Universalis
Wednesday 4 December 2024
Wednesday of the 1st week of Advent 
 or Saint John Damascene, Priest, Doctor 

What is the Liturgy of the Hours?

“Seven times a day I praise you.” – Psalm 118(119):164

The Lord has commanded us to pray without ceasing, and this is what the Hours help us do.

Morning Prayer – at the start of the day's work and the coming of the light.

Daytime Prayer – at mid-morning, noon and in the afternoon, to unite us with the one for whom and through whom we are working.

Evening Prayer – at the end of the day's work, to offer up what we have done.

Night Prayer – last thing at night, to commend our souls to God.

And finally, there is the magnificent Office of Readings, at whatever time of day is best for us to reflect on the mystery of salvation, with the help of Scripture and the writings of the Fathers of the Church.

“The purpose of the Divine Office is to sanctify the day and all human activity.” – Apostolic Constitution, Canticum Laudis.

The Liturgy of the Hours is the richest single prayer resource of the Christian Church, with prayers, psalms and readings for each of the Hours, changing each day and through the seasons.

But such riches come at a price. With more than a thousand different Hours every year, the books are thick and using them is complex. So complex that it is rare to find anyone reciting the Hours apart from the clergy and religious. Which is not as it should be. This treasure is too marvellous to be the exclusive possession of our servants:

“The Office is... the prayer not only of the clergy but of the whole People of God.” – Apostolic Constitution, Canticum Laudis.

If you have a registration code, click here for instructions.

Read it here and now

Follow the links on this page. There is one link for each Hour. They'll be on the left if your screen is wide, or at the top of page if it's narrow.

Bookmark them and they will always be within reach.

As well as the Liturgy of the Hours, the readings at Mass are available. So is the Order of Mass.

  • Limited translations: For copyright reasons the web pages can’t use the Grail psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours, or (if you are in the USA) the NAB bible for the readings and psalms at Mass. The apps and programs don’t have this limitation.
  • Limited dates: You can only see yesterday, today, and the week ahead. The apps and programs don’t have this limitation.

Apps and programs

Instead of using the web site, you can use a Universalis app on your iPhone / iPad, iPod Touch, Amazon Fire, or Android device, and also on Windows and the Mac. Here are the advantages:

  • More and better translations
  • Unlimited dates: as far into the past and future as you care to go.
  • No need for an Internet connection
  • Layout optimized for your computer or device, often with a choice of font styles and sizes.
  • The Mass Today page, which combines the Order of Mass with the prayers and readings for the day, so that the whole Mass is in one place. Some priests even recite Mass from this page.
  • Many extra features

Find out more

Follow the links for more information, purchase information, and details of free trials.

iPhone / iPad / iPod Touch

Amazon Fire / Kindle Fire / Android

Windows

Mac

e-books

If you have a Nook or a Kindle or another e-book reader, they can't use apps. But you can still get Universalis e-books, which are almost as good as an app. A Universalis e-book covers a fixed period (a month, a half-year, or a year) and has one chapter for each Hour in each day.

Find out more

Daily email service

If you like, our servers can send you your chosen Hours every day, either all at once or in separate emails.

Find out more

Free services

Catholic Calendar

If you want just the liturgical calendar, with notes on the saints and feasts, every one of the Universalis apps and programs has a free version that gives you just that.

RSS feeds

If you read blogs with a feed reader, you can get some Universalis content in the same way. Read about it here.

Facebook page

Our Facebook page also posts the saint of each day. If you Like it, you will see the saint of day in your news feed.

Services for webmasters

If you have your own web site, you can incorporate a Universalis banner to show the saint or feast of the day. There are other free services for webmasters as well. Read about them here.