I have just discovered a rather lovely little book by David O'Malley called Prayers to Start the Day. It only cost me three GB pounds but it is a gem - light enough to pack easily in a suitcase or handbag and with short but thought-provoking prayers to start each day.

This is the short meditation that I read this morning:

We are called to be children of the light, open, playful, honest and dependent upon God. Darkness creeps into our lives when we forget to play, when we choose isolation and take ourselves too seriously, as independent people. We are not made for independence. We are made to belong to a loving Father. We are children of the light, not of darkness.
Our hearts are restless, until we recognise our dependence on God.


After this meditation David O'Malley asks the following questions for the day ahead:

What shadows are there inside me as the day begins?

Where will lightness and truth be most accessible today?

Who will need the light of my presence today?

Where will I find darkness a threat?


If you like to start the day with some kind of Daily Office and your lifestyle is busy, then this book might well be a useful resource for you.

Prayers to Start the Day by David O'Malley SDB; Don Bosco Publications: ISBN 0-9548388-0-7

2 comments

  1. Anonymous  

    13 March 2009 at 19:12

    There's also a book by the same man called "Prayers to Close the Day".

  2. Understanding Alice  

    17 March 2009 at 21:01

    could do with some extra light and a little less too-seriously.... thank you x