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{{Short description|Major canonical hour in liturgy}}
[[File:Jean Pichore - Leaf from Book of Hours - Walters W45294V - Open Reverse.jpg|thumb|The verse ''Domine, labia mea aperies et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam'' is sung at the opening of the first canonical hour of the day]]
'''Lauds''' are a [[Canonical hours|canonical hour]] of the Divine office. In the [[Roman Rite]] [[Liturgy of the Hours]] it is one of the major hours, usually held after [[Matins]], in the early morning hours.
{{anchor|Etymology|Names}}

==Name==
The name, from Latin ''laus'', praise, is derived from the three last psalms of the psalter (148, 149, 150), the [[Laudate psalms]], which were in former versions of the Lauds of the Roman Rite prayed every day, and in all of which the word ''laudate'' is repeated frequently. At first, the word ''Lauds'' designated only the end, that is to say, these three psalms. Over time, ''Lauds'' came to be applied to the whole office.<ref name=Catholic/>

==History==
Lauds as the morning prayer of the church are one of the most ancient offices and can be traced back to [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostolic]] times. The earliest evidence of Lauds appears in the second and third centuries in the [[Canons of Hippolytus]] and in writings by St. [[Cyprian]], and the [[Apostolic Fathers]]. Descriptions during the fourth and fifth centuries appear in writings by Ss. [[John Cassian]], [[Melania the Younger]], [[Hilary of Poitiers]], [[Eusebius]], [[John Chrysostom]], and in the ''Peregrinatio Ætheriae''. During the 6th century St. [[Benedict of Nursia]] gave a detailed description of them in his [[Rule of St. Benedict|rule]]. [[Gregory of Tours]] also made several allusions to this office, which he calls ''Matutini hymni''.<ref name=Catholic/>

According to John T. Hedrick, in ''Introduction to the Roman Breviary'', Lauds were not originally a distinct canonical hour but Matins and Lauds formed a single office, the night office terminating only at dawn.<ref name=Catholic/> The monks prayed Matins during the night and said Lauds in the early dawn.<ref name=Parsch>[http://www.cantius.org/go/liturgy_devotions/divine_office/canonical_hours/ Pius Parsch, ''The Canonical Hours'' in ''Commentaries on the Breviary'']</ref> In the 5th and 6th century the Lauds were called ''Matutinum''. By the Middle Ages, the midnight office was referred to as [[Nocturn]]s, and the morning office as [[Matins]]. The lengthy night office later became the liturgical hour of Matins and was divided into two or three nocturns; the morning office became ''Lauds''.<ref name=Billett>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TxIABQAAQBAJ&dq=Lauds+%28canonical%29&pg=PA32 Billett, Jesse D., ''The Divine Office in Anglo-Saxon England, 597-C.1000'', Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 2014] {{ISBN|9781907497285}}</ref>

After [[Pope Pius X]]’s reform, Lauds was reduced to four psalms or portions of psalms and an Old Testament canticle, putting an end to the custom of adding the last three psalms of the psalter (148–150) at the end of Lauds every day. 

===Symbolism and significance===
This is the office of daybreak and hence its symbolism is also of Christ's resurrection, "the true light enlightening all people and 'the sun of justice', 'rising from on high'".<ref>General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, 37-38</ref> According to Fernand Cabrol, "Lauds remains the true morning prayer, which hails in the rising sun, the image of Christ triumphant — consecrates to Him the opening day".<ref>Cabrol, Fernand. ''The Day Hours of the Church'', London, 1910</ref> The office of Lauds reminds the Christian that the first act of the day should be praise, and that one's thoughts should be of God before facing the cares of the day. According to the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, Lauds as morning prayer and Vespers as evening prayer "are the two hinges on which the daily Office turns" <ref>General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, 37-38</ref>

==Current Catholic practice==
===Liturgia horarum (1970)===
In the 1970 edition of the [[Roman Breviary]] which was revised according to the mandate of the [[Second Vatican Council]], Lauds (Latin ''Laudes matutinae'', pl.) has the following structure:

* The standard opening responsory of ''[[Deus, in adiutorium meum intende]]'', followed by the ''[[Gloria Patri]]'', and the ''[[Alleluia]]'' which is omitted in [[Lent]] (unless Lauds are the first prayer of the day, in which case the opening responses are replaced by the [[Invitatory]])
* The [[hymn]], which is optional when combining with Matins
* A morning [[psalm]], an [[Old Testament]] [[canticle]], and a psalm of praise all of them with their [[antiphon]]s
* A reading according to the liturgical day, season or feast
* A responsorial song or a short responsory
* The ''[[Canticle of Zechariah|Benedictus]]'', with its antiphon
* The [[Preces]] 
* The [[Lord's Prayer]]
* The [[Collect]]
* Blessing and dismissal (if prayed a cleric is present), otherwise the celebration is concluded with "The Lord bless us…"

