About the Author
Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the religion department of Publishers Weekly, is one of the most respected authorities and popular speakers on religion in America today. She is frequently quoted and interviewed both in print media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, and Time, and in electronic media, such as CNN, C-SPAN, BBC, and "Voice of America." She appears frequently on the Odyssey Channel and is a regular guest on PBS's "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly." She is the author of over two dozen books, most recently Emergence Christianity: What It Is, Where It Is Going, and Why It Matters. She lives in the rural community of Lucy, Tennessee.
Visit the Divine Hours website at www.thedivinehours.com.
The Divine Hours is a trademark of Tickle, Inc.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1
The Gloria
Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end. Alleluia.* Amen.
The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name.
May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;
for yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Compline Prayers for February Are Located on Page 131.
The Following Holy Days Occur in February:
The Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple/
The Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary: February 2
The Feast of St. Mathias the Apostle: February 24
*The Gloria is omitted during Lent by many Christian communities.
"Alleluia" is always omitted from every part of the Church's worship
during Lent; the use of both is restored at Easter.
February
The Morning OfficeTo Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour
Between 6 and 9 a.m.
The Call to Prayer
Come, let us sing to the Lord;* Let us rejoice this day in the strength of our
salvation.
Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving,* and raise a loud shout to Him with psalms.
The Request for Presence
Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock;* shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,* stir up your strength and come to help us,
Restore us, O God of hosts;* show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
The Greeting
It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,* and to sing praises to your Name, O Most High;
To tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning* and of your faithfulness in the night season.
The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and will not be afraid,* for what can flesh do to me?
A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: "Treat others as you would like people to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to get money back, what credit can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked."
The Refrain
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and will not be afraid,* for what can flesh do to me?
The Morning PsalmI Will Give Attention to Your Ways
How shall a young man cleanse his way?* By keeping to your words.
With my whole heart I seek you;* let me not stray from your commandments.
I treasure your promise in my heart,* that I may not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;* instruct me in your statutes.
With my lips will I recite* all the judgments of your mouth.
I have taken greater delight in the way of your decrees* than in all manner of riches.
I will meditate on your commandments* and give attention to your ways.
My delight is in your statutes;* I will not forget your word.
The Refrain
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and will not be afraid,* for what can flesh do to me?
The Gloria
The Lord's Prayer
The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Set me free, O God, from the bondage of my sins, and give me the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to me in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Concluding Prayer of the Church
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
The Midday OfficeTo Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The Call to Prayer
Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;* let us exalt his Name together.
The Request for Presence
Lord, hear my prayer,* and let my cry come before you
Incline your ear to me;* when I call, make haste to answer me.
The Greeting
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;* let those who love your salvation say for ever, "Great is the Lord!"
The Refrain for the Midday Lessons
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart:* I will tell all your
marvelous works.
A Reading
Of Jesus, the Apostle wrote: "It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should, in bringing many sons to glory, make perfect through suffering the leader of their salvation. For consecrator and consecrated are all of the same stock; . . . For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he took to himself the line of Abraham.
The Refrain
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart:* I will tell of all your marvelous works.
The Midday PsalmWe Will Not Fear, Though the Earth Be Moved
God is our refuge and strength,* a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved,* and though the mountains be toppled into the depths of the sea;
Though its waters rage and foam,* and though the mountains tremble at its tumult.
The Lord of hosts is with us;* the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
"Be still, then, and know that I am God;* I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth."
The Lord of hosts is with us;* the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
The Refrain
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart:* I will tell of all your marvelous works.
The Gloria
The Lord's Prayer
The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Set me free, O God, from the bondage of my sins, and give me the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to me in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Concluding Prayer of the Church
Lord, My God, King of heaven and of earth, for this day please direct and sanctify, set right and govern my heart and my body, my sentiments, my words and my actions in conformity with Your law and Your commandments. Thus I shall be able to attain salvation and deliverance, in time and in eternity, by Your help, O Savior of the world, who lives and reigns forever. Amen.
The Vespers OfficeTo Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour
Between 5 and 8 p.m.
