I've been reading the books in Phyllis Tickle's The Divine Hours series -- a contemporary reworking of the Daily Offices into an accessible form -- and especially have enjoyed the introduction she gives to the practice of "fixed-hour prayer," her term for the Daily Office.
She notes that since the earliest days of the Christian church, and even before that in the practices of Jews living in Roman territories, it was the custom to mark the hours of the day with prayer.
As the Roman bells marked the first hour of the day, Prime at 6 am, punctuated the workday at Terce and Sext and None (9, noon, and 3) and closed the day at vespers (6 pm), Jews -- and the early Christians -- said brief prayers to mark the hours.
She also notes that "Christians today, wherever they practice the discipline of fixed-hour prayer, frequently find themselves filled with a conscious awareness that they are handing their worship, at its final "Amen," on to other Christians in the next time zone. Like relay runners passing a lighted torch, those who do the work of fixed-hour prayer do create thereby a continuous cascade of praise before the throne of God" (The Divine Hours 5).
I invite you to raise your voice in that unceasing prayer, whether it's in a formal way through the Daily Office or simply by being mindful as you pray of the "communion of saints" past and present and all around the world who join their voices with yours.
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess 5:16-18).
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