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The Prymer: The Prayer Book of the Medieval Era Adapted for Contemporary Use

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Centered in the ancient tradition of daily fixed-hour prayer, The Prymer: The Prayer Book Of The Medieval Era Adapted For Contemporary Use focuses throughout the day on the hours of Christ's passion and death. Designed for personal or communal use in a one-day retreat, a weekly cycle, or a thirty-day cycle of prayer, The Prymer also includes special prayers for the Christmas and Eater Seasons. The Prymer is exceptional and highly recommended to Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christian, and Protestant readerships.

This is a book that was over a thousand years in the making. `The Prymer' finds its origins in the monastic cycles of prayers as long ago as the ninth century. This was at first a way of keeping the monks together in common prayer, then expanded to the general clergy (most of whom were trained in monastic settings), and then generally filtered out to the general laity, who used the prayers contained herein for private devotions and as a literacy tool, to help children and other adults learn how to read with something familiar.

`The Prymer' was one of the more popular books for centuries. Long before general availability and ownership of the Bible became common, `The Prymer' was one of the few common devotional guides available. In addition to being inspired by pieces from scripture, there are in total 63 psalms included in the Prymer cycle, which became the core of medieval practical devotions.

There are two primary sections of book - Prayers and Readings for Daily Devotion (derived from the Hours of monastic cycles), and Prayers and Readings for a Time of Grief (coming from the Office of the Dead). Death was commonplace at different times as wars and plagues swept through, so this was an important addition to daily cycles.

The editor Robert Webber writes in his introduction that this book was part of the transition from Lectio Divina of monastic practice to ruminato forms of prayer (much in the way many of us conceive of and practice prayer today). Ruminato means to consider or to meditate, which is one of the primary hallmarks of prayer today. It becomes personalised and interior, even when directed by outside voices or readings. Ruminato seemed to have more care for the spiritual formation of a person than Lectio Divina (one might argue against this, actually). However, in keeping with this idea, Webber provided ample margins in the text for the user to jot notes and inspirational pieces.

There are 8 primary offices to the first section: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline. Webber has given suggestions for using this book, including a one-day retreat (engaging each office in order at the appropriate daily time); a weekly cycle of going through offices, a 30-day cycle, and combination cycles that derive from the different liturgical seasons.

Webber writes about the way in which one proceeds - going through slowly and meditatively, not rushing through, trying to get to the end. There are certain offices with more energy or more contemplative feeling to them; Webber introduces each office with a brief description and suggestions for what one will experience.

This is a fascinating book, useful for people looking for private worship practices, small group activities, or even for parish-based use. The prayers have a very traditional feel to them in many respects, but Webbers updated language gives them new vitality.

Centered in the ancient tradition of daily fixed-hour prayer, The Prymer: The Prayer Book Of The Medieval Era Adapted For Contemporary Use focuses throughout the day on the hours of Christ's passion and death and has been recommended to Roman Catholics, Orthodox Christian, and Protestant readerships. I am a Presbyterian, raised in both the Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church and find this book outstanding. I pray twice a day, once in the evening focusing on private issues and having a beautiful conversation with My Lord and in the morning for some disciplined prayer. I follow the seasons and pray fervently as those in the past. This book is an outstanding tool for me. I hope to have it memorized this year.

Though it certainly has its weaknesses and eccentricities (it's developed from late medieval sources), The Prymer, a translation of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and some other sources, is a wonderful invitation to daily prayer. This version of the office is focused on the psalms and the story the crucifixion. The office is easily adaptable to various needs, and the author includes a number of other psalm-focused devotions (for Advent, Lent, and Easter), a Lenten litany, and a special version of the office for use in times of grief. Marian devotions are included, but protestant users shouldn't find them excessive. A good, portable, personal prayer book.

The discipline of prayer is helped greatly when we pray with depth, reflection, and in communion with the scripture, the Church, and the saints that have gone on before us. Webber has put together a prayer book that will allow you to pray as much as eight times a day. I love this book, though as a Protestant, I had to edit some of the prayers that are to Mary or in some since seem to deify Mary. Other than that this book has been a great primer for prayer. I pray more than this book, because I pray spontaneously as well as in the discipline of this book, but this book primes me for the spontaneous praying that I do. I am a Pentecostal and believe in praying in fervant praying in the Spirit, but contrary to what some Pentecostal's would think about a prayer prymer, this book deepens spirituality and by no means lessens it. For those of you who do not want to pray that much, Webber has worked it out where you can pray one prayer a day and at other intervals as well. There is also a seasoanl guide to praying that covers advent, Easter, etc., as well as a circumstancial prayer guide for occasions of grief, loss, or depression. I believe the reason most Christians do not pray or pray very little is that they do not know what and how to pray. This is the book for you.

There is something magical about reciting the same prayers as ones ancestors.

I am a Protestant in the Reformed tradition who has been seeking to connect with earlier Christian expressions of the Faith (Patristic to Medieval) and was interested in the idea behind this book.

I have also been looking for something to aide my times of prayer, specifically as it relates to the traditional Christian seasons (Lent, Advent, etc.). I have wanted something to be able to use on a day of retreat that would help give structure to my time. The idea of using the Monastic schedule (Matins, Lauds, etc.) was appealing.

Because of all of these things, this book should have been perfect for me, but it suffers from one major flaw: It is saturated with Marion Theology.

When I first started looking trough it I thought that I could just pass over these sections. I though that if there was a prayer that was devoted to her then I would just skip it. The problem is that most of the prayers have mentions of her. It is all throughout. If I am constantly trying to "edit" the prayers as I am praying through them then it defeats the purpose and becomes too cumbersome, and disruptive to contemplative prayer.

This volume would be good as a reference for Medieval spiritual practice in a history class or seminar, however for a Christian who does not venerate Mary, it is very, very limited in its practical uses.