HarperCollins Book of Prayers: A Treasury of Prayers Through the Ages [Hardcover]

Robert Van de Weyer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Beginning with Jesus Christ, then moving alphabetically from Adam of St. Victor to Zoroaster, this collection of predominantly Christian but also Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, etc., prayers expresses a wide variety of religious sentiments, needs, situations, and emotions in language that is mostly simple and direct but at times eloquent. The book is suitable both for personal meditation and reference, as a book of quotations. The compiler concludes, "The Holy Spirit inspires individuals according to their particular spiritual needs, not societies or churches according to their ecclesiastical traditions." Recommended for public and seminary libraries.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The editor, an Anglican priest, resides in Little Gidding, England, a location that continues to inspire spiritual writers. Congregations and families should own this book because it would be invaluable for liturgy planning and home rituals. Unbelievers will appreciate the poetry of the prayers. The minute biographies preceding the (alphabetized) authors of the prayers are interesting provisions not usually found in such collections. The tones of the prayers range from solemn to witty. The voices include the lesser and greater known, for example, Frank Topping and Elizabeth I. Favorites and new discoveries fill many wonderful pages: Dag Hammarskjold, Thomas Merton, and Julian of Norwich share their prayers, for instance, with Aztec, Kalahari, and Wapokomo spirituality. There are meal prayers, "business meditations," and Johann Starck's winsome prayer for a baby. A Celtic hermit's petition competes with Yeatsian poetry. Yes, there is room on the shelf for another and superlative anthology of prayers. Amen! Gary Young --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Castle books (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785808116
• ISBN-13: 978-0785808114
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #634,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource for stimulating personal prayer, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: HarperCollins Book of Prayers: A Treasury of Prayers Through the Ages (Hardcover)

Van De Weyer first gathered these prayers for his personal prayer times, and the selections reflect his concern for the devotional life. The compendium includes the prayers of church leaders(Clement of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, several Anglican leaders), mystics (John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila), theologians (Bede, Augustine), authors (John Donne), liturgies (Book of Common Prayer) and people of action (Dag Hammerskjold). The names in this review are a mere sample; there are several hundred sources in the book. His sources are primarily Catholic, but he does not neglect the Protestant and Orthodox traditions. He also includes a few prayers from non-Christian traditions, such as Judaism, Islam, and Aztec and African monotheistic traditions.

The prayers include some of the most famous in Christian literature (Augustine's line about the heart not finding rest until it finds God is in here) and are intensely personal. Van De Weyer did a good job of selecting prayers for all occasions: feeling weak, feeling in need of forgiveness, expressing gratitude, desiring justice, contemplating the meaning of life--they're all there.

Van De Weyer includes a helpful one or two sentence biography of each source. This is important if you want to feel a connectedness to the people who have lived the spiritual quest before you, as I do.

This is not an academic book, and it is not designed for those who believe that spirituality cannot be discovered from within (rather than from outside of) the Christian tradition. It may also run against the grain of the American self-help religion. But if you want to drink from the wells of the Christian spiritual tradition, you will satisfy your thirst over and over again as you meditate upon the passages in this book.