Sixty years ago, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council expressed an earnest desire that the entire Church—not only the clergy—join in offering praise to God in the Divine Office. The Council encouraged prayer in common whenever possible, prayer that is expressed with music, and prayer that is carried out with understanding as well as devotion.
 
It is the fervent hope of the USCCB that The Divine Office Hymnal will contribute to a renewal in this most beautiful and powerful prayer of the Church.
 
In preparation of this hymnal, the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) spent several years translating the nearly 300 Latin hymns of the Divine Office. These translations were approved by the USCCB in 2019. In addition, ICEL proposed melodies suited to each text including the Gregorian chant melodies of the Liber hymnarius as well as public domain tunes. The hymnal makes use of these suggestions by presenting both metrical and plainsong settings for each hymn.