For a book that sets you in the strong, clear light of Advent as a season of preparation, even of penitence, this is the best. The readings here aren’t meant to evoke nostalgia or even comfort (yet), but to help a reader come wide awake, to take account, to consider what it is she hopes and what the coming of that hope means to the here and now. For ‘preparing a way for the Lord’ in my heart in this season, this book has long been a brave and resourceful companion.

I recently came across this devotional and have been captivated. The daily readings, which stretch from November 24 to January 7, include some of the most profound reflections on the season that I have ever seen – in both concept and scope, classic and contemporary – all gathered together into a single volume.

The Scandal of Redemption is direct testimony, excerpting from Romero’s sermons, talks, documents and diaries the key passages that explained his spiritual and temporal messages in troubled times. It lets the saint speak for himself. His was an applied theology. He started with the Bible and interpreted what that meant to contemporary Salvadorans.

For those interested in the life, witness, and martyrdom of Romero (and we all should be), the book is an invaluable companion.

A saint in every way we use the word, the life this book sketches is a timeless model for faithful political resistance and spiritual revival

Oscar Romero has so much to say to our church and our world today, and in The Scandal of Redemption we have been given an accessible way to read and spend time contemplating his encouraging words. My heart was set ablaze once again.

A short and gorgeous introduction to the sermons of Oscar Romero. Breathtakingly beautiful and Christ-centered, these sermons are steeped in Romero's love for the poor and suffering in his own country. But even more powerful is his love and prayers for repentance and redemption for those in power who ultimately took his life and inadvertently amplified his message.

The Scandal of Redemption consists of excerpts from Archbishop Romero’s diary interspersed with passages from his homilies in which he denounces injustice and calls murder and torture by their names. He preaches to the oppressed and to men of violence alike, pointing them to the gospel of redemption and liberation.… Of this there is no doubt: Oscar Romero is a true martyr for Christ. He proclaimed God’s love and was prepared, like any good shepherd, to give his life for his sheep.

Archbishop Romero invites us to sanity and reflection, to respect for life and harmony.

Oscar Romero was converted by suffering: the suffering of a friend, of the people he served, and then finally his own suffering. There are many ways to be converted, but perhaps the best way is to live among the poor and to discover in them, as Romero did, the presence of Christ.

Romero does not speak from a distance. He does not hide his fears, his brokenness, his hesitations. It is as if he puts his arm around my shoulder and slowly walks with me. He shares my struggles. There is a warmth in his words that opens my heart to listen.

It’s hard to go wrong with writers such as these. . . . Born of obvious passion and graced with superb writing, this collection is a welcome – even necessary – addition.

This stunning collection of some of the best spiritual writers of all time came out in 2001 from the exceptionally thoughtful, high-quality publishing house founded by a simple-living community. What a delight to have seasonal readings from theological voices like Jürgen Moltmann, mystics like Bernard of Clairvaux, poets — from Sylvia Plath to T.S. Eliot to Jane Kenyon — contemplatives such as Henri Nouwen, and storytelling writers like the late Brennan Manning.