Divine Hours : Prayers for Springtime (Hardcover)

~ Phyllis Tickle (Editor) "Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit..." (more)
Key Phrases: The Refrain, Jesus Christ, The Greeting (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Divine Hours completes the celebrated trilogy of fixed-hour prayer manuals edited by Phyllis Tickle. Where gospel and shared meals are known as the "food and sustenance of the Church," the fixed-hour prayer is the "work," according to Tickle, religion editor for Publishers Weekly. Fans of the previous Divine Hours books (Prayers for Summertime, Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime) applaud Tickle's uncomplicated format, her use of a modern calendar rather than a liturgical one, and the single ribbon in the binding, which is, amazingly, all that readers need to track the daily offices. Fixed-hour prayers (also called "keeping the hours" or "saying the offices") are listed for each calendar day--morning, midday, and evening. Almost all of the sacred readings are from the New Jerusalem Bible, and the psalms and psalm hymns are lifted from the Book of Common Prayer. Some readers may object to the occasional passages with traditional, patriarchal language ("Almighty God, my heavenly Father: I have sinned against you, through my own fault....") Be assured that Tickle chose these readings carefully, no doubt relying upon her extensive religious studies and strong feminine perspective, as evidenced in her excellent memoir The Shaping of a Life. --Gail Hudson

From Library Journal

This book brings to conclusion spiritual writer and Publishers Weekly columnist Tickle's substantial revival and revitalization of the medieval practice of fixed-hour prayer. Like her anonymous predecessors, Tickle draws from Christian Scripture and from the writings of the church fathers but she also avails herself of the Book of Common Prayer and hymn-texts, as well as religious poetry. Literary and profound, Tickle's work should be welcome to a broad readership, Christian and non-Christian alike. Highly recommended.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Religion; 1 edition (October 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038549758X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385497589
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #613,210 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 3 in The Divine Hours Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Prayerbook Trilogy for All Seasons, May 28, 2006

By	Karl Sooder (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime (Tickle, Phyllis) (Paperback)

As someone who has worked with a good number of prayer books over many years including the old Roman Breviary (in Latin), Phyllis Tickle has produced a true trilogy masterpiece. It is extremely "user-friendly" with all prayer materials appearing in tight sequence on each page, eliminating the need to flip all over a book, searching for "what's next?" Thank you for making my life more simple, Ms. Tickle!! I now have more time for real prayer.
More importantly, the assigned prayers and reading selections for each day are very well chosen. They are all on the side of thoughtful brevity. This helps create that wonderful atmosphere prescribed by St. Benedict(father of western monasticism)who instructs "therefore prayer ought to be short and pure, except when it is occasionally prolonged by the inspiration of Divine Grace."

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Literate Dialog With God, January 24, 2004

By A Customer

This book of prayers (one of three volumes covering daily prayer for a year) taken in large measure from the Bible is a wonderful prompt in one's life-long conversation with God. It helps one come to words one didn't realize one meant or hadn't the aptitude to say before one began using it in one's daily devotions. In addition to Scripture, it employs prayers from "The Book of Common Prayer" and other standard resources. But one particularly delights in the additional readings taken from a wide range of meditative and inspirational literature. Examples are "Pied Beauty," by Gerard Manley Hopkins and "The Sacrament of the Present Moment," by Jean Pierre de Caussade. What a remarkable contribution to one's spiritual life!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for guided daily prayer., February 10, 2002

By A Customer

I received this book the other day (just in time for February). I have used it daily from the moment I received it. For those searching for a method of guided daily prayer, I highly recommend. I have found that spending time in prayer with this book has helped me to center, ground, and reflect throughout the day.