What a spectacle for heaven and earth is not the Church in prayer! For centuries without interruption, from midnight to midnight, is repeated on earth the divine psalmody of the inspired canticles there is no hour of the day that is not hallowed by its special liturgy there is no stage of life that has not its part in the thanksgiving, praise, supplication and reparation in common use by the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church. At every hour of every day these communal prayers of the Church render glory to God and unite us with the saving work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world. Just as the Mass is continuously offered to God all over the world each day, so also is the Divine Office. The Divine Office is intimately connected with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. ![]() ![]() Mediator Dei, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII on the Sacred Liturgy Praying Throughout the Day Since the divine Master commanded “that we ought always to pray and not to faint,” the Church faithfully fulfills this injunction and never ceases to pray: she urges us in the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, “by him Jesus let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God”. The word “office” means “service” the Divine Office is the service in which we render continual praise and thanksgiving to our Creator. The purpose of the Divine Office is to sanctify the entire day by offering it to the glory of God. ![]() After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Church’s primary liturgical prayer is the Divine Office, or the “Liturgy of the Hours.” This is the official public prayer of the Church which takes place at regular hours throughout the course of the day.
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