cantus_ from being recited at cock-crow. This is
the Office of daybreak and hence its symbolism is of Christ's
resurrection. "Christ, the light of the world, rose from the tomb on
Easter morning, like a radiant sun, trampling over darkness and shedding
His brightness upon the earth. The hymns, psalms, antiphons and
versicles of Lauds, all proclaim the mystery of Christ's Resurrection,
and the light which enlightens our souls. The reform of the Psalter in
1911 has not always preserved this liturgical idea; nevertheless, the
character of the Office has not been altered. Lauds remains the true
morning prayer, which hails in the rising sun, the image of Christ
triumphant--consecrates to Him the opening day. No other morning prayer
is comparable to this" (Dom. F. Cabrol, _The Day Hours of the Church_,
London, 1910).

_Antiquity_. The Christians, in their night vigils, followed the pious
practices of the Jews, as to prayers at dead of night and at dawn,
Hence, the Hour, Lauds is of great antiquity, coming, perhaps, from
Apostolic times. It is found well established in the very earliest
accounts of Christian liturgy.

The old writers on liturgy loved to dwell on pious congruities and
parallelisms. They ask the questions, why did the early Christians pray
at dawn and why is the practice continued? They answer at great length,
I will try to summarise their holy themes. The early Christians prayed
at dawn, 1. that in the New Law the figures of the Old may be fulfilled;
2. to honour the risen Saviour and to remind us of our resurrection; 3.
to glorify Jesus typified by the physical light. "I am the Light of the
world" (St. John, viii. 12); 4. because at dawn, after rest, body and
soul are refreshed and ready to devote all their powers to God, free
from distractions and noise. Each dawn, revealing God's wondrous work,
should hear God's praises in the most sublime words ever uttered, the
Psalms (e.g., _Dominus regnavit, Jubilate Deo_, etc., etc.);
5. because God seems more disposed to hear prayers made at that hour. For,
He has said, "Yet if thou wilt arise early to God and wilt beseech the
Almighty... He will presently awake unto thee and make the dwelling of thy
justice peaceable" (Job, viii. 5-6). "I love them that love me; and
they that in the morning early watch for me shall find me" (Proverbs
viii. 17).

_Structure_. If Lauds succeeds Matins immediately, _Pater Noster_ and
_Ave Maria_ are omitted, and the Hour begins with