Christmastide: Prayers for Advent Through Epiphany from The Divine Hours

The Divine Hours

by Phyllis Tickle

The third and final volume in a trilogy of prayer manuals compiled by Publishers Weekly religion editor Phyllis Tickle as a contemporary Book of Hours to guide Christians gently yet authoritatively through the daily offices.The Divine Hours is the first major literary and liturgical reworking of the sixth-century Benedictine Rule of fixed-hour prayer. This beautifully conceived and thoroughly modern three-volume guide will appeal to the theological novice as well as to the ecclesiastical sophisticate. Making primary use of the Book of Common Prayer and the writings of the Church Fathers, The Divine Hours is also a companion to the New Jerusalem Bible, from which it draws its Scripture readings. The trilogy blends prayer and praise in a way that, while extraordinarily fresh, respects and builds upon the ancient wisdom of Christianity. The third and final book in the set, Prayers for Springtime, provides prayers, psalms, and readings for this season associated with rebirth. Compact, it is perfect for those seeking greater spiritual depth. As a contemporary Book of Hours, The Divine Prayers for Springtime heralds a renewal of the tradition of disciplined daily prayer, and gives those already using the first two volumes the completion they are seeking. With this volume, the series culminates with three prayer manuals encompassing the liturgical and calendar year with the offices for every day.

Genres: Christmas, Prayer, Religion, Theology, Spirituality, Devotional, Christian

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 21, 2003

About the author

Phyllis Natalie Tickle was an American author and lecturer whose work focuses on spirituality and religion issues. After serving as a teacher, professor, and academic dean, Tickle entered the publishing industry, serving as the founding editor of the religion department at Publishers Weekly, before then becoming a popular writer. She is well known as a leading voice in the emergence church movement. She is perhaps best known for The Divine Hours series of books, published by Doubleday Press, and her book The Great Emergence- How Christianity Is Changing and Why. Tickle was a member of the Episcopal Church, where she was licensed as both a lector and a lay eucharistic minister. She has been widely quoted by many media outlets, including Newsweek, Time, Life, The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, C-SPAN, PBS, The History Channel, the BBC and VOA. It has been said that "Over the past generation, no one has written more deeply and spoken more widely about the contours of American faith and spirituality than Phyllis Tickle." A biography of Tickle, written by Jon M. Sweeney, was published in February 2018. Phyllis Tickle: A Life (Church Publishing, Inc), has been widely reviewed.

Reviews

[Amy Jacobsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first attempt to keep the divine hours for an extended length of time. I appreciated the depth of this manual and was challenged to pray in a form I am not as familiar with. I enjoyed this as an Advent devotional and spiritual discipline. Also that it extended through Ephipany was a plus for me.

[Jan Patterson]

We read and re-read this book for advent devotions. We have found it meaningful and beautifully written.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful companion for advent and Christmas! It was a gentle and fresh way to pray the daily, personal prayers. I highly recommend this book and plan to purchase the trilogy!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I LOVE it. It is a fantastic Advent resource.

It starts with the first Sunday of Advent and takes you all the way through Epiphany. Each day has a morning, midday, and evening reading of Psalms, prayers, other Scriptures, a refrain, and on Sundays a hymn. I can't claim to have done all 3 readings each day, but I usually hit 2.

Most Advent resources stop abruptly on Christmas Day, so I appreciate that this goes through Epiphany. I look forward to being able to use it year after year. And I fully intend to acquire Eastertide by the same author to using during Lent and Easter.

[Oneida Cantu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abiding in God’s Presence through the Devine Office Prayers

It is a joy to read the divine office through out the day and nightly vespers to honor and praise our God. Meditating through God’s word has given me dicernment and understanding of his guidance for my life. Amen.

[Riley Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this throughout the Advent and Christmas season to help me have a rule of prayer. I am very delighted by the late Phyllis Tickle's writings and love her Divine Hour books. I will use this regularly for the seasons from now on.

May she rest in peace and rise to glory!

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tool for daily prayer during Advent & Christmas. We will be using again next year!

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short review: I am not done with this, but I think it is worth writing some on it because it is the start of advent and I think some might want to join in with the the preparation for the season.

I strongly appreciate the role of fixed hour prayer and even if I do not follow strictly I really do benefit from separating myself from daily life and setting aside time to be with God during my regular day. Advent started recently so you can still get this and join in this year.

My full thoughts (until I finish the season's prayer) are at my blog at http://www.mrshields.com/christmastid...

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this segment of Tickle's Praying the Hours series on Kindle because I can't seem to locate my hardcover copy of the larger work of prayers for Winter. It's a fine book for people who want to pray the hours. I'm not yet completely happy with the Kindle format as a way to read this type of book, especially this one , because some of the hours are in a separate section which makes it difficult to follow (however this may be my own technology challenge!) Recommended.

[Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes called “keeping the daily offices” or “observing the divine hours,” fixed-hour prayer, together with the hallowing of the Sabbath and the celebration of Communion, is the oldest and most authentic form of Christian spiritual practice.

What a wonderful discipline to take one through the first day of Advent and moving through Christmas Day and on to Epiphany. This is the second time I’ve read this “praying the hours.”

[Hillary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a strict adherer to praying the hours, but I usually do at least the morning liturgy. In the busy days before and after Christmas, I found it calming and appreciated the reminder of both the preparation for and celebration of Christmas.

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one that I try to read yearly. It helps to keep me centered on the true reason for this season. Even if I am unable to keep to the offices each day, it is still a liturgy of remembrance.