Book of Prayers

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 occasion

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