Being Vigilant

...while we are placed among things that are passing away... hold fast to those that shall endure;

Collect appointed for Sunday closest to September 21.

Religions all over the world have historically marked the hours of the day by sacred pausing at specific times to pray, providing structure to daily life, reinforcing spiritual principles, and connecting the individual with the divine and the wider community. In the Jewish Old Testament, Daniel prayed three times a day facing Jerusalem and the Psalms reference praising God seven times a day. In Hinduism, the Trisandya is a prayer said three times a day. In the Christian tradition, this is known as the liturgy of the hours, canonical hours and praying the hours. Many of our great modern Christian monastics have published books about this observance, including Thomas Merton's book A Book of Hours and Macrina Wiederkehr's book sevensacredpauses. Thought many traditions are passing away, praying the hours is an ancient tradition to which we would do well to hold fast.

The practice of marking the hours is about being vigilant in pursuit of a spiritual life, a constant reminder of the presence of God and the wonderful gift of being. As Macrina says, "it is about allowing the anointing rhythm to teach and touch you each day."

The specific times of prayer are as follows:

• Matins and Lauds: Nighttime and dawn prayers.

• Prime, Terce, Sext, and None: Prayers for the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours of the day (approximately 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 12 p.m., and 3 p.m.).

• Vespers and Compline: Evening and bedtime prayers.

If you have ever been to a Muslim nation, you will have heard the call to prayer, a central part of daily life heard echoing throughout city streets. When I was in Istanbul and heard the call, I celebrated the chance to pause and pray. (I am thinking about setting up an alarm on my phone to "call me to prayer" at the specific times!)

Being vigilant is to be alert and watchful, and so this practice calls us to do as we make our way through the day. Though most of us are not monastics, we probably won't set our alarms to do the night vigils, but I encourage us to try the day time prayers and enjoy the break from the steady stream of doing, settling into the peaceful rhythm of being.

Below is one of Macrina's vigil prayers set to music. This one is for the Night Vigil, honoring the Sacred Darkness. Velma Frye has recorded prayers from each of the canonical hours, and they are a lovely accompaniment to the practice.