Spiritual Growth - Books Recommended By Our Congregation
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Thomas Merton: A Book of Hours edited by Kathleen Deignan (Sorin Books, 2007)
This book contains daily prayers to be said in the morning, at midday and at night. It is based on poetry and prayers written by Thomas Merton, and is a good introduction to his work. Here is an example of a prayer to be said early in the morning:
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The Business of Heaven: Daily Readings from C S Lewis edited by Walter Hooper (Mariner Books, 1984)
I was lent this book by a friend to whom I am very grateful because it introduced me to the Christian writings of C S Lewis. Written in the 1940s the language is rather formal but well worth the struggle in my opinion.
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Praying Round the Clock by Richard Harries (Mowbray 1983)
Sadly, this book is out of print, but it is possible to find second hand copies. The book contains prayers for many different situations that we might encounter during the day. I have found it to be a great help when I have not known how to pray, and it also reminds us that we can bring our prayers to God about anything, at any time. So there are suggested prayers to use if we wake very early, or are lying awake at night. There are short prayers that can be said when arriving at or leaving work, for driving, for the weather, and for family and friends. I like the following prayer for use times when we are not sure where we are going, or have difficult decisions to make:
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Enfolded in Love. Daily
Readings with Julian of Norwich (Darton Longman Todd, 1980)
This little book fits in the pocket or handbag, and contains extracts from the writing of a fourteenth century Englishwoman. She writes about her experiences of Jesus, and about prayer, and if you find her style of writing attractive, then you will probably want to read all of her book, called Revelations of Divine Love. This is best done with a commentary, so you might find the following edition helpful, but it is rather expensive, and so it is worth looking around for other versions: The Complete Julian of Norwich by Father John-Julian OJN (Paraclete Giants 2009)
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