A Catholic prayer book

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Ori_Kasha

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Hi,

I am a Jewish man, but I am involved in a interreligious dialogue with a priest in Vatican. I would like to know more the Catholic Liturgy and I would like to get some Catholic prayer books. Unfortunately, I do not know the names of them exclude Missale Romanum. If you can, please recommend me for Vatican-approved prayer books, in priority to English or Latin.

Thanks and God bless you all!
 
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The Roman Missal is the service book used to conduct the Eucharist.

A good guide to liturgical prayers and actions is Msgr. Elliott’s Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite.

Feel free to PM me if you need more directed info - I am familiar with, and have been active in, Jewish-Catholic dialogue for some time.

Deacon Christopher
 
As a Jewish man you are no doubt familiar with praying the psalms at regular times during the day. The Catholic version is the Liturgy of the Hours, if you are in the US or Canada, or Divine Office if you are in the UK. Both are essentially the same except for local calendars and the translations are different, but the same psalm order is used. The Latin version is called Liturgia Horarum, but it may be hard (or expensive) to find.

It is in fact part of the official prayer (liturgy) of the Church along with the Mass, which is the summit of daily liturgy. Although clergy are obliged to pray it, the laity are encouraged to do so as well.
 
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At http://www.icelweb.org/litur.htm it has a list of the Liturgical Books of the Roman Rite.

A lot of these are available from Liturgical Press in The Rites of the Catholic Church. Volume 1 is at https://litpress.org/Products/6015/The-Rites-of-the-Catholic-Church-Volume-One and Volume 2 is at https://litpress.org/Products/6037/The-Rites-of-the-Catholic-Church-Volume-Two . Ceremonial of Bishops is at https://litpress.org/Products/1818/Ceremonial-of-Bishops . Book of Blessings is at https://litpress.org/Products/1875/Book-of-Blessings-Ritual-Edition .
 
Well, let’s look at the elephant in the room: does the OP really want liturgical books that are suitable for purchase by a parish church, and suitable for reading only by clergy in the Sacred Liturgy? Or does the OP want prayer books that are good for pious Catholics to use in our private lives? These are two entirely different animals.
 
Hi,

I am not from the USA, so I do not know if I can learn about Catholic prayers in Israel from an American-made book. As much as I know, there is a difference in the form of prayer in any other country.

And is that a book of prayer? because I see that is a book which explains about indulgences.
 
Hi,

I do not know what does OP means. I am not a Catholic man but a Jewish man who involve in interreligious dialogue with a priest in Vatican. I would like to know more about your prayers and for this I need to buy a book of prayers, so I do not have anyone who guide me with that, and this priest now took a vacation from our dialogue because his mother died and I do not want to disturb him with a dumb question like that. I need something for laity, since I am not a priest, but I would like that it will include all sunday and weekday prayers in church and home, and devotions, if there is a book that cover all of these topics. If you know the Jewish Siddur and Anglican Common Book of Prayer - so I mean to a book like these two.
 
Hi @Ori_Kasha, I hope someone can answer your questions on prayer books. As far as OP, it’s a message board abbreviation for Original Poster (in this case, you).
 
Oh, I thought it is about Order of Preachers (Dominicans) and I did not know what they are matter here 🙂
 
Obviously you are asking for Christian Prayer (1-volume) or Liturgy of the Hours (3, 4-volume) which is the liturgical prayer of the Catholic Church; lay people are exhorted to pray it, as well as requiring all clergy and religious to do so. You will find that this is the canonical way Catholics pray all 150 Psalms in the space of 4 or so weeks.
 
Is the Liturgy of Hours in Latin or English? and there is an edition which recommended and/or approved by the Vatican? How much it costs usually?
And about the Christian Prayer - I never heard about that book. I will search about it right now. Thanks!
 
Liturgy of the Hours, being the official liturgical prayer of the Church, is in Latin and it is translated to the vernacular languages of the world. That being said, it is very difficult to procure a copy of the Latin Liturgia horarium but very easy to find it in English.

