Here are a few more images from the lovely small book Manual of Prayers.
It’s essentially an attempt to introduce the concept of the Liturgy of the Hours to school children. Most of the text is a selection of the Psalms, bracketed by all of the traditional prayers on the front end, and seasonal vesicles and responses at the back. There are even lovely descriptions of the illustrations.
I have no idea where I got this book - I don’t know if I purchased it, or if it was in my mother’s things. I think it is a wonderful little book, though. It communicates the seriousness and solidity of faith. It offers a child a way to prayer that attempts to meet him where he is without wallowing there, and at the same time pointing him further on down the road to a more mature and adult spirituality that is connected to the entire Church, past and present, everywhere.
(Click on the images for larger versions. Feel free to reproduce.)
What a great book. I wonder if there is anyway to get it back into print?
I have no idea. There is really such a wealth of really good mid-century Catholic stuff out there, just floating…
Amazing…my son is learning to read and sits and stares at me praying The Divine Office. Would love it if it did get back in print!
Who says it has to be limited to children? Might be a good resource for adult who might be in a dry spell or who want a bridge to a more contemplative prayer life.