A Book of Hours

The Book of Hours by Thomas Merton called me to a deeper sense of myself. Each day of the week, Merton's thoughts, meditations, and prayers pulled me into a journey of love. Merton is considered one of the great spiritual directors of the 20th century. The anguish and joy through his own journey toward the mystery we call God acts as a guidepost for those who wish to find the peace that only God can offer. This little gem of a book enables those who want to find a more penetrating prayer time to find words and images that help in the journey to the "small light that burns within each of us, that light being God." The editors manipulated a wealth of Merton's poetry, letters, canticles and journal entries to meld into a liturgically poetic book of hours or opus dei for the every day. The reader is presented with a week's worth of prayers and meditations organized in the traditional monastic style. However, instead of the seven hours or calls to prayer in the day, the editors shaped the daily prayer into four notable "hours:" Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Dark. Each part of the day brings the reader a reason to move forward, a reason to be, a reason to love each other more. Merton's writing is never an easy read. He demands much of his audience. Often a meditation or prayer needs to be reread to glean its potential meaning for the reader, but that is the beauty of reading the mind of a seeker of peace in this world and the next. For those new to Merton, there may be an urge to put the little tome down, but hang in there. With every paragraph, this monk provides another window for inspiration and contemplation. He even encourages creative responses to silence: Night calls, the door opens; Darkness envelops the walk. Forest stars bring me home. Frank Champine Langhorne, PA

A book that takes Thomas Merton's BEST writings and arranges them in prayers for Sunday (Genesis) to Saturday (Wisdom) at the 4 Hours named: DAWN, DAY, DUSK, & DARK. These are the best formed Breviary prayers I've found in a lifetime. The writings selected from Merton are his more lyrical, mystical, and poetic writings, and lacks the dusty prose quality he sometimes has. I found this book to be the new central structure of my life time now. It shoved aside all manner of chaff. I enjoy much more time in prayer and contemplation now, and much less time online wasting hours. I did not find the traditional OFFICE to help in this regard, and this doesn't displace or replace the other more traditional breviaries, but it is a serious and beautiful alternative for solitary or communal prayer. I have experienced my entire life restructured around what I can only say is MY VOCATION REKINDLED. Solitude, contemplation, prayer have returned after many years of abeyance. The book is always new. For the solitary, this is a great window of light beaming in from the sun! You'll not be surprised that I've bought several as gifts for others, and keep extra here in my hermitage so prayer aloud with visitors is enabled. Benedicite! Taste and try....

Merton's poetic gift opens the door for his readers to envision a deep and intimate union with God. I am inspired by his spiritual journey.

Delivery speed was decent. Other than some small smudges in one of the inner pages, the book was new.

I used this book for a Men's Group retreat as the worship portion of a retreat introducing comtemplative prayer and meditation. The editor draws from a broad corpus of Thomas Merton's writings to constuct a worship service for the various canonical hours of the monastic life.Each day is divided into four parts (less than the actual number of canonical hours) Dawn, Day, Dusk and Dark with notes giving the source of each passsage. An exceptional Introduction brings the reader who may be unfamiliar with Merton into a cloisterd presence and a holy place. This is a wonderful book for the new reader of Merton, a literature student seeking God's presence in poetry and for any reader seeking to experience the divine.Our retreat group read the Sunday section entitled Dawn before breakfast and it set a tone for the entire day. One member of the retreat told us, "I have always loved morning, but could never explain why. This man has put my thoughts and meaning in poetic words." This is a book you can return to and rediscover who you are and where you are in the Universe. Deacon Clyde Beury

This book is a difficult one to rate. As one who daily reads the writings of Merton, while also struggling to keep focused praying with one of the standard church breviaries, I avoided this book for a number of years thinking it was a gimmick. Yet, I kept seeing this Merton A Book of Hours at numerous retreat centers that I attended. Eventually, I gave it a go and ordered a copy, not really thinking that it would become a regular part of my daily prayer. Yet, it has. Kathleen Deignan should be congratulated for piecing together this breviary-like book, based on the poetry and prose of Merton. I was delighted to see three of my favorites included, Hagia Sophia, the Fire Watch, and The Letter of Contemplatives to the World (which is the evening lesson during the week). There is plenty of room to adapt each hour, which I typically do by adding a Psalm or two from the Bible. The emphasis on silence during each hour is a great reminder, as well. The Merton Book of Hours will be appreciated by Merton fans and those who seek to be more contemplative in their daily prayer. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I greatly appreciate this text and have used it regularly for daily prayer and reflection.

I don't think this book will be for everyone. But if you're a fan of Merton and want a book of hours to change up your daily office, this is worth a try. Personally I am at times positively challenged, other times comforted, and once in a while perplexed with selections made for this book. I go to it often, especially when I need a break from routine. I often wonder what Merton would have thought of this book. It's likely he'd hate it for reasons of modesty, but maybe not. I think he'd be as challenged as we are because the things he's written are fundamental observations and questions. While I don't use it every day, I will go through it five or six times each year, often not completing each hour but doing morning and evening parts. Occasionally I have found it useful to bring to work to do a mid-day office. It's also a great book if you're going on a retreat into nature--in fact this for me has been the best use as Merton's words are inextricably connected to his natural surroundings.

A Book of Hours divides each day, everyday into moments of contemplation and deep compassion. The editor has done a skillful job with Merton's prayerful reflections and poems. Each reflection is carefully chosen. In my search for the perfect way to settle quietly into a spiritual reflection, no other book has satisfied so completely. We are so prone to race through our days and yet hungry for spiritual food. By dividing days up, we can have a nice portion of prayer that carries through morning to bedtime. There is something about Merton's litany, his choice of words and gentle pace that sustains in a hectic world. He urges us to carve, even this brief time, into a sacred space that takes root throughout the day. If you are searching for well chosen words of God's love A Book of Hours will satisfy deeply. Janet M Greene

This is such a treasure of a book. It takes one through the day and stimulates the spirit.

Este libro es muy importante para llevar una vida de oración y contemplación. Cada día encuentras nuevas sugerencias. Lastima que no esté traducido y pueda llegar a mas personas

Good read

An entire week of hours. I haven't begun yet I am very excited.

What fantastic poetry The beauty of it is indescribable. His imagery is so lovely and so profound What a great alternative for using at daily prayer.