If you are on a budget, the 1-volume Christian Prayer costs about US$35.00, while the Liturgy of the Hours can be purchased separately, volume-by-volume.
 
Christian Prayer
Is this the “Christian Prayer” that you are talking about? I found a lot of books which titled as that.

PS Did you ever hear about Liturgy of Hours in Hebrew? It will be easier to me to read it in my native language as read it in English - I mean, my English is better than most of Israelis, and I read a lot in English, but I would like to know that there are Catholic books in Hebrew if I will ever decide to convert to Catholicism.
 
Ori_Kasha said:
PS Did you ever hear about Liturgy of Hours in Hebrew? It will be easier to me to read it in my native language as read it in English - I mean, my English is better than most of Israelis, and I read a lot in English, but I would like to know that there are Catholic books in Hebrew if I will ever decide to convert to Catholicism.
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I don’t know if it’s in Hebrew, but these guys may know. You would probably be interested in them aside from finding the LOTH in Hebrew.

 
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Thank you for the suggestion, but they do not sell any prayer books.
 
They don’t, no, but you could contact them for where and what to buy.
 
Ori_Kasha said:
Is the Liturgy of Hours in Latin or English? and there is an edition which recommended and/or approved by the Vatican? How much it costs usually?
And about the Christian Prayer - I never heard about that book. I will search about it right now. Thanks!
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There is a Latin version available from the Midwest Theological Forum:

https://www.theologicalforum.org/Category/105/Product/420/Liturgia_Horarum_Hardcover_Edition_

But very pricey. Christian Prayer is a one-volume abridged but approved version of the Liturgy of the Hours in English, omitting the Office of Readings, and with simplified mid-day prayer.

There are also Latin partial versions noted for chant: Antiphonale Romanum volumes I and II includes all Sundays during the year, as well as all feasts and solemnities. Les Heures Gregoriennes is a Latin/French antiphonary for all day hours of the year (no Office of Readings). It’s unofficial but licit; it’s specific to the use of the Communauté St. Martin in France.

You asked in your earlier post for something equivalent to the Book of Common Prayer. I don’t know of any Catholic equivalent in one volume. The BCP includes the Anglican missal, and the equivalent to the Liturgy of the Hours (morning prayer and evensong). The Catholic Liturgy of the Hours is more developed than the Anglican equivalent. Hence to be “equivalent” you need the Liturgy of the Hours and a missal. Not an altar missal (as used by priests and bishops) but a missal for the faithful.

With both a missal and the Liturgy of the Hours you will be fully equipped for official Catholic prayer/liturgy.

For popular devotions, others can point you in the right direction, but for things like the Rosary and the “standard” prayers (e.g. Pater Noster and Ave Maria), you can find those online.

NB: I see you are in Israel, I am not sure which English translation applies there. There are basically two English versions, Divine Office for the UK and other countries, and Liturgy of the Hours for the US and English-speaking Canada. Someone here might know which applies. Both are essentially the same, but the translations differ.
 
Are you familiar with the Saint James Vicariate For Hebrew Speaking Catholics in Israel, a vicariate of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem? If you contact them, they might be able to help you find the Catholic resources you are looking for. I imagine that they are well acquainted with any Catholic liturgical or devotional prayer books that are available in Hebrew, English or Latin that are suitable for someone living in Israel. Their website mentions that copies of a booklet they published containing Compline (Night Prayer) in Hebrew, from the Liturgy of the Hours, are available at the Vicariate.
 
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I heard about them, it looks like a very interesting place, a special syncretism of Judaism and Catholicism. But it looks very weird to me, that I am, a Jewish man who does not belong to the vicariate and I do not want to convert, call them and say “hi, can you please recommend me for a prayer book that I will never pray with it?” but fine, I am sure that they seen much weirder things - do not forget that there is very interesting thing called Jerusalem Syndrome 🙂
 
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