Reciting evening prayer when it's not
Dear Bro. Ignatius,
I understand that the hours are meant to be prayed at their proper time each day. How does your community handle the differing daylight hours brought about by the changing seasons? I like reciting morning and evening prayer at sunrise and sunset respectively but every winter I find myself reciting evening prayer as early as 4:00 PM and every summer as late as 8:00 PM (I define "evening" as beginning at sunset and ending at dusk). Because I thus pray at such varying hours I wonder if I should I abandon the sunrise/sunset recitation and pray at fixed hours regardless of the light outside? How do YOU manage it?
Best regards,
Ricardo
QUESTION from Ricardo on May 29, 2004
ANSWER by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM on June 1, 2004
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Dear Ricardo: The definition of morning and evening in the Divine Office is based today upon the time, not whether there it is light or dark. St. Benedict did work out complicated charts to pin-point the exact times for sunrise and such. This particularness is not necessary and has been suppressed. In today's legislation we are to pray the Hours as close as possible to the "canonical" hours. The canonical hours are:
3 am: Matins/Vigils (Office of Readings -- can be said anytime) In the Rule of St. Michael we give this range of possibilities for saying the Offices:
God Bless, |