PALM SUNDAY EVENING PRAYER I


SAINT GABRIEL HOURS

The Good News:

Praying with Christ Every Day. 

Anytime. Anywhere. With Anyone. 


 SUNDAY EVENING PRAYER I

PALM SUNDAY 

PSALTER WEEK II

MARCH 28, 2026


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DIVINE OFFICE / LITURGY OF THE HOURS

is the Prayer of Christ and the Church

"Christ Jesus, high priest of the new and eternal covenant, taking human nature, introduced into this earthly exile that hymn which is sung throughout all ages in the halls of heaven. He joins the entire community of mankind to Himself, associating it with His own singing of this canticle of divine praise."  (Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, #86)

"For he continues His priestly work through the agency of His Church, which is ceaselessly engaged in praising the Lord and interceding for the salvation of the whole world. She does this, not only by celebrating the Eucharist, but also in other ways, especially by praying the Divine Office."  (Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, #86)

"Lauds as Morning Prayer and Vespers as Evening Prayer are the two hinges on which the daily office turns; hence they are to be considered as the chief hours and are to be celebrated as such." (Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, #89) 


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VIRTUAL RESOURCES

Virtual resources provide more than the dry bones of the liturgical text.  Videos celebrate the Hours with sounds and images. These diverse and inspiring songs are signs of the heavenly liturgy and of Christ joining all humanity to himself in song. These videos invite us to listen, to sing, and to share our songs with others. 

Although solitary persons and small groups are merely a drop in the ocean of human communities, videos summon us to the great diversity of persons and communities beyond our immediate experience. As individual and communities we are not alone. We can worship with a host of others across time and spaces.  We are members of households, families, neighborhoods, workgroups, associations, congregations, parishes, cities, dioceses, states, regions, nations and continents. We are communities of communities. 

Videos (and websites such as this one) can create and build communities as well as provide experiences of community, both communion with those who originally produced the sounds,  images and websites, as well as communion among those who celebrate the Hours with the same sounds, images, and websites at various times and places. 

In today's societies, we are usually members of many communities; a household, one of more families, a neighborhood, one or more workplaces, one or more parishes or congregations, one or more ministries, and various associations both civic and religion. Each of these, as well as each person within them, have their own experiences, needs and potentials for worship and evangelization. Let us bring the Hours to people of God whenever and wherever we can! Let us fulfill the Vatican II vision of Christ joining all humanity to himself in song!  

This website and its video links provide sufficient choices for personal and communal worship gatherings across a variety of selections (e.g. recitation, chants, hymns and readings) without overwhelming us with too many choices. For those who may wish to explore further choices, the website provides links to posts containing an even greater number of videos. 

In the interest creating community, it is recommended that everyone sample the choices provided here in order to create community though discussion of shared experiences. Saint Ignatius used the thirty days of the Spiritual Exercises to create shared experiences for spiritual discernment and direction. The Hours with their four- week Psalter can be used for a similar purpose, i.e. a common framework for discernment about types of prayer in general and about the place of the Hours in the lives of both persons and communities

Structure of this Website

This website contains two posts each day. one for Morning Prayer (Lauds) and one for Evening Prayer (Vespers). This is consistent with the emphasis upon the Hours by Vatican II and subsequent documents. 

Evening Prayer can be prayed as early as noon or as late as bed time. When only one Hour is prayed during this period, Vespers is to be preferred to Sext (usually around noon), None (usually around 3pm) or Compline (night prayer) prayed before bedtime (Monks often did it in their dormitory.) 

The structure of Evening Prayer consists of a HYMN, followed by a Two PSALMs, a New Testament Canticle, a READING, a Responsory, the GOSPEL CANTICLE, Litany, LORD'S PRAYER, and concludes with a Collect.  CAPITALIZATION indicates those elements or which this website has additional links.

The post for each hour each day contains the complete official text in three forms:  a YouTube link (@PrayingHabits) with the complete visual and audio text of the Hour recited by a small group, a link (@SingtheHours) with the complete sung text of the Hour, mostly by a single cantor, and a link  @CathaholicMusic) with the complete text almost all sung accompanied by an organ. 

