Before taking this course, I was already familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours. While I was in the Jesuit Novitiate, we prayed morning and evening prayer together daily as a community in choir. In addition to the hours, we were required to have an hour of private meditative prayer, two daily 15 minute examine prayers, and daily Mass. Since leaving the novitiate four years ago, my prayer had significantly decreased. It is good to get back into a rhythm.

By working through Sockey’s book, I become more aware of the significance of the hours. Before this course, I had never known the history of the hours, which makes me feel more connected to the saints who prayed them before me. One of the great graces of novitiate life was how slowly time passed. I could spend hours a day in prayer. Life as a high school teacher does not come with that blessing! The hours are a way, however, for me to slow down to spend some time in a rhythm of prayer. The repetitive nature of the prayer allows my mind to wander about the graces for which I am praying. What a great blessing!