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SuzanneG
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We started talking in the Keeping Sundays a Priority thread about modifying Compline or Vespers of The Liturgy of the Hours for use in our families, with children.
At the beginning of the year, I borrowed Patmos' Evening Prayerbook: Sunday Vespers and Night Prayerbook from a friend, to get an idea of how to "make our own" as well as using Christian Prayer.
The Patmos books are beautiful, and I love them! But, they are quite pricey, and also, I wanted a bit of flexibility to change things if I needed to because of reading ability, family circumstances, and liturgical season. Also to get really specific in who is saying what, to take turns, etc.
Part of The Evening Prayerbook is available to view on google.
Disclaimer: I'm no expert on Liturgy of the Hours; I simply went from what I saw in Christian Prayer and the 2 Patmos Books and tried to keep it as "authenic" as possible. But, even that's not *necessary.* I do like the idea of my dc learning and hearing the prayers from the breviary, even if they aren't *exactly* said on the right day, etc.
I think we used this starting after Christmas, a couple times a week, for night/before-bed prayer-time. Especially on Saturday nights, as part of our prep/anticipation for Sunday Mass. At the time, my girls were 8, 6.5, 5, 3, 1. The two older ones were at a reading level that they could participate, which they loved and made it very family-friendly.
Details:
::Keep it to one page - front and back to avoid rustling of pages
::Bold and enlarge the #1, #2, Dad, etc......so they can see it clearly.
::Use the "parts" so they learn the terminology of LOTH
::For the different Liturgical Seasons, you can change "something" to suit the season......the Antiphon, Psalm, Canticle or Reading.
::Little ones can begin to memorize the lines that are said all the time to help them participate. Also helping them make the sign-cross in that spot.
***********************************
Compline
#1: God, come to my assistance.
All: Lord, make haste to help me.
#1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia
Dad: Coming together as God’s family, with confidence let us ask the Father’s forgiveness, for he is full of gentleness and compassion.
All: I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Dad: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
All: Amen.
Antiphon
#2: In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.
All: In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.
Psalm 91
#2: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High and abides in the shade of the Almighty says to the Lord: “My refuge, my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”
#2: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Antiphon
#2: In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.
All: In you, my God, my body will rest in hope.
Reading Revelation 22:4-5
Dad: They shall see the Lord face to face and bear his name on their foreheads. The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever.
Responsory
#1: Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
All: Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
#1: You have redeemed us, Lord God of truth.
All: I commend my spirit.
#1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
All: Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Antiphon
#2: Protect us, Lord,
All: as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.
Gospel Canticle (Luke 2:29-32) (Make sign of cross)
Mom: Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; * your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people, Israel.
#1 Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Antiphon
#2: Protect us, Lord,
All: as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.
Concluding Prayer
Dad: Let us pray. Lord, fill this night with your radiance. May we sleep in peace and rise with joy to welcome the light of a new day in your name. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Blessing
Dad: May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
All: Amen.
(sign of the cross)
Antiphon of the Blessed Virgin Mary
All:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope!
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve,
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
Turn then, o most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us.
And after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
Mom: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God (V).
All: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
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Suzanne in ID
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SuzanneG
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A formatted document is on my blog in case that's helpful.
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Suzanne in ID
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Paula in MN
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I tried to comment on your blog but couldn't. This is wonderful - thank you!!
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Mackfam
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Suzanne,
This is amazing!!! You're the best! Thanks for sharing it!
So, are you only using the Evening Prayerbook that is available online? Universalis has all the readings online, including vespers. My brother introduced me to it.
Thanks again - this is a wonderful help for visualizing incorporating the family in the prayers of the Office!
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Suzanne this is great --thank you so much for sharing it!
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SuzanneG
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Mackfam wrote:
| So, are you only using the Evening Prayerbook that is available online? Universalis has all the readings online, including vespers. My brother introduced me to it. |
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I used the hard copy of the Patmos book to help make the "who says what-when" clear...but that's probably not necessary....even if you're not familiar with the format of LOTH. You can use the format that is on-line for Christ the King to help format it. There is one full prayer there.
So, Patmos combined with Christian Prayer to pick the texts...then, yes....did do some cutting and pasting from the Universalis website to save some typing ...forgot about that .....which should be the same as what's in Christian Prayer.
It sounds confusing, and well....actually it IS/WAS.....  ....but it was at a time when I was learning about praying LOTH, and it helped me understand it a bit more.
But that's not nec! For those who don't want to do that right now, just take our format and change a couple things to your liking. I actually can't remember what I changed or why.... 
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Suzanne in ID
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SuzanneG
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Kimberlee posted this link on my blog, which may be a good option for Night Prayer:
Kimberlee wrote:
| Just wanted to mention that Night Prayer is available in a small book form for a very reasonable price ($3.95). Some of your readers with older children might be interested in that option. I've purchased copies for my dc and they use them on their own (or with room-mates). |
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Suzanne in ID
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MaryM
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Thanks for sharing, Suzanne. 
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Mary M. in Denver
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Sharyn
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I'm a Benedictine oblate, but I have never thought of praying compline with my children. Maybe it wasn't the right time before. Thanks for this idea Suzanne!
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Angie Mc
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Suzanne, thank you so much for this. I have 2 questions, I think  . I am completely ignorant of the Liturgy of the Hours - that's whole other story that I will spare you. I copied off your 2-sided (fabulous) document and want to have this/something like it for our Sundays. I have the Patmos Evening Prayer Book Sunday Vespers and we haven't done well with it, as-is. When I look at the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, does your document reflect it or another Sunday? Do you make a new doc for each Sunday? Also, is there a certain time to say Evening Prayer and would it be most proper to say this on Sunday evening (before/after sunset) or would it fit after sunset on Saturday night?
