which are always the same except for very special days). Place another ribbon for Night Prayers which generally just repeats over and over. You can place a ribbon for special days. As you are learning---have an electronic version available. This will let you know the Week you are in and the day. It will also help you with the Sunday prayers I or II (remember Sunday begins Saturday evening). When you are in Advent-Christmas Time and Lent-Easter Tide--things can become tricky---but the electronic version will hold your hand, so you know that you are reading the right psalms and readings. Ordinary Time is rather straight forward. Once you place your ribbons correctly you will see that the Psalter for a specific day leads you through each hour, one page after the next. Correct ribbon placement in the Proper (begins with Office of Readings and then the readings for the rest of the day)--everything is logically and expertly placed. Learn to pray from the physical Breviary. It makes a world of difference--and YOU can do it and will be richly blessed for learning to master the physical Breviary.
Very good, I appreciate your work on this.
How can we purchase this book?
You can actually find it on Amazon with several different covers and text. I usually buy my books directly from the Catholic Book Publishing company here in the US: catholicbookpublishing.com/ You can also find the texts FREE online if you do a search. God Bless and good luck! -cjm
Thank you very much Father Chris! I started praying the liturgy of the hours. Christian prayer back in April. I didn't really know what I was doing, but then I watched your video explaining the Christian prayer procedure and it helped a lot. Even though I was still lost, I bought Shorter Christian Prayer and practiced with the psalter as well as the morning and evening prayers because I wasn't ready to do the full Breviary yet. Now I'm more comfortable with it and have have seasonal devotionals by Professor William G. Storey. Your explanation and guidance is the best I have seen. Thank you, Father Chris.
Thanks for the feedback and I hope your prayer journey is a successful and comforting one! And just so you don't think I'm a final authority, I am not a priest but actually a 4th year candidate in formation for the permanent Diaconate! Thanks again and God Bless!
@@cmcnicholasI see. It's all good!. Either way, you're a big help. Thank you. Maybe in the next 2 years I will move on to the four book series of Liturgy of the Hours. I may need your help in the future if I do plan to upgrade. 👍
Thanks for your video. I know that this video was done a while back, but I was hoping that you could answer a couple questions for me. I recently purchased the Christian Prayer book, and first of all, I do not like that the hymns are not there/listed for each day? Also on a feast day or memorial its s bit confusing flipping through the pages. Is the four volume set more straight forward since it is broken up into seasons? Did I hear you correctly, that the hymns are there for each day. I do also have too admit that the CP does feel very cramped, as they are trying to do an All in one?
Thanks for the feedback! And yes, the four volume set has hymns for every day. Feast days and memorials still require some page flipping, but I find it easier to follow with the 4 volume... There aren't enough ribbons, so I keep a small holy card in the Commons section and it makes it easier to get a starting point when it's time to flip. CP is popular for several reasons, including that it is cheaper, all-in-one, and focuses on Morning and Evening prayer.
@@cmcnicholas Thank you for your reply! We used the CP in the Seminary but that's been a while back now. We used the hymns that the Benedictine monks sang daily for the hours. I follow along for morning and evening prayer with the TH-cam channel "Sing the Hours" if you have not already done so you should check it out. he sings in latin and English and he is guided by a priest. He was highlighted for his work on EWTN! He uses the 4 volume set and I believe the hymns he takes from there as well. If I look up the hymn in the back of the CP they never match up. I know there is some leeway in choosing hymns. I am going to buy the 4 volume set. I may look on eBay for a used set. Thanks again!
This was the most in-depth explanation I have been able to find! Thank you so much for these videos. I got started with the Devine Office app before I could get the books. I love the app as it's very portable and can be anywhere my phone is. I did find that the readings on Devine Office is different from what the breviary says. They have readings I can't find in my book. I decided to go with one or the other depending on where I am or what I'm doing. I have to get used to do not worrying about doing it wrong and just doing it. lol. I also found a bunch of the Devine office hymns on spotify. I like to listen to the hymns even if I'm using the book because I like music but I'm completely tone deaf and can't carry a tune. Thanks again and God Bless you and your family.
Thanks for the feedback! I found the same thing on one of the apps occasionally. If I recall correctly, they used the "New Jerusalem" translation or something. And I agree with your point that it is the *praying* that is important... your prayers are not invalidated if you read the wrong ones!! God Bless and good luck!
