God for Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter Author: Greg Pennoyer | Language: English | ISBN:
1612613799 | Format: EPUB
God for Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter Description
Book Description
God for Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter explores the meaning of Lent, its importance in spiritual formation, its significance in the preparation of Easter, and the holy season of Easter itself. With reflections from leading spiritual writers in North America, histories of the liturgical calendar and the feast days of the holy season, and art that spans over 1500 years of artistic endeavor, God For Us provides a rich resource for renewing meaning in a season that is at best neglected or misunderstood.
About the Author
Editor Greg Pennoyer is executive director of The Humanitas Group which manages creative endeavors designed to enrich our understanding of what it means to be human. He is cofounder of the Centre for Cultural Renewal and a member of the Board of Directors for Image journal.
Editor Gregory Wolfe is the founder and editor of Image, director of the MFA in Creative Writing at Seattle Pacific University, and co-editor with Greg Pennoyer of God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas.
- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Paraclete Press (December 1, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1612613799
- ISBN-13: 978-1612613796
- Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
God for Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter Edited by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe
God for Us is a wonderful collection of essays on the meaning of Lent and Easter written by a great host of writers, including writers, priests, a poet, and professors. The book is stunningly enhanced by incorporating famous works of art throughout the chapters as a way of illuminating the message or theme of the piece. Each reading includes a few Scripture readings, identification of the day of the church calendar, a short explanation, prayer, and work of art depicting that chapter. Whether you worship in a church with high or low liturgy, this book will expand your appreciation for the Lenten and Eastern season which mirror the life of Christ.
The powerful reminder coming through in this book was the fact that we are all on a journey. Commenting on Shrove Tuesday and Lent, Richard Rohr writes, “Lent is intended to lead us into an always hidden future and an always greater opportunity, and it is in truth – a future created by God – but still unknown to us. We now enter Lent with a new and open horizon, ready to both expect and work for God’s ever new springtime.” (6) There is a combination of feasting and fasting that is part of the Lenten season that connects with this hidden future. We don’t know the exact outcome of the future but we work for the Lord with an expectant spirit knowing that He is good and has our good in mind. The dual nature of letting go of the things that hinder our worship and taking on the practices that draw us near to God remind us that change is possible, even in the time being.
he past couple of years my Lenten practice has been enriched by books from Paraclete Press. Two years ago I prayed the daily offices from the Prayer Book of the Early Christians through Lent. Last year my wife and I read Seeking His Mind: 40 Meetings With Christ by M. Basil Pennington as part of our evening devotions.I was on the hunt for a good reader for Lent this year and was excited by Paraclete’s latest offering, God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter. I am highly impressed and excited about this! I have read God With Us, the companion volume to this book which explores the meaning of Advent and Christmas. So I had some inkling of what to expect when I opened the book.
However, I was ill-prepared for how beautiful this book is. It is a hardcover book with ribbon bookmarks. Inside, it has inside a stunning collection of art work. Icons, religious art, landscapes, and still life which deepen our experience of Jesus life, death and resurrection. The art is well chosen to illustrate the readings, they are not just pretty pictures. I counted over a hundred paintings, in a variety of styles but mostly from the Western European tradition.
God For Us is edited by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe (of Image Journal). Pennoyer and Wolfe have assembled an impressive list of of Christian writers and poets which include the likes of Richard Rohr, Lauren Winner, Scott Cairns, James Schaap, Luci Shaw, and Kathleen Norris. There is a preface from Greg Pennoyer and an introduction by Ronald Rolheiser, OMI. Beth Bevis opens the volume with a section on the history of Lent and has fourteen other articles which punctuate the text. These authors share a commitment to Christ and they are all great writers (five of which are personal favorites).
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