The Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Divine Office, is part of the worship of the Church. As a collection of prayers, its heart is the psalms of the Bible. The psalms express our every emotion and reassure us in our struggles. In the Liturgy of the Hours we can experience the psalms in a new way daily. The Divine Office dates from very early in the life of the church. Priests and deacons are obliged to pray it every day. Much of its development comes from the Church's monasteries. Many monasteries and older chapels have seats on two sides facing each other or seats arranged in a semi-circle. First one side reads a stanza of the psalm and the opposite side responds with the next stanza. It is the back and forth ebb and flow of the scripture verses that create a special prayer experience. The core prayers of the Divine Office are Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. Someone interested in taking up this prayer might start with them. The Liturgy of the Hours is available in four-volume sets, or in one-volume books that do not contain the readings, or are condensed in a slim volume sometimes called Shorter Christian Prayer. The Divine Office is sometimes prayed publicly in church, sometimes as part of a benediction service. One can also pray it privately. To pray the Divine Office is to pray in and out of the mind and heart of the church. No prayer is merely private. To pray the Divine Office is to pray in and with the whole Church and to know that others around the world are also praying simultaneously with you as the Body of Christ.