Marriages of Grace event focuses on Liturgy of the Hours as the prayer of spouses

As the Church prepares to begin using the new English translation of the Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Divine Office, Marriages of Grace hosted a program exploring it as an opportunity for married couples to discover – or rediscover – the Church’s daily prayer.

Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost, who chairs the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, addressed the topic during a Cana Night event on Aug. 21

More than 30 couples enjoyed dinner and conversation before the bishop’s presentation.

He told the group this new translation, the first in 50 years, took Benedictine monks in the St. Louis, Missouri area a decade to complete. It then was reviewed before being approved for publication. The four volumes – one focusing on Advent/Christmas, one on Lent/Easter and two for Ordinary Time – will be introduced on Ash Wednesday 2027.

“The Liturgy of the Hours is a beautiful way for spouses to pray together,” the bishop said. He taught at course at the seminary last year that spanned a semester and examined the Liturgy of the Hours. “We’re just scratching the surface tonight,” he told event attendees.

When someone prays the Liturgy of the Hours, they are actually praying God’s word, he said. Priests are required to pray parts of the Liturgy of the Hours at various times of the day. At the seminary, he said they pray some of the parts together. Some of the prayers are psalms from the Old Testament that express a variety of human emotions through which we hear the voice of Jesus.

“When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, we pray in union with Jesus,” the bishop said. “In marriage, the man and woman are in union with God,” he said, noting when they pray together, God prays with them, in them to for them. “We must recognize our voices in him and his voice in us.”

We are exercising what Bishop Woost called “our baptismal priesthood” when we pray the Liturgy of the Hours. “When we are sanctified … God changes us,” he added “This is possible because of the incarnation – because God chose to become human.”

He said God chose to dwell in us and he fills us with his life at baptism. Because of sin, sometimes his presence in us can be obscured, but once we are baptized, his presence remains in us.

“Spouses are wedded both to God and to each other … Your mission is to grow in holiness and to get each other to heaven … God brought you here for a reason tonight … He might be asking you to die a little to yourself. The Liturgy of the Hours helps us to understand how to live better … It can have a powerful impact on our spiritual lives,” he said, noting just praying together a few minutes per day can have a powerful impact.