By clinking any of these three links anyone can celebrate the Hour without making any other choices.  No other book or booklet or any other virtual resources including the ones in this post are needed. Praying Evening Prayer can be that simple, just one click and about fifteen minutes of our most precious resource, time. Saint Ignatius argues that it  far better to pray for only fifteen minutes of quality prayer focused upon God rather than spending hours in prayer preoccupied with ourselves and our concerns. Saint Ignatius wanted Jesuits to spend their time doing God's will by serving others.

Saint Ignatius emphasized quality prayer by urging Jesuits to spend more time on those elements in which they found the most spiritual satisfaction, and to not hesitate to repeat them. If for example we have a hour to spend getting physical exercise on the treadmill or taking a walk in the park, there is no reasons why we cannot use two or even all three of the full text videos to celebrate Evening Prayer.

However, you can also extend and find greater spiritual satisfaction by using the following additional virtual resources: 2 HYMNS, 2 PSALMS, LONGER READINGS, GOSPEL CANTICLE, LORD'S PRAYER, CANTICLE OF SIMEON. Father Robert Taft who my liturgy professor at Notre Dame was found of reminding graduate students that liturgy was ritual: "We do the same thing again and again. People have the right not be be surprised or confused." As a social psychologist I would say the research evidence about music says: "Some variety in high quality resources without many confusing choices makes for good liturgy."


Three Models for Evening Prayer (Vespers):

The Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours promotes recitation in common as well as singing the Hours. The first option below promotes recitation in common, the second and third options promote singing. Click on anyone of these audio-visual options for the full text of Evening Prayer. 

RECITATION IN COMMON MODEL


  For More About DIVINE OFFICE. ORG click here

Excellent model of small (household size) community reciting the office with sung hymn at the beginning. This website link has the complete text and audio not only for Vespers and Lauds but also for the Office of Readings, Midmorning, Midday, Midafternoon and Night Prayer. The textual screen can be viewed as Black on White or White on Black. A good place to begin the Hours. Click on the LINK below to experience Vespers as community prayer whether alone or with others.

Hymn: "God of Mercy, God of Grace"
by John Taylor
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COMPLETELY SUNG MODELS


  (For more about SING THE HOURS .ORG click here)

Excellent model of totally sung office, mostly by one very talented young person. Although it uses some Latin, there is always an English translation. 



Or direct link @SingtheHours if the above is blocked
SING THE HOURS PALM SUNDAY EVENING PRAYER I

ENGLISH Hymn:  "The banners of the King go forth,"
 Latin Hymn "Vexilla regis" Translation ©2023 ICEL
Divine Office Hymnal #97-98 
LATIN Gospel Canticle & ENGLISH Lord's Prayer
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(For more about CATHAHOLIC MUSIC click here)

Another option of a mostly sung office, by one person with organ accompaniment. Complete text and some music notation. Latin used only for the Lord's Prayer 



Or direct link @CathaholicMusic if the above is blocked

Hymn "From East to West, from Shore to Shore "

PERSONAL /COMMUNAL MEDITATION MODEL


For more about WORD ON FIRE LITURGY OF THE HOURS booklet click here)

The WORD ON FIRE monthly booklet contains Morning, Evening and Night Prayer for each day. It reads straight through like a book except for the beginning hymns for each hour which are all in the back of the booklet.  Very useful for beginners who want to look ahead for the month to plan their prayer. Also, very useful if you or your group wants to pray the Hours using a lectio divina model, e.g. underlining and annotating the text. The booklet for any given month, e.g. February will not be exactly the same next year, because the day of the week will not fall on the same calendar date.  However most of it will be the same. Save the booklets to give away to others as examples. 



