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Pray without ceasing
A Cranberry couple takes St. Paul’s instruction seriously
Written by Jason Koshinskie
Photography by Art Becker
St. Paul tells us that as people of God, we should “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess 5:16) The monks and desert fathers of the early church took the call for continuous prayer seriously. Today, the church literally prays around the clock through what is known as the Liturgy of the Hours. “Many people are vaguely aware of the Liturgy of the Hours,” says Wayne Hepler, a former Protestant minister who was introduced to the prayer soon after he and his wife, Patty, converted to Catholicism more than 15 years ago. As they neared completion on a retreat house they were building in Cranberry, just southeast of Oil City, they began to feel its purpose would be to pray and promote this ancient prayer of the church. It has become the mission of the St. Thomas More House of Prayer.
The Liturgy of the Hours, which fills a four-volume set of prayer books, is simply common prayer based on the psalms that is offered at special times throughout the day. Short prayers and Scripture, which are at the heart of the hours, are arranged so that they may be offered by groups or individuals. “It’s the universal prayer of the church. It’s praying Christ’s words,” Wayne says. “Jesus prayed the psalms when he was living among us. It’s Christ’s prayer offered to the Father. There isn’t anything like it in the whole world.”
“Our hope is that the house will become a place where people come to learn how to pray the hours and make it a part of their daily lives. It gives people a sense of being able to focus on the spiritual. The thing that most people say is that it gives them such a sense of peace, from the prayer and this place.” — Wayne Hepler |
As part of their vows, priests, deacons and some women religious are required to pray a portion of the hours. But it is not just for clergy and religious; it is the prayer of the whole church. “Sometimes people will say that the Liturgy of the Hours doesn’t speak to them where they are at this time in their lives,” says Father Edward Lohse, vice chancellor and director of the Erie Diocese’s Vocation Office, who works with a small group of lay people committed to praying the hours. “Because for example, the prayer might be a prayer of lamentation and I’m feeling thanksgiving instead. Or it might be a prayer of rejoicing but I am feeling that I am in desperation. As priests,” Father Lohse explains, “we pray the Liturgy of the Hours not because it’s a prayer that speaks to where we are at but because it is the prayer of the Body of Christ. And somewhere in the world, that prayer of lamentation is someone’s prayer. That prayer of rejoicing is someone’s prayer. And we give voice to the prayer of the Body of Christ.”
During the last years of his life, Pope John Paul II spent his weekly public audiences teaching about the psalms, with an invitation for lay people to join in this prayer of the church. John Paul II’s efforts further sparked the interest of Wayne and Patty to help lay people discover the treasure of this prayer. In the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as Christian Prayer, Divine Office, breviary or canonical hours, there are seven set times of prayer throughout the day. But most people, Wayne says, focus on the two “hinge” hours of morning prayer (lauds) and evening prayer (vespers). The other hours include the office of readings, midday prayer and night prayer. Many religious orders and cloistered communities are among those committed to praying the full office throughout the day.
Wayne advises beginners that it takes some effort to master the rubrics of praying the hours. Rather than using the complete four-volume set of prayer books, he suggests starting with the single volume of Christian Prayer. It’s the same edition that is found at every seat in the House of Prayer chapel. For those who still find it too daunting, there is the slimmer Shorter Christian Prayer, which incorporates the psalms in a four-week cycle.
Choosing the right prayer book Christian Prayer—One volume edition with complete morning, daytime, evening, night prayer, office of the dead and four-week Psalter for office of readings. Complete Liturgy of the Hours—This four-volume set includes the office of readings for Advent, Lent, Easter, ordinary time and feast days. Evening Prayerbook – Sunday Vespers and Night Prayerbook – Compline—Compiled by the St. Thomas More House of Prayer and Sacros publishing group, prayer for Sunday vespers and daily night prayer are each in one easy-to-use volume. ebreviary.com—This Web site offers Liturgy of the Hours prayers in Adobe Acrobat formats. For prayer groups there are small booklets with Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, Night Prayer or the Office of Readings. For personal use there are formats that display on PCs and mobile devices, plus a large booklet with all the daily prayers. Magnificat.net—Magnificat is a monthly worship aid that includes prayers for both morning and evening drawn from the Liturgy of the Hours, texts of daily Mass, meditations written by fathers of the church and essays on the lives of saints. |
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The Web site of the St. Thomas More House of Prayer. Includes an in-depth Q & A session about praying the hours, information on retreats and overnight visits, directions and an online gift shop. |
“The genius of it is, once you find all the right pages, you don’t have to think it up on your own,” Wayne says. “It’s not spontaneous prayer; it’s liturgical prayer. It’s divided up into seven hours, but you don’t have to do them all. Just begin with one hour. Patty and I began praying evening prayer with another couple once a week for three or four years before going beyond that.”
For those not familiar with praying the hours, Sunday evening prayer and daily night prayer are good places to start, he adds. To help, the House of Prayer has compiled two short books—Evening Prayerbook: Sunday Vespers and Night Prayerbook: Compline—that puts all the prayers for these hours into one volume. The books, available at the House of Prayer and on its Web site, are easily arranged in order for each day. And contrary to the term, each “hour” of prayer takes only a few moments. “If they can take just five minutes, they can join in ending their day praying together with the church,” Wayne says, noting that the night prayer edition is a good bedside companion. “The pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, laity—we all pray in unison. It’s an opportunity second to none.”
Located off Route 322 in Cranberry, the St. Thomas More House of Prayer sits in the quiet of the woods, its wooden frame adding to the tranquil atmosphere conducive to meditation and prayer. Inside, the chapel is open daily for all seven hours of prayer. The house also hosts retreat groups and guests for daily prayer, private reflection and overnight stays. Visitors are asked to join in common prayer during the scheduled hours. “Our hope is that the house will become a place where people come to learn how to pray the hours and make it a part of their daily lives,” Wayne says. “It gives people a sense of being able to focus on the spiritual. The thing that most people say is that it gives them such a sense of peace, from the prayer and this place.”
Whether the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed by a group in a church or monastic setting or by an individual at home sitting in a chair with his or her coffee cup, Father Lohse says there is an awareness with this prayer that it is not being prayed alone. “It is not my own private prayer; it’s the prayer of the Body of Christ in which I participate, so it’s much bigger than me,” he says. “When you consider the whole world, every time zone, people are praying the Divine Office. You can begin to see, in a very real way, the church prays without ceasing. Somewhere in the world at every moment someone is praying the Divine Office. They are giving voice to the prayer of the Body of Christ.”