Customer Reviews

Christian Prayer : The Liturgy of the Hours

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Christian Prayer might be considered the short version of the 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours. The 4-volume set has readings for each day as well as prayers and repeats antiphons so that you don't need to flip back and forth through the book as much as in Christian Prayer. (For either book, though, get the St. Joseph Guide for the Liturgy of the Hours or the St. Joseph Guide for Christian Prayer-- each a thickish pamphlet that I consider my cheat sheets to help me not get lost on which readings apply to which day-- and I've been praying the hours for 10 years!)

Christian Prayer does have one thing the 4-volume set does not, however: music for the daily hymns. I don't know all of the hymns and can follow along with the music to sound out how it must go. Occasionally, I've visited at another parish and heard for the "first" time a hymn that I've sort of hummed through on my own with Christian Prayer!

There are shorter morning and evening prayers in Christian Prayer than in the 4-volume set. It can take less time to get through. And I have taken it on a trip when the period of the trip will take me between two volumes of the Liturgy of the Word.

In size, Christian Prayer is about as big as a Bible. (Liturgy of the Hours takes up 4 Bible-sized volumes). It took about three years before I grew so fond of and dependent upon the prayers that I cannot start my day without them. At first, I struggled thinking I surely did not have time for 15 min. to a half hour of prayer in the morning. Now I would sooner go out without my makeup and hair styled than without my armor on. Christian Prayer and/or The Liturgy of the Hours can grow on you in a healing way.

Whenever I went into the chapel at my undergraduate school, I saw these big read books with ribbons. Occasionally, I'd open it, wonder what the heck weeks I-IV were, and close it again figuring whatever it was, it wasn't for me. Then, one day, I happened upon an "Morning Prayer" group who actually had the things open! I got the short version of how the book was organized and what it was. I said to myself, "neat," and promply forgot about it.

But this past year (three years later), I have rediscovered this treasure. Recommended by a friend, I ordered this book, read the instructions and began to pray along, more or less every day. It was helpful! It's amazing to me how rich the psalms and readings actually are. And begining and ending the day by prasing God seams somehow to frame the day in a calmer, more forgiving light.

I recommend making a pact with yourself to open it every day (whether you hit the snooze one too many times or not!) It works great for a Lenten discipline, at least for me. And, oh, you have to make a pact with yourself to actually read, and think, and pray about the texts used. My eyes do tend to spead read...

Its a really good way, in my opinon, to both feel united with the church as a whole and remember who it is that we should begin and end each day praising! And these big red books with ribbons aren't nearly as forbidding as they appear!

The Liturgy of the Hours is a great stepping stone for transforming our entire lives into prayer. The single volume Christian Prayer is a good starter. With the discipline of sticking with it daily, we tend to thirst for more. Then the four volume, more extensive set becomes a valuable purchase. The organization of its volumes into the various liturgical seasons better than the single book enhances our ability to focus on them.

Where can this lead? By dedicating each thing we think, say or do as a pray offering to God, we gradually grow into a state of constant prayer. It isn't necessary to be directly thinking about God as we pursue each task of our daily lives. Simply their dedication makes of them a prayer. The result is that we become consciously aware of God's presence on an ongoing basis. It's like when a person is standing behind us. They see everything we do, hear everything we say but we can't see them. Yet we KNOW they are there, and are aware of it at all times.

Once we are constantly mindful of God's presence, we allow Him to begin the purgative process, as St John of the Cross explains it. We think of hell as a 'firey furnace,' yet in the New Testament fire refers more often to God's love than anything else. In Hebrews and Wisdom 3, Scripture speaks of gold being purified in fire. Gold jewelry is an alloy with another metal, to enable crafters to shape it into a permanent, hardened state since gold is a soft, maleable metal. When we heat it up to 2500 degrees, though, it returns to its molten or liquid state, and the other metal (or 'impurity') easily separates from the gold, leaving only the pure, 24 carat gold.

Constant awareness of God's presence allows Him to begin to burn away our impurities by exposure to the fire of His perfect love. We feel the dissonance of everything that we think, say or do with His love when they fail to conform with that love. This spiritual discomfort becomes a gentle pressure, as we naturally begin to conform our lives to that fire of love. As we yield to His love and permit Him to transform our lives thus, we grow closer to entrance into perfect union with Him, which is essentially what heaven is. John of the Cross notes that this is what happens in Purgatory, but that we can make greater strides in that process during this life.

One by-product of this type of spiritual growth is that we acquire a keener sense of what God's will is. In the Last Supper discourse of John's Gospel, Jesus repeatedly says that whatever we ask for in His Father's name shall be done for us. St John qualifies that, though, in his first Letter by adding that what we ask of God must be in accordance with His will. As we conform our lives to His love, we increasingly feel more exactly what is in concert with it and what is not. Thus, we become more refined in terms of the prayers of petition that we ask of Him.

The Liturgy of the Hours is an excellent way to strive toward the prayer discipline that lets God draw us into that deeper spirituality, and ultimately into perfect union with Him for eternity.

