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A Companion for the Journey

by the Most Reverend William E. Lori, S.T.D.
Bishop of Bridgeport

As long as I can remember, my mother has closed each day
by reciting prayers from a well-worn prayer book that was given her
as a young woman. I doubt there is a single page in that volume she
doesn’t know by heart yet in her hands that it is more than a book. It
is silent witness to years and years of daily prayer and an ever
deepening friendship with God.
When I was growing up, prayer books like that fell out of
fashion. It was said that we should not depend on prayers composed by
others and still less should we recite rote prayers; rather, we should
pray from the heart. Of course, we should pray from the heart. At the
same time, we shouldn’t be surprised that our hearts and minds, when
at prayer, need the encouragement and guidance of holy men and
women who have left behind prayers that beautifully express God’s
merciful love and foster our devotion. Besides, it is important that even
in our purely private prayer, we use the vocabulary of faith and
devotion common to Catholics through the ages and across the globe.
Happily prayer books like the present volume are returning to
print. We are discovering how prayers drawn from the Scriptures,
rooted in the Liturgy, and flowing from the hearts of the holy, the
wise, and the learned help us in our journey toward God. How readily
we can be renewed in the joy and hope our faith affords by prayerfully
repeating Mary’s Magnificat! How easily prayer from the heart can be
launched by simple acts of faith, hope, and love! How our

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