The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime--A Manual for Prayer (Divine Hours)

The first volume in a trilogy of prayer manuals compiled by Publishers Weekly religion editor Phyllis Tickle as a contemporary Book of Hours to guide Christians gently yet authoritatively through the daily offices.

The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice as well as to the ecclesiastical sophisticate. Making primary use of the Book of Common Prayer and the writings of the Church Fathers, The Divine Hours is also a companion to the New Jerusalem Bible, from which it draws its Scripture readings. The trilogy blends prayer and praise in a way that, while extraordinarily fresh, respects and builds upon the ancient wisdom of Christianity.

The first book in the set, Prayers for Summertime, filled with prayers, psalms, and readings, is one readers will turn to again and again. Compact in size, it is perfect for those seeking greater spiritual depth. As a contemporary Book of Hours, The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime heralds a renewal of the tradition of disciplined daily prayer, and will whet the hunger of a large and eager audience for the follow-up autumn/winter and spring volumes.


The first book in the set, PRAYERS FOR SUMMERTIME, filled with prayers, psalms, and readings, is the one readers will turn to when making their daily summertime devotions. Compact, with a ribbon marker and deluxe endpapers, it is perfect for those seeking spiritual guidance and renewal. THE DIVINE HOURS: PRAYERS FOR SUMMERTIME heralds a new form of an old tradition and whets the hunger of a large and eager audience for the follow-up winter and spring volumes. -->

The Divine Hours trilogy is meant to be a manual for "fixed hour prayer"--an age-old discipline of saying prayers at certain times of the day. (Fixed prayer is also known as "liturgy of hours," "keeping the hours," or "saying the offices.") The psalms contained in the beautiful trilogy (summertime, wintertime, and springtime) read like ancient poems and are made even more meaningful and powerful when sung or chanted, according to Phyllis Tickle, who lovingly gathered and organized these rich volumes. The book is organized by dates, starting with the Monday nearest to June and closing with the Saturday closest to September 28. Upon each date, readers can find complete prayers for "The Morning Office" on through the "Vespers Office" (between 5 and 8 p.m.). The clear organization and elegantly designed pages make this an excellent companion for a time-honored form of private worship and devotion. Newcomers to fixed hour prayer as well as longstanding devotees will find this an appealing and impressive guide.