These songs may be used with any of the three videos above which contain the complete text in the following manner: 

1. Pause the complete video before the hymn, then play one of these hymns. You do not wish to hear the video within the complete text, simply mute the sound.
2. Use one or more of these hymns as a prelude hymn before beginning the Hour
3. Use one of more of these hymns as a recessional hymns at the end of the Hour.
4. Use one or more of these hymns throughout the evening, e.g. after four o'clock either in anticipation celebrating the Hour or in memory of celebrating the Hour

 WORD ON FIRE BOOKLET:  MARCH 2026, page 600

This selection is either from the current WOF Booklet or if unavailable on YouTube from WOF selections in recent years.

The Royal Banners Forward Go (Tune: Gonfalon Royal - 7vv) [with lyrics for congregations]


MIN 3:26 3,422 views  Mar 22, 2021





SONGS SELECTED FROM MY PERSONAL FAVORITES

For many decades I collected liturgical music from Anglican, Eastern, Roman and Contemporary resources to accompany my celebration of the Hours. Now anyone can do the same with YouTube.  
  

Troparia & Kontakion: Palm Sunday


St. Mary's OCA Minneapolis











These videos may be used to complement any of the three videos above which contain the complete text of the Hour as follows:
1. Pause the complete video AFTER the psalm, then play the appropriate psalm video below, or if using the Word on Fire Booklet, play after reciting the psalm.
2. Use one or more of these psalm videos as prelude songs before beginning the Hour
3. Use one of more of these psalm videos as reflection songs at the end of the Hour.
4. Use one or more of these psalm video throughout the evening, e.g. after four o'clock either in anticipation celebrating the Hour or in memory of celebrating the Hour


PSALM 119: 105-112


PSALM 16

 

  



The General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours provides for longer alternative reading in celebrations with the faithful.  It especially recommends those from the Lectionary or Office of Readings. Simply pause the video of the whole Hour, and use the link below to read or listen to the one or more of the readings below. When finished return to the full video and play the short reading muted as a time for reflection.


The tradition of the Early Church, maintained by the Byzantine Tradition was to begin the  next day at sunset. Therefore tomorrow's readings are provided here. The First Reading may be used at Evening Prayer, the Second Reading and Gospel may be used at Morning Prayer. 

 FIRST READING: n 49:29-32; 50:15-26a: 

"Have no fear. Can I take the place of God?
Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good,

 SECOND READING: n 49:29-32; 50:15-26a: 

"Have no fear. Can I take the place of God?
Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good,

 GOSPEL READING: Mt 10:24-33:

 Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?

Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.


A canticle video below may be used with any of the three videos above which contain the complete text,
1. Pause the complete video AFTER the Gospel Canticle then play the appropriate GOSPEL CANTICLE video below, or if using the Word on Fire Booklet, play after reciting the Gospel Canticle.
2. Use a Canticle Video as a prelude song before beginning the Hour
3. Use a Canticle Video as recession song at the end of the Hour.
4. Use a Canticle Video throughout the evening, e.g. after four o'clock either in anticipation celebrating the Hour or in memory of celebrating the Hour.




Since the first LORD'S PRAYER video contains the official text of the Hour, it may be substituted for the official text. Simply pause the video contain the complete text, play the LORD'S PRAYER video, the mute the complete text as use the time while it plays as a period of silent reflection.

The Lord's Prayer - ICEL Chant 


The LORD'S PRAYER video below (or its many alternatives provided in the link) may be used as an extended celebration after the official praying with the official text.

The Chanted "Our Father" ~ Performed by the CPH Session Choir




This Canticle from the Gospel of Luke is used by the Byzantine Tradition (both Orthodox and Catholic) at Vespers. The Anglican used it at Vespers right after the Magnificat. The Roman Rite has it in Compline (Night Prayer) which originally was said by the monks in their dormitory.  It may be used as a recessional after Evening Prayer or as an abbreviated form of Compline before bedtime. 


