A Catholic Book of Hours and Other Devotions

My friend loved her book. Great guide to increase your prayer life.

Father Storey's "A Catholic Book of Hours and Other Devotions" has proved for me to be the perfect way to begin praying the hours on a regular basis. I have tried "Shorter Christian Prayer" and the "Little Office of the Blessed Virgin" but couldn't quite stick with them. But I'm doing quite well with Father Storey's book. A few reasons: Brevity. The average hour takes only ten to fifteen minutes, read in a deliberate, meditative way. I have no excuses not to find this kind of time. No flipping around. Everything is very linear, no need for ribbon markers. One bookmark will do. Beautiful, meaningful, contemporary words. The hymns, prayers and readings are carefully chosen, and stick with a consistent theme. Finally, the book is a very nice physical companion. The cover is a very durable imitation leather with a substantial "feel". The pages are of substanial weight, with nice rounded corners, and the fonts are extremely clear and readable. I'm very pleased with this little volume, a great little investment, which is reaping real dividends for me.

I have really enjoyed this book of prayers! William G Storey has put out some powerful prayer books, but this one has really taken my prayer life to the next level. I’ve begun praying all day almost every day because of this book!

So impressed by the beauty these prayers bring into my life.

Although I use this book of prayer nearly every day, I must say the formatting is very frustrating! The top of the pages does NOT identify which day of the week or hour, making it hard to find the section you wish to pray. You must page back, or look it up in the Table of Contexts. The separate days and times run together and can be at the middle, bottom, or back of a page - no separation with space between sections as in regular books, so you can get confused which day and time you are reading! Again, you must refer to the Table to find the day of the week, then scan page by page until you see the hour you wish to read. It's really a shame they have the readings so close together that one gets lost! The cover is of good quality and the print is dark and easy to read. The pages are of good thickness and bright. The formatting is just too tight to navigate easily.

If you're looking to pray the liturgy of the hours but you are looking for something a bit more simplified, this is definitely the book for you. It's compact to carry around, the print is easy on the eyes, and it's shortened versions are perfect for those who have busy days or nights.

This book is very well made and the perfect fit for taking with you everywhere. Well written and most useful. I am not even technically a Catholic but I do use this book daily. I have had many friends whom I have shared the readings with from this book and even the most "Baptist" among them enjoyed it ( save the parts about The Blessed Mother/ I personally loved the hours of The Holy Mother). I recommend this seller and this book, as well as the other books By William G. Storey. I will certainly be purchasing some of Mr. Storey's other works soon. It arrived on time and in perfect condition. I am most pleased with the book and the seller.

First, I looked for an Imprimataur or a letter of approval from a cleric. I can not find any. And I notice that the Lord's Prayer contains the Doxology: "For the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory are Yours now and forever. Amen." It's a fine prayer, but the Catholic Church does not consider it part of the Lord's Prayer. I don't mind saying a few Protestant Payers every now and then. But I cannot recommend this book for daily use by Catholics. I suggest the book "Christian Prayer" instead. It is a one book distillation of the 4 volume Divine Hours. It is published by Catholic Book Publishing Company. It is approved for use by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and "Confirmed by the Apostolic See." Page 7 is a letter from Cardinal Tabera mentioning approval by Pope Paul VI. This is the kind of documentation I expect in a Catholic Daily Prayer book. There is no reason to settle for less. With a book of this nature it it useful to have one or more ribbons to mark our place. Well, no ribbons are supplied with this book. Contrary to what some of my fellow reveiwers said, I found the fonts to be easy enough to read. And the pages are thick enough that I don't see the print of the other side of the page (as can happen with some bibles). I'm not going to return this book. I will add it to my collection of Protestant books and I will browse it from time to time. But it won't become a center piece to my spiritual life. I see that the author, William Storey, has a number of other prayer books available. I won't be adding them to my collection.

This prayer book is very well made, you can see that a lot of thought went into its design. The imitation leather is well done, so that you can't really tell if it's plastic or not, unless you inspect it very carefully. And the covers are very sturdy, with rounded edges (same with the pages) that should hold up to normal wear-and-tear for years. The paper used for the pages is sturdy and of good quality, not cheap thin paper. And each section has a colored heading that helps to divide up the prayers and devotions. There is a good table of contents as well. The language is straight forward, not too modern and not too old fashioned. I love the poetic sound of the Douay-Rheims bible and the old prayers but some days I am just so overwhelmed and busy that it is helpful to have a prayer book in modern English. I am trying to learn how to use the 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours (I think the British version is 3 volumes?) and this book is great for those times I am too busy or I can't do with hauling a big thick prayer brievery with me. Overall this is a great book for the price! So much so that I've purchased a few more of the titles in this series.

Special book for private prayers and for meditation when visiting your church

All of his books are amazingly compiled. Don't cast off the whole book due to a written preference of a particular prayer. Rather, pray it the way you were raised or taught if it's what is holding you back from purchasing. The prayers complied are a combination of the Sacred Scripture, The Divine Office, Ancient & Traditional Prayers and Litinies. I also enjoy the authors commentary on the importance posture and how-to-pray in a group, family, or parish setting.

I had been looking for a book of hours for many months after studying medieval copies. This is a cheap edition whereby one can conduct the hours for the entire week as well as praying other devotions etc. This is a wonderful prayer book for those interested in the liturgical hours.

An excellent resource that prompts you to think more deeply about prayer. It provides a structured weekly prayer cycle faithful to Catholic teaching. Recommended if you find the Daily Office overpowering, this is great as a way of getting the user used to a structured prayer format.