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February 23, 2023Father John Burns, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and author of several books, offers retreats, conferences and parish missions. Josiah Henley is a Catholic illustrator and designer from Portland, Ore. This book, “Return: a guided Lent journal for prayer and meditation,“ has prayers, meditations and reflections based on the readings at that day's Mass and space for journaling.
The reader will need access to the scripture readings for the day's Mass. Having the readings printed in this book would have made it more reader-friendly, but would have made the book twice its current size. There are other resources available online from Ave Maria Press and the URL is given in the book.
The book begins with an introduction and information on how to use the book. This is followed by the daily presentation, which starts with the collect for that day's Mass, followed by a listing of the Mass readings. This is followed by a reflection. There is a short prompt to encourage the reader to journal on the readings. The presentation ends with a short prayer. The book is divided into seven parts based on the number “weeks” of Lent, which is then divided into days. Each part, or week, begins with beautiful artwork and worthy of reflection or meditation on its own.
The book begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter Sunday. There is space for notes at the end of the book and there is no index or bibliographical references. This book is recommended to those looking for a Lenten reflection book and to be able to journal.
Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., Saint Gregory's Abbey, Shawnee, is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