Lord, now lettest thy servant go in peace (Canticle of Simeon),
 by Daniel J. Ward - Nunc Dimittis
Neumes and Tunes

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GUILD AND OVERVIEW

 OF THIS WEBSITE'S PAGES


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PURPOSE OF THIS WEBSITE

DISCERNMENT

The advent of virtual resources for the celebration of the Hours means that we can celebrate the Hours anytime, anywhere with anyone. The Hours bring the prayer of Christ and the Church into our lives and the lives of others. This is Good News indeed!

The website is called Saint Gabriel Hours because Gabriel announced the Good News that Christ has come to be with us, especially with we say Amen to his presence in the Hours. He is also patron saint of media and messengers.

The hours have taken many different forms and shapes in the history of the Church. Among monks in the deserts of Egypt, it took the form of listening to twelve psalms and scripture readings in the morning and evening while they wove baskets to support themselves. At the same time in newly built cathedrals of the Empire, incense, lights accompanied chants and prayers. These were later joined together in the Benedictine monasteries. The mendicants invented the Breviary so they would not be confined to choir stalls and monasteries. The Jesuits abolished choir so that they would have even more pastoral freedom. Now we have the opportunity to liberate the Hours from the breviaries of priests and the choir stalls of monks into the lives of the People of God.  Each person or group needs to discern what works best for them.

The website promotes using FIFTEEN MINUTES a day to discern the place of the Hours in our lives. QUALITY time in prayer is more important than quantity. Praying one Hour a day well is better than attempting to do both Hours.  Praying a portion of an Hour such as the psalms well is better than rushing through the Hour. Use small amounts of time, some even less than fifteen minutes, to decide where, when and how to best to pray the Hours. 

Anywhere emphasizes integrating the Hours into the places of our life: in the car on the way to or from work, when using the treadmill, when walking outdoors, before and after meals and meetings, during work breaks, and while doing routine tasks that don't require much attention. (The early Egyptian monks did basket weaving while a cantor recited psalms).

Anytime spreads Morning and Evening Prayer across the day. We can share the opening hymn with family at breakfast, pray the psalms while commuting to work, mediate upon the daily scripture readings during a work break and then share the Gospel Canticle with companions at lunch. Processing from place to place is a common liturgical practice. Finding right places, times, and amounts of time is the key to good choreography.

With Anyone emphasizes sharing specific celebrations of the Hours with others either personally or virtually anytime anywhere. Virtual resources provide more than the dry bones of the liturgical text. They celebrate the Hours with sounds and images. Most importantly they provide community, both community with those who produced the sounds and images, and community with those who celebrate the Hours with the same sounds and images at various times and places. Sharing specific celebrations is the key to creating friendship, household, small group, ministry, organizational, and parish communities.

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BASIC DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

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Time, Television and the Hours

Do we have time to pray the Hours?

Screens, beginning with television, have consumed much of our time. In the period from 1965 to 1995, while total leisure increased, television screens not only absorbed all the time freed up from paid and unpaid work they reduced the number of hours spent socializing, reading, and listening to music. In those three decades TV time rose by 5.7 hours from 9.3 hours per week to 15.0 hours per week for women. It rose by 5.4 hours from 11.9 to 17.3 hours for men.  How and why did television come to absorb so much of our time? 

Television is inexpensive and easily available in comparison to alternatives. Increased free time has become available in small amounts spread over the week rather than increased weeks of vacation, or less workdays per week. When people go on vacation they don’t watch much television. People report television is less satisfying than alternatives such as socializing, hobbies, sports, etc. However, these more satisfying alternatives generally need larger chunks of time and more advanced planning. When asked what they would do if they needed more time, people say they would give up television. Read my March 2011article at the PrayTell liturgy blog:

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Begin with Fifteen Minutes

How much time should we spend in formal prayer each day?

For the person who is finding God in all things, Saint Ignatius suggests that fifteen minutes of quality prayer is more important than spending several hours in prayer.  Social science research finds we spend an average of fifteen minutes a day interacting with the five people who are most important in our lives.  Research has found that faculty members who daily spend small amounts of time, e.g. fifteen minutes, writing articles and preparing lectures are more productive researchers and teachers.  Read More Here

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Contemplative Activity Principles

How should we pray the Hours?

