The liturgical prayer of the Church, and the monastic experience of it, constitutes a theological and spiritual value which is the legacy of all Christians. In "The Monastic Hours," Anne M. Field, OSB, provides an accessible aid not only to the monastics of men's and women's Benedictine monasteries, but also to the oblates and friends of these communities to assist them in understanding the significance of the monastic Liturgy of the Hours.

In 1977 the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship approved a series of recommendations that ensured that the praying of the...