Hour by Hour

by Forward Movement

Breviary based on one week. Contains all four offices of the The Episcopal Church

127 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Campbell Lakatos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple companion guide as I make an effort to organize my days, morning, noon, and night, around the awareness of the presence of God.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the simplest, easiest to use prayer book I've ever seen. Really handy size, nicely bound, beautiful book.

[Timothy Darling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Familiarity with the office of hours teaches you that this is a book to be not read but used. It is meant to be followed day by day and office by office. More than that though, the use of this book is governed by the prayers for occassions and holy days in the back. These are true prayers and not information or inspirational reading. They are meant to coordinate with Lent or Easter or Epiphany or a wedding or a childbirth. Reading this book may give ideas for future use, but it is that use and not the reading which makes the book valuable.

I recommend Hour by Hour for the kind of occasional use I have made of it, not as a standard, daily persistent discipline, but as a devotional refuge to find from time to time, escaping into a more formal devotional practice from time to time. It is nice to find peace in the rhythm of an ancient practice. By using it occasionally, I can gain those advantages and I am not so mindful of its brevity and repetition.

As some others have said, the book is hampered by its brevity. I can see the publishers' and pastors' dilemma. Make the book too big and people will not use it, make it too small and it becomes repetative. In this case, the repetition could have been mitigated by making it less repetative internally. Perhaps (and I don't know this) there are only limited scriptures to be used for particular offices so Mary's song or or Simeon's song or a specific psalm will inevitably be repeated. If so, then it is not an internal problem with the book, but a feature of the offices themselves. So be it. However, it seems to me that such impediments to ready useage could be repaired. The Bible is a big book and there must be other useful passages for these purposes. I know this kind of tinkering gives rise to the dilution of very old traditions, and endless variations on the theme that make it hard for folks who are trying to capture the essence of a spiritual discipline. But it seems to me that this could be done without damaging the office. I am still mindful of C.S. Lewis' sense that it is in repetition that our minds become free to dwell on God.

I did learn in successfully followng the hours for one week that this is not a discipline designed with a busy person in the world in mind. It is designed for a person of a quiet, contained religious vocation. Certainly if a person grew up with and has been taught to observe the hours it must be easier, but I found it very hard to maintain on anything like a consistently accurate schedule. Also, my family would have to become used to this sort of devotional habit. Otherwise, it is simply interrupted too often to be effective. This shouldn't stop anyone from trying it, but it needs to be approached with a great deal of personal grace and latitude ... or a strong desire to impose self discipline.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is borrowed from my son whose religious library is closing in on mine in the number of books.
My objection to this book is the same as his. However, our objection may the drawing point for others. The daily offices quickly become repetitive. Repetitive is good over the long period but we need not talk about that in this review. I simply prefer the 30 day cycle.
For those who would like to experience the joys of the daily office, this volume is a good book to begin experience.

[Jason Kellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This an excellent resource for someone wanting an introduction to praying the hours in the western monastic tradition. The four hours that are presented for each day flow well, and all readings and prayers are printed in order, so there is no flipping back and forth. This book has greatly strengthened discipline and created greater depth in my daily prayer life.

[David Armstrong]

A nice little devotional when there isn't time for the full text.