On required prayer times for clerics

In “On a song and a prayer” in the April 21 issue, Heather King wrote that “priests, monks, and nuns are pledged to pray the Office at several set ‘hours’ of the day.”

It is my understanding that the Code of Canon Law specifies the obligation of clerics to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and that permanent deacons are required to include as part of their daily prayer those parts of the Liturgy of the Hours known as Morning and Evening Prayer. While ordained ministers are required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, some religious communities are required to pray the Liturgy of the Hours as part of their constitutions or rule of life.

— Deacon Jerry Cellner, West Hills