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Benedictus: A Book of Blessings
We have fallen out of belonging. Consequently, when we stand before crucial thresholds in our lives, we have no rituals to protect, encourage and guide us as we cross over into the unknown. For such crossings, we need to find new words. What is nearest to the heart is often farthest from the word. This book is an attempt to reach into that tenuous territory of change that we must cross...'
In sharing words of profound grace and wisdom, master storyteller John O'Donohue's Benedictus offers blessings to shelter us as we confront the many challenges we face on our journey through life.
Living in an anxious world - a world so often dominated by unwelcome change, unhappiness and even despair - many readers will find comfort in John O'Donohue's illuminating introductions, covering areas such as Beginnings, Desires, States of the Heart, Callings and Beyond Endings, and the blessings themselves provide an inspiring and reassuring new vision of possibility. It is also a vision of hope and belonging for this sometimes troubled world.
In sharing words of profound grace and wisdom, master storyteller John O'Donohue's Benedictus offers blessings to shelter us as we confront the many challenges we face on our journey through life.
Living in an anxious world - a world so often dominated by unwelcome change, unhappiness and even despair - many readers will find comfort in John O'Donohue's illuminating introductions, covering areas such as Beginnings, Desires, States of the Heart, Callings and Beyond Endings, and the blessings themselves provide an inspiring and reassuring new vision of possibility. It is also a vision of hope and belonging for this sometimes troubled world.
233 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
83 people are currently reading
902 people want to read
About the author
John O'Donohue
42 books1,139 followersJohn O'Donohue, Ph.D., was born in County Clare in 1956. He spoke Irish as his native language and lived in a remote cottage in the west of Ireland until his untimely death in January 2008. A highly respected poet and philosopher, he lectured throughout Europe and America and wrote a number of popular books, including Anam Cara and To Bless the Space Between Us.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
August 13, 2016
Dominus vobiscum
‘There is a Quiet light that shines in every heart.
It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty,
Our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life…
This shy inner light is what enables us
to recognize and receive our very presence here
as a blessing.’
1. There is a kindness that dwells deep down within all things and often lingers in the unlikeliest of places..
2. Each new day is a path of wonder. Oftentimes, it may seem as though we have taken the longest voyage to arrive at that which was nearest all along..
3. Taking risks into possibilities will lead to new horizons. An unlived life is one that remains ‘safe’, yet your heart calls out for freedom and creativity..
4. The Celtic mind values time. One is constantly invited to grow – to transform and become more than you have been. All we need is bravery and grace..
5. A blessing is a protective circle of light. Adhere to your inner light so that it may illuminate the darkness with glorious lustre! Do not succumb to the sneaky shadows of the night..
6. A blessing makes distance kind and forgiving.. the greatest distance is not tangible but cognitive. Separation enables us to connect more deeply with freedom, ascension and compassion..
As one continues on their personal venture of discovery, never forget to take a moment to pause and reflect, with peaceful gratitude. Every single moment; the good and the bad are a blessing, for we are presented with even more possibilities and hope..
bis vincit qui se vincit in Victoria!
‘There is a Quiet light that shines in every heart.
It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty,
Our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life…
This shy inner light is what enables us
to recognize and receive our very presence here
as a blessing.’
1. There is a kindness that dwells deep down within all things and often lingers in the unlikeliest of places..
2. Each new day is a path of wonder. Oftentimes, it may seem as though we have taken the longest voyage to arrive at that which was nearest all along..
3. Taking risks into possibilities will lead to new horizons. An unlived life is one that remains ‘safe’, yet your heart calls out for freedom and creativity..
4. The Celtic mind values time. One is constantly invited to grow – to transform and become more than you have been. All we need is bravery and grace..
5. A blessing is a protective circle of light. Adhere to your inner light so that it may illuminate the darkness with glorious lustre! Do not succumb to the sneaky shadows of the night..
6. A blessing makes distance kind and forgiving.. the greatest distance is not tangible but cognitive. Separation enables us to connect more deeply with freedom, ascension and compassion..
As one continues on their personal venture of discovery, never forget to take a moment to pause and reflect, with peaceful gratitude. Every single moment; the good and the bad are a blessing, for we are presented with even more possibilities and hope..
bis vincit qui se vincit in Victoria!
