Pray Without Ceasing: Prayer for Morning & Evening

With a simpler structure than the official Roman rite for the Liturgy of the Hours, this prayer is more accessible to all members of the Church. Thus it renews the original intent of morning and evening prayer as the prayer of the whole Church.

This adaptation is in keeping with a long tradition of accommodating morning and evening prayer to the needs of the particular faith community. The language is inclusive, only 45 psalms (chosen for their appropriateness to the time of day and daily rhythm of the paschal mystery) are used, and the work is arranged in a two-week series that begins on the weekend.

Two marked styles shape the prayer offered. The weekdays are more contemplative; the structure is simple, the psalms are recited. Weekends are noticeably festive; the structure is more elaborate and much of the prayer is sung.

The simple structure means no ordo is needed, page-flipping is kept to a minimum, and music is included to encourage singing of appropriate elements. Suggestions for choosing scriptural texts are included in the introduction; the scriptural texts themselves are not included.