A short personal Daily Office

Though quite naturally derived primarily from Christian antecedents, these prayers are also influenced by Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim forms and expressions.

Matins (7:00 am)

In the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Transformer, the One who is compassionate and merciful.  Amen.

V: Lord, open our lips.
R: And our mouth shall show your praise.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who beget light and darkness, good and evil, order and chaos, life and death, integrity and entropy.  Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit: As it was, is now, and always shall be, unto aeons of aeons. Amen.

May we love the Lord our God who is the One, both compassionate and merciful, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.  May we love our neighbors as ourselves.  And may we love one another, Rabbana, just as you loved us, for there is no greater calling than to love.  Amen.

Father, blessed be your name.  May your dominion come and your will be done.  Let your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us.  Give us what is sufficient day-by-day.  Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those indebted to us.  And save us from succumbing to temptation.  Amen.

Rejoice, Mary, favored one, for the Lord is with you: Blessed are you among women, Theotokos, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.  Amen.

Remind us, Rabbana, to be instruments of your peace.  Let us bring love where there is hatred; pardon where there is injury; union where there is discord; trust where there is doubt; hope where there is despair; your light where there is darkness; joy where there is sadness.  May we seek rather to console than to be consoled; to understand than to understood; to love than to be loved. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are forgiven; and it is in dying that we live.  Amen.

Diurnum (12:00 pm)

In the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Transformer, the One who is compassionate and merciful.  Amen.

V. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness

R. Let the whole earth stand in awe of him.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, and blessed be your name throughout the infinity of space and the eternity of time.

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; *
    let me never be put to shame.

Create in me a clean heart, *
    and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence *
    and take not your holy Spirit from me.

Into your hands I commend my spirit, *

    for you have redeemed me, O God of truth.

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit:*

    As it was, is now, and always shall be, unto aeons of aeons. Amen.

O Savior of the world, who by your cross and precious blood have redeemed us: Save us and help us, we humbly pray.  Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, forever and ever.  Amen.

Vespers (5:00 pm)

In the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Transformer, the One who is compassionate and merciful.  Amen.

V. O God, make speed to save us.

R. O Lord, make haste to help us.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who bring on evening and order the stars in their constellations of the sky.  Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty; for all that is in the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. 

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit: As it was, is now, and always shall be, unto aeons of aeons. Amen.

May we love the Lord our God who is the One, both compassionate and merciful, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.  May we love our neighbors as ourselves.  And may we love one another, Rabbana, just as you loved us, for there is no greater calling than to love.  Amen.

Alleluia.  Christ our Passover has been raised from the dead.  Alleluia.  The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  Amen.  Alleluia.

Keep watch, Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep tonight and give your emissaries charge over those who sleep; tend the sick; give rest to the weary; bless the dying; soothe the suffering; pity the afflicted; and shield the vulnerable. Amen.

Compline (8:15 pm)

In the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Transformer, the One who is compassionate and merciful.  Amen.

V. Our help is in the Name of the Lord;
R. The maker of heaven and earth.

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, and blessed be your name throughout the infinity of space and the eternity of time.

(Antiphon) Guide us waking, Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may walk with you, and asleep we may rest in peace.

Lord, you now have set your servant free *
    to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the savior, *
    whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A light to enlighten the Gentiles, *
    and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit:*

    As it was, is now, and always shall be, unto aeons of aeons. Amen.

(Antiphon) Guide us waking, Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may walk with you, and asleep we may rest in peace.

The Word lived among us, full of grace and truth, a light shining in the darkness: And we have seen the glory of this, the Chosen One, and through him that of God.  Amen.

May the Lord bless us and keep us.  May the Lord make his face to shine on us and be gracious to us.  May the Lord lift up his countenance and give us peace. Amen.

Notes:

These forms are, to quote an irreverent soldier in the American Civil War, “short and sweet, just like a roasted maggot”.  Mostly because of the prescriptions of Jesus bar Joses (Isho bar Yosef) about avoiding lengthy prayer.

The “hours” are those in use in the Anglican Communion, in particular the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA.