Monica Furlong is an author and journalist living in London. In this top-drawer collection of women's prayers, she has gathered examples from many different spiritual traditions including medieval Christian mystics, Buddhist nuns, Native Americans, Jewish poets, Australian Aboriginals, and others. These devotional resources are meant to be used in the privacy of one's home, in prayer groups, or in public worship services. In the introduction, Furlong concludes that she designed this book "for those who love God, or wish they did; for those who love humanity, and wished they loved it better; and for those who love the natural world, but feel at a loss to halt its damage and decline. Prayer may spur us to better and wiser efforts." Here is a brief sampler:
"My life is an instant,
An hour which passes by;
My life is a moment
Which I have no power to stay.
You know, O my God,
That to love you here on earth —
I have only today."
— St. Theresa of Lisieux
"Enjoy the earth gently
For if the earth is spoiled
It cannot be repaired
Enjoy the earth gently."
— Yoruba prayer
"May the God who dances in creation,
and embraces us with human love,
who shakes our lives like thunder,
bless us and drive us out with power
to fill the word with her justice. Amen."
— Janet Morley
