Contemplating the Cross: A Pilgrimage of Prayer

This is an amazing book that has changed the way I view the cross. I highly recommend it.

This is really not the first review of this marvelous little book. There is an earlier edition that also has two great reviews. And while I agree whole-heartedly with their reviews, there is one thing missing: The reviewers write from the perspective of their individual experience. While this book has much to recommend it as an individual read, its benefits are greatly enhanced as a small-group experience. As a Christian of close to 40 years, the pilgrimages I have made with others using "Contemplating the Cross" is one of the major highlights of my life. We live in the "information age." Much of this has crossed over to the Christian church with its obsession with acquiring endless exegesis of scripture, sermonizing, homeletics, etc. Steve Meeks in his book "Relational Christianity" states that contemporary Christianity is "data-based." We are soaked to the bone with biblical information, precept upon biblical precept, principle upon biblical principal, but somewhow we remained unchanged, unchallenged, and unrepentive. "Contemplating the Cross" sets us on a different path. It jolts us out of our fascination with biblical information and plants our feet, and our hearts, on an interactive journey with Christ from Gethsemane to the Cross. We do not just "read" the story; we "enter" it. And while the disciples slept after Christ asked them to stay up with Him, and while they all fled, we can, in some small measure, rectify this by staying up with Him "one hour" and walking with Him to the Cross. In "Contemplating the Cross" the prayer pilgrims are introduced to "sacred reading" or lectio divina. In this ancient prayer form, we are invited to cultivate an approach to scripture that doesn't seek to control the content in our typical abstract, linear fashion, but allow the sacred text to spill into our hearts as we learn to "be still and know God." "Contemplating the Cross" also invites the participants to prayer-journal their responses. And when the little group of pilgrims meet on a weekly basis, their journal entries can be shared with the rest of the group. I say "can" because there is no compulsion. All such deep sharing is a free-will gift for the others, from the heart. But all such sharing brings insights too deep for words, tears of repentence and tears of gratitude. And the group experiences a deep, spiritual connectedness that has nothing to do with how many cars we have in the garage, how big our houses are, or what political party we belong to. In the shadow of His Cross, all of us are reduced to what we all hold in common: our need for grace. What tends to come out of this 40-day pilgrimage is not only a renewed love of our wonderful Savior, but spiritual gifting as well, and the gift of prayer. Those who have never had a very deep prayer life all of a sudden discover that they can indeed pray, deeply and intimately, using a pin and their journals. And the gifts of prayer-writing that come out of thi

I've just finished reading this wonderful book. Thank-you Ms. Rhodes for prompting me to take this unforgettable journey which will change my life forever. See the Cross as you never have before. See the Love of Jesus for you as you never have before. This little book is written in an easy to read devotional format. The Author has incorporated quotes, songs, and narratives to help make the Truths of the Passion of Jesus relevant to our lives today.

Slowly and deliberately Tricia McCrary Rhodes walks the reader through the passion of Christ from Gethemane to his resurrection. Prayerfully she causes the reader to contemplate the thoughts of Jesus and those whose paths he crossed on the way to his crucifixion. Her insight is remarkable and her speculations are kept within the context of the narratives of scripture. To the one with an open heart, the mystery of Christ's suffering for the sins of the world, is unveiled in this fresh conteplation and pilgrimage through scripture.