The Divine Office, commonly called the Liturgy of the Hours, is a unique form of liturgical prayer that is based on the practices of the early Christian church. It is centered on the Psalms and includes readings from Scripture and the works of early Church Fathers, such as St. Ignatius, St. Augustine and Pope Gregory the Great.

There are prayers for each day of the year and for every part of each day, including pre-dawn, morning, mid-morning, noon, after noon, evening and night prayers. There are special prayers for each season of the liturgical calendar. The practice was revived and updated following Vatican II, and is now accessible to clergy, religious and lay people.

The benefits of this form of liturgical practice are that it immerses one in the prayers of the Catholic Church worldwide and in the timeless teachings of the church. It also ensures that Scripture will be a guide and running commentary throughout one’s day.

While circumstances will change, the spiritual nourishment and renewal from liturgical prayer never falters. We all experience triumphs and setbacks, times when everything seems to go right and when nothing seems to go right at all.

Praying the Divine Office is a steady infusion of the wisdom of God to keep us grounded. It keeps the prayerful from being foolishly carried away during good times, and from succumbing to hopelessness and despair when we are confused or think we have hit rock bottom in our lives. The Divine Office is steady wisdom for unsteady times.

Yet, praying the Divine Office has traditionally required hauling around a thick volume of text, with colorful red, blue, white, green and purple ribbons sticking out so you can flip through the book easily and find the right prayer at the right time on the right day. When you are moving around from place to place, being jostled by impatient and noisy crowds and juggling armloads of other necessary items or documents, adding a book of the Divine Office to this load can be inconvenient.

When I lost my copy of one of the volumes I felt sorry for myself for a few days until I discovered a digital version of the prayers online at www.universalis.com. I found that I could easily access it on my cell phone. The Web site keeps track of the prayers for the day, and also includes readings for Mass.

Since it is on my cell phone it is highly portable; I pray whenever I get time alone — and I can take it with me and pray during long walks or in coffee shops. I can also pray in dim lighting or even in the dark. There is no longer any excuse for not keeping prayer at the center of my day. It’s like having a news ticker from God and the saints running across the video screen of my life.

The downside, of course, is that if someone sees you looking at your cell phone before Mass they might think you are text messaging your friends instead of preparing for the sacrament, but I’m sure God will understand.

Who would have guessed that an instrument of distraction for so many could become a tool that unites the ancient practices of the church and the communications technology of the digital age?