This Little Black Book is your companion for Lent 2014. It’s an old-fashioned “vade mecum” (pronounced vahday maykum). That’s Latin for “travel with me” and was used to describe a book that was a constant companion – perhaps a condensed book of prayers for traveling priests, or a handbook for quick reference – something you could take with you anywhere.

This Little Black Book is your companion for Lent 2015. It’s an old-fashioned “vade mecum” (pronounced vahday maykum). That’s Latin for “travel with me” and was used to describe a book that was a constant companion – perhaps a condensed book of prayers for traveling priests, or a handbook for quick reference – something you could take with you anywhere. The right-hand pages walk through Luke’s passion narrative, a few verses at a time, with explanations and reflections along the way. It’s an ancient way of praying the Scriptures – called lectio divina. The left-hand page has a variety of quotes, information, and timely thoughts. Treat it like a buffet table from which you can take what you like. (If pressed for time, go directly to the right-hand page and spend your time there.) On Sundays and on various left-hand pages, we’ll especially call to mind the poor this Lenten season, remembering Pope Francis’ words that “(a)mong our tasks as witnesses to the love of Christ is that of giving a voice to the cry of the poor.” We won’t start reading the Gospels until Ash Wednesday. But we’ll start the six-minute program on Sunday, February 15 (the Sunday before Ash Wednesday), which will give us three days to get ready for Lent.

This Little Black Book is your companion for Lent. It’s an old-fashioned “vade mecum” (pronounced vahday maykum). That’s Latin for “travel with me” and was used to describe a book that was a constant companion – perhaps a condensed book of prayers for traveling priests, or a handbook for quick reference – something you could take with you anywhere.

This Little Black Book is your companion for Lent. It’s an old-fashioned “vade mecum” (pronounced vahday maykum). That’s Latin for “travel with me” and was used to describe a book that was a constant companion – perhaps a condensed book of prayers for traveling priests, or a handbook for quick reference – something you could take with you anywhere.

Six minutes a day. That’s what you’re asked to give from now until Easter. Each 24-hour day has 240 “six minute” packages. During Lent, one of those will be given to the Lord. The centerpiece of each day (except Sundays) is the Passion according to Mark, which is on the right-hand page. We’ll walk through the whole Passion a little bit at a time, and offer some reflections with each piece. Once you get into it you’ll find this practice to be peaceful, even something to look forward to. You’ll also find that it helps to make your day go a bit better. Prayer does that.

This Little White Book is meant to help you enjoy six minutes a day in prayer during these next 50 days of the Easter 2014 season. The key is the right-hand page. On that page each day (except Sundays) we’ll walk through Matthew’s resurrection narrative. When the narrative is completed, we’ll look at the Gospels from four celebrations which this year fall on a Sunday, replacing the Gospel from Ordinary Time. The left-hand page is like a buffet table with information about the Easter season, or various traditions and customs, or the saint whose feast is celebrated that particular day. The main thing is to spend some quiet time with the Lord using one of our oldest traditions of prayer called lectio divina – sacred reading. We take a short Scripture passage and simply let God speak to us through the words, guiding us to reflections that sometimes seem to come from nowhere. But they’re not “from nowhere.” They’re from God.

This book is for Christmas season 2015-2015. This Little Book will be your companion, and you can take it with you wherever you wish. The left-hand page is like a buffet table with a variety of thoughts about the Advent and Christmas seasons, the feast of the day, or various traditions and customs. The key is the right-hand page where we’ll reflect on a Gospel passage. This year, the Little Blue Book will use the Gospel passages assigned for the weekday Masses of these seasons. This will give many people a chance to reflect on and pray passages from all of the Gospels that they may have seldom heard proclaimed or preached about at liturgy.