I really wanted to love this book. Really really really.

For the past two plus years I’ve been addicted to daily readings in Celtic Daily Prayer. But it only has two years of daily readings, so I’m now rereading previous pages. I’d love to find a replacement that follows the same themes and ideas.

Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals seemed like the kind of book that could be that replacement. And indeed it has many of the same elements. There are evening prayers and midday prayers, there are prayers for special occasions, and there are daily devotionals that include a collection of hymns, liturgies, Scripture and insights.

But the book has a few flaws. For one thing, a lot of it feels like it is lifted right out of Celtic Daily Prayer. Obviously you can’t plagiarize historical orthodox prayers, but this book has many of the same elements. As in a lot.

Second, the overriding theme as expressed by “for ordinary radicals” can get in the way sometimes. I’m certainly an advocate for social justice, the poor, peace, equality, etc. Anybody who looks at what I’ve done in my 54-years would be insane to argue otherwise. But that is not the totality of my walk with God. I’m also interested in loyalty, honor, righteousness, accountability … the list is long and involves the whole of life.

Obviously this book has a lot of those themes because the editors share those same values. But the social justice side of it is so overwhelming that everything else feels dwarfed by comparison. The cynic would say that the political correctness of the book takes away from the beauty of God. That would be too strong, but I’m confident that I know people who will feel that way.

So the book has flaws. It also has beauty and value. But in the end, I’ll stick to rereading my Celtic Daily Prayer.