Lent and Easter Reflections


Book Description

The Catholic Daily Reflections Series was written to help you enter more deeply into the Holy Scriptures and the Catholic Liturgy on a daily basis. Through these reflections and prayers, you are invited to embrace the Word of God in a personal, engaging, challenging and transforming way. These reflections are also a great resource for priests and deacons for their daily homily preparations. This Volume offers daily reflections and prayers for Lent and Easter. Catholic Daily Reflections Series: Volume One: Advent and Christmas Volume Two: Lent and Easter Volume Three: Ordinary Time: Weeks 1-17 Volume Four: Ordinary Time: Weeks 18-34




Living Your Baptism In Lent


Book Description

During Lent, the Church invites us to reflect on those times that we have turned away from God and consider how we can return to him in all we say and do. Living Your Baptism in Lent: Weekly Reflections for Your Journey helps readers respond to this invitation by reflecting on their relationship with God. Through the grace of our Baptism, we have become sons and daughters of God. As such, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit to reject sin and choose instead to follow God. Each week, readers consider this choice as they reflect on the questions asked before Baptism. These questions, or baptismal promises, shape our understanding of what it means to live a Christian life. They call us to become witnesses of our faith to others, especially to those who are preparing to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. Our Lenten journey leads us to the celebration of Easter, where we renew our baptismal promises and rejoice in the salvation gained for us by Christ’s Resurrection. Each week’s reflection ends with questions and Scripture passages to use in individual prayer. A guide for leading small groups in these reflections is also included.




God Is on the Cross


Book Description

Forty stirring devotions for Lent and Easter, from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.




Meditations for Great Lent


Book Description

The Lenten Triodion exhorts us, "Let us observe a fast acceptable and pleasing to the Lord." Using hymns from the Triodion and the Scripture readings appointed for the season, Meditations for Great Lent shows us how to make our fast acceptable: to fast not only from food but from sin; to fast with love and humility, as a means to an end and not an end in itself. Keep this gem of a book with you to inspire you for the Fast and to dip into for encouragement as you pursue your Lenten journey.




Meditations for Lent


Book Description

Even three hundred years ago, believers found it difficult to sustain for forty days the proper Lenten spirit. That's why even then, countless Christians turned to the writings of Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704), whose great piety and simple eloquence won him renown as one of the greatest preachers of his time. From Bishop Bossuet's sermons and spiritual writings, believers drew ever greater Lenten wisdom and strength. Now translator Christopher Blum has selected from Bishop Bossuet's voluminous works fifty brief but remarkably powerful meditations that complement the daily readings at Mass during the Lenten season, thus offering to us the perfect companion for a thoughtful and fruitful Lent. If you read and meditate briefly on just one of them each day in Lent, I guarantee that this good French bishop's eloquence will soon have you not merely remembering the events of Christ's journey to His Crucifixion; it will have you spiritually walking with Him on that journey . . . which is precisely what we are called to do in Lent! With Bossuet, this Lent you will find yourself saying, "O Jesus! I present myself to you to make my journey in your company. O my Savior, receive your traveler! Here I am ready, holding on to nothing. Let me go with You to the Father." That's the fire that should burn in the heart of all Christians. This Lent, let Bishop Bossuet enkindle it in yours. Among the Meditations: God Alone Suffices Pray to God in Secret The Truth and the Life Tempted in the Desert The Sign of Jonah Love Your Enemies This Is My Beloved Son And You Will Be Forgiven The Wicked Tenants In Spirit and in Truth The Silence of Christ Priest, Prophet, and King Our Life, a Journey to God The Great Commandment I Was Hungry and You Fed Me The Love of God for Repentant Sinners Up to Jerusalem God, the Life of the Soul The Witness of the Baptist The Raising of Lazarus Jesus Is Persecuted The True Messiah The Anointing The Betrayal The Eucharist The Passion The Brevity of Life Washed of Our Sins A Sign of Contradiction No Man Ever Spoke Like This Man The Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem To Unite Ourselves with Christ




Advent with the Saints


Book Description

Christians know that St. John the Baptist prepares the way of the Lord. Which other saints can accompany us during the four weeks of waiting for the birth of Jesus? Through insightful reflections, Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, a pastor and radio personality, connects us to the lives of saints and holy ones suggested by the Scriptural readings of Advent. Father Greg draws on his love for the saints to offer us daily inspiration during this season of preparation. For each day of Advent until Christmas Day, we find a brief reflection on an Advent lectionary reading, with a saintly connection, a suggested action for the day, and a prayer to help us slow down and savor this season of waiting and hope. This perennial Advent resource will become part of your preparation for Christmas year after year.