For the beginner, praying the Divine Office is tough. As a result, many (like myself) might not want to go out and spend a large amount of money on the four larger official books that make up the Office used by priests and religious until certain that this kind of prayer is of benefit.

For the novice, then, this work is excellent.

One caution, however: this book is difficult to navigate at first. It does take time to set the ribbons where they need to be, but an easy read through the introductory sections can alleviate some of the burden. I'd also recommend that you run over to the Liturgy of the Hours Apostolate website and view their free texts to make sure that you are indeed saying the Office correctly, since they have everything laid out in full on each individual prayer.

Overall, a wonderful selection for anyone looking to pray the major hours.

This is a fine prayer book. I have prayed the Liturgy of the Hours for two years using "Shorter Christian Prayer." I recently purchased this book, "Christian Prayer," which is the full version of the Liturgy of the Hours. I like that it has prayers for every single feast day and memorial, which Shorter Christian Prayer doesn't. Another bonus is the hymnal in the back, with the music written out so I can teach myself new melodies. In addition, "Christian Prayer" is excellently made, beautiful and sturdy. The print is amazingly easy to read, even for the over-40 year old set. This is a treasure. Well worth the price.

I am a college student who has spent some time living with religious, and, as such, have grown fond of the liturgy of the hours. When I went back to school this last fall, I bought a few copies of Christian Prayer, and my roommate and I said morning and evening prayer together throughout the week, leaving our door open every time. After a few weeks, curious heads started popping in, and we had a full-fledged prayer group going on. This abbreviated version of the full office has proved invaluable due to the sensible layout of the year inside, and its (relatively) small heft. A must-have for anyone trying to bring the joy of the divine office to the unsuspecting.

Christian Prayer is a condensed, one volume edition of the Liturgy of the Hours, which is based on the complete, four volume set offered by the same publisher. For those familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours, the most noticeable difference is the highly abbreviated selection of passages for the Office of Readings in Christian Prayer vs. those found in the four volume edition that covers every day in the liturgical year (hence the need for four volumes). There are other differences in this edition as well - not as many antiphons are included outside of Ordinary Time, a smaller selection of poetry is included in the appendix, etc... The omissions are reasonable for a one volume edition and do not hinder one's ability to enter into prayerful communion with God and the Church.

There are some significant advantages to the one volume edition for those who are new to the Liturgy of the Hours and for those who do not or cannot always pray all of the hours. The layout of the book offers some flexibility in this regard. The four week Psalter in Christian Prayer is arranged to include only Morning and Evening Prayer with Daytime Prayer, Night Prayer, and the Office of Readings as separate sections in the book. The complete, four volume edition, on the other hand, is formatted to include the Office of Readings, Morning, Daytime, and Evening Prayer in the four week Psalter, with Night Prayer as a separate section. This is an excellent arrangement if you pray all of the hours every day and pray the Office of Readings before Morning Prayer (to minimize page turning). But, if your needs are otherwise, then Christian Prayer will allow you to participate in the Liturgy of the Hours as you are able without skipping pages while still having easy access to additional hours - all in a handy, one volume edition. Of course, no matter if you have Shorter Christian Prayer, Christian Prayer, or the complete set, some page turning will be necessary - especially outside of Ordinary Time, but for many, Christian Prayer will have a logical, easy to use format.

The zippered edition of Christian Prayer is comparable in quality to the leather edition of the complete Liturgy of the Hours and is very readable. This is a very good quality edition well worth the price. The Liturgy of the Hours in some form is a must have for any serious Catholic and highly recommended for Christians of any denomination who want to know what it is to truly pray the psalms. It will change your relationship with Christ and his Church in a positive direction.

This book is great! I usually only have time for the morning and evening prayers. But my day is not complete without opening it at least once. If your prayer life needs some structure, this is a great way to get it. Order the guide to Christian Prayer so you know what prayers to say each day.

This volume of Christian Prayer is wonderful for personal recitation, and very well-organized. It not only includes the 4-week cycles for Morning and Evening Prayer, but also includes selections of midmorning, midday, midafternoon and night prayer. Another good resource is the selection of readings for Advent, Lent, and Eastertime. Great for those who are not yet ready to invest in the 4-volume set, but wish to take some part in the daily Liturgy. Best tip is to take it one day at a time. Start with either morning or evening prayer, and build from there. If ever you get lost on what to do, go to the Ordinary- it is your guide. Also, the St. Joseph's Guide which is included is very helpful. Only disappointment was that it was not made of genuine leather- but it has held up very well and remains in great condition. Highly recommended to laymen and religious alike.

I was interested in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, and this book has been exactly what I needed. It took me a week or two to understand how to do it (the Discovering Prayer PDF at prayer.rosaryshop.com was really helpful), but now I've been doing it for a couple of months and it has been wonderful. I'm glad I got this book instead of the larger four-volume set since it's more portable.