The eight canonical hours mark the vigil from Good Friday (midnight) until the Saturday Easter Vigil (10:45 p.m.). Every three hours a 30-minute service will occur in the narthex chapel, beginning at midnight. Everyone is invited to join the prayers at these times. If you would like to say the canonical hours at home or elsewhere, copies of the services will be available in the narthex.
| Canonical | Hour | Latin Name |
| 12:00 a.m. | Matins | The Virgins (watchful waiting) |
| 3:00 a.m. | Lauds | The Tomb (ecstatic praise) |
| 6:00 a.m. | Prime | The Martyrs (consecrated service) |
| 9:00 a.m. | Terce | The Fire (unceasing dependence) |
| 12:00 p.m. | Sext | The Cross (humble supplication) |
| 3:00 p.m. | None | The Throne) steadfast perserverance) |
| 6:00 p.m. | Vespers | The Supper (fervent thanksgiving) |
| 9:00 p.m. | Compline | The Garden (abject contrition) |
The canonical hours are ancient divisions of time, developed by the Christian Church, serving as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round (also called “offices”).
The practice grew from the Jewish practice of reciting prayers at set times of the day: for example, in the book of Acts, Peter and John visit the temple for the afternoon prayers (Acts 3:1). Psalm 119:164 states: “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.”
Though this practice is believed to have been passed down through the centuries from the Apostles, it was in 525 that St. Benedict wrote the first official manual for praying the Hours. With the Cluniac reforms of the 11th century there was a new emphasis on liturgy and the canonical hours in the reformed Benedictine priories with the Abbey of Cluny at their head. The Vatican did not issue an official Roman breviary until the 11th century, as part of the reforms that were designed to bring all the variant usages of Christian churches in the West into conformity.
Already well-established by the ninth century, these canonical offices consisted of eight daily prayer events and three (or four) nightly divisions (called “nocturns”, “watches,” or “vigils”). Building on the recitation of psalms and canticles from Scripture, the Church has added (and, at times subtracted) hymns, hagiographical readings, and other prayers.
The practice of observing canonical hours are maintained by many Churches, including the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and the Anglican communion.
(From www.wikipedia.org)