Unfortunately it is VERY expensive, i don’t think you can even find the whole set in public libraries
true... but have you tried eBay? I see a few used sets hovering around $70 USD. I've also seen individual used volumes on the second hand book market like Thriftbooks and AbeBooks. Just make sure to add the volume number to your search; "Liturgy of the Hours Volume 1", etc.
I know this is an old video but when you're alone do you read out loud or read it all to yourself or a mix of the two?
@@mamiller1980 a mix... more of a whisper than out loud... vocalizing in any way helps me focus.
Is that an animal skin? Are you a hunter?
I'm in my first year as a Lay Carmelite. We are obligated to pray morning and evening prayer with the option of night prayer. I just started with the Christian prayer book and I like it but I know as soon as I save up enough money I'll definitely purchase the four-volume set
Pope Paul VI didn't like it, sign me up
I have “approached” the LOTH and the Christian Prayer books about 50 times over the past two years. Each time I sit down, I feel optimistic and determined, find a nice video that promises to help me understand the “recipe,” and within about 30 minutes I have given up. It’s like trying to follow a supposedly simple cookie recipe, except the recipe is impossibly dizzying: You’re going to start by measuring out the flour, baking powder, and other dry ingredients. So, you’ll need 4 cups of flour for this particular recipe, which is for every third Wednesday after a full moon. The 4 cups should be all-purpose flour, unless you’re between the age of 26 and 53, in which case you’ll use whole wheat flour (and on Thursdays this is completely different, but I’ll get to that later, in minute 385,719 of video #16). If you’re male, the whole wheat flour should be organic, and you should mix it 50/50 with pastry flour, unless you’re a redhead. [Redheads should use self-rising flour, but you’ll have to adjust your baking powder by the square root of 1/3 the sum total weight of all ingredients, which you won’t know until you completely finish the recipe, which may never happen.] Females will actually use the same flour, but mix it with the other dry ingredients in a slightly different order, just because. For the baking power, if you wear a 28-34 size belt, you’ll use 1/8 tablesooon less per inch of waistline, and add yellow food coloring just after you mix the dry and wet ingredients. Now, if it’s summer, skip the last 2 steps and go to step 14, but do step 11 after step 23. . . And now I’m just eating really crappy store-bought cookies again.
This comment is equal parts hilarious, relatable, and sad. Have you tried using an app like iBreviary or Universalis to help you rather than trying to navigate a book?
Thank you
This is helpful, am hoping to be enrolled in the brown scapular next month
Thank you for all these videos. They have helped me quite a bit.
Pope Pius V did not "abolish" any liturgies that were established for over 200 years. Look up his Bull Quo Primum. So the Dominican Little Office, for example, and rite of mass, remained in force after 1570. This also established a principle of how to think about older liturgies. Now people like to say that Pope Paul VI abolished the traditional mass and office but he actually did not abrogate anything, as Pope Benedict explained in his Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. Paul VI did ALLOW a suppression of all older liturgies, which amount to him saying that he does not prefer them. Whatever. So it seems that the older (1962 and older) Little Office is still the official prayer of the Church.
7:00 I love this🤣 Thank you for giving us these wonderful guides! God bless you.
I got an old used copy which didn't have any ribbons, so I added a couple. It's easy with a small amount of superglue. The spine has a layer of thick paper between the cover and the page block, so I placed the glued ribbon in the gap between that paper and the page block, and pressed it into place with a toothpick. Don't forget to lightly melt the free ends of the ribbons to prevent fraying (assuming you used polyester ribbon.)
Thank you for the detailed introduction (both in this video and in the whole playlist). My copy arrived in the mail this afternoon and I was feeling rather confused when I tried to set it up without guidance.
I came to knowing of the Divine Office late in life. As an aspiring deacon we were required to learn the practice. As time went by, I came to wonder, "why did I not know about this sooner?" St. Ambrose (lived in the 4th Century and one of the first doctors of the Church wrote this about the book of Psalms: "History instructs us, the law teaches us, prophecy foretells, correction punishes, morality persuades; but the book of psalms goes further than all these. It is medicine for our spiritual health. Whoever reads it will find in it a medicine to cure the wounds caused by his own particular passions. Whoever studies it deeply will find it a kind of gymnasium open for all souls to use, where the different psalms are like different exercises set out before him. In that gymnasium, in that stadium of virtue, he can choose the exercises that will train him best to win the victor’s crown." I have come to understand the practice of the Divine Office is like working out in this gymnasium of which St. Ambrose spoke. It is not just the psalms - but the psalms comprise the majority of it. I appreciate that you promote this "workout".
