The Daily Book of Common Prayer: Readings and Prayers Through the Year

The Book Of Common Prayer specially arranged for personal devotions.

Written in 1662, the poetic and profound Book of Common Prayer is still much admired and used today. Based on the Bible, the Prayer Book is considered by many to be unparalleled in the beauty of its language and the depth of its understanding of God.

Offering a powerful, classic approach to personal devotions, THE DAILY BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER draws directly on material from the Prayer Book in its original form, providing a page of devotional readings for every day of the year.

Interspersed throughout this lovely volume are readings linked to Easter, Christmas, and other parts of the Christian year, selections devoted to especially to the psalms, a selection of rare and inspiring prayers, and thematic readings such as "In Deep Trouble," "Contrition," "The Messiah in the Psalms," and "Luke's Account of Christ's Passion."

At the start or end of the day, as a travel or bedside companion, THE DAILY BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER is an ideal spiritual guide through the Christian year.

The Book of Common Prayer has often been described as one of the most beautiful and inspiring works of English prose ("For musicality, few texts beat the Prayer of Consecration or the Prayer of Humble Access," hard-to-please style-guide writer Constance Hale once noted). But because the BCP was written primarily for church worship, it does not always lend itself to individual devotions.

Owen Collins--the pen name of an Anglican priest--has provided an alternative, arranging 365 devotionals, drawn entirely from the BCP, into a compact volume designed to encourage daily prayer. On February 25, readers will find the collect for Saint Matthais's Day and a passage from the Gospel of Matthew; on April 4, a verse from Psalm 103 and an excerpt from "Forms of Prayer to be Used at Sea"; on September 1, a passage from the Litany and a prayer for the clergy traditionally. Even those who teethed on the Book of Common Prayer might be in for a few surprises--Collins draws occasionally from rather obscure services, such as "The Accession Service" and "The Churching of Women." "The Daily Book of Common Prayer" won't replace the original, but it is a welcome supplement. (Beliefnet., May 2000) -- From Beliefnet