Customer Reviews

The Divine Office for Dodos: A Step by Step Guide to Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have owned Christian Prayer for about 5 years. I tried off and on a number of times to learn how to use it, and gained a basic weekday knowledge from an SFO friend. However, in the past year or two I pretty much gave up on it completely. About a month ago I felt inspired to try learning to use Christian Prayer again. This time I had Madeline's book to help me.

This instruction book is a MUST HAVE if you wish to use Christian Prayer or the Liturgy of the Hours. The lessons take you clearly, smoothly and progressively through every aspect of the Liturgy of the Hours (or Christian Prayer). After all these years, I finally feel proficient enough to use Chrisitan Prayer for private recitation or in a group.

The bookmarks and ribbons included help one to navigate the breviary. The bookmarks have commonly said prayers and reminders printed on them.

I can't recommend this book enough, even to those with some working knowledge of Christian Prayer or Liturgy of the Hours. It will give you a THOROUGH understanding of how to use either one.

This is a great book! Her humor just doesn't cut it, but overlook that you have a great vehicle for understanding and praying the Liturgy of the Hours. As an oblate novice, OSB, she has given valuable insight into the liturgy. If you are serious about the Divine Hours, this is a must.
Thanks Madeline for a good book

I wanted to give this book a 5, I really did -- if only because Ms. Nugent explains the "how-to" of praying the Divine Office so well (including the things that aren't printed in the breviary because "everybody" knows them!). I also recommend following her lessons in sequence.

However ... her system of bookmarks and ribbons is very, very frustrating. Eight ribbons are supposed to "rest", i.e., mark frequently used canticles and prayers, etc. while the bookmarks "bounce" along each day in the psalmody, propers, hymns, etc. as one prays the offices. By the time my breviary was loaded up with all of these, it resembled a porcupine with eight colored tails.

That would have been fine if the system actually worked for me, but instead I found it more difficult because the bookmarks I wasn't concerned with for a given office still created obstacles to turning pages because they're so stiff and the pages are so thin. They also had an annoying tendency to fall out of the breviary unless I was very, very careful.

Ultimately, they were such a distraction and hindrance that I started over, pitching the bookmarks and ribbons entirely. I now use the much saner number of five ribbons that came with my breviary, which I can "bounce" or "rest" as needed. That, plus the St. Joseph Guide, the (ribbon-marked!) Ordinary and the helpful Common Texts insert CBPC provides with the canticles, Psalm 95, Te Deum, etc., have proven to be all I need navigation-wise. I do still refer to the book, though, for the general lessons and just ignore any references to the ribbons and bookmarks.

I think that in trying to demystify the Liturgy of the Hours and make it accessible to the raw beginner (which would definitely be people like me), Ms. Nugent got a bit carried away with the arts & crafts pieces. It's to her credit as a teacher, though, that her lessons make it possible to become confident in using a breviary even without them.

(Note: The bookmarks and ribbons do not come with the book when you order it from Amazon, but you can request a free set from the publisher using a request form that's in the back of the book once you receive it.)

Want to join others all over the world praying the prayers of the church? Then this is the book for you. In a simple, step-by-step way, Madeline Nugent demystifies the Liturgy of the Hours, whose richness derives from millenia of Judeo-Christian tradition. Nugent's book reminds us that prayer is not just for priests, religious, and a few devout laymen. It is a timeless and powerful resource of strength, hope, and serenity for everyday people caught up in life's busy, fast-changing pace. Give yourself the gift of this book and the gift of using it! Your life will change for the better.

The Divine Office for Dodos is truly a welcome gift. For all who have ever wished they could be nourished by the scriptural and liturgical treasures of the Church's prayer but lacked the courage needed to master its intricasies, help has arrived! Madeline Nugent has combined her skills as parent, teacher and writer to present what can often be a complicated subject in a clear yet playful and even amusing style. Her brief and easy lessons guide the user to a comfortable grasp of the basic structure of the various editions of the breviary. Having watched even educated persons confused and discouraged at what can be a daunting task, I enjoyed seeing our young candidate actually enjoy taking herself through these foundational lessons of the breviary. I recommend this book as a practical tool for learning the breviary and congratulate the author for another job well done!

This is a great book for anyone wanting to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. There is no doubt that you will come out with a clear understanding of the intricacies of the offices. The tone of the book is a shocker however. Witty? I think not. The tone suggests the book is geered towards seven year olds.

If you are struggling with the Liturgy however it is worth purchasing, gritting your teeth, and working through. you will certainly know what you are doing afterwards.

As of March 2009, the Divine Office for Dodos is in its fourth edition. The fourth edition text has been revised slightly and expanded to include additional information. The revisions do not negate any information in previous editions; rather they clarify it.

The first two editions of the Divine Office for Dodos were printed by a publisher (no longer in business) which offered a free bookmark and ribbon set with the book, available by returning a coupon that came with each edition of Dodos. The original cost of Dodos was considerably higher than the current edition costs. This is because the free bookmarks and ribbons were part of the cost.

The current edition of Dodos does not come with a coupon for a free bookmark and ribbon set. The current edition explains to the reader how to make the bookmarks and the ribbon set, if readers wish to do so. Many readers, however, prefer to have ready made sets, and these are available through the website [..]. The cost of one ribbon and bookmark set plus the Divine Office for Dodos is actually LESS than the cost of the first and second Dodos edition which included the FREE bookmarks and ribbons. So those who are buying Dodos now, as published by Catholic Book Publishing, are actually saving money as compared to those who bought Dodos with the previous publisher.

If you have any questions regarding Dodos, please email your concerns to [...] and the author will address answer your questions.

This is extremely well written in a friendly manner and witty as well. The adventures of the dodo characters in the book make it amusing and the instructions are clear. Without doubt, an indispensible guide for those following the Divine Office.

This book takes a very basic approach and uses some campy humor. Having said that if you follow the exercises you will end up with a very firm grasp of using the Liturgy of the Hours. I used to use the version from Catholic Press because I could buy a yearly guide. Since reading this book I have the confidence to switched to the more complete Daughters of Saint Paul single book version that has a more complete text and less paging. In fact it now seems easier to use than the Catholic Press. If you are willing to put in the time I would buy it.

This guide is the easiest and most thorough method of learning by book how to pray The Divine Office (The Liturgy of the Hours). Since I notice that some used copies of the 2004 edition are priced outrageously high, please know that the 2008 Edition is now available. This newest edition contains even more information than the 2004 edition did; several sections are updated and augmented, and the book is very reasonably priced. The 2008 edition of The Divine Office for Dodos: A Step by Step Guide to Praying the Liturgy of the Hours, was released in July, 2008.

Presently Amazon is re-ordering the book, but one can "pre-order" this backordered 2008 edition, or simply check back on Amazon until more copies become available. Look on this Amazon page for the small box near the top which reads "Also Available in." Clicking on "Paperback" there will take one to the Amazon page for the 2008 edition. Madeline Pecora Nugent's guide is clearly the best one for learning how to pray The Liturgy of the Hours, which is the universal prayer of the Catholic Church, and the most important prayer of the Church after the Mass itself.

Incidentally, I have no connection at all to Amazon, or to the author or the publisher of The Divine Office for Dodos. I am merely a once-desperate learner of the mechanisms of The Divine Office. I write partly because I dislike seeing unscrupulous pricing by those (albeit Very Rare) used-book vendors who appear to want to exploit readers longing to pray The Divine Office. I sign this review with sincere apologies to the many, many book vendors who do indeed deserve to be trusted, and who provide a much needed service to all of us who love books.