Please load this Link to access a Screen Reader Optimised Version of This Website Skip Navigation
Nasa earth light
Pray Always and Everywhere
Go to Prayers Support us - Donate Now
Chevron Down

Divine Office is approved for use in US

Please Note

This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works. – Psalm 105:1-2

Dear community,

By the grace of God, Divine Office Ministry has reached an agreement with The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) by which we receive a License to use their 1970 edition of the New American Bible for the next 3 years. The Divine Office has passed an audit and has satisfied all licensor claims for content currently in use, which means USCCB has approved the use of our work by all Catholics in the United States.

Let us offer thanks and praise to God for the manifold blessings that continue to nourish our faith and enhance our community.

In thanksgiving for God’s blessings,
The Divine Office Team

↑ to top
Leave a Reply

28 responses to “Divine Office is approved for use in US”

  1. Anthonynguyen says:

    I love this website. You help me praying with the Church unceasingly which we are called to do. God bless us all. You are an angel of the Lord.

  2. Shane Perley says:

    Cough, Cough, the USCCB should pay the cost for this ministry to run.

  3. Jeff Gardner says:

    $57,000 is a small amount to pay for years of copyright infringement…mostly for unauthorized use of music, we’re told. Copyrights have been a fact of life within the Catholic Church for many years. You pay them every time you purchase a sacramentary…e.g., a bible, lectionary, missal, etc., so I’m not sure where the outrage/surprise is coming from here. Frankly this apostolate has achieved the truly remarkable feat of making a Church approved version of the Hours available to all for free…it should be congratulated, not criticized! It is one of the only ways to pray properly with the Church without the authorized printed set of books…under copyright…which cost a pretty sum I might add! If you want to continue to use this website guilt free, then I suggest you show your appreciation by contributing some amount to this incredibly blessed organization. If not, use your money to buy the printed Hours instead and stop complaining.

  4. crstprst says:

    I don’t have a problem with paying for copyright royalties. But this is supposed to be the prayer of the church. We are the church. We own our own prayers. By now the expenses of printing these prayers I’ve already been covered. Many different forms of the Breviary have been printed. $57,000 for people to pray together as one Church seems ludicrous. Are we not the church? Or, are only the Bishops the church. It seems that we have become mercenary in so many ways with the amounts of money spent on music by re copyrighting songs after words of changed and things like this. Everything has to make money! It would be very helpful if you posted the name of the office and address that we would need to write to to protest this expense. We as the church have a rights to participate in these decisions. That is, if we are truly the church as the people of God.

  5. David Smyers says:

    As a Catholic in the United States, I always look for USCCB seal and check what version of bible is being used. This is very important to me for assurance in my faith. As a Catholic, my support to ministry, especially a approved ministry, is required by my faith, conscious, and God. This is truly a Blessed ministry, worthy for all Catholics, in the U.S. and around the world. Please support your them in anyway God has called you. Pray on it, and you will see, God will put it in your heart!

  6. Maria Alonzo says:

    I need this site!! I pray morning and night with you all every day!! For the USCCB to charge $57,000 is disgusting and greedy. The Bible is the word of God freely given to us all. One more reason to lose respect for those bishops. Thank you for your good work and song choices and music!! The readers and cantors are wonderful!!

  7. Karen Finkenbinder says:

    I am a relatively new Catholic and a novice (not “that” kind of novice) at the Divine Office but find this incredibly beautiful and enlightening. If the Mass is a practice session for what we will do in heaven – the Divine Office seems to be enhanced “practice.” The music is lovely, the readings and responsorials are on target and I love the globe that shows how many are praying and from where (who are those people in the Middle East or that lone person in New Zealand?). I hope to see more “dots” on the globe soon (and will share with my international network in hopes we can get more participation from around the Globe. Thank you for doing this. It is lovely, edifying and so glad I found this in time for Advent and the new liturgical year. Best wishes for good health and a sense of peace in these trying times. 😉

    • John Quinn says:

      Hi Karen. One of those dots in the Middle East used to be me! I’ve now moved to India, so my dot is on the west coast of India. Quite a few practicing Catholics and other Christians in the Middle East from all over the world. I lived in Dubai and there were churches we could attend. But in other countries, Saudi Arabia being the best example, there are no churches so, prayer is private. Same with Kuwait.

  8. John Strathern says:

    Mmmm. These comments are very thoughtful and interesting. Since I have just discovered this site, wanting to know more about the Divine Office, prayer of the Church. I have been using Universalis for the past year and wanted to see if there are other Websites out there that provide the Liturgy of the Hours. I believe that I do understand the issues with the USSCB, copyright rules, and effort it takes to present the Liturgy of the Hours. I plan to try some hours of the divine office.org and continue to use Universalis for my Invitatory, Lauds and Office of Readings until I make a decision. I am impressed so far with this Website. What a great service!

