Prayers at dawn and at twilight (Lauds/morning prayer and Vespers/evening prayer) are the bookends to our day. Just as I learned to pray on awakening and before sleep daily these two specific prayer times at the beginning and the end of the day set the tone for my daily life. Those days when I miss a prayer time or rush through prayers just to fill a requirement definitely have a different feel to them.
So...what is distinctive about these times of prayer and why are they so important? For me, morning prayer sets the tone for the day. It's starting my day of right by having a conversation with God. This is also an opportunity to thank God for protecting me throughout the night and giving me another opportunity to grow. I can offer the upcoming day to God so that I can remember concretely that the day is God's gift to me. Vespers is the time when I can thank God for the blessings the day has brought and ask God for the grace to improve tomorrow. It offers me the opportunity to review the day and put it away in God's presence.
How can this practice be incorporated into daily living? One way to start is praying a psalm together as a family before bedtime and concluding with an Our Father. Another idea is to add another psalm on weekend mornings (when life is a little less hectic).
Sr. Catherine, OSB
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment