Madonna Book:

		List Price: $16.95		Publisher: Pauline Books & Media Salesrank: 920644
		Our Price: $10.01
		Used Price: $8.00
		Media: Leather Bound

Bread Of Life: Prayers For Eucharistic Adoration Reviews:
Lovely book, but a few missed opportunities and odd choices
2005-06-09 - As a daily Mass attendee and daily visitor to our local adoration chapel, I was thrilled to discover this book. And, on the plus side, it is a beautifully-produced little volume. It is sturdy, attractive, nicely sized. And it does contain some lovely prayers and readings. However, some odd choices have unfortunately marred the usability of this book. First is the questionable decision to include a prayer by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest whose writings received a monitum in 1962 (still in effect) for the ambiguities and grave doctrinal errors found in his somewhat pantheistic writings. The present volume does have an imprimatur, and the one prayer by Teilhard is relatively unobjectionable; however, it might lead readers to his other texts, which would be problematic. It is always surprising to me when the Paulines, who publish Papal encyclicals and whose charism is spreading Catholic truth via the media, make questionable choices such as this. Another problematic section of the book is the section called "Nourishing Our Lives: Prayers from the hearts of believers." this section contains prayers for specific needs, such as death of a spouse (that prayer is truly lovely), loss of a job, etc. Many of the prayers in this section are written in a language that is so specific that they will not apply to many who might wish to use them. For example, the prayer for "Facing A Difficult decision" begins "O God, would I love to get up from this kitchen table and shift into a different gear..." What if I am not a the kitchen table (which, if I am at Eucharistic Adoration, I am unlikely to be)? Some prayers are gven odd titles. For example, Psalm 49, which is so rich with many meanings and nuances, is bluntly titled "For A World Freed From Consumerism." I wish the promotional material I had read about this book made it clear that the three included hours of Eucharistic Adoration were arranged according to the Pauline method, which is a very particular format which does not resonate with me. Most of my complaints are personal stylistic issues, and many will love this book, but I was disappointed by these choices. Lastly, although the book is, as it states, designed for Eucharistic Adoration, it could have been made infinitely more usable if a section of prayers before and after Communion had been added. It would have continued the Eucharistic theme, and made it unnecessary to have a separate prayerbook for Mass.

Beautiful little prayer book
2005-03-09 - This is a wonderful book containing many prayers and prayer-starters. They are grouped in different categories:1) Prayer-Starters, 2) Listening to Love (Eucharistic Readings), 3) Kneeling Before Our God (Prayers of Adoration), 4) Delighting in His Presence (Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving), 5) Encountering Merciful Love (Prayers for Conversion and Healing), 6) Drawing Near in Confidence (Petitions and Prayers for Personal Transformation), 7) Nourishing Our Lives (Prayers from the Hearts of Believers), 8) Interceding for the World (Prayers for Particular Needs), 9) Favorite Eucharistic Hymns, 10) Hours of Adoration.

This book contains many prayers and quotations from Scripture, but also many from other notable people and saints, such as Mother Teresa, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, St. Teresa of Avila, Pope John Paul II, etc.

There are prayers for specific needs, some examples are "Prayer After Miscarriage", "Prayer When a Parent Dies", "Prayer on the Loss of Employment", "Prayer Upon Diagnosis", "Prayer for Unity", "Prayer for Peace", "Prayer for Vocations", etc.

The language is poetic but modern in style, and most prayers speak to God quite confidingly and directly. The tone is quite accessible. There is something for everyone here, both traditional and modern prayers, and should be a great help to those who want to deepen their prayer life and honor the Lord through Eucharistic Adoration.