I don't want to put you on the spot, Suzanne  , and am grateful for any and all help offered  .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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Martha
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YES! The only way I have found to do this is a friendly let's not take forever to flip pages and so forth is to use the iphone where it is all layed out in order at the flick of a screen. awesome.
I have these four:
iBreviary
iPieta
iMissal
IRosary
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Martha
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Angie Mc
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Martha wrote:
iphone where it is all layed out in order at the flick of a screen. awesome.
I have these four:
iBreviary
iPieta
iMissal
IRosary |
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Blackberry Ladies, is there something comparable?
Love,
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Angie Mc
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SuzanneG
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Angie Mc wrote:
| When I look at the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, does your document reflect it or another Sunday? |
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The one I linked is for Ordinary Time (I think)....not for a specific day. I change it for Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter...changing the antiphon, the prayer, etc....something that makes it "obvious" to the kiddos that it is "different" and reflects the liturgical season. But, you don't have to, of course. This is where the Evening Prayerbook would come in handy. Also, for last Lent, I found a neat prayer that I liked for Lent, and I added it at the end, after the Marian Antiphon.
Angie Mc wrote:
| Do you make a new doc for each Sunday? |
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No.
Angie wrote:
| Also, is there a certain time to say Evening Prayer and would it be most proper to say this on Sunday evening (before/after sunset) or would it fit after sunset on Saturday night? |
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Vespers typically "....takes us from the bustle of the day to the calm of evening." Traditionally, sometime between 3:00-6:00 pm. But, currently, it is said anytime between 3:00-11:00 pm.
Whereas Compline (night prayer) "is the last prayer of the day, and sums up all that went before, as we examine our consciences and offer the actions of the day to God." Typically said "before bedtime."
The document I linked is COMPLINE...there is an Act-Contrition, antiphon reflecting "night/rest/peace/sleep" and the concluding prayer:
Quote:
| Lord, fill this night with your radiance. May we sleep in peace and rise with joy to welcome the light of a new day in your name. |
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I chose COMPLINE only b/c I was trying to introduce the concept of "examination of conscience" at the end of the day for all of us, AND, because the prayers are beautiful for bringing the day to a close. I love them. But, there is no reason why you can't do Vespers.
There is a bit about the Structure here at Universalis.
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Suzanne in ID
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Angie Mc
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Thanks so much, Suzanne . The last time I tried to tackle The Liturgy of the Hours was in 2008...I know because I have the unused Saint Joseph Guide for Christian Prayer 2008 . Oh how I hope I can figure this out and integrate it - in even a little way - into my/our prayer life. I'll purchase "The Divine Office for Dodos" asap .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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SuzanneG
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Here is a version of Evening Prayer for Advent that I put together for use during Advent.
2009-11-11_010456_Family_Vespers_Advent_2009.doc
I'm thinking of doing this with my older girls a couple times a week. Not sure...still working this out in my mind.
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Suzanne in ID
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Becky Parker
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After being inspired here, I decided to try a shortened version of morning prayer with my kiddos. I have always prayed the Liturgy of the Hours as my personal prayer in the morning, but now i'm trying to include my kids. My question is, whether you pray TLOH in the morning or at night, what do you do with the younger kids that can't read? I've been allowing mine to color, as long as they are quiet and listening. My DH doesn't think that's a good idea for my 6yo though. But, he gets antsy and can't sit still and becomes a distraction to the rest of us, especially when the 2yo joins in. Any thoughts on this?
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CrunchyMom
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Having been inspired by both SusanJ and Suzanne and this post from my favorite picture book blog, I have been trying to incoporate the LoH into our home.
For those that do this with littles, do you do it ALL. For instance, yesterday and today are the same Psalms, so, for Morning Prayers, I did one of them yesterday and the other today, sometimes just choosing the antiphon which was easiest to say.
Eventually, when we are used to it, it might not feel so long, but the first time we did it with everything, everyone got a little antsy.
So, while I realize that there is no "wrong" way to try and do this in one sense, I wonder how others have managed to do it and what modifications you might use.
Also, WHERE do you do it? We've been calling the boys inside and standing in the dirty kitchen, but I've thought of trying to make it a little more special. However, I don't want to make it so complicated that we don't do it at all, and I'm willing to stand in the dirty kitchen if it works because all too often I procrastinate doing things because I haven't the time to do them exactly as i'd prefer. But "anything worth doing well is worth doing poorly." (Chesterton?)
Any further thoughts, advice, discussion?
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SuzanneG
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Here is our Family Easter Vespers, 2-pages. I completely omitted one of the readings, b/c it was getting too long.
Again, disclaimer....this may not be *exactly* how it is really done, but I'm just trying to get my older girls used to LOTH.
2010-04-06_093501_Family_Vespers_Easter_2010.doc
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Suzanne in ID
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SuzanneG
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Lindsay,
Right now, a couple times a week, we do vespers or compline in the evening after the little ones go to bed. My 6,7,8 yo do it with us or just me if my dh is gone.
By this time, we have said family evening prayers with everyone before the littles went to bed.
We do it in the living room, with one candle lit on the coffee table.
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Suzanne in ID
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cathhomeschool
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I am so happy to see this. Our co-op did a lesson last month on praying without ceasing/praying throughout the day. We used The Monk Who Grew Prayer, talked about the Liturgy of the Hours, differences in how monks/nuns are called to pray and how lay people are called to pray, and also about the differences between the Orthodox cross (the book is not Catholic) and the Catholic cross. It was a wonderful lesson and we wanted to supplement with ideas for praying Liturgy of the Hours with children, but I don't own the Patmos books. I really appreciate the Word doc and blog links. Thanks!
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Family-Friendly Liturgy of the Hours
