Song of the Sparrow: Four Seasons of Prayer

“Aimless as it seems, waiting is the deepest kind of prayer.”

Nearly fifty years after its first publication, Song of the Sparrow remains one of Fr. Murray Bodo’s most beloved works—an invitation to slow down, to listen, and to rediscover a God who meets us in the ordinary.

Through the changing seasons of the year, Fr. Bodo opens the interior seasons of the soul. His candid reflections reveal a life of prayer shaped not by perfection but by presence—by watching the sky, walking the woods, wrestling with loneliness, and receiving unexpected moments of grace. His emotional vulnerability threads through every page, offering readers a portrait of prayer that is honest, intimate, and profoundly human. 

“Somewhere along the line,” Fr. Bodo writes, “people got it into their heads that prayer is some special, esoteric practice reserved for monks and nuns and mystics… Nothing could be further from the truth. To pray is the privilege of every child of God.”

Now featuring a new introduction and dedication, this Franciscan classic invites a new generation to embrace the slow work of God, to lean into their own humanity, and to wait—patiently and expectantly—until the heart itself becomes a song.