Pilgrim Prayers: For the Jubilee

Rating:
Summary: Pilgrims past but prayers perpetual.
Review: Ok,I'm almost two years late with my review of this splendid little book,as it was ostensibly intended as a devotional,literary companion for those folks who were lucky enough to have travelled to the eternal city during the Jubilee year of 2000.I never made the pilgrimage myself but made sure to snap up this book as well as the equally desirable and rewarding "Pilgrims in Rome" as soon as they hit the shelves of my local bookshop.
To be sure,a lot of the content of the former especially,is tied chronologically into the Jubilee "Stations of prayer" that took place at the major basilicas,churches and catacombs.Yet,much else within it's 250 odd pages is well worth having as a source of present and future interest.For one thing,it's amazing just how much gorgeous sacred art (check out Bernini's "Glory" on P.134 as a typically,stunning example) is crammed into it's modest dimensions,and I especially like the quotations from the Vulgate that preface each chapter,with their charming illuminated first letters.Attention to small detail like that can't help but win you over almost immediately !

The third main division of the book is called "Celebrations,prayers and songs" and this is a veritable treasure-chest of the liturgy which garners together texts that are more often found scattered throughout several various volumes,so it's nice to have them all here within easy reach for once.We get the full Order of the Mass in Latin with a parallel English translation,as well as a plethora of personal and communal prayers.I found the "Way of the Cross" very affecting,and not least because of the choice of Tiepolo's beautiful stations that are used to illustrate it.

My only complaint about this rewarding and fascinating little book is,that although we get the Latin texts of such great hymns as "Ubi caritas" and "Ecce panis" appended at the back,we don't get the English translations alongside them.Still,that's a fairly minor quibble on my part and really should not stop you eagerly setting out to buy the remaining stocks of this beautifully composed and thoughtfully considered memento of a unique moment in time.