Friday 30 July 2021

The Little Office of Baltimore - Claudio R Salvucci - Traditional Catholic Daily Prayer

The Little Office of Baltimore: 
Traditional Catholic Daily Prayer
Claudio R Salvucci (Compilation)
ISBN 9781505118452
eISBN 9781505118537
ASIN B094W9DLJF


Wow this is an amazing little book. It is so good I now have both the Leather edition and the eBook. I picked up the eBook version for when on the go. And use the leather one at home. But before we get to the contents of the book. The leather edition is very well made. I have used it every day for a few months now and you cannot even tell it has been used. No spine cracking, or splitting. Excellent stitched pages, with cloth spine and headband. Gold gilded fore edge.  And very nice thick heavy weight pages. No onion paper here that will tear and get damaged easily. It is a beautiful book made with skill and care. But stepping aside from the physical production to the contents.

The subtitle of this book is ‘Traditional Catholic Daily Prayer’ and it is a wonderful prayer book. The description of the book is:

“The Baltimore Catechism formed generations of Catholics and provided a solid foundation in the faith for millions. In recent decades, it has enjoyed a renaissance among traditional-minded Catholics, yet few know that the Plenary Council which produced it, the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, also produced a Manual of Prayers (Imprimatur 1888). This present volume, based on the prayers in that manual, bears the newly-coined name Little Office of Baltimore. With its peculiarly and unmistakable American pedigree, coupled with the fact that it preceded the extensive changes to the Divine Office that occurred throughout the 20th century, it is sure to be welcomed by today’s more traditional-minded English-speaking laity as well as those interested in historical Catholicism. It retains a strong connection to the traditional Roman office which can be traced back, in its essentials, to Saint Benedict. Relying principally on the prayers found in the Manual, when necessary the compiler supplemented with material gleaned from the English translation of the Roman breviary by the Marquis de Bute (Imprimatur 1903). The result: a beautiful new resource for those seeking to deepen their prayer lives or just a greater connection to Traditional American Catholicism.”

And the chapters are:

Introduction
Daily Offices
Matins
Lauds
Prime
Terce
Sext
None
Vespers
Compline
Propers Of The Season
Advent
Christmastide
Epiphany
Post-Epiphany And Septuagesima
Lent And Passiontide
Eastertide
Ascensiontide
Pentecost
Trinity Sunday
Corpus Christi
Post-Pentecost
Thanksgiving
For Saints And Angels
For The Blessed Virgin
For The Holy Angels
For The Church And The Saints
Psalms For Various Occasions
During Sickness
Sorrow For Sin
Confidence In God
Bewailing Our Miseries
Prayer For Deliverance
Praise
Songs Of Joy
Thanksgiving
In Trouble
For Superiors
In Disquietude Of Mind
Shortness Of This Life
The Good And The Wicked
Excellence Of God’s Law
Historical
Seeking After God
For Holy Communion

This is one of those books I know I will be using for years to come. I have a few other prayer books in both physical and eBook edition. But this one with the Daily office is much more in depth than either of the others. The Little Office of Baltimore is based on the prayers found in the Manual of Prayers (Imprimatur 1888) and from the Bute Breviary (Imprimatur 1903) which was produced by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. The book is infused with faith. It looks and feels like a prayer book your grandparent or even great grandparent would have handed down. 

This is a wonderful book. I am certain it will be a blessing to you if you pick it up and use it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2021 Catholic Reading Plan!

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