Customer Reviews

The Divine HoursTM, Pocket Edition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Once again, Phyllis Tickle does a superb job of adapting the traditional prayers of the hours to modern life. This very compact tome contains an excellent prayer set arranged for the traditional seven offices for each of the seven days in the week. This volume is excellent, not only for travel, but when time does not permit the use of the more extended hourly offices found in the larger prayer books by the same author. I own all of the Phyllis Tickle "The Divine Hours TM" and cherish each.

After using the three-volume Divine Hours for the past two years, and wishing it were less cumbersome to carry about, I was pleased to discover this pocket edition for everyday use. I like the format and the prayers chosen quite well. However, I'm surprised that the design did not include a ribbon bookmark--essential in a volume like this. Also, for such a short book, I have found a distressing number of typographical errors. I hope to see these things corrected in the next edition.

This little book is an alernative to the (two volume)
larger set and is to be carried on trips etc. I use it often and am grateful to have it.

This is a great travel companion to the other prayer books by Phyllis Tickle. It is nice to have a place to go for prayer at any of the 7 times that are covered by this book. I am a pastor of an evangelical church and I have moved our church toward praying the "offices." The three seasonal books by Phyllis Tickle are the best, but this book allows much flexibility and is a good place for someone to start.

Unlike other reviewers of The Divine Hours: Pocket Edition, I did not come to this book from the larger, three volume set of The Divine Hours. I was unaware of those when I ran across this in a book store and just had a feeling that it might provide something I was needing. So, I'm not sure how this compares to the larger set, but I can certainly say that I have had a wonderful experience with it. It's a tremendous collection that's helped to revitalize my prayer life, and I suspect that this pocket edition might be a good way for people who've never prayed the hours (like myself before this book) to be introduced to that way of approaching prayer.

I do think that Phyllis Tickle has done an outstanding job of adapting traditional prayers and biblical passages into each set of fixed-hour prayers. Even after having prayed through the book for months, I'm consistently surprised by the beauty of the words and selections and am challenged by them each day.

Since I think that this is a good introduction to praying the hours, I would also add a note for those who come to the book from traditions who practice less formal, more extemporaneous prayer. I came from such a tradition, and I certainly see and know the necessity of such creatively engaged prayer in many situations. The value I find is such formal expression of prayer, as in this book, is in the way it decenters the individual's agency in prayer; God becomes the agent. As you find yourself adapting to the rhythms of the language and to the rhythms of the day, I think you can find yourself moved toward a very different attitude--of humility, listening rather than speaking, being shaped rather than trying to change everything. I recommend The Divine Hours as a way to add variety to prayer life and as a way to further develop that attitude of openness and humility.

I own Tickles 3 volume work The Divine Hours. The beauty of this little volume is the simplicity of it, one has only the days of the week rather than a years calendar for prayers. Obviously this leaves a lot of material out, but it is much more accessible and manageable. There are, as in the larger work, some real treasures in the daily prayers, such as hymns like Cowpers God Moves In Mysterious Ways, along with quotes from the great mystics. I also like very much the prayers included in the back, the Collect for Purity from the BCP, prayed daily by John Wesley, Anima Christi, the Prayer of Saint Francis, and many others. If you like liturgical prayer, or are simply curious about it, this would make a great beginning.

I had read about fixed-hour prayer for years and had wanted to try it but when I'd tried previously, the manuals, like the Book of Common Prayer, seemed overly complicated. When I saw this little book however, it didn't seem so intimidating. One week's worth of prayer and all laid out for you without having to know what liturgical week it was or flipping back and forth in the book, it was perfect! If you're looking to get your feet wet but perhaps feel it's too much, start here.

I found it easy to get into a daily rhythm by setting an alarm for each time I should pray on my iPod Touch. I had always had a hard time with praying daily but now I feel much closer to God and can talk to him more freely. You may want to adjust the suggested times to say the prayers to better fit your schedule and don't worry about saying all seven offices, start with one or two and go from there.

One negative thing about the book is that it instructs you to say The Gloria and The Our Father but doesn't give you the words to them at all. While finding the words was relatively easy, it seems like a no-brainer to include them for the uninitiated.

This is a great introductory book for protestants looking to get into a pattern of saying daily ritual prayers. Tickle has pared down her larger books into a pocket edition with a week's worth of prayers (said several times a day). In the back are some traditional and occasional prayers.

One addition that would be nice would be to print the Lord's Prayer, the Gloria, and a few of the other prayers mentioned as one line in the daily prayer rounds - these are not spelled out anywhere in the book, and for the novice, a copy in the back would be helpful.

I love this book. The Daily Office helps me to stay on track throughout my day and this version is wonderful and easy to use. It is much less cumbersome than the other editions. The only reason I give it four stars vs five is that it does not come in a paperback or leather bound edition. I would purchase a leather bound edition. If you practice the Daily Office you will enjoy this book.

this little volume comes in handy for me when I am traveling, which I do a lot. I can continue to do the Hours as at home without hauling around a thick book in my suitcase.