The invention of printing made this possible, and it was also seen as a necessary corrective to certain local liturgical aberrations, some of which were justly ridiculed by Protestants (such as legendary hagiographical texts, having no historical basis). The variety eventually gave way to a standardization in the Latin Rite. In cathedrals and in monasteries, in cities and in deserts, in the east and in the west: there have been many variations in the way Christians have prayed at regular intervals in an effort to sanctify the hours of the day, whether in common or as individuals.
The first paragraph of the Apostolic Constitution Laudis Canticum, by which Blessed Pope Paul VI promulgated the post-Conciliar edition of the Liturgy of the Hours, noted that the Church’s prayer over the centuries has had “a rich variety of forms.” Even a cursory study of the history of the Divine Office makes this abundantly clear. Being “unofficial” prayers that in some way imitate the “official” prayer of the Church, how might they be viewed? While they vary in details, they typically follow the general structure of the main hours of the Divine Office, though in a simplified manner. Perhaps the best known is the version found in the popular monthly publication Magnificat, though versions are also included in other monthly publications, such as Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press) and Living with Christ (Bayard).
Q: Are shortened versions of the Divine Office approved for official liturgical use?Ī: Recent years have seen the growth in popularity of various forms of prayer based on the Church’s official Liturgy of the Hours.
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