In this volume, John Paul II devotes himself to promoting the Liturgy of the Hours as a prayer of the whole People of God. The Holy Father provides enlightening reflections on each of the Psalms and Canticles, leading the reader to deeper meditation and understanding. As prayers, the Psalms take us through the whole range of life experiences. These reflections, originally delivered at the pope's weekly Wednesday audiences, will be an invaluable companion to those who pray the breviary or simply love the scriptures. For your convenience, this book contains the Psalms and Canticles of the four-week cycle of Morning Prayer. Book jacket.

Welcome to the Orthodox Church—its history, theology, worship, spirituality, and daily life. This friendly guide provides a comprehensive introduction to Orthodoxy, but with a twist: readers learn by making a series of visits to a fictitious church, and get to know the faith as new Christians did for most of history, by immersion. Mathews-Green provides commentary and explanations on everything from how to “venerate” an icon, the Orthodox understanding of the atonement, to the Lenten significance of tofu. It’s the perfect book for inquirers and newcomers, but even readers who have been Orthodox all their lives say they learned things they never knew before. Enjoyable, easy-to-read, and leavened with humor, Welcome to the Orthodox Church is a gracious guide to the ancient faith of the Christian East.

A comprehensive, quick reference for all Episcopalians, both lay and ordained. This thoroughly researched, highly readable resource contains more than 3,000 clearly entries about the history, structure, liturgy, and theology of the Episcopal Church—and the larger Christian church worldwide. The editors have also provided a helpful bibliography of key reference works and additional background materials. “This tool belongs on the shelf of just about anyone who cares for, works in or with, or even wonders about the Episcopal Church.”—The Episcopal New Yorker

"The Byzantine liturgy, with its beauty, its richness, and its depth, intrigues, inspires, and fascinates a great number of today’s Christians; and yet it remains for many almost inaccessible if not incomprehensible. The Typikon, the liturgical book that contains the order of the liturgical celebration, is complex, whence the necessity of “decoding” it both for recent converts and for “cradle” Orthodox Christians desiring to deepen their liturgical observance. And that “decoding” is the goal of this book. Developed from courses given at the Institut Saint-Serge in Paris, it covers the celebration of the offices throughout the Byzantine liturgical year. The organization and composition of the liturgical offices are first situated in the context of their historical development, and then are analyzed in detail from a practical point of view. This explanation of Byzantine liturgical practice, the first of its kind in English, includes an extensive bibliography and comprehensive glossary."--Back cover.

This revised, expanded edition of the Common Worship President’s Edition contains everything to celebrate Holy Communion Order One throughout the church year. It combines relevant material from the original President’s Edition with Eucharistic material from Times and Seasons, Festivals and Pastoral Services, and the Additional Collects.

The Order of Morning and Evening Prayer throughout the year taken from the Divine Office. For anyone who wants to make a daily act of devotion, Morning and Evening Prayer offers the perfect combination of a consistent structure of prayer alongside daily options and choices to take you through the church's year. Taken from the Catholic Divine Office, these daily prayers and readings offer inspiration for priests and lay people alike to give strength for each day.Now with a new look in the familiar hardwearing and practical format, and an updated table of moveable dates.

Father Timothy Gallagher, loved for his popular guides to Ignatian spirituality, shares in this informative, inspiring volume his own experiences and insights into the daily prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, which he has prayed daily for the last 40 years. All around the world, everyday, for hundreds of years, Catholics pray the psalms, and readings from the bible and from tradition, in a formal way called the Liturgy of the Hours. And like in any meditative practice there are blissful days and others that are just a dry challenge. What does it all mean? Can the Liturgy of the Hours, with its hymns, psalms, readings, and intercessions, become the prayer of every Christian--priest, religious, and layperson? Can it bring new energy into our spiritual lives? Fr. Tim shares his experiences praying the Liturgy of the Hours for the last four decades and invites the reader into the beauty and possibilities of this simple way of praying.