By Trudy Rawlins
Special to the Herald
The Liturgy of the Hours is an ancient, structured way of praying Scripture throughout the day, focusing especially on the Psalms. It hearkens back to the Jewish custom of praying at fixed hours, a practice early Christians continued.
Also called the Divine Office, the purpose of this form of prayer is to sanctify the day and the whole range of human activity. It does this by bathing the morning, afternoon and evening in prayer so that “the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praises of God.”
The Liturgy of the Hours comprises five periods of prayer: morning (lauds), daytime, evening (vespers), night (compline) and office of readings (matins). Matins in particular includes Psalms, a chapter of a book of Scripture and a reading from the works of patristic authors or saints.
In the spirit of this ancient practice, many men of St. Ann Church in Kaneohe have been “rising” to the occasion and gathering once a month at 11:45 p.m. to pray and meditate, strengthening their bonds of faith and fellowship.
“There is something so beautiful and so powerful about gathering together to pray at this unusual time of day,” said religious education director Bob Noguchi.
Noguchi shared a quote by St. Hippolytus of Rome, who explained the mystery and wonder of prayer at midnight: “In this hour every creature hushes for a brief moment to praise the Lord. Stars and trees and waters stand still for an instant. All the host of angels serving him, together with the souls of the righteous, praise God. This is why it is important that all those who believe make certain to pray at that hour.”
The next men’s midnight matins will take place June 21 from 11:45 p.m. to 12:45 a.m. For more information contact St. Ann’s religious education office at (808) 247-3092, ext. 104, or email rnoguchi@saintannhawaii.org.
