Conferences
The Liturgy of the Hours:
The Public Prayer of the Church as Foundation
for Christian Spirituality
March 21-22, 2006
An academic conference on the campus of Notre Dame
Conference Description
“Public and common prayer by the people of God is rightly considered to be among the primary duties of the Church.”
“The purpose of the liturgy of the hours is to sanctify the day and the whole range of human activity.”
— General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours
The liturgy of the hours is “a kind of necessary complement by which the fullness of divine worship contained in the eucharistic sacrifice would overflow to reach all the hours of daily life” (Paul VI's Apostolic Constitution). More than private piety, the divine office is “the very prayer which Christ Himself, together with His body, addresses to the Father” (SC 84). The liturgy of the hours is the liturgy of Christ extended through each of the hours we live.
This colloquium of four papers was free and open to the public, intended for members of the University community and surrounding parishes.
This conference was made possible by a generous grant from the Paul M. and Barbara Henkels Visiting Scholars Series, through the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts.
Speakers and Topics
- Gary Anderson
University of Notre Dame
“The Biblical Foundations of Prayer” - Sr. Benedicta Ward
Oxford University, U.K.
“Monasticism and Christian Prayer” - Paul Bradshaw
University of Notre Dame, Director of Undergraduate Studies in London
“Historical Foundations of the Liturgy of the Hours” - Fr. Andrew Louth
University of Durham, U.K.
“Prayer and Spirituality in Eastern Orthodox Christianity”
Schedule
Sessions were held in McKenna Hall, Room 100-104 at Notre Dame.
| Tuesday, March 21 | |
| 2:00 pm | Gary Anderson "The Biblical Foundations of Prayer" |
| 3:00 pm | Q & A |
| 6:15 pm | Vespers Alumni Hall Chapel |
| 7:00 pm | Sr. Benedicta Ward "Monasticism and Christian Prayer" |
| 8:00 pm | Q & A |
| 8:30 pm | Reception |
| 9:30 pm | Night Prayer |
| Wednesday, March 22 | |
| 9:15 am | Morning Prayer Alumni Hall Chapel |
| 10:00 am | Paul Bradshaw "Historical Foundations of the Liturgy of the Hours" |
| 11:00 am | Q & A |
| 2:00 pm | Fr. Andrew Louth "Prayer and Spirituality in Eastern Orthodox Christianity" |
| 3:00 pm | Q & A |
| 4:00 pm | David Fagerberg Concluding Remarks |
