Catholic Spirituality: Praying the Divine Office - Home & Syllabus

Course Description

This course provides a general introduction to the prayer of the Church known as the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office. Students will study the history and theology of the Liturgy of the Hours, and gain practical experience in using the book. The course also provides an opportunity to live the liturgy through daily, weekly, and yearly cycles of prayer, and through the memorization of key prayers that are prayed each day.

Required Texts

Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours. Daughters of St Paul / St Paul Editions, 1976 (or later publication date).
Other required texts are available online and linked on the course calendar below, or are available through the course’s Blackboard site. Readings accessible on Blackboard are labeled BB below.

COURSE CALENDAR^†

Week	Due Date	Topic	Reading Assignment
0	9/20	Course intro	Post a greeting online.
1	9/27	Vatican II on the Divine Office	Pope Pius XII, Encyclical on the Sacred Liturgy Mediator Dei §§ 138-151 Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium §§ 83-101
2	10/4	Remote History of the Divine Office	The Rule of St Benedict, chapters 8-20 (viii-xx) The Benedictus [BB]
3	10/11	Recent History of the Divine Office	Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution on The Divine Office Laudis canticum, entire The Angelus [BB]
4	10/18	Divine Office in the Church	General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, §§ 1-33 The Magnificat [BB]
5	10/25	The Hours of the Divine Office	General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, §§ 34-99 The Nunc Dimittis [BB]
6	11/1	The Morning Office: Practicum	Pray the Morning Office
7	11/8	The Elements of the Divine Office	General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, §§ 100-203
8	11/15	The Evening Office: Practicum	Pray the Evening Office The Regina Coeli [BB]
9	11/22	The Liturgical Calendar	Pope Pius XII, Encyclical on the Sacred Liturgy Mediator Dei §§65-170 Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium §§ 102-111 General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, §§ 204-252
10	11/29	The Midday Office and Communal Celebration	Pray the Midday Office General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, §§ 253-284

† The Professor reserves the right to make substitutions, deletions, or additions to the schedule of readings.

in te domine speravi non confundar in aeternum

2010 Daniel G. Van Slyke