June 9, 2009
This is a gift of a book. Written by John O'Donohue it is a book of blessings, as he calls them. For many they could be considered poetry. He captures the heart with these blessing because when reading them it is hard to imagine that he didn't write them especially for me. The moving ordinariness of his observations make them accessible to the confused or unsure believer. This book comforts and is not the kind that you read once and place on your bookshelf - this is a book that has a special place next to your bed where it is always only an arms length away from you before sleep.
January 14, 2018
A delightful selection of reflections for any circumstance you may encounter.
September 5, 2017
When you lose someone you love,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you becomes fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.
Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.
There are days when you wake up happy;
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.
Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.
It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.
Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.
- John O'Donohoue, Benedictus ( A Book of Blessing)
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you becomes fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.
Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.
There are days when you wake up happy;
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.
Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.
It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.
Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.
- John O'Donohoue, Benedictus ( A Book of Blessing)
June 23, 2025
Beautifully written benedictions!
For friendship:
May you be blessed with good friends,
May you learn to be a good friend to yourself,
journeying to that place in your soul where
there is great love, warmth and feeling.
May this change you.
May it transfigure that which is negative, distant
or cold within your heart.
May you be brought in to the real passion, kindness,
and belonging
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them
And receiving all the challenges, truth and light that you need.
May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam ċara.
For friendship:
May you be blessed with good friends,
May you learn to be a good friend to yourself,
journeying to that place in your soul where
there is great love, warmth and feeling.
May this change you.
May it transfigure that which is negative, distant
or cold within your heart.
May you be brought in to the real passion, kindness,
and belonging
May you treasure your friends.
May you be good to them, be there for them
And receiving all the challenges, truth and light that you need.
May you never be isolated but know the embrace
Of your anam ċara.
November 21, 2020
This 2007 collection of blessings was not my usual kind of book by any means. In it, O’Donohue offered poems for a wide range of live events, mostly (though not completely) excluding reference to gods and/or religion.
O’Donohue’s writing was awe-inspiring for its ability to capture the emotions and actions associated with both ordinary and extraordinary events. This was poetry that often firstly crystallised my understanding of my own emotions in situations and then, by virtue of writing about it, demonstrated that while they felt unique to me, they were universal parts of the human experience. The poems about extraordinary life experiences which I haven’t had helped me to reflect on how those situations must feel to others.
I don’t read much poetry: this book made me think that perhaps I should read more.
O’Donohue’s writing was awe-inspiring for its ability to capture the emotions and actions associated with both ordinary and extraordinary events. This was poetry that often firstly crystallised my understanding of my own emotions in situations and then, by virtue of writing about it, demonstrated that while they felt unique to me, they were universal parts of the human experience. The poems about extraordinary life experiences which I haven’t had helped me to reflect on how those situations must feel to others.
I don’t read much poetry: this book made me think that perhaps I should read more.
March 3, 2016
Absolutely loved this! It's a book I will treasure forever.
April 21, 2024
During a particularly difficult and life-altering period of burnout, amongst a number of projects, I worked on the editing and production of a book about blessing. I was staying at my parents' house, and would often work, trying to find some comfort, sitting in a La-Z-Boy chair overlooking the Firth of Thames. I was fraught with unbidden bouts of anxiety, unrelated to what I was working on, which would suddenly arise and often reduce me to tears. Then I'd take a deep breath and get on with my work the best I could.
That little book, coming at blessing out of a pentecostal/charismatic context, was called The Awesome Power of Blessing, written by Richard Brunton, and has gone on to be translated into over 40 languages with over 8 million copies distributed.
It seems to me that if the church is to engage proactively with the wider world, then coming at it through an ethic and perspective of blessing is an encouragingly positive approach. It's also clear that it strikes a chord. It seems to have an effect.
I can see some potential pitfalls (eg the potential for the blesser to speak blessings that are directive / steer the blessee in the direction of a particular agenda; or for ideas about speaking blessings to get tangled up in prosperity theologies; or to use the speaking of blessing like a magic formulation...)
But as I say, there's something really possibly wonderful (kind, loving and operating in the realms of divine potentiality) about this blessing thing... not just in terms of the church, but as a way of being - an attitude, a posture - for the individual in the world.
Enter Benedictus (or, To Bless the Space Between Us in its American edition), by John O'Donohue. O'Donohue is coming at it from the ancient traditions of Celtic Christianity - and of the poetic utterance - and it carries a very deep-rooted... I don't know what to call it... something.
