Prayer Book for Catholics is a handy, simple small book filled with Catholic traditional prayers and more. The prayers are grouped by category: Basic prayers, Blessed Trinity, Litanies, Mary, Saints, Angels, Mass, Eucharistic Adoration. And more: prayers for throughout the day, for everyday, for the Church and the world, and even to help us with reading and understanding sacred scriptures.
Basic prayers begin with the Sign of the Cross and include the Acts of Faith, Hope and Charity and the Apostle's Creed. Blessed Trinity prayers include the beautiful prayer of Saint Augustine:
Breathe in me O Holy Spirit,
that my thoughts may all be holy;
Act in me O Holy Spirit,
that my work, too, may be holy;
Draw my heart O Holy Spirit,
that I love but what is holy;
Strengthen me O Holy Spirit,
to defend all that is holy;
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
that I always may be holy.
Amen.
There are almost twenty Marian prayers alone, and more than 30 pages of saints' prayers: prayers to saints and prayers written by the saints. Prayers for everyday and throughout the day include prayers for the family, for welcoming guests, for all sorts of different circumstances, prayers for the sick and departed, and the Stations of the Cross prayers.
The last chapter--Basics Tenets of the Catholic Faith--is especially useful in this basic volume. The Seven Sacraments, the Ten Commandments, the Two Great Commandments, the eight Beatitudes, the Corporal and Spiritual works of Mercy, the Precepts of the Church, the Gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit: they are all there. The Capital Sins and the virtues they oppose, and the Cardinal and Theological virtues finish it off. There is also an index to make finding prayers, saints, or prayer intentions very easy and quick!
In the homeschool, Prayer Book for Catholics will serve as a useful and quick reference guide for prayers and basics of the faith. This book will also make a nice gift for someone who just came into the Church, or a child leaving for college or married life.
(Note: the publisher's site lists it as a "leatherette" but my reviewer's copy is a paperback.)