Parishes across the archdiocese pray
the Liturgy of the Hours regularly

By Sean Gallagher

A busy workday is done. Joe Rivelli leaves his office at the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association at the RCA Dome and walks across the street to St. John the Evangelist Church.

After a day of busy phone calls and conferences, he enters into the quiet of the church and, at the same time, seeks to calm his heart and mind.

Rivelli, a member of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Indianapolis, sits down in a small side chapel with a few other people and lifts up prayers of thanks and praise to God in Evening Prayer.

This is a part of the Liturgy of the Hours, which, along with the Eucharist, makes up the official prayer of the Church.

As its name suggests, the Liturgy of the Hours is made up of liturgies that are prayed at different hours of the day, with Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer being the most significant services.

Those who receive the sacrament of holy orders promise to pray the Liturgy of the Hours faithfully while members of religious communities ordinarily have it as a part of their ordinary day-to-day lives.

But since it is the prayer of the entire Church, praying the Liturgy of the Hours is not the exclusive right of religious and those who are ordained.

And so in order to encourage the laity to take in the spiritual riches it offers, Benedictine Father Noah Casey, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish, has made Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer a regular part of his faith community’s daily liturgical life.

Morning Prayer is prayed there Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m., with Evening Prayer being offered on the same days at 5:15 p.m.

In an interview with The Criterion, Father Noah explained that the parish’s downtown location and its past involvement in ecumenical activities is one reason why the Liturgy of the Hours has become part of its daily life.

Since the Liturgy of the Hours is made up largely of prayer with Scripture, especially the Psalms, it is a good way for Catholics and non-Catholic Christians to gather together in prayer, something that Father Noah said happens when different Christian groups have conventions at the nearby Indianapolis Convention Center.

He also said that Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer can serve as a outlet of prayer for the many people who work, like Rivelli.

“It provides a more reflective grounded way of beginning and of bringing the workday to a close,” Father Noah said. “It’s kind of a calming experience and it provides kind of a prayerful environment in which the day takes place rather than having prayer be something that is just fit in as catch as catch can.”

Rivelli said that his participation in the short Evening Prayer service helps him make a good transition from work to home.

“It sets the tone before I go home right after the busy day that I’ve had at work,” he said. “It just kind of calms me down a little bit and focuses me to be a better father and husband when I get home.”

But a parish doesn’t need the hustle and bustle of downtown workers and conventioneers in order to gather people to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

Members of St. Agnes Parish in the hills of Brown County have been gathering on weekday mornings for 15 years to pray Morning Prayer for much of that time under the leadership of its outgoing parish life coordinator Benedictine Sister Mildred Wannemuehler.

St. Agnes parishioner Dee Suding said that her participation in Morning Prayer helps her face her day’s challenges with spiritual strength.

“Morning Prayer with the community helps to get my day off to a great start and helps remind me that whatever the rest of the day brings I have the Spirit to guide me,” she said.

Ray McGlothlin, another St. Agnes parishioner who frequently prays Morning Prayer, said the liturgy helps him to open himself to God’s will for him for that day.

“Morning prayer puts my day into focus as to how I can serve God and do everything for His greater honor and glory,” he said.

Several other parishes across the archdiocese regularly pray the Liturgy of the Hours, either throughout the year or in the seasons of Advent or Lent. These include St. Barnabas Parish, St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish and Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Indianapolis, and at St. Andrew Parish in the Richmond Catholic Community in Richmond.

Still, the Liturgy of the Hours is just starting to catch on among some Catholics. Many others may be wary about what they perceive to be a complicated prayer form, with its combination of hymns, antiphons, psalms, readings, canticles and prayers.

The complete Liturgy of the Hours for the entire year is contained in four-volume set of books commonly referred to as the Breviary. There is a slightly shortened version of it in a one-volume book known as the Book of Christian Prayer. There are other even shorter versions of this available.

The official English text of the Liturgy of the Hours can also be accessed online at no charge at www.liturgyhours.org.

Despite people’s unfamiliarity with the Liturgy of the Hours, Father Noah encourages all Catholics to try it out.

“Don’t worry about getting it right, just get in there and do it,” he said. “I’m convinced that once people begin to discover the richness of the psalms, it just takes off for them.” †