Meditations for Lent

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