In Gethsemane,
Jesus begged His disciples
to “watch one hour”
with Him.
Another Lent begins next week.
Before it ends, will you finally manage
to watch one hour with Jesus,
and in that hour, to grow closer to Him in prayer…
as He yearns for you to do?
If you’re not confident, you should
consider this remarkable book,
written in Jerusalem in the 1920s
by a Dominican priest who lived there.
This Lent, it will make it easy for you
to watch not just one hour with Jesus,
but many.
“By means of this book,”
said Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta,
“we enter right into the Heart of Jesus and discover
how precious we are to Him and how much
He longs for our love in return.”
*
The late John Cardinal O’Connor
called this book “beautiful, devotional, and insightful.”
*
Fr. Benedict Groeschel
proclaimed it “a powerful aid to meditation.”
and
Dr. Alice von Hildebran says,
“This book should be in the hands of every single Christian.”
That’s because its author,
Rev. A.D. Sertillanges (1863-1948),
wrote with the care of a scholar, the eye of a cinematographer,
and the tenderness of a saint.
In the pages of this book, What Jesus Saw from the Cross,
you’ll be jostled by crowds as you enter Jerusalem with Jesus,
choke on the dust of the narrow streets,
breathe the rich smells of the city at festival time,
and share the Last Supper with the disciples.
You’ll weep in Gethsemane,
witness the kiss of Judas and the lying accusations
made before Herod and Pilate.
You’ll stumble with Jesus through narrow streets,
bumped by pack animals and hawkers selling wares
to the thrill-seeking crowd,
sneering at the Cross Jesus bears.
You’ll weep as soldiers drive home the nails
and tremble as darkness covers the earth
when Jesus dies.
So intense is Fr. Sertillanges’ account of Jesus’ last days
— and so faithful to the Gospel —
that generations of Catholics have used
What Jesus Saw from the Cross
to prepare themselves for Easter.
*
The late Fr. John Hardon, Servant of God, said that:
“Father Sertillanges’ book immerses us
into every detail, every event, and every emotion
that accompanies the drama
of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice on the cross.
After reading this book, every Christian will experience
the vivid sense of being an eyewitness
to the death of His Lord
and view the Crucifixion as a personal event
that touches his daily life.
This is a book for all times, for all places, and for all people, especially our own age.”
***
Will your faith grow this Lent,
or will it be another Lent
in which you just
“manage to get by?”
Join Mother Teresa, Cardinal O’Connor,
Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Dr. Alice von Hildebrand,
and countless other good Catholics
who have nourished their faith with
What Jesus Saw from the Cross.
|
A. G. Sertillanges
(1863-1948)
| Antonin Gilbert Sertillanges entered the Dominican order in France when he was twenty, was ordained a priest in 1888, and devoted the rest of his life to study and prayer.
A gifted teacher and a prolific scholar, Fr. Sertillanges published many books and over a thousand articles in the areas of philosophy, theology, art, and spirituality. |
Fr. Sertillanges was admired for his skill as a preacher, spiritual director, and apologist, and had considerable success explaining the Catholic faith to the young and the unconverted.
No “ivory tower” intellectual, but a passionate son of the Church, Fr. Sertillanges’s works bridge the gap between theology and the Christian experience of ordinary laymen. |
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