  9. LEKE BRISKU says:

    It saddens me to read some of the comments. We are all praying together with the Bishops, priests and deacons. We pray for one another with one another. This is the Prayer of the Church. Please, consider some charity when making comments. The Psalms are the prayers Christ prayed. It always amazes me how one can listen to the Word of God and then immediately not let it reflect in their comments or actions. If you have thoughts that are negative or need further clarifications send your comments privately. There is no need to cause scandal and division. Things cost money in life. Copyrights were garnished because man power was used to translate the Bible in an English that we could comprehend. An English that we are familiar with. Keeping this ministry up and running costs. Someone is behind the scenes, recording every prayer. Having the seal of approval of the USCCB is a huge bonus for the ministry. It will help attract more lay people to pray the office. The books are very daunting for some and this makes it much easier. It also helps make it feel like you are praying in community (which you are). I’m don’t want to be judgemental, it’s not my place. I just want to point out that negative comments have no place here. Please pray for our shepherds, that is something we are called to do. Lastly, to the Divine Office ministry, thank you and God Bless you for putting this great Liturgical blessing in electronic format with voices and music and ease of use. It’s much appreciated, especially if and when I don’t have one of the books of the four volume set with me.

  10. John Strathern says:

    I have been using Universalis for the past year. I thought I would check this site out. I am not sure that I will switch. Not sure of the differences.Wonder who Father John Crean is.

  11. Fr John Crean says:

    This request sounds bogus. It doesn’t make sense.

    • Monica says:

      Hello Fr Crean, any member of this community that has used this work for more than a few years will attest to the validity of the request. We have been struggling since 2016 to reach this agreement and be approved for use. Do write to [email protected] if you have specific questions you need answers to. God bless!

    • Peter Lobo says:

      Although beneficial to have USCCB support, the price tag for copyright appears to me to be VERY high for documents long ago setup and paid for. The last update to both the the 4 Volume and 1 Volume editions, of which I have both, have happened years and years ago. What the USCCB Bishops is now charging for, is the “Prayer of the Church”. It has now become chargeable, probably because Electronic Media has reduced future residuals. Fr. Crean should be asking his hierachy for their rationale on how these sums are arrived at. The USCCB should be allocating funds to this endeavour, as opposed to the reverse in my opinion. At the very least they should be waving their take on the copyright on documentation long ago paid for. This does not take away from individual Bishops and Priests, who are good and need support, as mentioned in another post. But incompetence along with corruption abounds in the legislative church bodies. Don’t believe me? Read the media about church profigacies in supppressing law suits, Vatican Peter Pence purchases of condominiums in London and the Vatican bank corruption that reached Cardinal Beccu. We need accountability- not carte blanche billing for copyright that likely costs the church nary a penny or should not. This is where the incompetence, poor judgement or corruption comes in.

  12. JLo says:

    I contributed monthly for quire awhile and still like your website. This news of yours makes me even more disgusted with the USCCB. They spread money around lavishly to places that actually promote things anti-Catholic, and that’s proven. They meet at 5-star hotels over steak dinners instead of in monasteries. I am sorry, but I will give not one dime that goes to this new money-maker for the USCCB. Disgraceful, as are most of the bishops. May God rescue us all!

    • I completely agree. I fully respect the office of bishop and give that respect to the one sitting in the bishop’s chair — even if I have strong disagreements with the individual man currently occupying that chair — but I have no respect for the USCCB and will not support them.

      Sorry Divine Office but I can’t in good conscience help with any effort that will put money in their irresponsible hands.

  13. rlcoleman1 says:

    You could use the New Jerusalem Bible on your website as does Universalis.org. Who are these people that would charge $57,000? This is crazy. Use the funds for a better purpose and get the New Jerusalem Bible placed on your website or any other version that does not charge an exorbitant fee. This is a no brainer.

  14. Ann says:

    Dear Friends, the bishops have enough money to use this site to spread the Gospel freely. One bishop in our area recently died and left a million dollars to the schools where he lived. Yes, he lived the Gospel life as an example of poverty but amassed a fortune from his ministry. I appreciate being able to pray the Office here. Thank you for your ministry. Pray for me please.

  15. Debby Phillips says:

    I cannot tell you how happy being able to pray the Divine Office with you all has made me. I am blind, and an Oblate of Mount Angel Abbey. Even though the Abbey has its own translation, etc. I still experience the connectedness, because we all pray as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Leave a Reply

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Please support DivineOffice.orf -- Illustration by Elisa D. created for DivineOffice.org Please support DivineOffice.orf -- Illustration by Elisa D. created for DivineOffice.org

Contribute to DivineOffice.org

Your contribution ensures this site will be around to serve thousands who use it daily to pray.

