Venite: A Book of Daily Prayer

by Robert Benson

Book Overview

The Latin word "venite" is an invitation given to pray the prayers of Christ. It is an invitation to pray the ancient prayer, until life becomes a prayer without ceasing. Best-selling author Robert... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585420131
• ISBN13: 9781585420131
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Useful for my prayer life

I'm kind of astounded at the people who don't find Robert Benson's book helpful or find problems with it. I use it every morning and have for years. It's one of the best I've found to use year after year. All Benson's writings are meaningful and I recently used his book on baseball in a sermon.Venite is truly my call to prayer each morning and I find God in this book.

A Solid Introduction for the Beginner of Daily Prayer

I have used Benson's book off and on for about half a year now. Originally it was purchased because of my confusion with other daily prayer books. As an alternative, _Venite_ looked very promising. And it is. The sectional arrangment (the book is laid out according to sections, with each section divided into 30 days corresponding to a month) was very easy to use. However, I would have wished for a better explanation of the church year. I come from a tradition that unfortunately does not follow the church year. I am sure Benson assumed familiarity with this from anyone who would buy the book, but there are some out there. Because of the arrangement of the book, however, it is very easy to access. It also presents many options: One can do Compline one day, Vespers the next without it becoming too confusing. Often I just work my way through the psalms for each day. For someone who is familiar with the church year and is looking for a good, solid starting book for daily prayer, _Venite_ provides what you're looking for.

an excellent attempt, but with problems

_Venite_ is an attempt to distill in one volume, as the subtitle says, "a book of daily prayer." There are seven basic offices (the four daily offices and three special ones), each over a two-page spread, which are complemented by collects for the season and day, a collection of 30 canticles, a psalter (split into readings over 30 days), and a gospel (also into 30 readings), the last three for office Lessons.Unlike the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, _Venite_ is very easy to use. It is a sort of "Ecumenical Book of Common Prayer," but as such is not a complete success. The Psalter, for example, is heavily edited in an attempt to "soften" the harsher passages (check out Psalm 137, for example). The Gospel section, containing Jesus' sayings, has numerous quotations from noncanonical sources, which is really unjustified. The lack of alternative Versicles, etc., is nice because it simplifies reading the offices (something the BCP doesn't do at all), but it would be nice to have alternatives listed _somewhere_ in the book.Despite these problems, _Venite_ is an fine effort. Used with care, it can introduce many Christians to the joy of organized prayer.

Unlocking the prayers of the centuries

I'm excited about this book; Mr. Benson has made tackling the Daily Offices possible, understandable, and even convenient for any one who prays as a Christian. Even the faintest of yearnings for structured daily prayer and/or a connection with praying folk of the past, present, and future is enough to warrant buying this book. Clear explanations and definitions as well as concise organization help, also.