These principles are adapted from Robert Boice, Advice to New Faculty Members on preparing lecture notes, writing journal articles and developing better relationships with colleagues.  Faculty who used small amounts of time on a daily basis for preparing lecture notes and writing articles had better teaching evaluations and more publications than those who used larger but less frequent chunks of time. Faculty were particularly productive if they regularly talked about their work with colleagues.
 
Some principles: wait expectantly; begin before you are fully ready; pause often; take time to develop insights; make notes; stop early; share with others. These contemplative principles (mindfulness in Boice's terminology) can be applied to spiritual reading, planning projects, improving relationships, evaluating areas of one's life, bible study, and praying the Hours. Boice recommends no more than three projects at one time. 
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BEGINNING PRACTICES

A Brief Tour of Using the Virtual Resources on this Site
Seven days, Fifteen Minutes a Day

(page under construction)

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BASIC PRACTICES

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Iconography 

"EVERY MOMENT AND EVERY EVENT of everyone's life on earth plants something in our souls. For just as the wind carries thousands of invisible and visible winged seeds, so the stream of time brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in our minds and wills."
adapted from Thomas Merton, Seeds of Contemplation

In Orthodox Churches, the Icon of the Day is an image of the saint or mystery which is being celebrated. Placed prominently on a stand in the middle of the nave, it is the first icon venerated by entering worshipers.  The Icon of the Hour on this post is a photograph (i.e. written with light) which functions like iconography (written with images).  The photo image reminds us of the spiritual vitality present in the stream of time (morning or evening) on specific places on specific dates which allows us to celebrate the Hours anytime anywhere with anyone. The iconography of this website include photographs of artistic materials used by Elisabeth Jeffries.

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Choreography

Movement in Time and Place

If we truly wish to liberate the Hours from the breviary of the cleric and the choirstalls of monk into the daily life of the baptized so that we can celebrate the Hours "Anywhere, Anytime. With Anyone," both individuals and groups need to develop a choreography of practices fpr the Hours.. With virtual resources we do not need to celebrate an Hour at the same time and the same place. We can celebrate part of Evening Prayer at different times and different place and with different people. We can bring our lives together through the Hours.

In the case of Evening Prayer (Vespers) this choreography may take place over the entire evening which might begin anytime after noon (but more likely after three o'clock) and continue until bedtime before midnight. In other words the evening half of the day. 

While it might be desirable to celebrate the Hour as fifteen minutes around the time of sunset, in today's virtual world this might be done by watching a video of today' sunset at some particular time and place. This might be particularly desirable if a celebration of family members was taking place at different times and places. They could all gather around a particular unique sunset, even though at different times and places.

Processions and processional songs are an important part of liturgy.  Processions summon us and gather us together for liturgy. Processions accompany us from one part of a liturgy to another part of the liturgy. 

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Invitatory Psalm 

"Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise"
Psalm 95. or psalm 100, psalm 67 or psalm 24 may be used. 

It is always said before the Office of Readings when it begins the liturgical day. However, it is optional if Morning Prayer begins the liturgical day. 

The invitatory psalm could become the time when we pray for the gift of the Hours for ourselves and others. We should especially do this if we do not have time to pray a complete Hour. Read More

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Processionals, Preludes, Opening Hymns and Recessionals

Songs of the People of God

Hymns offer us the greatest opportunity to adapt the liturgy to the needs of our time, place, persons, and communities while maintaining the unity provided by the psalter and scripture readings. 

Celebrating the Gospel Canticles

Praise and Thanksgiving; Gospel Canticle.
 Conversion and Petition; the Lord’s Prayer

The last portion of Evening Prayer (Reading, Responsory, Gospel Canticle, Intercessions, the Lord's Prayer and Concluding Prayer) are modeled on way Evening Prayer was celebrated in the Cathedrals of Early Christianity. Their service also included a hymn.
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Celebrating the Psalms

The Prayers of Jesus and His disciples

The Monastic Office in Early Christianity consisted mainly of the 150 psalms which were prayed consecutively over the course of the week. The psalms took their place before the Cathedral Office because monks, virgins and widows often assembled before the rest of the community so they could pray the psalms. 

