Meditations for Lent

Meditations for Lent
Author: Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Publisher: Sophia Institute Press
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014-01-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 193318499X

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

Living Lent

Living Lent
Author: Barbara Cawthorne Crafton
Publisher: Morehouse Publishing
Total Pages: 112
Release: 1998
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780819217561

Reflect on faith, prayer, forgiveness, and healing in these meditations based on the words and poetry of seasonal hymns.

Pauses for Lent

Pauses for Lent
Author: Trevor Hudson
Publisher: Upper Room Books
Total Pages: 65
Release: 2015-09-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0835815056

Sometimes a pause is good for the soul. It gives us the chance to regroup, reflect, and refocus on God. In Pauses for Lent, Trevor Hudson offers a beautifully minimalist book in which he focuses on one word for each day of Lent. You are invited to pause, focus on the word, read a scripture and a brief meditation related to the word, and then offer a prayer. Pausing in this way will help you carve out time for God and refresh your spirit even in the midst of a busy life. You may find yourself sensing God's presence in a new way and discovering that God wants to meet you in the midst of your life as it is, muddles and all.

Where the Eye Alights

Where the Eye Alights
Author: Marilyn McEntyre
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 116
Release: 2021-01-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467461725

Lent is about more than going to church on weekdays and giving up chocolate or social media. It’s also a time to form one’s heart and mind through study and prayer. In Where the Eye Alights, Marilyn McEntyre offers forty short meditations, based on excerpts from Scripture and poetry, that guide readers on a devotional journey from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday. As in lectio divina—the spiritual practice of reading Scripture repetitively and meditatively—McEntyre invites us to notice words that may give us pause and summon us to reflection. This book calls our attention to how the Spirit speaks through phrases that can open doors to deep places for those willing to sit still with them. “Lent is a time of permission,” says McEntyre. “Many of us find it hard to give ourselves permission to pause, to sit still, to reflect or meditate or pray in the midst of daily occupations—most of them very likely worthy in themselves—that fill our waking minds and propel us out of bed and on to the next thing. We need the explicit invitation the liturgical year provides to change pace, to curtail our busyness a bit, to make our times with self and God a little more spacious, a little more leisurely, and see what comes. The reflections I offer here come from a very simple practice of daily meditation on whatever has come to mind in the quiet of early morning.”

Organic God

Organic God
Author: Kate Moorehead
Publisher: Cowley Publications
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2010-04-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1461635780

In these Lenten meditations, Kate Moorehead devotes each of the seven weeks to a theme that Jesus addressed frequently, particularly through Earth-centered parables of planting. Each day of the week she explores an aspect of the particular theme. Seeking meaning in the details, the secrets of God’s life with us are revealed to us every day in nature itself-the icons of God's presence. By meditating on these icons, we are drawn into closer relationship with God.

Thoughts In Solitude

Thoughts In Solitude
Author: Thomas Merton
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2011-04-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1429944072

Thoughtful and eloquent, as timely (or timeless) now as when it was originally published in 1956, Thoughts in Solitude addresses the pleasure of a solitary life, as well as the necessity for quiet reflection in an age when so little is private. Thomas Merton writes: "When society is made up of men who know no interior solitude it can no longer be held together by love: and consequently it is held together by a violent and abusive authority. But when men are violently deprived of the solitude and freedom which are their due, the society in which they live becomes putrid, it festers with servility, resentment and hate." Thoughts in Solitude stands alongside The Seven Storey Mountain as one of Merton's most uring and popular works. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, is perhaps the foremost spiritual thinker of the twentiethcentury. His diaries, social commentary, and spiritual writings continue to be widely read after his untimely death in 1968.

Sensing God

Sensing God
Author: Laurence Freeman
Publisher: SPCK
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2015-12-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0281075476

Those who want to save their life will lose it; and those who lose their life for my sake will find it’ (Matthew 16.25). We often associate Lent with ‘giving something up’, but it is also a good time to begin or to deepen the practice of meditation. Through this ascetic discipline, we enter into the tradition of the Desert Fathers and, as we learn to nurture the silence within, come to experience joy and well-being in every area of our lives. This book is a practical introduction and guide to Christian meditation as taught by Fr John Main and continued through the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM). It contains meditation instructions, guidance and support as well as 46 enriching daily reflections on the Gospels, highlighting an aspect of their meaning and their continued relevance for modern living.

40 Days, 40 Ways

40 Days, 40 Ways
Author: Marcellino D'Ambrosio
Publisher: Franciscan Media
Total Pages: 127
Release: 2015-03-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1616368950

If you're looking for a new Lenten experience, here are forty fresh ideas. Some will challenge you to deepen your prayer life; others will open your mind to new ways to serve others. Each of the forty ways includes a reflection to help you understand more about Lent and why it matters. You'll learn how to have a more creative experience of Lent. You'll discover positive, proactive ways to take action instead of the same old routine of giving something up. The result will be spiritual transformation and a closer walk with Christ—not only during Lent but throughout the year.