Understanding the calendar IIB - The rationale for the hours and their structure

In the last part of this series I talked a bit about the hours, and when they are properly said.

In this part, I want to explore a little more the meaning behind them, and the effect that has on the hours.

Scriptural associations with the hours

I noted in the last post that some parts of the hours remind us of the time of day at which they are said.  At Prime to None, for example, the hymns are the same each day, chosen specifically for these references.

But in choosing the texts for each of the hours, St Benedict also built on a tradition that associated the physical hour of the day with times of prayer attested to in Scripture - in some cases reflecting apostolic and later traditions, but in many cases much more ancient ones.

Lauds and Vespers, for example, almost certainly reflect the hours when incense was offered in the Temple; Terce is associated with the hour of Pentecost.

These associations were well established by St Benedict's time, laid out by writers such as SS Cyprian, Basil, Cassian and many others. 

If you keep these in mind as you pray the relevant hour (summarised in the table below), you will quickly become aware of some of the resonances built into the texts of the hours.

HOUR	WHEN SAID	WHY
Matins (Nocturns)	In the night	Rise with Christ; keeping vigil for the second coming.
Lauds	First light	In the rising of the sun we celebrate the Resurrection of the Son.  Hour at which incense offered in the Temple.
Prime	Before work starts	Parable of the labourers in the vineyard – first labourers recruited.
Terce	Mid-morning, third hour	Christ condemned to death by Pilate; hour of Pentecost.
Sext	Noon	Christ ascends the cross; apostolic tradition - St Peter prayed at this hour (Acts 10).
None	Mid-afternoon	Christ dies on the cross; apostolic tradition - SS Peter and John prayed at the temple at this hour (Acts 3).
Vespers	Early evening	Our evening sacrifice of praise (Ps 140); last of the labourers recruited at the eleventh hour.
Compline	Before bed.	Preparation for sleep/death.

The structure and fixed texts of the hours

Because each of the hours has its own particular character, reflected in its particular structure and the fixed texts used at it (such as the hymns for Prime to None), if you are learning the Office, it is a good idea to focus on learning the basic structure of an hour first.

Focus particularly on which texts for each hour don't change - you can follow the links below to get more details on this.

There are effectively three groups of hours from the perspective of what changes and what doesn't in terms of the texts of the Office:

• Compline, which, Marian antiphon of the season aside, doesn't change at all and Prime, which changes only psalms and antiphons for days of the week, feasts and seasons; 
• Terce, Sext and None which has three sets of psalms, and can change antiphons, chapters, versicles and the collect; and
• Lauds and Vespers, which retain their basic structure, but can use special texts for virtually every part of the hour (the NT canticles; and Ps 66 and the Laudates at Lauds aside). 

In the next part in this series we will start looking at how the cycle of hours changes over the days of the week.