Office for the Dead question
How does the Office for the Dead (OftD henceforward) work in relation to the Liturgy of the Hours? Could, say, the OftD Office of Readings replace the daily Office of Readings?
Or is the traditional way to pray the OftD to pray it in its entirety alongside praying the complete LotH, as in saying the Invitatory for each of them and treating them as being separate (Inv+OoR+Lauds followed by OftD Inv+OoR+Lauds; Midday prayers follow by OftD Midday prayers, etc)?
I understand that as a layman I am under no obligation to pray the LotH, much less to pray it correctly. But I would like to know exactly how LotH and OftD relate to one another. Thank you in advance.
Posted Jul 19, 2019, 1:54 AM UTC
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The Office for the Dead can be prayed to commemorate any person or group of people who have died. It's especially appropriate on the day of someone's funeral or the anniversary of their passing. When you want to use this office to commemorate someone, all or part of it replaces the ordinary office for that day. It's possible to just substitute one hour of the Office for the Dead for one of the day's hours, or to swap the whole thing over.