Leading Family in the Faith: A Book Review of The Catholic Family Book of Prayers

**I received a copy of this book for free by Gracewatch Media, in exchange for an honest review. This post also contains affiliate links – simply meaning if you purchase this book through the link provided, I may earn a slight compensation from Amazon, at no additional cost to you.**

Last week, I discussed the unplanned Advent I was having with my family. And, how I ultimately gave my family a pass on liturgically living through the Advent season.

However, before they received that pass, I had agreed to review the book, The Catholic Family Book of Prayers, and ideally wanted to incorporate something from the book in my nightly prayers with the family.

As it so often happens, however, nearly everything gets put aside when the kids get sick.

But, while I spent the better part of two weeks nursing sick kids, I was still able to dive into The Catholic Family Book of Prayers. And, I am so grateful for an opportunity to put this book to good use in our home.

Growing up, I learned the standard Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. I learned the prayers said in Mass, specifically the Confiteor and The Triple Sign of the Cross.

As a young adult, I was introduced to the Mysteries of the Rosary. Later, as a young mother, I was introduced to even newer-to-me prayers, such as The Angelus and the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Within the cover of this small book lies a treasure trove of prayers – designed to enable practicing Catholics like me to deepen our sense of spirituality, and better yet, to lead our families deeper into the  Catholic Faith.

This book has prayers, but even better, for many of the prayers, there is an explanation or history surrounding the prayer.  As I read these explanatory sections, the insight they provided served to not only improve my understanding of the prayers I had read, but also deepen their impact on me and my faith practice.

There are well known prayers, and basic prayers, to include The Guardian Angel Prayer. Then, there are lesser known prayers, such as Phos Hilaron and Canticle of the Three Youths.

Found among the pages are an Examen for various ages, and an Examination of Conscience to prepare the reader for Confession. There is also a wonderful explanation of the prayer technique Lectio Divina within its pages.  I found this portion of the book especially insightful and would commend it to anyone in search of a deep and meaningful understanding of Lectio Divina.

Beyond the contents of the prayers and passages, the publishers took the time to ensure the font and layout of the pages make it easy to read and that the pictures used throughout are aesthetically pleasing.  As I read through The Catholic Family Book of Prayers, I discovered that these less tangible elements significantly enhanced my ability to contemplate the prayers themselves.

This book may not have been designed to read cover to cover, but one can easily do so if he or she so chose!

This book is meant to guide parents in our primary mission of being the first Catechists to our children.

Quite honestly, it is an amazing Catholic family resource, and I am so thankful to have it in my home – to lend the kind of support so many of us need, as we continue to lead our children in the Traditions, Prayers, and Scripture near and dear to the Catholic Faith. Since my family is so young (my oldest is five), I look forward to having The Catholic Family Book of Prayers as a guiding light for me as I teach my children their prayers in the years to come.

For the present, I am eager to use it to learn some of the prayers and history of other well-known Catholic prayers I may not be as familiar with – specifically The Memorare.

We are quickly approaching the conclusion of the Advent season and the kickoff of the Christmas season. This is the perfect gift to have under the tree for a mom or dad – or, as a family gift. It is the perfect gift for helping readers to deepen their faith and, perhaps, to craft that perfect  “spiritual resolution” for the New Year.

If you are looking for a great addition to help grow your personal or family spiritual life, I cannot recommend The Catholic Family Book of Prayers enough!

It truly will be a blessing for my family in the years to come.