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weekyleereads's review against another edition
I enjoyed adding these prayers and blessings to my regular BCP offices. Some of my favorite are a Prayer for Beauty (121), Prayer for Equilibrium (127), Prayer before Sleep (99), Grace Before Meals, Prayer on Waking, and Prayer for Axioms of Wildness.
There was some weird wording a phrases here and there, but I mostly just gave John O'Donohue the benefit of the doubt and kept reading. I also don't enjoy the gendered "threshold of womanhood/manhood." He probably could've talked about going into adulthood in general, instead of trying to talk on what it's like growing up as a little girl and suddenly being seen as a woman in the world. It did not sit well with me.
There was some weird wording a phrases here and there, but I mostly just gave John O'Donohue the benefit of the doubt and kept reading. I also don't enjoy the gendered "threshold of womanhood/manhood." He probably could've talked about going into adulthood in general, instead of trying to talk on what it's like growing up as a little girl and suddenly being seen as a woman in the world. It did not sit well with me.
sarahjaneinstpaul's review
5.0
A beautiful book of blessings for every situation. Would to love to have this one on my bookshelf as the blessings are great to share.
soft_scientist's review against another edition
4.0
A few of the blessings in this book are truly magical and a gift to this world - among them "Beannacht," "For A New Home," "For Solitude," and "Vespers." John O'Donohue has a good ear for poetic blessing and a wonderful depth of understanding about how to offer comfort and power through words. However, a lot of the blessings start to feel and sound a little prosaic, at least when you're reading the book straight through. I probably wouldn't have felt so exhausted by the repetitive meter and phrasing if I owned this book and used it as a reference for blessing various occasions.
That said, I think I would highly recommend this book IF you are planning to own it and use the blessings in it at different times. To just sit and read, the writing is certainly beautiful in places, but overall it doesn't work as well that way.
That said, I think I would highly recommend this book IF you are planning to own it and use the blessings in it at different times. To just sit and read, the writing is certainly beautiful in places, but overall it doesn't work as well that way.
lauriebuchanan's review against another edition
5.0
This is the last book from Irish poet and spiritual teacher John O'Donohue, one of the most lyrical writers of our times, who died suddenly and unexpectedly in January 2008.
A blessing breaks down the barriers between people and is the ultimate form of intimacy. It changes the environment around us and opens new possibilities of connection, healing, and transformation. O'Donohue laments that in the West we have "no rituals to protect, encourage, and guide us as we cross over into the unknown." The blessings he has written are divided into seven sections representing the major rhythms of the human journey:
Beginnings, desires, thresholds, homecomings, states of the heart, callings, and beyond endings.
Since receiving this book as an anniversary gift in 2008, we use it on a regular basis: each evening before going to sleep, and when getting together with friends for a meal. Rather than saying 'grace,' we select a blessing to read out loud. It has added a wonderful element to our gatherings.
A blessing breaks down the barriers between people and is the ultimate form of intimacy. It changes the environment around us and opens new possibilities of connection, healing, and transformation. O'Donohue laments that in the West we have "no rituals to protect, encourage, and guide us as we cross over into the unknown." The blessings he has written are divided into seven sections representing the major rhythms of the human journey:
Beginnings, desires, thresholds, homecomings, states of the heart, callings, and beyond endings.
Since receiving this book as an anniversary gift in 2008, we use it on a regular basis: each evening before going to sleep, and when getting together with friends for a meal. Rather than saying 'grace,' we select a blessing to read out loud. It has added a wonderful element to our gatherings.
idlebee23's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful book of blessings written by O’Donohue, one of the spiritual giants of our time. The book has blessings for everything, from waking to death, new marriage, new jobs, friendships, loneliness, and weighted decisions. O’Donohue writes “A blessing is not a sentiment or a question; it is a gracious invocation where the human heart pleads with the divine heart.”
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