Liturgy of the Hours (4-Volume Set) Catholic Church and International Commission on English in the Liturgy

This set comes with the inserts, including the Saint Joseph Guide to The Liturgy of the Hours. Amazon says they're frequently bought together, but there's no need to buy the Guide separately unless it's close to the end/beginning of the year. Mine was purchased in June 2017 and came with the 2017 Guide.The product description doesn't list the inserts and the Catholic Book Publishing website doesn't really show them well so I have included a couple pics of them.

I'll leave the other fine commentaries to explain the need for and the history of the Hours in a life of prayer, and concentrate on the tool itself and the mindset necessary to embrace all it holds.Anyone who has decided to purchase these books, has made a sizable investment and also made a strong personal commitment to advance their prayer life. They are intimidating. They look (and are) "official" and complicated. They are certainly not for light reading. They are not easy to use, nor is there an easy way to learn to use them. These are serious, life-long tools used to spiritually shape and grow the soul. With the shortest volume a bit over 1700 pages, and the longest almost 2400 pages, the Hours require attention, dedication, study and slow, steady easing into this rich resource.It can't be said enough that you must gain some knowledge on how to use these books and have discipline in following the path of the prayer. It takes a while to be comfortable with the books as they are configured. The volumes are structured well for their purpose, so you can go from section to section with ease, as you learn the flow of the Office. Your prayer will unfold from the center of the book, outward to the prayers for that Office, to both front and back sections as needed, each section having content necessary to that Office. It will take some time to learn the method of prayer in conjunction with the Office recited. But the price you pay in the discipline required to learn to use this tool will be returned a hundredfold, with life-long (and further!) rewards. The books are big and have many sections that may be referenced during the Hours, and it takes some time to be comfortable with the back and forth between sections required at various times. Even changing sections, the book remains comfortable and usable for right or left hands.The volumes themselves are a bit larger than a large paperback novel. The first thing you notice is how very well the book fits the hand. One of the reasons to use a book rather then an electronic version for prayer, is the intimate tactile connection. As you pray, the feel of book-in-hand and the act of turning the page links you to the words, pulls you into the prayer. Even changing to a different section of the book provides a moment's pause to reflect and carry on a thought, which can be lost in the electronic versions of the Office.The paper is high quality and light weight, with a low-glare soft ivory color, enhancing the black print and the instructions printed in red, while not bleeding through the pages. Print size and type is easy on the eyes, and not hard to follow. The soft and pliable covers are colored for the seasons they represent, and hold comfortably in the hand while sitting or walking.In actual practice, one universally recognized problem is that there is no single authoritative guide easily teaching how to properly "use" the books in prayer, and the "instructions" such as they are, are not really clear and may be confusing in explaining the steps in how to pray the various Offices, holy days and seasons. One valuable tool I highly recommend, is the short and very well-written book "The Everyday Catholic's Guide to The Liturgy of the Hours " by Daria Sockey, and a visit to her very helpful blog. Internet based sites with helpful guides are also very available.All prayer requires effort, and more so here in this highly structured method of prayer . It's important to take your time to learn the set up of the book, the form of the Offices and the flow of the weekly and liturgical calendars. When beginning to pray with these resources, take it slow and easy, immersing yourself a little deeper into the discipline of prayer as you grow comfortable with each Office and what it holds. Do not do too much, or you will grow in frustration and work against progress in your prayer. This is a rich meal - take small bites and savor each one. One benefit as laity joining the raising of this prayer on behalf of the entire Church, is that we are not required to follow a certain form but we can adapt to our own circumstance and pray as we can, as little or as much as we will. This can help us to grow slowly and confidently in our prayer and method, expanding our reach as our need to grow closer to the Lord increases.For decades, I've switched between the excellent one volume version of the Hours and a four volume set, as circumstances dictated. The single volume is a great starting point and tutor in how to follow the structure of the Offices. The four volume set is a treasury of riches from Tradition and the Living Word that will hold you close for a lifetime. May the Lord bless your efforts and your journey toward Him.

