Night Hours
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The Night Hours are the fixed times of prayer in the Divine Office of the Roman Catholic Church, that take place after sunset and before sunrise. In the Latin Rite, the main Office is traditionally Matins, said in the early hours of the morning, and which is joined to the office of Lauds, which is concluded shortly before dawn. Vespers, traditionally said just after sunset, and Compline, said immediately before retiring to bed, are also sometimes considered to be part of the Night Hours. The Eastern Christian Churches, including both Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, have a similar structure of night prayer, but the terminology is usually different. Some Protestant communities have similar prayer times.
The contents of these prayer offices vary greatly with season, day of week, and feast days, which is unlike the Daytime Hours, which tend to be invariable. The offices consist of a hymn, psalms and canticles with antiphons, versicles, readings from scripture, Fathers of the Church, Councils of the Church, lives of the Saints, etc., and specific prayers.
[edit] Latin Rite Catholic usage
The office of Matins is the longest of the daily offices, and includes a minimum of two lengthy readings, and traditionally had the most number of psalms and canticles. Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the Liturgy of the Hours has renamed "Matins" to the "Office of Readings" which may be said any time during the day, and not just in the predawn morning hours. The Office of Readings is considerably shorter and has a narrowed content of readings, so much so that approved ways of lengthening the Office have been provided. New Traditional Catholic communities formed after 1988 have been granted the right to use the older forms of the Breviary, which includes the longer offices. A characteristic of Matins or the Office of Readings, is the ancient hymn, Te Deum, said on Sundays and feastdays.
The office of Lauds, traditionally said just before sunrise, has been renamed "Morning Prayer" after the Second Vatican Council, and is to be said at about 6 a.m. The character of this office is one of praise to God.
The office of Vespers, traditionally said just after sunset, has been renamed "Evening Prayer" after the Second Vatican Council, and is to be said at about 6 p.m. The character of this office is one of thanksgiving.
The office of Compline, is said just before retiring to bed, and has been renamed "Night Prayer" after the Second Vatican Council. The character of this office is a meditation on death.
