A book well worth the read

Some weeks ago I picked up another gem from the treasure trove that is Ignatius Press: Simon, Called Peter: In the Company of a Man in Search for God by Mauro-Giuseppi Lepori, O.Cist.


The Abbot of the Swiss abbey of Hauterive provides us with the rich fruit of his reflections on the person of Saint Peter, whom he has found to be "a companion to walk ahead of me" because it is Peter who "always leads us to Jesus, he unites us to Jesus, because he never permitted his own fragility to separate his heart from Christ" (15).


The book is composed of fifteen short chapters, each one a reflection on the words of Saint Peter, on what Jesus says to Peter, or, in the case of chapter fourteen, an action of Peter. Taking three chapters a day, this book would be a excellent book for a priest to use on a private retreat.


Each chapter follows from the previous one and leads you into the next, providing an intimate portrait of Peter, in such a way that putting the down is difficult, unless for a moments of prayer and additional reflection.


Consider this passage from chapter thirteen on the passage, "I do not know the man" (Matthew 26:72):

Now Peter would have really given his life for the Lord. Now he understood that he was willing to lose everything for him. And in that endless instant - which will never end - Simon asked Jesus, with his eyes, if he could die for him. And in that endless instant, the Lord answered with his eyes, Not now! Later! And in that endless instant, Peter did not object; he accepted the gift of powerlessness, the gift of being unable to do anything, the gift of the failure of his will, the grace of the powerlessness of his love. Simon, called Peter, accepted the wound of seeing Jesus with no one to love him and felt the bitterness well up inside of him (105-106).

If you are looking for a readable book to help you read and understand the Scriptures better, to help you pray and to deepen your faith, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it. I suspect it will be one that I read on a regular basis.


You can even download an E-Book or an audio book.

Update: Carl Olson has posted the introduction to the book at the Ignatius Scoop.