After much deliberation, I went ahead and switched from the single volume Christian Prayer to the four volume Litany of the Hours set. I am thrilled with this item and want to post some photos to clear up some confusion about what is included in the purchase. I absolutely love the size and it seems MUCH less complicated than the single volume. It is still slightly tricky but much more straightforward on most days.

As a seminarian, the full 4-volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours is required, whereas I had just been using Christian Prayer before. The Office of Readings has now become my favorite hour of the day! There is such a wealth of knowledge and practical wisdom contained in those texts, they have profoundly affected my spiritual life already, even in the week I've been praying with them! One of the best (required) purchases I've ever made.

The Liturgy of the Hours IS the prayer of the church. It took me many, many months to figure out how to read the prayers, but now I start my day with the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer. I end the day with Evening Prayers. I take the volume we're in with me when I travel.Don't be intimidated. Once I figured out how to use the bookmarks and how to follow the order of the prayers, I found myself immersed in the great prayer of the Church. Get the yearly guide to help. Also, in the Liturgy books you will find directions in red print. And the books come with cards that guide you even further.

It is an obligation of the Catholic clergy to pray the Liturgy of the Hours each day, and it is recommended that the laity also pray the Hours, at least in part. These books are the "Breviary," which Priests and others in Holy Orders use to pray the Hours. I've only started recently, but am finding it very rewarding. It is quite complicated to find you way around in the books, however, even with the St Joseph Guide which comes with the set (a new guide comes out each calendar year). I've been using a guide which may be found online at the Rosary Shop - it may be downloaded for free as a .pdf file, or purchased in book form, which also includes an audio CD for those who wish to learn how to do the chants (not something I'm interested in, though - nobody likes to hear me sing!).

What a lovely set! Well bound, the imitation leather is clean and durable. The books come with insert cards that you can put in the appropriate book for the appropriate time of year if you need them. I don't like the inserts can fall out while I'm praying, so I just put a ribbon where the repeated passages are located. I've used a variety of offices - The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, Shorter Book of Christian Prayer, all the apps that are available using my mobile phone or tablets but I wanted the books as a back up and I'm glad I purchased these.I'm not going to lie - the Liturgy of the Hours can be complicated to learn, but the fruits you receive from the praise you give and the meditation on our Lord are immense. If you are ready to deepen your prayer life and relationship to God it's time to start saying the Liturgy of the Hours.

I really love this set and find them much easier to use than I thought. For anyone serious about their faith, this is a must!

It took me more or less 3 weeks before I decided to go ahead and buy that set. I was until then, a devoted user of another amasing brievary from Catholic Book Publishing, Christian Prayer. Christian Prayer Liturgy . a one volume [sort of reader digest] of the Liturgy Of The Hours.. I knew my way quite well around that book, but I wanted to go ahead and get myself the complete set. However, before spending almost £100.- , I like to know what I m about to buy and surprisingly enough, No comments on amazon, nor amazon.co.uk, nor on amazon,ca did give a detailed description of what s included in the package.so. There you goThe 4 books arrived in a specially designed box, along with... the Saint Joseph guide for the Liturgy of the hours for the current year [in my case 2012]; also, you ll get a small red covered booklet"the Liturgy of the hours Supplement" a 47 pages booklet containing new feasts and memorials for the general roman calendar and for the proper calendar for the dioceses of the USA [I live in the UK btw], and finally, 5 liturgical cards that gives you a sort of order for each office.No need to buy anything else.. You can use your set as soon as you ve received it.The 4 books are really nicely done, bicolour (red black) printing on a nice biblical thin pastel eggshell paper, very pleasant font to read.. to sum it up.. They look amazing and they are indeed amazing to useNOW.. big question. How easy are they to use ??Well, That s where the St Joseph guide come into action.For those of you who are using Christian Prayer, along with the St Joseph guide, you are familiar with the way the guide displays daily readings..exemple.. This is what you will find in the St Joseph Guide for Christian Prayer, on the date of 31 August 2012. MP 759, DP 1017, EP 765 NP 1052 .[ MP for morning prayer,. DP for daytime prayers, EP for evening prayer and NP for night prayer.. Note that it does not say anything about the office of reading at all,] but that s how the St Joseph guide for Christian prayer displays daily readings.Now.. there you go, for the same day, 31 August 2012.. in the St Joseph Guide for the LOTH : Volume IVALL 750, Rd & Pr 175, NP 1249 .Much shorter indeed.. simply because, when you go page 750 volume IV, you ll find ALL the readings and office for that day. it starts with the Office of Readings, followed by the Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Midmorning, Midafternoon, and Evening Prayer . Page 175, you ll get the readings and prayer of the day, and finally the Night Prayer will be page 1249. This to tell you that you do not spend much time flipping back and forth between pages in the LOTH like you do when using Christian Prayer . Everything is put together so that the reader can concentrate on the meaning of the texts rather than trying to find the proper pages and making sure that they are easy to find . The last think I want is having to find a specific page right while I m doing a prayer.. Not fun at all .No music in the 4 volumes of the LOTH. That s a change compared to Christian Prayer who had some hymns..I used Christian Prayer for personnal devotion, and I m now using the LOTH for the same purpose.. I don t belong to any group or religious order, and my experience with the LOTH is so far, fantastic.Don t get me wrong, I won t get rid off Christian Prayer which is a really good prayer book..However, now that I ve experienced BOTH versions of the LOTH.. I absolutely LOVE the 4 volumes set. Okay, it s not cheap, but They are superbly printed, easy to use and they deliver what I was expecting.. To link my soul and heart with a 2000 years old tradition..and to put God back where it should be.. in the centre of my life. Christian Prayer Liturgy

