I was prepared to be bored to tears with this book and force myself to finish it. I’m very interested in learning more about prayer, but a study on the ancient Daily Office did not sound like something I would like. I mean, I’ve attended a Catholic church before and never understood why they repeated the same thing every Sunday, so how would this teach me anything?
Surprisingly, I found myself looking forward to reading it every chance I got. It was funny, intriguing, and was a breath of fresh air into my prayer life. I enjoyed Benson's conversational writing. His honesty and self-deprecating humor kept me reading on a subject I had no interest in before. There were many very thought-provoking points, halfway through I made sure to have a highlighter handy whenever I picked the book back up. I do wish there had been more of an explanation of the format of the daily office. Why are certain things said in the morning, etc.? Much of the office was written hundreds of years ago, so perhaps no one is really sure? He made a subject that has the possibility of being unbearably boring, quite interesting. Interesting enough, in fact, that I have picked up my own daily prayer book (Common Prayer: Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals) and enjoy participating in prayer with the thousands of others that observe the Daily Office.
**I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review through BookSneeze.com. I was not compensated in any other way. My review reflects my honest opinion.**
Thank you much for taking the time to read IN CONSTANT PRAYER in the first place, for saying such generous things about what you found in the pages, and for sharing your review with your friends. I am honored by the first, humbled by the second, and grateful for latter. I am glad to know that whenever we say the prayers, we are saying them together.
ReplyDeleteOne other note — The Mighty B is good. The Queen B might be even better.
Be — forgive me — in touch.
Namaste —
Robert Benson
thelongpew.com