A Book of Uncommon Prayer

Brian Doyle (1956-2017), acclaimed writer and novelist whose work has been described as "a gift to us all" by Mary Oliver, delivers one hundred creative prayers that reflect his profound Catholic conviction in the mystery and magic of the ordinary (and the wacky) in human existence.  

A Book of Uncommon Prayer: 100 Celebrations of the Miracle & Muddle of the Ordinary, named "A Best Spiritual Book of the Year" by Spirituality & Practice, contains a collection of prayers unlike any of the beautiful, formal, orthodox Catholic prayers or the warm, extemporized prayers heard from pulpits and dinner tables. Doyle's often brilliant, always moving prayers include eye-opening hymns to shoes, religion, and family. "The world is crammed with miracles, so crammed and tumultuous that if we stop, see, savour, we are agog," Doyle writes, and the pages of his book give voice and embodiment to this belief. By concentrating on what may seem to be the most unprayerful circumstances (one prayer is titled "Prayer on Seeing Yet Another Egregious Parade of Muddy Paw Prints on the Floor"), he allows you to uncover the delights and riches in what he often refers to as the mess of ordinary life.