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Celebrating with Hymns

Songs of the People of God

Hymns offer us the greatest opportunity to adapt the liturgy to the needs of our time, place, persons, and communities while maintaining the unity provided by the psalter and scripture readings.

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Option of Longer Readings

Lectionary, Office of Readings, Continuous Reading

Since most laity cannot easily find the time or a place for daily Mass, using the daily readings from the Lectionary is an ideal way of spiritually integrating the Hours with the Eucharist. While both readings with the responsorial psalm could be used, this site recommends the Gospel reading for Morning Prayer


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Options for Evening Preludes

Hymns, Psalms, Contemporary Songs and Meditative Music

Hymns (e.g. O Gladsome Light, God of Day and God of Darkness). Psalms (e.g.102, 141), Contemporary Music (Songs of Silence, Bridge over Troubled Water) and Meditative Music (Novus Magnificat) that may be sung and listened to before Evening Prayer. 

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Silence

Listening to Creation, our Hearts, and Hearts of Others

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ADVANCED PRACTICES

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Keeping a Journal of the Hours

Underlining text, Word documents, a Blog

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A Thirty Day Retreat

Discerning the Place of the Hours in My life?

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Bible Study

Integrating personal and group bible study with the Hours

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Office of the Dead

For Funerals and Votive Offices

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Centering the Hours on the Eucharist

Combining the Hours with Mass

Liturgical tradition, especially in the East, often takes the form of celebrating one of the Hours, followed by the Liturgy of the Word, then the Eucharist. The General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours allows integrating Morning Prayer with the Eucharist. The service begins with Hymn, followed by the Psalms with Old Testament Canticle, then the Liturgy of the Word. The prayer of the faithful may use the form proved by the intercession at Morning Prayer. The Gospel Canticle is prayed after communion. 

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History of the Liturgy of the Hours

What the History Means for Using Virtual Resources

In his course on the Liturgy of the Hours during the summer at Notre Dame, Father Robert Taft, S.J. challenged us to read as much as we could about the history of the Hours, and the scholarly opinion on that history. Without understanding history, we were likely to make poor pastoral decisions about the Hours. On the other hand, Taft felt he could not give answers to our pastoral questions. He saw his job in the course was to tells us what he thought the history and the scholarship meant for him as a scholar. This website is essentially my opinion of what the history means for the contemporary pastoral situation of celebration of the Hours personally, in households, and in small groups using virtual resources.

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SPIRITUALITY 

by Jack Rakosky

Christian spirituality may be defined as the study of lived Christian faith as it is actually experienced. There are many Catholics spiritualities, i.e. ways of living a Catholic life. The diverse spiritualities of religious orders (e.g. Benedictines, Franciscans, Jesuits) are fine examples. Our practice of canonizing saints illustrates the importance of diverse spirituality within Catholicism. Theologian Karl Rahner notes that we spend more time doing this that defining dogma and says this is because each saint is another example of how to follow Christ. Another theologian Congar in his three-volume work on the Holy Spirit says that the life of each saint is a commentary on Holy Scripture. Canon 214 affirms that Christ's faithful have the right to worship God according to the provisions of their own rite and to follow their own form of spiritual life as long as it is in accord with Church teaching. Catholicism is obviously not a one size fits all religion but a communion of diversity.  
  
Diverse spirituality, especially in the forms practiced by religious orders, has been a great part of my spiritual formation and practice. Benedictine priests served the extra Masses at my childhood parish. A layman gave me Trappist Thomas Merton's Seeds of Contemplation when I was in high school. I spend almost two years as a Jesuit Novice between high school and college. I went to a Benedictine College, Saint John's University during the years of the Vatican II. As a leader in the liturgical movement, they were in many ways already a post-Vatican II institution during the Council.