The Divine Hours, Volume II: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime (Divine Hours) (v. 2) [Hardcover]

Phyllis Tickle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2000

The second volume in a trilogy of prayer manuals compiled by Publishers Weekly religion editor Phyllis Tickle as a contemporary Book of Hours to guide Christians gently yet authoritatively through the daily offices.

The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice as well as to the ecclesiastical sophisticate. Making primary use of the Book of Common Prayer and the writings of the Church Fathers, The Divine Hours is also a companion to the New Jerusalem Bible, from which it draws its Scripture readings. The trilogy blends prayer and praise in a way that, while extraordinarily fresh, respects and builds upon the ancient wisdom of Christianity.

The second book in the set, Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime, provides prayers, psalms, and readings for these two festive seasons. Compact, with deluxe endpapers, it is perfect for those seeking greater spiritual depth. As a contemporary Book of Hours, The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime heralds a renewal of the tradition of disciplined daily prayer, and gives those already using the first volume the continuity they are seeking. The series will culminate in a third volume for springtime, completing the liturgical and calendar year with the offices for every day.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle draws on the Book of Common Prayer and the Church Fathers, as well as the New Jerusalem Bible, to provide daily readings and prayers (for morning, noon, vespers, and complin) for every day between October and January. Tickle's book of hours modernizes the ancient practice of fixed-hour prayer, as originally practiced by the Jews ("Seven times a day do I praise you" [Psalm 119:164]) and adapted by early Christians. The book's introduction provides a short history of this tradition of prayer, whose centrality in Christian worship was cemented in the sixth century, when St. Benedict fashioned the rule of his community according to the schedule of fixed-hour prayer. The introduction also encourages readers to experiment with sung and chanted prayer (the encouragement includes the tantalizing observation by Saint Augustine that "Whoever sings, prays twice"). The discipline described by The Divine Hours is demanding, but the rewards, as Tickle describes them, are great. Christians who practice fixed-hour prayer "find themselves filled with a conscious awareness that they are handing their worship, at its final 'Amen,' on to other Christians in the next time zone. Like relay runners passing a lighted torch, those who do the work of fixed-hour prayer create thereby a continuous cascade of praise before the throne of God."

Review

"A welcome remedy for the increasing number of lay Christians who have rediscovered the daily offices...Tickle puts each day's prayers, psalms, readings, and refrains-everything you need-in one place...The rhythm that Tickle's book establishes gives one a stronger sense of participating in an ancient, worldwide but very personal liturgy."
-Nora Gallagher, beliefnet.com, and author of Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (September 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385497571
• ISBN-13: 978-0385497572
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A One-Stop Prayerbook, January 11, 2001

By 

Carolyn Cline (Arcadia, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Divine Hours, Volume II: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime (Divine Hours) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

Following even a modified version of the Divine Hours, especially those used by Benedictine houses, had led me to the choice of a vastly trimmed repetitive two-week cycle or the juggling act of Bible, Prayerbook and Hymnal. This series of Hours provides a somewhat short, but beautifully balanced, and easy-to-follow cycle for three of the major offices (Morning Prayer, noon and Vespers. Compline is shortened, but has retained the heart of the service.)

The layout is simple and logical, easy enough for even my morning-fogged eyes, and the the beauty of the clean design and plain focus on the Word adds much to both its utility and even its spirituality. It has taken away many of my "excuses" for skipping an office.

Since this book alone comes in at just under 700-pages, the decision was wise to break the year into three volumes, but therein lies my resentment. This volume ends January 31. February -- and Lent -- won't be out until March, and we'll see how quickly Amazon gets copies to stranded readers. I feel like I've got a "teaser" since the Summer version is also already out!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Year-Three Complete Volumes-Prayers For Life!!, August 27, 2002

By 

Karl Sooder (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Divine Hours, Volume II: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime (Divine Hours) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

As someone who has worked with a good number of prayer books over many years including the old Roman Breviary (in Latin), Phyllis Tickle has produced a true trilogy masterpiece. It is extremely "user-friendly" with all prayer materials appearing in tight sequence on each page, eliminating the need to flip all over a book, searching for "what's next?" Thank you for making my life more simple, Ms. Tickle!! I now have more time for real prayer.
More importantly, the assigned prayers and reading selections for each day are very well chosen. They are all on the side of thoughtful brevity. This helps create that wonderful atmosphere prescribed by St. Benedict(father of western monasticism)who instructs "therefore prayer ought to be short and pure, except when it is occasionally prolonged by the inspiration of Divine Grace."

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There's no excuse, August 21, 2001

By 

William J. Moore (New Bern, NC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Divine Hours, Volume II: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime (Divine Hours) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

With the use of Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours there is no excuse for not doing all of the prayers each and every time every day of the year. The prayers are outlined for morning, midday, vespers and compline with a complete and short understanding of each prayer time. They can be done quickly or with a lot of thought and consideration.i have never seen a better routine set up for accomplishing prayers for busy people. You will not have any excusae for not doing prayers with these books.