THE French Jesuit priest Jean Pierre de Caussade led the
spiritual direction of a group of nuns between 1731 and 1749. They
made notes of what he said in his conference talks to them, and
these were published as a book in 1860. In English translation,
this forms the main part of Elizabeth Ruth Obbard's Life in
God's NOW: The sacrament of the present moment. She has
added introductory notes and black-and-white drawings (New City,
£5.95 (£5.35); 978-1-905039-11-1).
The title of Fiona Gardner's book Precious Thoughts:
Daily readings from the correspondence of Thomas
Merton sums up its content well. He wrote more
than 10,000 letters, from which these brief passages are chosen,
one for every day of the year, including 29 February in leap years
(DLT, £10.99 (£9.90); 978-0-232-52883-1).
Every Day with the Father is a collection of
366 daily devotional readings based on St John's Gospel.
Mark Stibbe seeks to show how Jesus reveals God the Father's
love, and what it means to be an adopted child of God. Each day's
reflection ends with a prayer (Monarch, £12.99 (£11.70);
978-0-85721-026-5).
Jenny Child has taken a saint as a spiritual guide for every day
of the year in Walking with the Saints. For each,
there is a short introduction and a short prayer based on his or
her story (The Columba Press, £14.99 (£13.50);
978-1-85607-758-3).
Although, as the title suggests, it is only a shortish book, Jan
McFarlane's Pocket Prayers of Blessing offers
prayers for a variety of situations. Some prayers are traditional;
others address modern events such as acquiring a new computer or
car. There are prayers for life's milestones, times of trouble, the
rooms in a house, and church seasons (Church House Publishing,
£6.99 (£6.30); 978-0715142394).