Prayers for the Hours
Lauds: Sunrise:
God Our Morning Star
O God, our Morning Star,
Splendor of Light Eternal,
Shining with the glory of the rainbow,
Come and waken us
From the grayness of our apathy,
and renew in us your gift of hope. Amen.
~ St. Bede the Venerable (Roman Catholic)
Prime: 6:00 A.M.
Who can tell what a day might bring?
Therefore, gracious God,
cause me to live every day as if it were to be my last,
for I know not but that it may be such.
Cause me to live now
as I shall wish I had done
when I come to die.
~ The Day Ahead ~ Thomas à Kempis (Roman Catholic)
Terce: 9:00 A.M.
Lord, give me the strength to greet the coming day in peace.
Help me in all things to rely on Your holy will.
Reveal Your will to me every hour of the day.
Bless my dealings with all people.
Teach me to treat all people who come to me
throughout the day
with peace of soul and with firm conviction that
Your will governs all.
In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings.
In unexpected events, let me not forget
that all are sent by you.
Teach me to act firmly and wisely,
without embittering and embarrassing others.
Give me the physical strength to bear the labors of this day.
Direct my will, teach me to pray, pray in me.
~ Prayer of Metropolitan Philaret (Eastern Orthodox)
Sext: Noon
God has no body now on earth but yours;
Yours are the only hands with which he can do his work,
Yours are the only feet with which
he can go about the world,
Yours are the only eyes through which his compassion
Can shine forth upon a troubled world.
God has no body now on earth but yours.
~ Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila (Roman Catholic)
None: 3:00 P.M.
O this beauty of the universe!
How do You, O God, continue to create it?
What burst of ecstasy
Allows You to manifest Your being?
Some say You take fancy in the play of form.
I understand You need participants like me
In Your perpetual play of creation.
~ Play of Creation ~ Dadu Dayal (Hindu)
Vespers: Sunset
Steer the ship of my life, Lord, to your quiet harbor,
where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict.
Show me the course I should take.
Renew in me the gift of discernment,
so that I can see the right direction in which I should go.
And give me the strength and the courage
to choose the right course,
even when the sea is rough and the waves are high,
knowing that through enduring hardship
and danger in your name
we shall find comfort and peace.
~ The Ship of Life ~ St. Basil of Caesarea (Eastern Orthodox)
Compline: 9:00 P.M.
Quiet the trees; quiet the creepers all.
In the sky’s tranquil lap burns the sun’s ray.
In my heart’s temple doth the silence fall,
Worshipping Thee, Thou, Silent Majestic. Thou
Replenishest this tranquil heart. O Thou
Eternal, Absolute, with silence fill
Me and with song, in secret, silent, still.
~ Quiet the Trees ~ Chittaranjan Das (Hindu)
Matins: Midnight
In this moment of silent communion with Thee,
O Lord, a still small silent voice speaks
in the depth of my spirit.
It speaks to me of the things I must do
to attain holy kinship with Thee
and to grow in the likeness of Thee.
I must do my allotted task with unflagging faithfulness
even though the eye of no taskmaster is on me.
I must be gentle in the face of ingratitude
or when slander distorts my noblest motives.
I must come to the end of each day with a feeling
that I have used its gifts gratefully
and faced its trials bravely.
O Lord, help me to be ever more like Thee,
Holy for Thou art holy, Loving for Thou art love.
Speak to me, then, Lord, as I seek Thee
again and again in the stillness of meditation,
until Thy bidding shall at last become for me
a hallowed discipline;
a familiar way of life
Evening Prayer ~ Jewish Liturgy (Jewish)