Get Ready: A Fresh Update to the Liturgy of the Hours

Why You Shouldn’t Miss the Latest Liturgy of the Hours Update

Above: The Acension Press version of the new, four-volume Liturgy of the Hours. Ascension is printing two versions of the long-awaited second edition, while Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire is also printing its own edition. Image courtesy of Ascension Press.

The Liturgy of the Hours, “the prayer of the whole people of God,” is getting updated for the first time in 55 years.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls it “the public prayer of the Church” (CCC 1174).

The set of daily prayers, also called The Divine Office, reflects “truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself, together with his Body, addresses to the Father.”

Ascension Press and Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire have both been authorized to publish the new second edition of the Divine Hours by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“It’s the highest prayer outside the Mass,” Bishop Barron said. “I truly believe this project will spark a renewal of the Church’s daily prayer, restoring the Divine Office to the heart of Catholic life.”

Ascension, publishers of the bestselling Great Adventure Catholic Bible and the top-rated Bible in a Year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz, released a detailed Father Mike video explaining the importance (see below).

“When you pray the Liturgy of the Hours, you are uniting your prayer to the…