The Liturgy of the Hours: An Ancient Antidote to Loneliness

Recently, I was invited to join a group of Dominican sisters for evening prayer. I stood at the back of the small chapel near the doors, which were propped open to the cool night air. The warm light of the sunset cast an orange glow on the white walls as the sisters opened their breviaries and crossed themselves in unison. It was beautiful.

I tried to keep up, but it had been over a decade since the last time I prayed the Liturgy of the Hours. Even though I was a bit lost, the rhythm of the prayer felt familiar, and I allowed my mind and heart to wander as the sisters’ voices filled the room.

Deep consolation filled my soul as certain happy memories surfaced for the first time in years. In my mind’s eye, I could see another chapel with white walls washed in the orange glow of sunlight; I could feel the cool air from other nights under a bright starry sky; and I could hear another group of women — and men — living alongside me in intentional community at a Catholic summer camp for teens.

I encountered the Liturgy of the Hours for the first time at LifeTeen’s Camp Covecrest. As a summer missionary there, I prayed morning prayer and night prayer every day for six weeks with the other college students and young adults living in community at camp. This time spent in prayer gave us the grace that we needed to listen to the Holy Spirit throughout our busy days, and it strengthened our bond as a community.

Fifteen years later as a stay-at-home mom, I am still busy, but also often lonely. Like my time at summer camp, my days are long and demand patience, energy, and docility to the Spirit. But as I continued to listen to the Dominican sisters pray, I realized that I hadn’t been relying on God’s grace as much as I used to. No wonder I was feeling depleted, defeated, and alone!

My experience praying evening prayer with the sisters led me to try this practice again. My husband had purchased a subscription to Word on Fire’s monthly Liturgy of the Hours booklet, but hadn’t been using it because other ways of prayer were helping him through a job promotion. Now, I searched the house until I found the current issue. Opening it for the first time, I realized how simple and straightforward praying would be: I only needed to turn to the current date and read the prayers. Just what my tired mom brain needed!

On the very first day I sat down to pray morning prayer, I couldn’t believe how the Psalmist was able to capture my thoughts and feelings so well:

I remember the days that are past:
I ponder all your works.
I muse on what your hand as wrought
and to you I stretch out my hands.
Like a parched land my soul thirsts for you. (Psalm 143:5-6)

I could remember times in the past when I felt the warmth of God’s love and presence, but in this moment of exhaustion and loneliness, my soul did feel like a parched land thirsting for God. Taking a moment to marvel at the way these ancient words spoke to my contemporary situation, I realized that I wasn’t the first — and certainly won’t be the last — to cry out to God in times of desolation and distress. This realization immediately took my loneliness away, gave me a deep sense of gratitude for my forebearers in faith, and set me on the right path to move through my day with grace.

As I began to develop a habit of praying the Liturgy of the Hours, I continued to notice how the Psalmist’s words reminded me of God’s faithfulness. Reading the Psalms regularly has been a soothing reminder of the truth that I am not alone: God is present with me, in my home, walking beside me and sustaining me as I go about the care tasks that make up my busy days.

LISTEN: A Catholic Therapist Shares the Keys to Overcoming Loneliness

I knew that priests and religious pray this prayer around the world (and around the clock), but it wasn’t until I posted on social media about my newfound love for the Liturgy of the Hours that I was shocked to discover how many laypeople pray it every day, too. Now when I sit down to pray, I feel connected to Christians all over the world who are praying the exact same prayers that day. Even though I often pray alone, usually before my kids wake up, I can sense that I am part of a community united in prayer.

When I feel far from God or frustrated by the circumstances of my life, I’ve learned that sometimes all I need is to make a small shift in the way I pray. Sometimes this shift to something new is really a return to something old. Thanks to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Liturgy of the Hours has been the perfect fit for me in this season of life, bringing me closer to the Lord and my fellow Christians at a time when I am searching for community. As the seasons of our lives and the liturgical calendar change, perhaps the Liturgy of the Hours can be a reminder of God’s providential love for you, too.