The Monastic Hours

In 1977 the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship approved a series of recommendations that insured that the praying of the monastic Office would be in keeping with the norms of Vatican II and the Rule of St. Benedict, as well as with tradition and contemporary needs. These recommendations were published in 1981 as the Directory for the Celebration of the Work of God, along with a parallel document known as the Directive Norms for the Celebration of the Monastic Liturgy of the Hours. The documents are republished here in a second edition. Together the Directory and the Norms provide a significant means for Benedictine monks and nuns, as well as Oblates and friends of monastic communities, to understand the monastic Liturgy of the Hours.