Here's a lovely quote from O'Donohue:
"Our longing for the eternal kindles our imagination to bless. Regardless of how we configure the eternal, the human heart continues to dream of a state of wholeness, that place where everything comes together, where loss will be made good, where blindness will transform into vision, where damage will be made whole, where the clenched question will open in the house of surprise, where the travails of a life's journey will enjoy a homecoming. To invoke a blessing is to call some of that wholeness upon a person now."
So this is about speaking blessings, and it's a very old tradition of the church. Benedictus is a collection of blessings written by O'Donohue for different occasions.
I read through it slowly, from the beginning of the year, reading a blessing a day. There were a lot of blessings that didn't directly apply to me (eg 'For a Mother to Be', or 'At the Threshold of Womanhood', or 'For a Nurse', or 'For the Parents of One Who Has Committed a Crime'!), but inhabiting that space had something about it regardless. Especially after I discovered the x-factor of saying them aloud (thanks in no small part to O'Donohue's poetic ability) and of putting that intentionality of loving kindness out into the world.
At the end, there is an essay by O'Donohue, 'To Retrieve the Lost Art of Blessing' (from whence the above quote comes). I expected to rattle through this in one sitting. But I found myself wrapped in a lovely slowness that managed to overcome my sometimes silly urge to get books finished asap and added to my reading stats (silly stuff). This is not my first O'Donohue, and I should have known that no-one packs depth of meaning into a sentence quite like he was able to do.
Benedictus was the last book he published (2007), before he unexpectedly passed away less than a year later. So it is, in many ways, his benediction - his closing blessing to the world. Quite some gift he gave by this and his other books. Long may that intentionality endure in the world, and what may glimmer and arise even in dark times.
That little book, coming at blessing out of a pentecostal/charismatic context, was called The Awesome Power of Blessing, written by Richard Brunton, and has gone on to be translated into over 40 languages with over 8 million copies distributed.
It seems to me that if the church is to engage proactively with the wider world, then coming at it through an ethic and perspective of blessing is an encouragingly positive approach. It's also clear that it strikes a chord. It seems to have an effect.
I can see some potential pitfalls (eg the potential for the blesser to speak blessings that are directive / steer the blessee in the direction of a particular agenda; or for ideas about speaking blessings to get tangled up in prosperity theologies; or to use the speaking of blessing like a magic formulation...)
But as I say, there's something really possibly wonderful (kind, loving and operating in the realms of divine potentiality) about this blessing thing... not just in terms of the church, but as a way of being - an attitude, a posture - for the individual in the world.
Enter Benedictus (or, To Bless the Space Between Us in its American edition), by John O'Donohue. O'Donohue is coming at it from the ancient traditions of Celtic Christianity - and of the poetic utterance - and it carries a very deep-rooted... I don't know what to call it... something.
Here's a lovely quote from O'Donohue:
"Our longing for the eternal kindles our imagination to bless. Regardless of how we configure the eternal, the human heart continues to dream of a state of wholeness, that place where everything comes together, where loss will be made good, where blindness will transform into vision, where damage will be made whole, where the clenched question will open in the house of surprise, where the travails of a life's journey will enjoy a homecoming. To invoke a blessing is to call some of that wholeness upon a person now."
So this is about speaking blessings, and it's a very old tradition of the church. Benedictus is a collection of blessings written by O'Donohue for different occasions.
I read through it slowly, from the beginning of the year, reading a blessing a day. There were a lot of blessings that didn't directly apply to me (eg 'For a Mother to Be', or 'At the Threshold of Womanhood', or 'For a Nurse', or 'For the Parents of One Who Has Committed a Crime'!), but inhabiting that space had something about it regardless. Especially after I discovered the x-factor of saying them aloud (thanks in no small part to O'Donohue's poetic ability) and of putting that intentionality of loving kindness out into the world.
At the end, there is an essay by O'Donohue, 'To Retrieve the Lost Art of Blessing' (from whence the above quote comes). I expected to rattle through this in one sitting. But I found myself wrapped in a lovely slowness that managed to overcome my sometimes silly urge to get books finished asap and added to my reading stats (silly stuff). This is not my first O'Donohue, and I should have known that no-one packs depth of meaning into a sentence quite like he was able to do.
