The structure of the liturgy "Seven times a day I praise you",
says Psalm 118(119), and the Liturgy of the Hours follows this
pattern. For details of each hour, look at the links on the
left. Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Vespers (Evening Prayer) are
the two major hours of each day, providing an opportunity for
prayer and dedication before starting work and prayer and
thanksgiving afterwards. Compline (Night Prayer) is designed to
be said last thing at night. It is short and simple. Indeed, it
can be made even shorter and simpler by using Compline for
Sunday night on every night of the week - in which case it can
be learnt by heart and recited from memory. The Office of
Readings is designed for any time of day. As its name implies,
it has two long readings in it: one from Scripture and one from
the Fathers of the Church. Terce, Sext and None are known
collectively as the "Little Hours" (or, more respectably, as the
Daytime Hours). They are quite short, and intended for use
during breaks at work. The office of Pr