The Liturgy of the Hours ( also known as the Divine Office ) is the richest single prayer resource of the Christian Church. It provides prayers, psalms and meditation for every hour of every day. It has existed from the earliest times, to fulfill the Lord's command to pray without ceasing. Never monotonous, always new, it provides the means for the whole world, united, to pray together and sanctify every hour of every day of every year. All over the world, hundreds of thousands of priests, deacons, and religious have vowed to pray the Liturgy daily, and all over the world they do, in public and in private, in tin shacks and cathedrals, in palaces and in prison camps.

Two aspects of the Liturgy of the Hours were established very early on: the praying of the Psalms and the consecration of every hour to God. Taking this literally meant that prayer of some kind was offered every three hours, day and night, and confined the full implementation of such a liturgy to hermits, enthusiasts, and dedicated religious orders.