Benedictus was the last book he published (2007), before he unexpectedly passed away less than a year later. So it is, in many ways, his benediction - his closing blessing to the world. Quite some gift he gave by this and his other books. Long may that intentionality endure in the world, and what may glimmer and arise even in dark times.
January 3, 2020
I have to thank my cousin and beautiful mind Emma for bringing poet O'Donohue into my life. It was Em who suggested that John’s comforting and restorative #beannacht be read at my brother’s funeral in March. In a desolate moment, hope echoed from that reading, as is so often the case with his words. He has this extraordinary ability to guide lost souls to a well of refreshment and light. He acknowledges how you feel but encourages you to be more at home in yourself, a place where you experience a transformative sense of balance and poise. “That is exactly what #spirituality is,” he says. “The art of #homecoming.” His vision was for us all to reach a point where there is no time or space, only eternity. Imagine that. John grew up in #countyclare, studied #theology, #philosophy and philosophical theology, and spent many years as a priest. Clearly, he was a very compassionate, charismatic and inquisitive guy – alert and awake to so much. Through the church and in his writing, he inspired people to embrace amorphous notions of #soul, #beauty and imagination, leaving us just that little bit more in awe of the world and grateful to be in it. To not follow a particular religion and yet still have faith is an amazing thing. Beannacht’ means ‘blessing�� in Gaelic. John defined a blessing as “A circle of light drawn around a person to protect, heal and strengthen.” And he made a whole book of them for us – called #benedictus – just before he passed suddenly in the night (like Hemal) aged just 52. Em gave me this book and I devoured it, but it’s one to turn to as each moment arises, whether you are waking up to an uncertain future, celebrating a birthday, on the cusp of #womanhood/#manhood, feeling disillusioned with work, having trouble #sleeping, setting off on your #travels, missing friends, experiencing #grief, feeling lonely, falling in love, moving into a new home, becoming a parent, getting old and so on. The greatest blessing, though, is John O’Donohue himself. The one about solitude feels like it was written just for me.
October 15, 2019
I consider John O’Donohue my self-selected patron saint. A poem/blessing of his, A Blessing for One Who Is Exhausted, was the last thing I posted on my blog after almost 10 years of posts. And his was the best “On Being” episode I’ve heard. I bought this book last summer in Ireland. It is the UK version of the book known in the USA as “To Bless the Space Between Us.”
It took more than a year to finish it, but I’ll miss picking it up and hearing his voice in my head. So many dog-earred pages. I read one of his blessings for leaders at our directors’ retreat, which felt like a risk but also felt right. Many of the blessings deal with grief and death. All the more poignant knowing that O’Donohue died so young.
I’ll keep picking it up, and may get the audio version as well to just hear his voice.
It took more than a year to finish it, but I’ll miss picking it up and hearing his voice in my head. So many dog-earred pages. I read one of his blessings for leaders at our directors’ retreat, which felt like a risk but also felt right. Many of the blessings deal with grief and death. All the more poignant knowing that O’Donohue died so young.
I’ll keep picking it up, and may get the audio version as well to just hear his voice.
July 15, 2020
I found this book profoundly moving. I write as one who has no religious faith but who warms to much that has a spiritual dimension - not only in literature but as well in music, art and architecture and all the beautiful things in this world. I now keep it in a prominent position on my book shelf and refer often to it.
January 10, 2023
I think these kind of "books of blessing" of high quality are becoming rarer and rarer as the modern world moves. And finding one that is actually creative and provides unique insight and not just blessings from hundreds of years ago, is lovely. Would recommend the HB version.
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June 11, 2023
John O'Donohue's intellect is staggering. There is so much in this book that people can relate to, but what is so important is the importance and power of our minds to do good by our thoughts for others and ourselves. Words of comfort and hope that look at life itself. Way above my intellect, but there is so much to think about and reflect on.
December 11, 2021
Quite good-small intakes occasionally from this one, a series of short perceptions insights and poems about lifes challenges. However, I would not be without it! Its the work of a terribly sensitive, and loving man.
May 19, 2017
Uneven, but that may reflect where the reader is at. Last three chapters struck a chord. Great, great poem "For a Leader."
March 22, 2018
Beautiful.
April 5, 2021
This book brings comfort and hope while avoiding trite sentimentality.
