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.

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.

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