For centuries, poems have been written describing God's simple graces. Saint Alphonsus Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorist Order, was a great poet who conveyed God's love through meaningful and poignant verse.

Some of the most prolific and well-known poets of the past 150 years are included in this compilation and continue the tradition of using poems for prayer, meditation, and loving God.

The selected poems in this body of work are divided into themes common to all human experiences, including love, forgiveness, commitment, faith, and hope. The chapters are shaped to give the reader a chance to hear the deep stirring of their hearts put into words, and this can be done on an individual basis or as lectio divina, or group prayer, when a verse is read aloud to the group.

Some of the poets included in the book are Anna Akhmatova, Emily Dickinson, Robert Hayden and Naomi Shihab Nye writing about God's love, nature, hope, faith, and heaven. Wendell Berry writes of peace and salvation, and Patrick Kavanagh of love and forgiveness.

Poetry is a way of expressing extraordinary thought in a simple fashion; these poems express intense emotions of love, thankfulness, wonder, and peace. Throughout the years, simple graces have inspired poets to write and readers to reflect on God's beauty and love that is all around us.

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Hardcover

Gretchen L.Schwenker