This timely volume marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Cardinal Basil Hume (1923-1999), Benedictine monk of Ampleforth Abbey, Archbishop of Westminster. Hume's Benedictine spirituality and his personal dedication to prayer gave him the ability to relate to other pilgrims who seek the living and true God. Hume, the monk, pastor, and preacher, still speaks to contemporary Benedictines, the wider Church, and the world. Even though, as Hume stated, 'In our public life we move further and further away from God and the things of God', he added, 'in the hearts of men and women I believe that the yearning for God is becoming more and more intense'. That yearning, as this book demonstrates, was at the core of Basil Hume's search for God--for Hume, the way of a pilgrim.

Looking for God with a monastic master in contemplative prayer.

English Cardinal Basil Hume was beloved all over the world for his pastoral gifts. Before dying of cancer in 1999, he left these meditations on the Seven Last Words of Christ on the cross. In each one of these reflections, Cardinal Hume unwraps a gift for usone that gives us hope even when we are in the midst of pain and difficulty. These last words . . . reveal their secrets slowly, if we meditate on them and pray, Cardinal Hume writes in the introduction. Let those words speak to you, and I will tell you what they have said to me. Short meditations that speak powerfully to the heart. An inspiring gift, especially for those who are in difficult circumstances; Can be used through Lent or at any time of the year.

This addition to Hodder's 'In My Own Words' series is a tribute to this remarkable man who always focused on his God, never on himself, and who has left a legacy of serenity and joy as a model for life as a Christian.

Arising out of a game of "hide-and-seek" that Cardinal Hume played many years ago with two young children, Basil in Blunderland is a book to enchant and inspire. On the day the children invited him to play with them, he had not meditated, and as a monk he was required to do half an hour of mental prayer each day. How, he wondered, could he play hide-and-seek and, at the same time, meditate? As the book unfolds we see how each hiding place in fact became a place to pray and how each suggested thoughts about the spiritual life.

To be a Pilgrim explores a spirituality open to people of all ages and in every walk of life. It is a collection of the Cardinal's thoughts, in simple and at times vivid language, on the Christian life, the destination of which is eternal happiness with God.

A full, rounded, yet critical study of Cardinal Basil Hume.