Contribute Monthly

A monthly recurring payment is not required, but your support ensures this site will be around to serve thousands who use it daily to pray. You can select the amount of your monthly contribution below, or you can select "custom amount" and set it in the next page.

Contribute One-Time

If you prefer not to commit to a monthly contribution right now, please consider a one-time contribution. You will be able to set any amount in the next page.

Having trouble with this form?

You can also contribute through PayPal from this page, or you can mail a check.

Divine Office Blog

News and Updates from our ministry

New email notifications for our community members

Monica on May 29th, 2023at 6:25

Dear community, In an effort to encourage and promote among our community members more interaction, communication and spiritual support for one another, Divine Office has been working on a new email notification system where members... Continue reading

Update on the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition

Monica on May 10th, 2023at 3:35

Dear Community, Adoremus.org had published a fragment from the January 2022 Bishop’s Committee on Divine Worship Newsletter concerning the progress ICEL and USCCB made on the new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours. The... Continue reading

Divine Office New Website Design

Monica on December 30th, 2022at 11:07

Dear Community, At the start of the New Year, our gift to you is a new website design with a different architecture. We meant it to be fresh and beautiful, to promote our members’ interactions... Continue reading

Divine Office is available with Alexa

Monica on August 5th, 2022at 5:31

Dear community, Those of you in the United States can now pray the Liturgy of the Hours with Alexa. It’s yet another simple and convenient way to pray the hours and we hope it will... Continue reading

VISIT OUR BLOG

Get the DivineOffice App!

No Image

Pray always and everywhere with our Award-Winning Liturgy of the Hours app for iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire. NOW FREE!

No Image
No Image No Image

Ratings and Reviews

Our DivineOffice app is rated 4.9 out of 5, based on over 2,400 ratings and won the About.com Best Catholic App Award for 3 years in a row.

No Image No Image No Image No Image No Image

Pray anywhere
I have prayed the Divine Office for many years. [...] When I discovered this app, all of my concerns of ribbon placement were gone. Having the Divine Office on my phone is absolutely the best thing ever! The sense of community is so wonderful as I see how many others are praying at the same time as myself. [...] Now I don’t need to turn a lamp on as I use to when I used the Office printed volumes. It is such a blessing to have the Divine Office in my pocket. Many times I’ve been sitting in a doctor’s waiting room at the time of Mid Morning prayer. It is so calming of any worries to pull out my phone, open the app, and be able to connect with Our Lord at those times I need Him most. I don’t use the audio version much but the few times I’ve traveled, it is so comforting to not have to skip the Office in order to keep my hands on the steering wheel and my eyes in the road. I recommend this app to friends all the time, especially to those who’d like to pray the Office but feel intimidated by the size of the printed version and getting the ribbons placed properly. Thank you for developing this app. It is my constant companion.

SheezyOCon October 13, 2021

No Image No Image No Image No Image No Image

Super helpful
I have only been introduced to the divine office prayers two times before I downloaded this app. It is laid out in a way that is very easy to understand, and there is an audio option that will say all of the prayers. There is an option to set reminders throughout the day. I got this because, I didn’t really know how to say the divine office, and I didn’t know what prayer books I needed to purchase to begin. During the shutting down of churches for covid :( this has been a wonderful resource. One cool feature is that you can tap on the “in prayer” link and see little specks of light around the globe lighting up in the area that someone else is praying. It’s so cool to see everyone praying with you and is a powerful reminder that we are all connected and unified in Christ’s mystical body.

tori6543588on May 5, 2020

No Image No Image No Image No Image No Image

Praying with the whole Church
I love this app! Since it is now free and no longer for sale, I made sure to donate the price of buying it, and then some. I have loved the Liturgy of the Hours for 25 years. But I always felt alone when I prayed it. With this app, I am connected to others! I use it in conjunction with my printed Christian Prayer volume. On other days, I cannot get to my book but with the app, I always have the prayers available. I have the printed calendar with my book, but I actually rely on this more for placing my ribbons. The audio is wonderful!! I often read out loud with it. I love that I can change the speed of the audio! I have found that 1.3 is good for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this app. Thank you for still supporting it. Thank you for updating the “one God,” to just “God” change in the prayers. My book still throws me off but your app is right! Highly recommend this. Many friends have it. THANK YOU!!

MommytoNFP2on June 12, 2022

 
No Image

Recommended Books

Support us by starting your amazon shopping by clicking on this link.

MORE PRODUCTS
Book
Christian Prayer
This handy one-volume edition simplifies praying the Liturgy of the Hours.
Book
Liturgy of the Hours
Complete 4 Volumes Set
Book
Liturgy of the Hours Volume II
Lent and Easter
MORE PRODUCTS
Share
1X Speed
100%  Zoom
Moon Icon Light Mode
Minimize Icon EXIT