For Those Who Mourn
CTS Devotions
David Coombs
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860827211
eISBN 9781784694760
ASIN B0745881F2
CTS Booklet D739
Over the last few years I have read over 150 books from the Catholic Truth Society. Lately I have read several that are part of the CTS Devotions Series. This one was not what I was expected. I picked this up after the untimely passing of my younger brother. It was one of a few books dealing with mourning and loss that I have read over the past few weeks. This volume was published in 2011, and the eBook was released in 2017.
The description of this volume is:
“This thoughtful compilation of prayers, reflections, hymns and scripture brings a great message of Christian hope and consolation into the human and spiritual void experienced by those recently bereaved. Each chosen prayer and reading provides the sense of divine love and mystery that lies at the heart of the human encounter with grief and loss. The reader can browse easily, in private reflection and prayer, receiving Christ's consolation along a difficult and often lonely journey. This little book of comfort will help the reader through the tough and almost difficult aspect to life in order to comfort and console them.”
And the description on the CTS website has dropped the last sentence from that description. The beginning of the Introductory Note states:
“Through its liturgy and public prayers the Catholic Church powerfully and constantly supports the dead and the dying.
But, the needs of the bereaved, they who mourn, are strangely neglected: an unexpected human and spiritual void that has led me to compile this little publication. Its message is one of personal consolation and thus of hope. To these purposes, a hint or sense of divine mystery is present in all the chosen prayers and readings.”
And the chapters in the volume are:
Blessed are those who mourn
Prayers
From the Psalms
From the Prophet Isaiah
The Patriarch Abraham
From the Prophet Elijah
The Annunciation
The Visitation
The Nativity
Jesus walks on the water
The labourers in the vineyard
The story of Lazarus
Jesus and Nicodemus
The garden of Gethsemane
The Crucifixion
The Resurrection
Easter
From the Dream of Gerontius
Hymns
Each chapter is comprised of a mix of prayers and excerpts from the bible. Some just a few sentences and some a few paragraphs or pages. There is no commentary, guidance, or reflection. It is all straight text taken from other sources. As an eBook it was easy to read through from beginning to end. But I could see how one dealing with grief would appreciate the physical volume and be able to just randomly open and read the section they discover.
As stated, it was not what I was expecting. I did however benefit from reading the volume. It is a good little resource, and I have copied several prayers into my One Note Prayer book for frequent use.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2020 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.
For reviews of other books in the CTS Devotions series click here.
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