Venite: A Book of Daily Prayer

Rating:
Summary: A Well Done Introductory, Ecumenical Prayer Book
Review: I came across this book after reading _Living Prayer_, also by Robert Benson (highly recommended). I used Benson's book for awhile, occasionally I still do (I keep a photocopy of his meal office in my knapsack). In addition to the four hours of morning, noon, evening and compline (a bedside office for the close of the day) there are three other offices: Gratia, Communion, and a Commemoration (for one who has recently passed on). All the offices are two pages.

There are thirty canticles, psalter readings and 'Gospel' readings, corresponding to the days of the month. The remembrances are a bit different - they are arranged over a thirty-day period like the other sections, but each day has twelve readings depending on what month it is (so for the sixth day there are twelve separate remembrances for different people). You plug the appropriate remembrance, canticle or 'Gospel' reading into the office at the point suggested. There are also collects (short prayers) for the Seasons of the Church Year (Christmas, Easter, Epiphany, Good Friday, etc.).

Benson has prefaced the book with his motivations for writing it, how he came to find common prayer, and his frustration with some obstacles he has encountered in trying to practice it. He also has an introduction which initiates into the practice of common prayer will find helpful, it explains this book in particular and the Daily Office in general. Each section (collects, psalms, etc.) is prefaced a page of notes offering guidance, with a single page of accompanying prayers and quotes for that section.

The offices seem to be an assembly of what are mostly optional collects from the current Book of Common Prayer (BCP)- they don't feel like they're nervously raked together, there's definitely a rhythm behind their selection (praise, confession, hearing the Word, going forth) - but I felt like its fizzle got flat quick. Sometimes the language used to address God made the collects feel like the juice has been sucked out of them. I never felt that the language was objectionable, just insufficient. The 'Gospel', Psalm and Canticle sections, since they're rewritten poetically, smuggle in interpretations not everyone will agree with.

I certainly notice the influence of the BCP on certain prayers, but some are unfamiliar, and others I believe are Benson's "We offer prayers for all those with whom we share the Journey: For our loved ones, those who have been given to us, and to whom we have been given: [add names and intercessions]" and "We offer prayers for...and for all those in whom we have seen the Christ this day, in joy and in sorrow [names and intercessions]". So in addition to the standard intercessions and canticles, there are things like these that provide the peculiar warmth that you'll find from Benson.

One reviewer mentioned the remembrances, saying something about how awkward they are. Well, Benson's selection is fairly ecumenical, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Foucalt, from Polycarp to Athanasius. If you don't know anything about the person, event or group you're praying for, perhaps you should do some homework...

True, there is no ribbon marker, but I recommend staggering cut-in-half-lengthwise post-it notes from top to bottom along the side of the book (trim them so they hardly rise beyond the edge of the page), to make sort of a thumb-index, so you can flip to the appropriate section with ease.

This book may work for most people to start out with, but I might recommend to also try starting with just the morning prayer from the 1979 BCP.

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Introduction for the Beginner of Daily Prayer
Review: I have used Benson's book off and on for about half a year now. Originally it was purchased because of my confusion with other daily prayer books. As an alternative, _Venite_ looked very promising. And it is. The sectional arrangment (the book is laid out according to sections, with each section divided into 30 days corresponding to a month) was very easy to use. However, I would have wished for a better explanation of the church year. I come from a tradition that unfortunately does not follow the church year. I am sure Benson assumed familiarity with this from anyone who would buy the book, but there are some out there. Because of the arrangement of the book, however, it is very easy to access. It also presents many options: One can do Compline one day, Vespers the next without it becoming too confusing. Often I just work my way through the psalms for each day. For someone who is familiar with the church year and is looking for a good, solid starting book for daily prayer, _Venite_ provides what you're looking for.

Rating:
Summary: A Solid Introduction for the Beginner of Daily Prayer
Review: I have used Benson's book off and on for about half a year now. Originally it was purchased because of my confusion with other daily prayer books. As an alternative, _Venite_ looked very promising. And it is. The sectional arrangment (the book is laid out according to sections, with each section divided into 30 days corresponding to a month) was very easy to use. However, I would have wished for a better explanation of the church year. I come from a tradition that unfortunately does not follow the church year. I am sure Benson assumed familiarity with this from anyone who would buy the book, but there are some out there. Because of the arrangement of the book, however, it is very easy to access. It also presents many options: One can do Compline one day, Vespers the next without it becoming too confusing. Often I just work my way through the psalms for each day. For someone who is familiar with the church year and is looking for a good, solid starting book for daily prayer, _Venite_ provides what you're looking for.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to its promise
Review: I ordered the book online, and was ready to return it for a refund after only a couple of hours. To say the book is idiosyncratic would be an understatement. It follows a fairly universal modern structure found in most liturgical traditions: Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline. Each office includes an introduction or call to prayer, as well as several prayers, and a psalm and gospel "reading." The psalms and readings, however, a paraphrased. Though paraphrasing ultimately keeps the cost of the book down by avoiding permissions feed, the gospel readings do not reference which passages are being paraphrased, apparently draw from extra-canonical sources (Benson says that he's using extra-canonical material, but doesn't list which extra-canonical gospels he's utilizing), and melds multiple gospels and paraphrases together without referencing his sources. In a world that already has Pat Robertson and Robert Schuller, it seems frightening that a Christian author is reccomending we read scripture without reference to source or context, trusting only his insight and authority. His reasons for paraphrasing the psalms are even less obvious (though he claims he wants to make them easier to pray): there are modern-language translations of the psalms available in the public domain. His offices lack readings (with or without context) from the rest of the Christian or Hebrew scriptures.

