Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day (Hardcover)

~ Macrina Wiederkehr (Author) "Rising from sleep in the heart of the night, I keep vigil with eternal questions..." (more)
Key Phrases: pilgrimage through the day, wisdom hour, beautiful darkness, Velma Frye, Macrina Wiederkehr, Old One (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Author and retreat leader Macrina Wiederkehr opens the monastery door and invites readers to come in and learn how the practice of consciously pausing for prayer at the seven sacred moments of each day can make their daily passage through time a more sacred pilgrimage.

Using scripture, poetry, reflections. personal stories, and quotes from a rich array of spiritual teachers, Wiederkehr helps readers become more attuned to living in the present moment and develop a kindred spirit with the rich tradition of the sacred hours. Seven Sacred Pauses is a wonderful gift to those who seek to find balance in their busy days and to bring the practice of the Divine Hours home to their own hearts.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press (April 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933495103
• ISBN-13: 978-1933495101
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,743 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #3 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Prayerbooks
  #12 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference > Meditations
  #15 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Catholicism > Inspirational

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Poetic Adaptation of the Spirit of the Hours -- for Busy Lives Like Ours, March 31, 2008

By	David Crumm "Editor of www.ReadTheSpirit.com" (Canton, Michigan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I love well-designed little books like this one, which I can tuck into a big pocket, purse or work bag -- to add a new season of spiritual discipline to my life.

Sister Macrina Wiederkehr adapts traditional, daily cycles of prayer with thoughtful themes to focus our meditations and offers all kinds of resources: from specific prayers and readings we can use to little meditation-provoking nuggets of wisdom from a variety of writers.

In the introduction of her book, she reminds us that the original rule of St. Benedict called on monks to pray their way through all 150 Psalms each week -- a daunting task in today's busy world. So, she writes, "this book is to provide you with poetic reflection material on the spirit of the hours rather than the historical text of the hours."

I also appreciate her breadth of selections in the book from scriptures themselves to lines by W.H. Auden, Kahlil Gibran and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Nicely done. Nicely packaged. A great companion for a new season.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christianity through the day, April 12, 2008

By	Dr. John Laughlin (Glenn Dale, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This is a gem of a prayer, and contemplative book. Like the monks' practice of the Daily, this gives all of us a guide and text to use in dividing and divining our day into 7 parts set aside to rememeber God and who and what we are -- or ought to be as Christians. If you ever envied the Moslems' daily call to prayer, here is your Chrisitan alternitive.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the need to pause, May 11, 2008

By	Jan Broschart (Islip, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have long been a fan of Macrina which is why I purchased this book. What I got was more than I could have imagined. Her book brings us back and shows us the wisdom , many of us have forgotten , of taking the time to stop. To take a few minutes seven times a day so that we can really live our lives to the fullest. In this crazy busy world what could be important than to get in tune with the natural pauses of day and clear our minds of the clutter that keeps us from realizing the life we were meant to live.