Did you know that there is an official prayer of the Church? Much like states have a state flower or state bird; Kansas recognizes the Honeycrisp apple as its state food, the Church recognizes a prayer above all others. But in actuality, this is where the similarities end. The official prayer of the Church is not simply something that is favored or chosen because it may represent the personality that she wants to present to others. Rather, this prayer of the Church was chosen because it is the work that the Church does. It is required of all of her Priests in full, and of every Deacon, at least in part. It is recognized as the prayer of the Church because it is the most important prayer that she offers. St. Benedict described and understood that the only true work that one accomplishes is the work of prayer. By offering the Prayer of the Church, one takes up and is brought into the most important work that the Church does.
In offering the prayer of the Church, one both jumps into the flow of the work that the Church is accomplishing, being joined in union with the cries of the Church that have been offered by every generation since the days of the Apostles, and one acts an agent for Church, doing the work of the Church on earth. The Rosary, as one may think, is not the prayer of the Church, nor is it the Divine Mercy Chaplet; Devotion to the First Saturdays, or First Fridays to St. Joseph are not the prayer of the Church. While these, and the multitude of Litanies and other long devotional practices are essential to the mission of the Church and bear the testimonies of numerous saints, they are not The Prayer of the Church. Neither is Eucharistic adoration, nor the even the Holy Mass. The one prayer that carries this moniker, is the Divine Office, or the Liturgy of the Hours.
While devotionals, like the Rosary, the Novena to the Holy Spirit, Stations of the Cross or the Chaplet of Reparation remain invaluable weapons and tools for salvation, they are the cries of an individual heart: devotionals remain private and personal. The Divine Office, however, is the cry of the Church. In its fullness, it is prayed through seven hours (times) of the day: morning, mid-morning, midday, mid-afternoon, evening, nighttime and the office of readings. And it is prayed every day. Through the Office, time is sanctified and made holy. One prayers not only for one’s self and one’s own petitions, but on behalf of and with the authority of the whole Church. It is, in fact, so important and bears so much power, that every Priest and Deacon who is ordained, promises to remain faithful to pray the Office each day.