Hello,
How are you all today? I am dealing with the summer heat as best I can. Unfortunately for me, I really am winter/fall person. July is a struggle. For real. Nevertheless, God is good and so I thank him for both summer and winter! What are you all loving in your prayer lives right now? This is what I’m loving.
Today I want to share with you some thoughts about a prayer book published by one of my absolute favorite publishers, TAN Books! (Seriously: look them up. They rock.) Its title is A Prayerbook of Favorite Litanies, and it was compiled by Father Albert J. Herbert, S.M. It is available here. I think I will break this review into two different parts: a section dealing with the physical characteristics of the volume, and a section dealing with the content itself.
Physical Characteristics (Hardcover Edition) – 3.5/5 stars
I think that many of you will agree with me when I say that how a prayer book feels is much more important than any other kind of book. There is something about having it fit nicely in your hands when you use it. When it comes to A Prayerbook of Favorite Litanies I would say that it is sort of middle of the road when it comes to having a nice feeling to it. It has a good weight to it. The cover is well designed with nice lettering. My quibbles would be that a ribbon page marker would be nice, and that it would also be good if the edges of the pages were gilded. Finally, I ordered my book from Aquinas and More. There was a barcode sticker on the back of the book which left a residue when removed. I have still not entirely gotten this off, which is an annoyance.
No gilded edges 😦
Content – 5/5 stars
An excellent attribute of this particular volume is that it has both a Nihil Obstat, Imprimi Potest, and an Imprimatur. When it comes to prayer books, I always want to have an Imprimatur. Thus, this volume passes the “smell test”, if you will. This volume is really the best compendium of litanies that I own personally. It has 116 litanies and responsory prayers. The introduction begins with a brief history of litanies, which I found to be interesting. The litanies themselves are well organized. Each litany is individually listed with its corresponding page number in the table of contents, and them organized based upon topic. Some of the topics include: “Litanies Devoted to Our Lord Jesus Christ”, “Eucharistic Litanies”, “Litanies of the Blessed Virgin Mary”, “Litany of the Saints and Litanies of the Various Saints”, and “Litanies For Particular Needs and Intentions”.
Another feature of this book which I like is that it tells you at the beginning of each litany whether it is approved for public use or not. You will notice that it includes the litanies which are used within public liturgies of the Church, such as the Litany of Loreto.
The litanies are wonderful. So many of them, especially the ones about the Blessed Mother and the Saints, will teach you history and draw heavily from Scripture. The imagery is vivid and will engage your imagination. If you don’t know what to say to God in a Holy Hour or private prayer, I would strongly advise you to slowly pray these litanies. They really help you meditate on holy things. The sheer number of litanies devoted to the Saints is amazing! If you have a favorite saint, the odds are that you will find one asking their intercession here!
Some of my favorite litanies in this book are the “Litany of the Holy Name”, the “Litany of the Most Precious Blood”, the “Litany of the Holy Face”, and the “Litany of Our Lady of Fatima”. The Divine Praises are also included. The “Litany for the Church in Our Time” is another one of my favorites. I think that it is an excellent way to pray for the end of the confusion and heresy so prevalent today.
To sum up, I would advise people to go out and get this book! It has been a help to my prayer life, and is an excellent go to resource when it comes to litanies. Thanks TAN Books!
Spes in Caritate 