Meditations for Lent

Meditations for Lent

Even four 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 the greatest preacher of his time. From Bishop Bossuet's sermons and writings, believers drew ever greater Lenten wisdom and strength.<br /><br />Now translator Christopher Blum has selected from Bishop Bossuet's voluminous works forty brief but remarkably powerful meditations, arranged them according to the events reported in the Gospels, and lovingly translated each one for us.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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."<br /><br />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:<br /><br />God Alone Suffices<br />Pray to God in Secret<br />The Truth and the Life<br />Tempted in the Desert<br />The Sign of Jonah<br />Love Your Enemies<br />This Is My Beloved Son<br />And You Will Be Forgiven<br />The Wicked Tenants<br />In Spirit and in Truth<br />The Silence of Christ<br />Priest, Prophet, and King<br />Our Life, a Journey to God<br />The Great Commandment<br />I Was Hungry and You Fed Me<br />The Love of God for Repentant Sinners<br />Up to Jerusalem<br />God, the Life of the Soul<br />The Witness of the Baptist<br />The Raising of Lazarus<br />Jesus Is Persecuted<br />The True Messiah<br />The Anointing<br />The Betrayal<br />The Eucharist<br />The Passion<br />The Brevity of Life<br />Washed of Our Sins<br />A Sign of Contradiction<br />No Man Ever Spoke Like This Man<br />The Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem<br />To Unite Ourselves with Christ