The book is also not as portable as some would have you believe: though only approx. an inch thick, it is quite tall and wide (mysteriously so since many of the pages are dominated by large amounts of white space). There are no bookmarks or ribbons, despite the fact that the praying the complete office requires users to reference at least five separate sections of the book. All in all, an interesting expirement, but ... your money could be much better spent.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't live up to its promise
Review: I ordered the book online, and was ready to return it for a refund after only a couple of hours. To say the book is idiosyncratic would be an understatement. It follows a fairly universal modern structure found in most liturgical traditions: Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline. Each office includes an introduction or call to prayer, as well as several prayers, and a psalm and gospel "reading." The psalms and readings, however, a paraphrased. Though paraphrasing ultimately keeps the cost of the book down by avoiding permissions feed, the gospel readings do not reference which passages are being paraphrased, apparently draw from extra-canonical sources (Benson says that he's using extra-canonical material, but doesn't list which extra-canonical gospels he's utilizing), and melds multiple gospels and paraphrases together without referencing his sources. In a world that already has Pat Robertson and Robert Schuller, it seems frightening that a Christian author is reccomending we read scripture without reference to source or context, trusting only his insight and authority. His reasons for paraphrasing the psalms are even less obvious (though he claims he wants to make them easier to pray): there are modern-language translations of the psalms available in the public domain. His offices lack readings (with or without context) from the rest of the Christian or Hebrew scriptures.

The book is also not as portable as some would have you believe: though only approx. an inch thick, it is quite tall and wide (mysteriously so since many of the pages are dominated by large amounts of white space). There are no bookmarks or ribbons, despite the fact that the praying the complete office requires users to reference at least five separate sections of the book. All in all, an interesting expirement, but ... your money could be much better spent.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent attempt, but with problems
Review: I'm excited about this book; Mr. Benson has made tackling the Daily Offices possible, understandable, and even convenient for any one who prays as a Christian. Even the faintest of yearnings for structured daily prayer and/or a connection with praying folk of the past, present, and future is enough to warrant buying this book. Clear explanations and definitions as well as concise organization help, also.

Rating:
Summary: Unlocking the prayers of the centuries
Review: I'm excited about this book; Mr. Benson has made tackling the Daily Offices possible, understandable, and even convenient for any one who prays as a Christian. Even the faintest of yearnings for structured daily prayer and/or a connection with praying folk of the past, present, and future is enough to warrant buying this book. Clear explanations and definitions as well as concise organization help, also.

Rating:
Summary: Useful for my prayer life
Review: I'm kind of astounded at the people who don't find Robert Benson's book helpful or find problems with it. I use it every morning and have for years. It's one of the best I've found to use year after year. All Benson's writings are meaningful and I recently used his book on baseball in a sermon.
Venite is truly my call to prayer each morning and I find God in this book.

Rating:
Summary: Useful for my prayer life
Review: I'm kind of astounded at the people who don't find Robert Benson's book helpful or find problems with it. I use it every morning and have for years. It's one of the best I've found to use year after year. All Benson's writings are meaningful and I recently used his book on baseball in a sermon.
Venite is truly my call to prayer each morning and I find God in this book.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent attempt, but with problems
Review: _Venite_ is an attempt to distill in one volume, as the subtitle says, "a book of daily prayer." There are seven basic offices (the four daily offices and three special ones), each over a two-page spread, which are complemented by collects for the season and day, a collection of 30 canticles, a psalter (split into readings over 30 days), and a gospel (also into 30 readings), the last three for office Lessons.

Unlike the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, _Venite_ is very easy to use. It is a sort of "Ecumenical Book of Common Prayer," but as such is not a complete success. The Psalter, for example, is heavily edited in an attempt to "soften" the harsher passages (check out Psalm 137, for example). The Gospel section, containing Jesus' sayings, has numerous quotations from noncanonical sources, which is really unjustified. The lack of alternative Versicles, etc., is nice because it simplifies reading the offices (something the BCP doesn't do at all), but it would be nice to have alternatives listed _somewhere_ in the book.

Despite these problems, _Venite_ is an fine effort. Used with care, it can introduce many Christians to the joy of organized prayer.