All psalms and canticles are concluded with the [[doxology]]. The psalms and readings are distributed in a four-week cycle, which forms the heart of the prayer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.universalis.com/lauds.htm|title=Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)|website=www.universalis.com|access-date=2017-05-01}}</ref>

====Variations====
On all [[solemnity|solemnities]] and feasts as well as on all feast days of the [[saint]]s with their own Lauds antiphons in the [[proper (liturgy)|proper]], the psalms and cantica from the Sunday of the Week I are sung.<ref>''Antiphonale zum Stundengebet'', Liturgische Institute Trier, Salzburg, Zürich, 1979</ref> These are: Ps. 63, the canticle from [[Book of Daniel|Dan]] 3, 37-88 and Ps. 149.

On feasts of saints the various parts of the hour may be taken from the office of the saint being celebrated or from the common. If the feast has the rank of a memorial, any parts specifically provided for the saint (the parts from the proper) are used, while the other parts come from the weekday, with exception of the hymn (which may be optionally taken from the common texts), the antiphon for the ''Benedictus'' (which must be taken from the [[Proper (liturgy)|proper]] or the [[Common (liturgy)|common]]), the intercession (which may be optionally taken from the common texts), and the collect.

In some seasons of the liturgical year, such as [[Lent]] or [[Eastertide]], many of the prayers are proper for each day of the season. In [[Holy Week]], the octaves of [[Christmas]] and Easter, and the last eight days of [[Advent]], these liturgical days displace the celebration of other feasts.

===Other rites of the Western Church===
In the [[Ambrosian Rite|Ambrosian Office]], and also in the [[Mozarabic Rite|Mozarabic]], Lauds retained a few of the principal elements of the Roman Lauds: the ''Benedictus'', canticles from the Old Testament, and the laudate psalms, arranged, however, in a different order (''cf.'' [[Germain Morin]], ''op. cit.'' in bibliography). In the [[Benedictines|Benedictine]] liturgy, the office of Lauds resembles the Roman Lauds very closely, not only in its use of the canticles but also in its general construction.<ref name=Catholic>{{Catholic|wstitle=Lauds|inline=1|last=Cabrol|first=Fernand|volume=9|year=1910}}</ref>

==Armenian liturgy==
The Armenian Morning (or Early) Hour (Armenian: Առաւաւտեան Ժամ ''aṛawotean zham'') corresponds to the office of Lauds in the Roman Liturgy, both in its position in the daily cycle and in its importance. This is the most complex of all Armenian liturgies in terms of the variations in the order and text of the liturgy depending on the day of the week, liturgical tone, commemoration of the day, and liturgical season.

Many manuscripts and printed editions of the Armenian Book of Hours (Armenian: Ժամագիրք ''Zhamagirk`'') state that the morning hour commemorates the Son of God, with some manuscripts adding, "at the time he was seized by the Jews". This is in reference to the story of the arrest and interrogation of Jesus found in the New Testament Gospels.

===Outline of the morning service===

In the morning hour for Sundays and feasts there are seven slots into which hymnody may be inserted which reflects the theme of the day. Each of these seven slots is associated with a psalm or canticle from the Old or New Testaments.

==Eastern Christianity==
Among the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] which follow the [[Byzantine Rite]], the office comparable to the Lauds of the Roman Rite is the [[Orthros]]. It also contains the three Laudate psalms (148–150), with which it traditionally closes.

==Lutheran and Anglican traditions==
Like the other [[canonical hours]], Lauds is observed by Christians in other denominations, notably those of the [[Lutheran Church]]es.<ref name="Giewald2011">{{cite book|last=Giewald|first=Arne|title=The Lutheran High Church Movement in Germany and its liturgical work: an introduction|year=2011|language=English|isbn=9781470973780|page=36|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref> In the [[Anglican Communion]], elements of the office have been folded into the service of [[Morning Prayer (Anglican)|Morning Prayer]] as celebrated according to the [[Book of Common Prayer]], and the hour itself is observed by many [[Anglican religious order]]s.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Liturgy of the hours}}
*[http://www.universalis.com/lauds.htm Lauds for today's date (Roman Catholic)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091117081155/http://victorcauchi.fortunecity.com/lauds.htm Daily Lauds] may be said here.

{{LiturgicalHours}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Major hours]]
[[Category:Liturgy of the Hours]]