This intelligent and richly resourced collection, drawn together by Professor Eamon Duffy, brings together beautiful and memorable prayers and hymns from a wide range of sources. This is not a mere anthology of prayers, but rather a comprehensive guide to praying the big things of life and faith, using words with resonance and eloquence to convey a Catholic Christianity that stretches across Eastern and Western traditions, Orthodox as well as Latin Catholic. It offers guidance on the basics of the how to prepare for confession, how to say the rosary, how to make the stations of the cross, material for saying morning and night prayers. This book is the result of Eamon Duffy's own deep devotional life throughout his distinguished academic career and will be deeply valued.
Eamon Duffy is Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge, and former President of Magdalene College.
He describes himself as a "cradle Catholic" and specializes in 15th to 17th century religious history of Britain. His work has done much to overturn the popular image of late-medieval Catholicism in England as moribund, and instead presents it as a vibrant cultural force. On weekdays from 22nd October to 2nd November 2007, he presented the BBC Radio 4 series "10 Popes Who Shook the World" - those popes featured were Peter, Leo I, Gregory I, Gregory VII, Innocent III, Paul III, Pius IX, Pius XII, John XXIII, and John Paul II.