What Christ suffered during his Passion — for you — is a powerful source of reflection and meditation. While we know that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem around A.D. 33, the details of his sufferings and death have been confused and obscured over the past two millennia. In What Christ Suffered: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Passion, Dr. Thomas W. McGovern provides the most accurate, up-to-date understanding of the physical sufferings of Jesus Christ, drawing on ancient Greek and Latin literature about crucifixion, discoveries of ancient images, archaeology, medical reenactment studies, and medical case reports. This volume corrects decades of myths and misunderstandings presented in books and articles and on websites — myths the author himself disseminated for years until he reanalyzed the data utilizing twenty-first-century advances in modern medicine and archaeological discoveries. This medical investigation of the Passion allows readers to enter more fully than ever into the reality of what Jesus suffered for our redemption. Drawing on the teachings of Pope Saint John Paul II in Salvifici Doloris, this book invites the reader to a deeper understanding of the meaning and value of human suffering — and how to practically apply it in their lives. By his sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus has won salvation for the whole world, redeeming even our sufferings through his incredible act of love. ABOUT THE AUTHOR A native of Escanaba, Michigan, Dr. Thomas W. McGovern completed his M.D. at Mayo Medical School. His eight years in the U.S. Army included two years of infectious disease and vaccine research and a dermatology residency at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Denver. He trained in Mohs surgery and Cutaneous Oncology at the Yale University School of Medicine and has practiced Mohs Surgery and Reconstruction for skin cancer in Fort Wayne since 2000. He serves on the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) national board and chairs the Young Member Advisory Committee. He is “living the dream,” cohosting Doctor, Doctor, the official weekly radio program of the CMA, which airs on EWTN and is available as a podcast. He and his wife of 30 years, Sally, are raising seven homeschooled children who gladly get a break from his “dad jokes” when he speaks at conferences.

In the last few years, 9/11, a tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and many other tragedies have shown us that the vision of God in today's churches in relation to evil and suffering is often frivolous. Against the overwhelming weight and seriousness of the Bible, many Christians are choosing to become more shallow, more entertainment-oriented, and therefore irrelevant in the face of massive suffering. In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, contributors John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Saint, Carl Ellis, David Powlison, Dustin Shramek, and Mark Talbot explore the many categories of God's sovereignty as evidenced in his Word. They urge readers to look to Christ, even in suffering, to find the greatest confidence, deepest comfort, and sweetest fellowship they have ever known.

‘We did not know; nobody has ever told us that!’ These were the words, spoken in tears, of Pope Pius XII on first reading passages from A Doctor at Calvary, Dr. Pierre Barbet’s scientific and reverent study of the Crucifixion of Christ. From an examination of the Holy Shroud of Turin—the authenticity of which Dr. Barbet accepts from medical evidence—a remarkable reconstruction of Christ’s terrible agony is presented in language that cannot fail to move the heart. What kind and what degree of physical torture did Our Lord suffer on Calvary? What was the medical cause of His death? These are among the questions answered in A Doctor at Calvary, one of the most significant contributions to Christological science in modern times. Christ’s preliminary sufferings—the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the scourging, the carrying of the cross—the wounds of the hands, in the feet, in the heart, the causes of the rapid death, and the entombment are recounted with the devotion and compassion of an ardent Christian and with a brilliant doctor’s accuracy of anatomical detail. ‘Without doubt this is one of the most gripping and moving books to have been published in many a year.’—Harold C. Gardiner, S. J. ‘As an aid to vivid viewing of the Passion, this book is peerless.’—Rev. John S. Kennedy, Balancing the Books ‘...a profoundly moving study of the Passion.’—Commonwealth ‘...a remarkable reconstruction of Christ’s agony and death.’—Jubilee ‘This volume is an outstanding example of how science can contribute not only to theology, but to solid Christian piety, and thus be an aid to love of Christ.’—The Voice ‘This is a gripping and powerful book of the highest stature.’—Voice of St. Jude ‘Sincere study of this book will enable us for the first time to understand what is behind the words: ‘Jesus suffered and died for us.”—America

Sometimes life just hurts. Out of nowhere, death, illness, unemployment, or a difficult relationship can change our lives and challenge everything we thought we knew—leaving us feeling unable to cope. But, in the midst if all this pain and confusion, we are not alone. Weaving together his personal story, pastoral ministry experience, and biblical insights, best-selling author Paul David Tripp helps us trust God in the midst of suffering. He identifies traps to avoid in our suffering and points us instead to comforts to embrace. This raw yet hope-filled book will help you cling to God's promises when trials come and move forward with the hope of the gospel.

She's seen slave dungeons in Ghana. Genocide in Rwanda. Systemic sexual abuse in Brazil. Child abuse and domestic violence in the US. After forty years of counseling abuse survivors around the world, Dr. Diane Langberg, a world renowned trauma expert, remains certain that what trauma destroys, Christ can and does restore. This book will convince you, too, of the healing heart of God. But it's not a fast process, instead much patience is required from family, friends, and counselors as they wisely and respectfully help victims unpack their traumatic suffering through talking, tears, and time. And it's not a process that can be separated from the work of God in both a counselor and counselee. Dr. Langberg calls all of those who wish to help sufferers to model Jesus's sacrificial love and care in how they listen, love, and guide. The heart of God is revealed to sufferers as they grow to understand the cross of Christ and how their God came to this earth and experienced such severe suffering that he too is "well-acquainted with grief." The cross of Christ is the lens that transforms and redeems traumatic suffering and its aftermath, not only for the sufferer, but it also transforms those who walk with the suffering. This book will be a great help to anyone who loves, listens to, and seeks to help someone impacted by trauma and abuse. There is no quick fix, but there is the hope for healing through the love of God in Christ.

With warm, Christian compassion, Van Zeller shows how the answer to the problem of evil can be found only in Christ. (June)