December 28, 2021
Simply beautiful. ❤️
April 10, 2022
I cannot get enough of John Donohue--his verse transports, his themes touch on every aspect of being human. I go to his books for comfort again and again.
March 10, 2023
Some really touching lines.
But most of all a collection
of examples for the use
of the word "may"
But most of all a collection
of examples for the use
of the word "may"
April 22, 2023
A gem of a book that I will continue to treasure.
September 17, 2025
A collection of insights I hope to hold close to me forever
October 26, 2025
a beautiful book of Celtic blessings for all moments in life and death
June 28, 2024
This book is a treasure, and probably would also be quite at home in the medicine cupboard -- a remedy for all kinds of emotional emergencies. John O'Donohue quietly anoints this reader's tired eyes by the sacred oil of his words, one after the other, while gently healing our weary heart.
'to come home to yourself'
May all that is forgiven in you,
Be released.
May your fears yield
Their deepest tranquilities.
May all that is unlived in you,
Blossom into a future
Graced with love.
- John O'Donohue
'to come home to yourself'
May all that is forgiven in you,
Be released.
May your fears yield
Their deepest tranquilities.
May all that is unlived in you,
Blossom into a future
Graced with love.
- John O'Donohue
April 8, 2020
“Benedictus: A Book of Blessings”, by John O’Donohue
Wonderful book worth returning to time and time again
*****
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.
‘There is a Quiet light that shines in every heart.
It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty,
Our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life…
This shy inner light is what enables us
to recognize and receive our very presence here
as a blessing.’
There is a kindness that dwells deep down within all things and often lingers in the unlikeliest of places..
Each new day is a path of wonder. Oftentimes, it may seem as though we have taken the longest voyage to arrive at that which was nearest all along..
Taking risks into possibilities will lead to new horizons. An unlived life is one that remains ‘safe’, yet your heart calls out for freedom and creativity..
The Celtic mind values time. One is constantly invited to grow – to transform and become more than you have been. All we need is bravery and grace..
A blessing is a protective circle of light. Adhere to your inner light so that it may illuminate the darkness with glorious lustre! Do not succumb to the sneaky shadows of the night..
A blessing makes distance kind and forgiving.. the greatest distance is not tangible but cognitive. Separation enables us to connect more deeply with freedom, ascension and compassion.
Wonderful book worth returning to time and time again
*****
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.
‘There is a Quiet light that shines in every heart.
It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty,
Our desire to seek possibility and our hearts to love life…
This shy inner light is what enables us
to recognize and receive our very presence here
as a blessing.’
There is a kindness that dwells deep down within all things and often lingers in the unlikeliest of places..
Each new day is a path of wonder. Oftentimes, it may seem as though we have taken the longest voyage to arrive at that which was nearest all along..
Taking risks into possibilities will lead to new horizons. An unlived life is one that remains ‘safe’, yet your heart calls out for freedom and creativity..
The Celtic mind values time. One is constantly invited to grow – to transform and become more than you have been. All we need is bravery and grace..
A blessing is a protective circle of light. Adhere to your inner light so that it may illuminate the darkness with glorious lustre! Do not succumb to the sneaky shadows of the night..
A blessing makes distance kind and forgiving.. the greatest distance is not tangible but cognitive. Separation enables us to connect more deeply with freedom, ascension and compassion.
March 29, 2015
I've had a copy of this book for several years. The pages are dog-eared from reading and re-reading. In it you'll find profound and soulful blessings relative to nearly any situation written by a former priest and poetic philosopher, an Irishman from Connemara, John O'Donohue. I refer to it often for inspiration, calm and guidance, and as a reminder of the beauty and goodness of the world if only we keep our eyes open. It's a book I'll always keep at hand. (Note: after Mr. O'Donohue's passing, it was re-released as "To Bless the Space Between Us."
May 25, 2015
This is a great reference for blessings, useful in all sorts of situations, for marriage, for dying, for the artist at the start of the day, for the exhausted, for dozens of different situations. At the end of the book O'Donohue includes several brief essays on the art of blessing. So sad that we lost him so young. He gave us a great deal in his brief life.
January 21, 2010
Very beautiful pottery book with a poem for all needs.
November 23, 2012
John's book really are beautifully written and are food for the soul.
December 7, 2014
A wonderful book to just dip into, which I do, so its not actually officially 'read' but is always at hand, and highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews