horarium (n. )
-1. Latin for “The hours”. 2. Name given to the daily schedule of those living in a religious community. 3. Its use is almost exclusive to the Roman Catholic Church.
Weekday Schedule
5:30 a.m. Rise
6:25 a.m. Lectio Divina
7:00 a.m. Communal Rosary
7:20 a.m. Matins and Lauds
8:00 a.m. Holy Mass
8:45 a.m. Terce followed by Thanksgiving After Mass
9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:15 a.m. Work Time
11:45 a.m. Sext and Divine Mercy Chaplet
12:00 p.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m. Free Time
2:00 p.m. Work Time
4:25 p.m. None
4:30 p.m. Study Time or Formation Lesson
5:00 p.m. Divine Office (Vespers, followed by Compline)
5:30 p.m. Supper
6:30 p.m. Spiritual Reading
7:00 p.m. Novitiate Prayer
7:15 p.m. Recreation
8:00 p.m. Grand Silence
10:00 p.m. Lights Out
Each Nun has one scheduled hour of Eucharistic Adoration each day and one scheduled hour of Night Adoration each week. In anticipation of when our community has enough members to resume Perpetual Adoration, we have continual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from after Mass on First Friday and extending through Vespers on First Saturday. Most other days, there is Exposition and Adoration from after Mass until after Vespers, with the exception of 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
Free time affords the Nuns further opportunity for additional time for Eucharistic Adoration, prayer, reading, exercise, rest, hobbies, etc.
Rev. Mother assigns work and cleaning charges. Monastic work includes cleaning, cooking, sacristy work, data entry, monastery upkeep, etc. Looking upon the cloister as a ‘city enclosed’, each Nun is assigned various tasks in order to keep this ‘city’ working in an orderly manner.
Working silence is observed throughout the day until supper. Evening recreation activities include educational dvds, games, crafts, communal time, and movies. Grand silence is observed from 8 p.m. until after Mass.
The consistency of the daily schedule (horarium) provides us with a healthy balance between prayer, work, rest, learning, and recreation. By following the discipline of the schedule, we know what we need to be doing at any given moment.
