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Lauds is a Canonical hours of the Divine office. In the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours it is one of the major hours, usually held after Matins, in the early morning hours (between 3:00:00 and 5:59:59).
According to John T. Hedrick, in Introduction to the Roman Breviary, Lauds were not originally a distinct canonical hour but Matins and Lauds formed a single office, the night office terminating only at dawn. The monks prayed Matins during the night and said Lauds in the early dawn. Pius Parsch, The Canonical Hours in Commentaries on the Breviary In the 5th and 6th century the Lauds were called Matutinum. By the Middle Ages, the midnight office was referred to as , and the morning office as Matins. The lengthy night office later became the liturgical hour of Matins and was divided into two or three nocturns; the morning office became Lauds. Billett, Jesse D., The Divine Office in Anglo-Saxon England, 597-C.1000, Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2014
After Pope Pius X’s reform, Lauds was reduced to four psalms or portions of psalms and an Old Testament canticle, putting an end to the custom of adding the last three psalms of the psalter (148–150) at the end of Lauds every day.
All psalms and canticles are concluded with the doxology. The psalms and readings are distributed in a four-week cycle, which forms the heart of the prayer.
On feasts of saints the various parts of the hour may be taken from the office of the saint being celebrated or from the common. If the feast has the rank of a memorial, any parts specifically provided for the saint (the parts from the proper) are used, while the other parts come from the weekday, with exception of the hymn (which may be optionally taken from the common texts), the antiphon for the Benedictus (which must be taken from the proper or the common), the intercession (which may be optionally taken from the common texts), and the collect.
In some seasons of the liturgical year, such as Lent or Eastertide, many of the prayers are proper for each day of the season. In Holy Week, the octaves of Christmas and Easter, and the last eight days of Advent, these liturgical days displace the celebration of other feasts.
Many manuscripts and printed editions of the Armenian Book of Hours (Armenian: Ժամագիրք Zhamagirk`) state that the morning hour commemorates the Son of God, with some manuscripts adding, "at the time he was seized by the Jews". This is in reference to the story of the arrest and interrogation of Jesus found in the New Testament Gospels.
Symbolism and significance
This is the office of daybreak and hence its symbolism is of Christ's resurrection. According to Fernand Cabrol, "Lauds remains the true morning prayer, which hails in the rising sun, the image of Christ triumphant—consecrates to Him the opening day".Cabrol, Fernand. The Day Hours of the Church, London, 1910 The office of Lauds reminds the Christian that the first act of the day should be praise, and that one's thoughts should be of God before facing the cares of the day.
Current Catholic practice
Liturgia horarum (1970)
In the 1970 edition of the Roman Breviary which was revised according to the mandate of the Second Vatican Council, Lauds (Latin Laudes matutinae, pl.) has the following structure:
Variations
On all solemnity and feasts as well as on all feast days of the with their own Lauds antiphons in the proper, the psalms and cantica from the Sunday of the Week I are sung.''Antiphonale zum Stundengebet, Liturgische Institute Trier, Salzburg, Zürich, 1979 These are: Ps. 63, the canticle from Dan 3, 37-88 and Ps. 149.
Other rites of the Western Church
In the Ambrosian Rite, and also in the Mozarabic Rite, Lauds retained a few of the principal elements of the Roman Lauds: the Benedictus, canticles from the Old Testament, and the laudate psalms, arranged, however, in a different order ( cf. Germain Morin, op. cit. in bibliography). In the Benedictines liturgy, the office of Lauds resembles the Roman Lauds very closely, not only in its use of the canticles but also in its general construction.
Armenian liturgy
The Armenian Morning (or Early) Hour (Armenian: Առաւաւտեան Ժամ aṛawotean zham) corresponds to the office of Lauds in the Roman Liturgy, both in its position in the daily cycle and in its importance. This is the most complex of all Armenian liturgies in terms of the variations in the order and text of the liturgy depending on the day of the week, liturgical tone, commemoration of the day, and liturgical season.
Outline of the morning service
In the morning hour for Sundays and feasts there are seven slots into which hymnody may be inserted which reflects the theme of the day. Each of these seven slots is associated with a psalm or canticle from the Old or New Testaments.
Eastern Christianity
Among the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, the office comparable to the Lauds of the Roman Rite is the Orthros. It also contains the three Laudate psalms (148–150), with which it traditionally closes.
Lutheran and Anglican traditions
Like the other canonical hours, Lauds is observed by Christians in other denominations, notably those of the . In the Anglican Communion, elements of the office have been folded into the service of Morning Prayer as celebrated according to the Book of Common Prayer, and the hour itself is observed by many Anglican religious orders.
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