Daybreaks


Book Description

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." John 3:17 Drawing on Scripture, literature, and personal experience, Fr. Ron Rolheiser shows us God's love is unconditional--God so loves us that he gave his only son. The death and resurrection of Jesus reveal a redeeming God, not a rescuing one. And that redemption comes through forgiveness. For each day of Lent through the Second Sunday of Easter, Daybreaks invites us pray and reflect. Fr. Ron explores the themes of humility and repentance, being a disciple, justice and mercy, the nature of God, faith, the Pascal Mystery, gratitude, and redemption. His daily reflections challenge us to be more loving and forgiving Christians.




A Time of Renewal


Book Description

Mother Mary Francis, abbess of a Poor Clare Monastery for over forty years, left an enduring legacy in her writings and in the conferences she gave to her spiritual daughters. In this work she presents beautiful meditations on the liturgical season of Lent, revealing the treasures of the liturgy to Christians in all walks of life. Her insight into Holy Scripture and her poet's heart engendered reflections that illuminate the daily Mass readings in a fresh and attractive way. These meditations enlighten the reader to see conversion as positive and enriching, and help us to understand that the generous embrace of Lenten penance has a purpose and brings a wondrous reward: deeper union with God. She was a true daughter of Saint Francis of Assisi, who found perfect joy by turning away from self to God. As a spiritual guide, Mother Mary Francis excels in the art of persuasion, aware that the human heart cannot be forced but only gently led to holiness. She makes this goal attractive and desirable by tirelessly explaining why striving for holiness is the happiest and wisest way to live. This book provides a wealth of material for plundering the riches of the Lenten season and for deepening one's spiritual life. Her meditations are profound and timeless, not changing from year to year, thus providing a lifetime of Lenten meditations in this one volume.




Sensing the Passion


Book Description

Sensing the Passion heightens the senses so that readers can experience with new depth Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. The author helps us examine Christ's passion through our five senses, sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch -- the same senses Christ embodied -- and leads us to bold and startling insights about Christ's humanity and the world. The six-week study will be valued greatly by groups or individuals who are searching for a fresh understanding of Jesus' last days and crucifixion. Each chapter offers thoughtful meditations, then closes with exercises that ask readers to focus on their senses in different, compelling ways. Also included are questions for reflection and discussion and prayers.




In Caelo Et in Terra


Book Description

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ... sicut in caelo et in terra The saints were not picture perfect. But they were real men and women who loved Jesus in the midst of their struggles with sin and suffering. In the most difficult moments in history, these men and women were lights in the darkness, prophets of hope, and beacons of peace. Joyfully persevering through life's trials, they lived the Gospel in unique, fascinating, and inspiring ways. The Daughters of St. Paul at Pauline Books and Media noticed that most books on the lives of the saints are paperback and do not have a presentation as timeless or as beautiful as we believe the lives of the saints deserve. For this reason, we decided to take on the monumental project to write, design, and illustrate a volume of 365 saints and blesseds. Supported by the prayers of our sisters in convents and Pauline Books and Media bookstores around the world, over thirty of our sisters worked on all aspects of this timeless volume for over a decade. It's our hope that it will reflect the striking beauty of the saints' lives--a meeting of heaven and earth. Through the beautiful reflections and exquisite artwork, may you forge deeper bonds with these holy men and women in heaven who show us how to live in Christ. Let's become saints! Features & Benefits - daily reflections on the saints and blesseds, written by the Daughters of St. Paul - original illustrations by Sr. Danielle Victoria Lussier, FSP - includes indices of names, patron saints, feast days - includes prayers written by the saints - keepsake quality with durable hardcover - gold-stamped cover - includes a ribbon