The Call to Prayer
Come let us bow down, and bend the knee* and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
The Request for Presence
I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;* incline your ear to me, and hear my words.
The Greeting
You are God: I praise you;* you are the Lord: I acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:* all creation worships you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:* Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son,* worthy of all worship,
and the Holy Spirit,* advocate and guide.
As these have been from the beginning,* so they are now and evermore shall be. Alleluia.
The Hymn
Hail to the Lord who comes, comes to his temple gate;
Not with his angel host, not in his kingly state;
No shouts proclaim him nigh, no crowds his coming wait;
But borne upon the throne of Mary's gentle breast,
Watched by her duteous love, in her fond arms at rest,
Thus to his Father's house he comes, the heavenly guest.
There Joseph at her side in reverent wonder stands;
And, filled with holy joy, old Simeon in his hands
Takes up the promised child, the glory of all lands.
O Light of all the earth, your children wait for thee!
Come to your temples here, that we, from sin set free,
Before your Father's face may all presented be!
The Refrain for the Vespers Lessons
O Lord, you are my portion and my cup;* it is you who uphold my lot.
The Vespers PsalmIn Your Paths My Feet Shall Not Stumble
Hear my plea of innocence, O Lord; give heed to my cry;* listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.
Weigh my heart, summon me by night,* melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.
I give no offense with my mouth as others do;* I have heeded the words of your lips.
My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law;* in your paths my feet shall not stumble.
I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me;* incline your ear to me and hear my words.
Show me your marvelous loving-kindness,* O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise up against them.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;* hide me under the shadow of your wings,
The Refrain
O Lord, you are my portion and my cup;* it is you who uphold my lot.
The Lord's Prayer
The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Set me free, O God, from the bondage of my sins, and give me the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to me in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Concluding Prayers of the Church
O God, who wonderfully created and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that I may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus, stay with me, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be my companion in the way, kindle my heart, and awaken hope, that I may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and in the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love toward me. Amen.
The Morning OfficeTo Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour
Between 6 and 9 a.m.
The Call to Prayer
One day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room,* and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
The Request for Presence
Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;* hearken, O God of Jacob.
The Greeting
The Lord lives! Blessed is my Rock!* Exalted is the God of my salvation!
Therefore will I extol you among the nations, O Lord,* and sing praises to your Name.
The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
The heaven of heavens is the Lord's,* but he entrusted the earth to its peoples.
A ReadingOn February 2, the Church observes the obedience of the Holy Family
to the Law. On that day, the forty-first after Christmas, the Virgin entered the Temple in Jerusalem with Joseph to offer a sacrifice for her purification after childbirth and to present her Son to the Temple priests.
And when the day came for them to be purified in keeping with the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord-observing what is written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord-and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is prescribed in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
The Refrain
The heaven of heavens is the Lord's,* but he entrusted the earth to its peoples.
The Morning PsalmLike a Child Upon Its Mother's Breast
O Lord, I am not proud;* I have no haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters,* or with things that are too hard for me.
But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother's breast;* my soul is quieted within me.
The Refrain
The heaven of heavens is the Lord's,* but he entrusted the earth to its peoples.
The Small Verse
Show us your mercy O Lord; and grant us your salvation.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness; let your people sing with joy.
Give peace, O Lord, in all the world; for only in you can we live in safety.
The Lord's Prayer
The Prayer Appointed for the Week
Set me free, O God, from the bondage of my sins, and give me the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to me in your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Concluding Prayers of the Church
O Almighty and everlasting God, I humbly beseech Your Majesty, that as Your only-begotten Son was this day presented in the Temple in the substance of flesh, so too You would grant that I be presented to You with a purified soul. Through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought me in safety to this new day: Preserve me with your mighty power, that I may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all I do direct me to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
The Midday OfficeTo Be Observed on the Hour or Half Hour
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The Call to Prayer
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;* sing praises to the Lord.
He rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;* he sends forth his voice, his mighty voice.
The Request for Presence
May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;* may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
The Greeting
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,* O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
The Refrain for the Midday Lessons
My tongue will proclaim your righteousness all day long.
