Tiber River Review: Blessed Be God

I have a bit of an affinity for pre-Vatican II books.  There's just something about they way they are written and the way in which they present the faith that makes them seem grander than their modern day counterparts.  I find this to be especially true with regards to prayer books.  Maybe it's just me, but I feel like a lot of the more modern prayer books feel like they've been stripped down.  Many of them seem like the fail to convey a sense of awe.

Fortunately, there are plenty of wonderful prayer books out there that don't fail to present our beautiful Catholic faith with awe inspiring reverence.  Blessed Be God is one such prayer book.  This book was originally printed in 1960 and is now available in a beautiful leather bound 2010 reprint.  So much is contained in this 700+ page prayer book that it would be hard to give a complete overview of everything it has to offer.

In addition to a wealth of prayers and devotions, this book also offers a bit two very nicely done sections that cover quite a bit of catechetical ground.  One of them gives lays out some basic knowledge of the Faith and the other offers a nice overview on how to pray.

As I paged through this book it became evident that this book contains prayers for just about everything.  Not only does this book offer a treasure trove of beautiful prayers, novena, litanies and devotions, but it also has excellent explanations of many of the devotions as well as the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.    

I particularly like how there are notations throughout the book that point out prayers that carry an indulgence.  I find information such as that to be incredibly valuable and was delighted to see it in this book.  It's yet another thing that I've noticed you tend to find in pre-Vatican II books but not the more modern books, unless of course, you've picked up something like the Handbook of Indulgences.

This prayer book would make a great gift for someone who is in RCIA or a young man or woman who has just been confirmed.  

I was provided with a copy of this book by Tiber River in exchange for my honest review.

I wrote this review of Blessed Be God for the free Catholic Book review program, created by Aquinas and More Catholic Goods. Aquinas and More is the largest on-line Catholic bookstore. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.