Paradise Now

"Paradise Now is both inspiring and inspired! Jay Parini leads us gently through the essential prayer of Christianity, writing with a keen ear for nuance and a lovely eye for details. Grace and truth live in these pages.” —Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M., Center for Action and Contemplation, author of New York Times bestseller The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom For an Age of Outrage

“Drawing on his own meditative experiences with the Lord’s Prayer and on a lifetime of intense engagement with key works of world literature and their authors, Jay Parini opens up new ways for his readers to experience the transformative power of that simple prayer, which is no less than a summary of Jesus’s entire way of life. To be read and savored.” —Miroslav Volf, professor of theology at Yale University and author of The Cost of Ambition and co-author of Life Worth Living

An acclaimed, award-winning, and best-selling poet, novelist, and critic turns his poetic and literary eye to the most famous prayer in human history.

For Christians, the Lord’s Prayer stands at the heart of both belief and practice. It offers a brief yet profound window into Jesus at prayer, and it continues to guide those who follow in his way. In this close, meditative, and far‑reaching reading—drawn from the slightly different versions found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke—Parini brings to bear his formidable gifts as poet, critic, and teacher.

Moving line by line, Parini unpacks the depth and resonance of this fabled prayer, illuminating its layers of meaning and the many ways it reveals the nature of God. In doing so, he considers what it truly means to live the Lord’s Prayer: to lean into its words, inhabit them, and allow them to shape one’s character and daily practice of faith and reconciliation.

Parini—whose distinguished career has been recognized with major honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship—draws on his mastery as poet, critic, and novelist to emphasize the prayer’s lived dimension. He helps readers experience it not simply as a sacred text, but as a transformative way of being.

“Parini, a noted author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, offers a brief but densely packed reflection that views the Lord’s Prayer with the eyes of both a believer and a scholar. His approach is deeply personal yet informed throughout by the thoughts of others….Highly literate treatment of a vital element in the Christian tradition.” —Kirkus Reviews