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Ninety-six daily reflections for Lent and Eastertide plumb the depths of a wealth of Christian traditions.
Easter is the high point of the year for millions of Christians around the world. And for most of them, there can be no Easter without Lent, the season that leads up to it.
A time for self-denial, soul-searching, and spiritual preparation, Lent makes time for daily reading and reflection. This time-tested collection of devotions will deepen and stretch your faith, and can be returned to year after year. Culled from the wealth of twenty centuries, the selections are ecumenical in scope, representing the best classic and contemporary Christian writers.
This expanded second edition adds dozens of voices, new and old, and takes the reader all the way through Eastertide to Pentecost. It includes ninety-six Lenten and Easter readings, plus seven chapter-opening poems.
View Table of ContentsBread and wine is a beautiful devotional book filled with poignant readings for Lent and Easter. I especially enjoyed the selections written by Oswald Chambers, Watchman Nee, and Madeline L'Engle. Readers will enjoy this book because each devotional points to what Jesus did for us on the cross. As I read the selections, I felt closer to Christ as my spirit was fed, and being able to read the thoughts of different authors helped me reflect on various points I had not considered before. I'm so thankful Plough Publishing offered me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book is exactly what I need in this busy, noisy, never-simple season of life. The more overwhelming the world gets, the more my spirit is desperate for peace, a foundation of truth, & reminders of what matters most. Bread and Wine offers all of that through both the voices of writers that feel like old friends & new-to-me writers I want to know better. The reality of a broken, hard life is met with the reality of God’s overcoming-darkness-love in so many of these readings. I am thankful for these voices that do not shy away from the truth of our need, but see it in light of the grace that meets it. I know I’ll return to this book many times, because it is a message of hope & redemption that will never, ever grow old. This book was sent as a review copy…I am grateful for it!
This book is a gem and a delight to be reading during Lent and Easter or anytime of the year at all. This is a compilation of short writings by 96 authors. Some I know very well, some I have never heard of. They are Catholic and Protestant and religion unknown. Each one chosen beautifully. There are seven sections; Invitation, Temptation, Passion, Crucifixion, Resurrection, New Life, and Pentecost. I can't quote everyone or even list every one of these writings that touched my heart. I found myself highlighting lines from Barbara Brown Taylor, (which I will rarely do) and at times, weeping, at a beautiful poem by John Masefeld, titled "Everylasting Mercy." That is a must read. These are two people I have never heard of, but am so happy to now have their names. Johann Ernst von Holst writes on the good thief and brings so much alive in so few pages. This book has given me 96 people to remember, to research, to read more of. Some, like Dr. Peter Kreeft, Walter Ciszek or Thomas A Kempis, I am very familiar with and others I hope to become more familiar with. I will end this with a line from Gonalo Baez Camargo, writing about Jesus; "In the desert Christ discovered an eternal and awesome truth: The means determine the ends." This to me was a great line to use to assess my own life and my own actions. Where do I wish to end? I highly recommend this book to anyone, of any faith, for Lent and Easter or as a book to open any time of the year. I am very thankful to Plough Publishing who is so good to me and offered me this book to read.
We read Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter aloud to each other – our evening devotions as husband and wife. It was an investment listening to all ninety-six selections, for while each selection is an appropriately bite-sized chunk, these chunks require chewing, digesting. Bread and Wine serves up a vast smorgasboard of some of the most profound Christian reflections in history. The range of voices is breathtaking: fourth-century theologian next to twenty-first century activist. Every corner of the globe. One moment we are sharing the conversion of the criminal hanging next to Jesus. Another, we are beside mother Mary waiting for the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. We hear a legend of Jesus welcoming Judas, a meditation on losing Christ. The juxtaposition of all this was enriching and, at times, challenging. We paused here and there to share thoughts, questions, and feelings. As with any good anthology, we noted those authors worth further exploration. Bread and Wine asks something of us, but the returns are worth the investment.
We worked thru Bread and Wine in a small group during Lent and Easter. Amy's devo was by far the most guilt/shame inducing! No one in our group cared for it. No grace! Our sin and weaknesses do not disqualify Calvary's love from us. They are simply areas of our lives that need Calvary's love to work them thru! To find healing. Overall, we loved the book!
This is my favorite devotional book outside of the Bible. I stumbled upon it in university eight years ago and loved it instantly. I find myself wondering how many months until Lent when I can start it again. I've told countless others about it and bought it for my parents. It has taught me what Lent means, a tradition I had not grown up with. This collection of writings has enriched my life and my walk with Christ more than I can express in words.
This is the 3rd year my prayer partner and I will be using Bread and Wine for our journey through Lent. We have both been amazed at how the readings meet us where we are each year and prick our hearts and/or comfort us as we travel. What a glorious walk to the cross, death, resurrection, and beyond. Jesus has become even more real to us. Thank you for the compliation of these wonderful writers into one book used to lift up all who open its covers. Just a suggestion.....if you are so led, keep a journal concerning your daily readings. The written account of your growth from year to year will amaze you.
The book, Bread and Wine, is a mainstay of my Lenten celebrations. I have read it every year since owning my copy in 2011; I never tire of its contents, and each year I am stimulated, challenged, inspired and encouraged to celebrate Lent every day of the life God gives me. I highly recommend it.
“Bread and Wine” are ninety-six daily truth-revealing reflections for Lent and Easter, plumbing the passionate depths of the soul. The season of Lent leads up to Easter, a soul-searching time for self-denial, a time for meditating on the true state of the soul. This time-tested collection of reflections deepens our faith like never before, culled from twenty centuries, featuring the best classic and contemporary Christian writers, through the contemplative seasons of Lent, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Pentecost. Here is a prolific treasure-trove from Christianity’s classical authors, from the early church fathers and medieval mystics to modern saints, living authors, scholars, activists and literary giants, spanning the Greek East to the Latin West, in a brave and bold clarion call, energizing and revitalizing—exactly what we need in a sinful world living without grace. Here are inspiring readings from leading literary and spiritual writers, aesthetically-rich writing, spanning two millennia in a glorious, magnificent cloud of witnesses, striking a prophetic and poetic chord to beckon us back to the Gospel, to conquer death and encourage us to live as true “Easter people”.
Over the years, I have received many review copies of books from Plough Publishing, and I have come to deeply appreciate their ability to put together an uplifting and well-balanced collection. They are always the perfect size, shape, and length, and such cosy, encouraging books, great to curl up with in the evenings or to carry in your handbag to read on the train. Bread and Wine is a delightful addition to my Plough Publishing bookshelf. It is a collection of Lenten readings and poetry. The readings are the perfect length, each one just long enough to clearly communicate its intended thought while still being short enough not to overwhelm. Having it by my bedside as part of my nightly routine has been such a blessing during this season. The selections come from a delightful range of authors, some I know well, such as C. S. Lewis, and some completely new to me, like Edward Shillito. What brings them all together for me is how stimulating and deep they are in content. Many of the devotional type books I’ve read as of late have failed to provoke deep thought in their meditations, as though it is impossible to have a reading short and theologically rich at the same time. Bread and Wine does both with ease and clarity. I am truly thankful for this delightful book. It is such a pleasure to read.
For those who have yearned for the unity for which Christ prayed (John 17) there may be no better way to instill Christ’s prayer into our lives and thoughts than by reading, studying and assimilating the thoughts expressed by the multitude of contributors to this anthology for Lent. While the names may be familiar, the messages on Lent not quite so, but they, in a touching way, seem to link all the Christian traditions into a common heritage centered on Jesus’ last days of earthly ministry. This book is a polished diamond, each facet a brilliant insight for the season.
