Everyday Catholics Unite for the Liturgy of the Hours

It's so easy to think that there's not time for prayer. There's so! much! else! to do...whether laundry or bills or writing or a thousand other projects.

It's so easy to get overwhelmed by all the choices for prayer. Should I pray a rosary? Or maybe I should spend time with Scripture? Oh, wait, what about the Liturgy of the Hours?

How am I supposed to get anything else done?

Or is it just me?

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My hit-or-miss relationship with the Liturgy of the Hours was recently corrected and jumpstarted by Daria Sockey's The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours. It's a purse-tucker of a book, short and to the point, easily to slide into the side pocket of whatever bag you have. And though it's a quick read, it's also the kind of book that has a ripple effect where it matters: on my relationship with God.

The opportunity to sanctify time is something we should welcome. Certainly we all value our time. We are always complaining that we do not have enough of it. We are disappointed with ourselves when we realize we've been wasting it. We marvel at the swiftness of its passing. We cling to our day planners and calendars as anchors in a storm. So it makes sense to dedicate this valuable commodity—the fleeting hours of morning, noon, evening, and night—to our Creator. To give our work, our play, our rest, and our sleep to the one who understands their purpose and destiny better than we do.

So writes Sockey in the introduction to this little tome of awesome. She doesn't let the reader down: there's no droning or lecturing. Think of a good friend pouring you a cup of coffee and telling you about their favorite pastime, answering your questions about the logistics, sharing anecdotes and facts about its implementation.

This book is amazing, in part for how accessible it makes the Liturgy of the Hours and in part for how well it’s written. Get a copy of it for yourself and read it. Let it touch your heart and transform your approach to the prayer of the Church. Then get a copy for your parish library and your best friend. It’s THAT good, I promise.

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