First, it must be said, that this is the USA version, also accepted in many other countries. It is not the version for communal use in the UK, Ireland and Australia. For that, the Divine Office in three volumes published in UK by Collins is required. Having said that, this 4-volume set is perfectly acceptable for private recitation of the Hours as both versions are translations of the Latin Liturgia Horarum of the Catholic Church. As an ordained minister in the Church, I am required to use the three volume volume set as approved by the Bishops' conference when praying in common. In private recitation (which for me is most of the time) we are free to choose. This 4-volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours is beautifully bound and printed as befits such an important book. The print is quite large and easy on the eye, being printed on cream paper with minimal bleed-through: a quality product at a very good price. (The Collins set has smaller, lighter print and is more expensive).Liturgically, it includes, in the 4-week psalter, the optional psalm prayers which, though mentioned in the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours (para. 112) are not included in the UK version. I find them a great help in concluding each psalm. The Psalms are the same translation, The Grail version, as in UK, but the antiphons have slightly different wording but the same meaning. The selection of hymns in this version is quite different from th UK selections, but hymns are in any case personal in private recitation and may even be omitted or replaced by one of the poems on offer. All readings and most of the canticles are taken from the New American Bible and the gospel Canticles: The Benedictus, Magnificat and the Canticle of Simeon are the ICET version (optional in UK). I thoroughly recommend this 4-volume leather-bound set for those seekiing a quality product, who recite the Office privately in UK, especially to those with less than perfect eyesight (like me!).

Beautiful books, well made, nice binding, good paper, easy to read and a pleasure to hold.

Um belo conjunto, acondicionado em caixa de papelão (veja as fotos) e acompanhado de alguns suplementos. Cada livro mede 17,8cm de altura por 12cm de comprimento, sendo que a espessura varia de volume para volume. A impressão é boa e as letras são de bom tamanho. O texto é todo em inglês. A encadernação é bonita e bem feita. A capa é flexível (não é capa dura). Em cada volume há marcadores; o conjunto de marcadores (veja as fotos) é encaixado na lombada e pode ser removido. O conteúdo, nesta ou em qualquer outra edição da Liturgia das Horas, tem valor inestimável. ISBN 978-0-89942-409-5

I recently bought the Liturgy of the hours and today noticed that the office of readings in the 4th volume are all out of order, from the 19th week of ordinary time to the 24th, which makes it super confusing and so I am actually reading the wrong readings for those days. Of course Amazon's return policy is only 30 days, but no body would notice the book with misprinted until they got to that specific date's readings, which could be months from the purchase date. So now I'm hooped or what?? Help Amazon