Prayer Time

By Megan Lacourrege

Liturgy of the Hours is a form of prayer that priests and religious say daily, but anyone can choose to do it as well. There are seven different prayer times each day, using the psalms, Bible readings and more. 

When I met my husband, he had been in the habit of praying vespers (evening prayer) each day around 7 pm. He invited me to join him at that time, and so vespers has been part of our evening routine for the last eight years.

I can’t imagine our days without it now. It has become second nature to do. Once our kids’ bedtime routine are done, we pull up vespers on our iPad. (We use the website universalis.com.) My husband and I read the antiphons together and take turns reading each verse of psalms. One of us does the Scripture reading, and the other leads the prayer intentions.

Evening prayer allows us to refocus our attentions on God at the end of busy days. It offers a concrete way to daily hand our marriage to God and to decompress. 

Some days, I face the temptation to just say we shouldn’t do vespers. However, I know that temptation comes from a self-centered place. If I don’t pray, I find my cares, worries and hurts taking up the time that should be set aside for me and my husband to enjoy each other’s company. 

Dedicating my evening to God through vespers only takes about five minutes, but it offers so much more in return, especially by praying together as a couple.