The devotional pattern of the monastic day is based upon the words of the Psalmist: Seven times a day do I praise Thee because of Thy righteous judgments. (Ps. 1 19:64)

Consequently, there are seven praises (Lauds) in each 24-hour cycle. These are arranged as follows: 1)Midnight Office; 2) Matins together with 3) First Hour; 4) Third and Sixth Hours; 5)Ninth Hour; 6) Vespers and 7) Compline. They are called praises or lauds because they mirror the Saviour's redemptive work for mankind, as well as various events in His divine life and in the life of the Holy Apostles and the Church.

• 1) The Midnight Office is said at or after midnight and is a reminder of the Resurrection which took place "early in the morning," and also of the Second Coming, the hour of which no man knows (Mark 13:33, 35). It likewise recalls the parable of the bridegroom who came at midnight and the five foolish virgins whose lamps had gone out: "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son o f man cometh" (Matt. 25:13).
• 2) This is followed by Matins which ends at dawn, reflecting the dawn of our salvation.
• 3) The First Hour is then read, praising the beginning of the new day in which we join our hymns to those of the angels, together bringing them before God.
4) The Third and Sixth Hours are read before the Divine Liturgy, In the Third Hour the death of our Lord was plotted; also at this hour the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. The Sixth Hour commemorates the Passion and Crucifixion of our Lord. If there is no Liturgy, the Typica is read which gives a sketch of the Liturgy.
• 5 & 6) In the evening the Ninth Hour is read. Its prayers recall the hour in which the Lord laid down His life for the redemption of the world. Without pause there begins the service of Vespers which tells of the creation, of God's love for the world, of man's fall into sin, his expulsion from paradise and of the Redeemer's coming upon earth.
• 7) Before retiring, Compline is sung, bringing thanks for the coming of night with its rest and the remembrance of death for which we must always be prepared. This is followed by evening prayers.

Within the framework of this daily cycle flows the monk's life so that it may be filled with holiness, with grace from above, and hope of eternal blessedness, whatever his task--be it manual or intellectual work or the practice of hesychasm towards which all monastic life is directed.