Rating: 
Summary: The Reader's Digest version of Catholic daily prayer
Review: Christian Prayer might be considered the short version of the 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours. The 4-volume set has readings for each day as well as prayers and repeats antiphons so that you don't need to flip back and forth through the book as much as in Christian Prayer. (For either book, though, get the St. Joseph Guide for the Liturgy of the Hours or the St. Joseph Guide for Christian Prayer-- each a thickish pamphlet that I consider my cheat sheets to help me not get lost on which readings apply to which day-- and I've been praying the hours for 10 years!)Christian Prayer does have one thing the 4-volume set does not, however: music for the daily hymns. I don't know all of the hymns and can follow along with the music to sound out how it must go. Occasionally, I've visited at another parish and heard for the "first" time a hymn that I've sort of hummed through on my own with Christian Prayer! There are shorter morning and evening prayers in Christian Prayer than in the 4-volume set. It can take less time to get through. And I have taken it on a trip when the period of the trip will take me between two volumes of the Liturgy of the Word. In size, Christian Prayer is about as big as a Bible. (Liturgy of the Hours takes up 4 Bible-sized volumes). It took about three years before I grew so fond of and dependent upon the prayers that I cannot start my day without them. At first, I struggled thinking I surely did not have time for 15 min. to a half hour of prayer in the morning. Now I would sooner go out without my makeup and hair styled than without my armor on. Christian Prayer and/or The Liturgy of the Hours can grow on you in a healing way.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic for beginners
Review: For the beginner, praying the Divine Office is tough. As a result, many (like myself) might not want to go out and spend a large amount of money on the four larger official books that make up the Office used by priests and religious until certain that this kind of prayer is of benefit. For the novice, then, this work is excellent. One caution, however: this book is difficult to navigate at first. It does take time to set the ribbons where they need to be, but an easy read through the introductory sections can alleviate some of the burden. I'd also recommend that you run over to the Liturgy of the Hours Apostolate website and view their free texts to make sure that you are indeed saying the Office correctly, since they have everything laid out in full on each individual prayer. Overall, a wonderful selection for anyone looking to pray the major hours.
Rating: 
Summary: Get the real deal.
Review: Get the Liber Usualis from either 1952 or 1958. You'll find a good one at: http://www.mcn.net/~relbooks/liber.html Hopefully Amazon will get this edition soon and can sell it for a lower price.
Rating:
Summary: Pedestrian language, cumbersome.
Review: Having prayed the hours for several months using Tickle's excellent "Divine Hours", I have become interested in breviaries. After examining this one, I can see why so few lay people bother with this great devotional exercise. For one thing, this is just too complicated! It took me two hours (!) to set up the ribbons for the proper prayers for the day and time I was planning to use it for. Between the calendar heavily loaded with minor saints to memorialize and the silly exercise of flipping back and forth between hundreds of pages simply to find one or two sentences, this tried my patience and frustrated any spirit of prayer I may have started with. Worse, the selections are largely taken from the "New American Bible" - a translation of the Bible that is so pedestrian in its use of language that I wonder if the translators have any love for the scriptures! This is a Bible made commonplace - even the Psalms!! Where Tickle's manuals seem relevant to those who live and work in the world (and not a monastery), this one seems so out of touch with the lives and struggles and concerns of everyday people that it would rapidly become a burden to perform if I was obligated to do it. I cannot imagine anyone outside of the religious life having the time and interest to do the hours using this volume on a regular basis. Compare the language of this one to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and see the difference. Compare the difficulty of using this volume with the ease of Tickle's "Divine Hours" and see the difference. The hours should be prayerful, not a maze of ribbons, antiphons, feast days, page flipping, etc.!
Rating:
Summary: Not terribly impressive...
Review: In no particular order, some thoughts on "Christian Prayer". Essentially this is an abridged translation of the original Latin "Liturgy of the Hours" (4 vols.) First, the translation, abridged of not, has two major flaws. It is based on the original 1971 Latin and NOT the newest 1985 version (it is a scandal that for some fifteen years now this has not been remedied). Second, in the area of the (beautiful) hymns of the original, rather than doing the honest thing and translating the original hymns into verses of common metre, the decision was made to substitute what were considered "appropriate" hymns for Catholics c. 1975 when this first appeared. Many/most are dated, tired, banal compositions. Further, The Office of Readings, definitely the richest part of the new breviary, has been thoroughly cut down to the bare bones. One final note re: a previous review. I can't see how it could take two hours to set the ribbons for this book. Feast days/antiphons are a part of daily Catholic life and have been for centuries. Deal.
