Forty Days Plus Three

In these reflections on the readings for Lent and the Triduum, Monsignor McIlhon invites us to ponder the consistency between what we believe about human dignity and how we live that dignity. If Lent becomes a daily journey whereby we consent to become one with the visible features of Christ's risen life, waiting to be raised from the dyings of our life, then the paschal mystery becomes a marvelous experience.

Although he writes with great sensitivity and theological depth, Monsignor McIlhon does not become pedantic nor does he go beyond the depth of the average reader.

For priests, religious, and serious lay people looking for something more than pious writing about the most important season of the Church year, this book will make excellent Lenten reading.

Msgr. John J. McIlhon (1922-2006), was a priest of the diocese of Des Moines, and had served as a retreat director, teacher, hospital chaplain, and pastor, including a term as pastor-in-residence at the North American College in Rome. Monsignor McIlhon lived with a community of priests at the St. Joseph Educational Center, where he had served as an adult-education teacher and resource person since 1983.