Lauds and Vespers / Morning and Evening Prayer

From the very earliest days of Christianity, groups of people gathered to pray together in their homes, often twice a day. They followed a pattern of Scripture readings and prayer for morning and evening worship. These prayers developed a more elaborate structure in the monasteries that flourished in the middle ages, increasing to seven prayer times each day. These “prayers of the hours” came to be called the Divine Office, and increasingly were thought of as the responsibility of the clergy alone, though parishes continued to celebrate morning prayer (Lauds, meaning “praise”) and evening prayer (Vespers, meaning “evening star”) together. Today, many parishes celebrate Lauds and Vespers, either throughout the Church year, during Lent and Advent, or on a more limited basis.

At Notre Dame, we celebrate Vespers every Sunday evening in the Basilica at 7:15 p.m. while the University is in session.

The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated (CCC 1177).