Thank you for such a thorough explanation. I just started the little office and now I don't feel lost.
Thank you so much for your explenation. This is so helpfull. May the Lord bless you. When I start praying I know now I am not the only one doing it. May know that we are in Christ praying together. Best wishes from Maaike, Living in Amsterdam.the Netherlands.
Thanks for the feedback! It truly is the "prayer of the Church" and unites us all!
Thank you for these videos Christopher and welcome home to the Catholic Church! I have searched and searched for a good explanation of how to pray the LOH and came upon your videos last week. They are excellent! Concise, easy to follow, and informative. So, thank you and may God bless you!
Thanks for the feedback! I'm happy to hear I've been of some help!
I am so glad to have found this video. Thank you for explaining things carefully. My St. Joseph manual didn't come with the prayer card so I had to write them down. I do appreciate you explaining and going through the days of the sections. I'm trying to work hard on my praying cycle.
Thank you so much! It's been a long time since I posted these videos, but it brings me great joy to know that they are still helping people develop a solid prayer regimen... I always try to answer questions, so please don't hesitate to ask! -God Bless -c
Still confused! My book is 1867 John Fowler edition. Seems quite a bit different
Fantastic job brother was tired of looking for videos to learn Again fantastic job God bless you
Thank you! And I know exactly how you felt.... cobbling together written information and watching videos that blitzed through everything or assumed familiarity was frustrating. Everyone needs to pray and I just *had* to try to make it easier for everyone I could! God Bless! -c
Thank you, Christopher, for creating this entire series! 4 years have gone by and it's still helping people (like me) learn how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. UIOGD.
Thanks for the feedback! It brings me joy when people find their way here and that I've been of some help in learning to pray the prayer of the Church!
My books turned up!!!!
Congrats! The Lent/Easter volume is a very full volume... enjoy!
Thank you so much - this is just what I've been looking for! For some time I have felt that God was inviting me to a deeper prayer life, and I wasn't sure how to go about that. When I found out what praying the liturgy of the hours was, it was like the answer to a prayer. I now have my first book - Volume II (Lent & Easter) - and plan to being on Ash Wednesday next week, This group of videos is just what I need. Grace a Dieu!
I came across this book several years ago at a yard sale and picked it up. I have not said these prayers before and was very interested in correctly using the book. This was a good explanation and i made notes! Thank you.
Your disdain for the one volume Christian Prayer is noted. However, its genius is that it includes a hymnal set to musical notation and a music section which includes various psalm tones for chanting the hours and the musical settings for morning and evening prayer. It can be supplemented by the one volume Daytime Prayer which includes the four week cycle and psalter, but the Office of Readings can no longer be supplemented except by recourse to the four volume Liturgy of the Hours since the Daughters of St Paul edition of “The Office of Readings” is no longer in print. That volume included the complete Psalter for the office of readings, and I understand Christian Prayer uses an abridged psalter that is complete for Ordinary Time but does not include the seasonal variations used for Advent, Lent and Easter. It also includes a two year cycle of readings in an appendix, as opposed to the four volume office which has but one year of readings. The two year cycle of readings may be obtained from lulu.com
Because of the meticulous attention you paid to explaining this I now feel emboldened to start saying these prayers independently. Was introduced to them on retreat but didn't know how to start by myself. Currently doing them with an app, but very much looking forward to my books turning up in time for Lent. I cannot thank you enough. This was exactly what I needed.
That's fantastic! It's a very rewarding experience and you'll become comfortable with it as you pray the office regularly. God bless you and thank you for the feedback!
Thank you. God bless you, brother.
I have shorter “Christian prayer” but I really want to buy “Christian prayer” do you think it’s worth it?
Absolutely! Many sworn to pray the Office choose to use the single volume Christian Prayer book due to its ease and not needing to juggle swapping out 4 books throughout the year.
Thank you for all your wonderful videos. Really helped me so much. Now i cannot imagine my life without these books. God bless you.
Hey Christopher, I’m not from jersey so I’m not buying from jersey so put that in your pipe, anyway thanks for the suggestion . Buy the way I like your style this has been extremely helpful.
You're right, clear as mud. However, will persevere with both, and thank you. I shall just repeat the videos, and hopefully it will sink in.
As far as I can tell with Shorter Christian prayer the psalter says the concluding prayer will be in the proper seasons for evening prayer, morning prayer and evening prayer two for this Sunday. Yet morning prayer is the only one that seems to have a conclusion prayer. Very confusing.