Rating:
Summary: Practicing the Presence of God
Review: The Liturgy of the Hours is a great stepping stone for transforming our entire lives into prayer. The single volume Christian Prayer is a good starter. With the discipline of sticking with it daily, we tend to thirst for more. Then the four volume, more extensive set becomes a valuable purchase. The organization of its volumes into the various liturgical seasons better than the single book enhances our ability to focus on them. Where can this lead? By dedicating each thing we think, say or do as a pray offering to God, we gradually grow into a state of constant prayer. It isn't necessary to be directly thinking about God as we pursue each task of our daily lives. Simply their dedication makes of them a prayer. The result is that we become consciously aware of God's presence on an ongoing basis. It's like when a person is standing behind us. They see everything we do, hear everything we say but we can't see them. Yet we KNOW they are there, and are aware of it at all times. Once we are constantly mindful of God's presence, we allow Him to begin the purgative process, as St John of the Cross explains it. We think of hell as a 'firey furnace,' yet in the New Testament fire refers more often to God's love than anything else. In Hebrews and Wisdom 3, Scripture speaks of gold being purified in fire. Gold jewelry is an alloy with another metal, to enable crafters to shape it into a permanent, hardened state since gold is a soft, maleable metal. When we heat it up to 2500 degrees, though, it returns to its molten or liquid state, and the other metal (or 'impurity') easily separates from the gold, leaving only the pure, 24 carat gold. Constant awareness of God's presence allows Him to begin to burn away our impurities by exposure to the fire of His perfect love. We feel the dissonance of everything that we think, say or do with His love when they fail to conform with that love. This spiritual discomfort becomes a gentle pressure, as we naturally begin to conform our lives to that fire of love. As we yield to His love and permit Him to transform our lives thus, we grow closer to entrance into perfect union with Him, which is essentially what heaven is. John of the Cross notes that this is what happens in Purgatory, but that we can make greater strides in that process during this life. One by-product of this type of spiritual growth is that we acquire a keener sense of what God's will is. In the Last Supper discourse of John's Gospel, Jesus repeatedly says that whatever we ask for in His Father's name shall be done for us. St John qualifies that, though, in his first Letter by adding that what we ask of God must be in accordance with His will. As we conform our lives to His love, we increasingly feel more exactly what is in concert with it and what is not. Thus, we become more refined in terms of the prayers of petition that we ask of Him. The Liturgy of the Hours is an excellent way to strive toward the prayer discipline that lets God draw us into that deeper spirituality, and ultimately into perfect union with Him for eternity.
Rating:
Summary: This book is just Right for those trying to be faithfull
Review: This book condenses four or more volumnes, so those who are looking for the "complete" office of the hours should buy the complete psalter set. My recommendation if you choose this prayerbook is to be sure to get the small guide that comes with it from the publisher, as it gives the suggested pages for the days devotions, so that if you choose to serve a full day of office you can with others in U.S. It is easier to follow with the guide. You should also review the introductory pages at the begining of the book as well as at the begining of "The Ordinary of the Hours" section before you begin using the Liturgy. I carry this single prayer book everywhere I go. It does meet my needs to be called to a deeper prayer life.
Rating:
Summary: This book is just Right for those trying to be faithfull
Review: This book condenses four or more volumnes, so those who are looking for the "complete" office of the hours should buy the complete psalter set. My recommendation if you choose this prayerbook is to be sure to get the small guide that comes with it from the publisher, as it gives the suggested pages for the days devotions, so that if you choose to serve a full day of office you can with others in U.S. It is easier to follow with the guide. You should also review the introductory pages at the begining of the book as well as at the begining of "The Ordinary of the Hours" section before you begin using the Liturgy. I carry this single prayer book everywhere I go. It does meet my needs to be called to a deeper prayer life.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Little Book!
Review: This is a beautiful little book! (2,000 pages worth!) It's perfect for those who want just one volume, not the entire set, and is a fine tool for prayer. I especially like the idea of adding my voice to the Church's own prayer, which is of course what the Liturgy of the Hours is all about. That being said, it did seem a little hard to use, although not exceedingly so. You may need a little help from your local Priest to use it properly. My Priest has been most helpful, and has cleared up those areas that I was confused about. It was well worth the effort to learn. ... This is of course the condensed version, so naturally it does lack the richness of the full volumes, which I have had a chance to look through. So this single volume may seem a little pricy when compared with the full set. For about double the price of this one book, you can get all four. However, being condensed, it is a specialty type book, and I think that is probably why it is priced as it is. I consider it well worth the price--even though I was slightly disappointed with the cover, which I believed was to be of a fine leather. It might in fact be leather, but it feels more like a vinyl to me. To summarize, if you want a compact book of good quality for prayer, this little book fits the bill beautifully!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Little Book!
Review: This is a beautiful little book! (2,000 pages worth!) It's perfect for those who want just one volume, not the entire set, and is a fine tool for prayer. I especially like the idea of adding my voice to the Church's own prayer, which is of course what the Liturgy of the Hours is all about. That being said, it did seem a little hard to use, although not exceedingly so. You may need a little help from your local Priest to use it properly. My Priest has been most helpful, and has cleared up those areas that I was confused about. It was well worth the effort to learn. ... This is of course the condensed version, so naturally it does lack the richness of the full volumes, which I have had a chance to look through. So this single volume may seem a little pricy when compared with the full set. For about double the price of this one book, you can get all four. However, being condensed, it is a specialty type book, and I think that is probably why it is priced as it is. I consider it well worth the price--even though I was slightly disappointed with the cover, which I believed was to be of a fine leather. It might in fact be leather, but it feels more like a vinyl to me. To summarize, if you want a compact book of good quality for prayer, this little book fits the bill beautifully!
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