157 of 159 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a MUST HAVE!, September 12, 2004
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.
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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bad humor, good book..., March 19, 2005
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
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86 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but ... the ribbons and bookmarks are a pain!, March 29, 2006
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.)
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