Liturgy of the Hours
Daily Ribbon Placement Guide
Set your ribbons
My breviary has
First, mark the Ordinary. It sits just before the Psalter in your volume and holds the parts you repeat at every hour. Keep it marked and leave it. The five ribbons below are the ones you move.
What this covers. Season, week, the four-week Psalter, the principal solemnities and feasts, and the liturgical color. It points you to the right section of the four-volume set, not page numbers, since those differ by printing and will change again in the Second Edition.

Memorials included. The full USCCB calendar of solemnities, feasts, and obligatory and optional memorials is built in, with the rules for when a memorial yields to the season. Local or diocesan celebrations proper to your area may still add to what is shown.
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About this guide

This is a free daily guide to where the ribbons go in the four-volume Liturgy of the Hours, the official daily prayer of the Catholic Church, also called the Divine Office or the breviary. For anyone learning to pray the Hours, the hardest part is rarely the prayers themselves. It is knowing where to set the ribbons each day so the right pages are waiting for you. This page solves that. Open it, and it shows today's liturgical season, the week, the four-week Psalter cycle, the liturgical color, and the day's celebration from the full USCCB calendar, including solemnities, feasts, and obligatory and optional memorials, then tells you exactly where each ribbon belongs.

The four-volume set is organized into sections that each ribbon marks. You keep one fixed bookmark at the Ordinary, the part that repeats at every hour, and you leave it in place. Then you move five ribbons: the Proper of Seasons for the day, the Psalter for the current week and weekday, Night Prayer for the day, the Proper of Saints by calendar date, and the Commons for memorials and feasts. Set those correctly and the whole office falls into place.

The daily calculation follows the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours and the USCCB liturgical calendar for the United States. It points you to the right section rather than a page number, since page numbers differ between printings and will change again with the Second Edition.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Liturgy of the Hours?

It is the official daily public prayer of the Catholic Church, also called the Divine Office or the breviary, prayed at set times through the day.

How many ribbons are in the four-volume set?

One fixed bookmark at the Ordinary, plus five ribbons you move each day: Proper of Seasons, Psalter, Night Prayer, Proper of Saints, and Commons.

How do I know which Psalter week it is?

The four-week Psalter restarts at Week I on the First Sunday of Advent, the First Sunday in Ordinary Time, the First Sunday of Lent, and Easter Sunday. This guide works out the current week for any date automatically.

Does this work for the single-volume Christian Prayer?

It is built for the complete four-volume set. The season, Psalter week, and feasts still apply, but the section names and page locations differ in the single-volume book.

Is the guidance accurate and official?

It follows the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours and the USCCB liturgical calendar, including the full calendar of saints and the rules for when a memorial yields to the season. It shows sections, not page numbers. Celebrations proper to your own diocese may add to what is shown.

Does it work offline?

Yes. After your first visit, the guide loads even with no signal, in a chapel or on a plane. Adding it to your home screen makes this seamless.

My breviary has eight ribbons. Does this work for me?

Yes. A toggle above the ribbon list switches between the classic five ribbon setup and an eight ribbon layout suited to the new Second Edition volumes, and it remembers your choice.

How do I add it to my iPhone home screen?

Open the site in Safari, tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen. It opens full screen like an app, and there are step-by-step instructions higher up this page.