These hours continue to be prayed by many religious communities to this day. It seems there was no universal practice of the communal recitation of these hours until the Middle Ages. The declarations of the Second Vatican Council on liturgical singing apply to all liturgical actions but in a special way to the Liturgy of the Hours. Saint Basil the Great mentions that these little hours are of a monastic origin and, but for the monks of Saint Pachomius prior to Basil, these offices were still prayed in private. In any case, the custom of Little Hours grew up in the monastic and larger Church in the course of the centuries and still is followed in some monasteries and hermitages. There it is said that Daniel got “down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise Him,” though some commentators would say this might be reflecting the Jewish custom of prayer at morning, noon and evening, rather than midmorning, midday and mid-afternoon. In the Old Testament, such as Daniel 6:10, we also find mention of such practice. The Acts of the Apostles and the post-scriptural document, the Didache of around 100 AD, also Saint Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus of Rome and Tertullian of Carthage make mention of these prayer times. In the primitive Church there is evidence that the apostles and early Christians prayed at these times, either in private or in common. Terce is Latin for third, Sext means sixth, and None means ninth. Terce, Sext, and None correspond to the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, and thus follow Lauds which begins at sunrise, approximately 6:00 am. Sayings and Stories from the Desert Fathers Compline (Night Prayer) is designed to be said last thing at night, before going to bed, or even in bed (84).Quite simply, Benedict insisted that nothing be put before the divine Office. As the Divine Office grew more important in the life of the Church, the rituals became more elaborate.
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