RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY

Healing Wounds: The 2025 Lent Book

by Erik Varden
Bloomsbury Continuum. Feb. 2025. 224p. ISBN 9781399410403. pap. $18. REL
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Built around a 13th-century poem that would later be adapted into the English hymn “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” monk and bishop Varden’s (Chastity: Reconciliation of the Senses; Entering the Twofold Mystery: On Christian Conversion) book features a new translation by the author, himself a Cistercian abbot, just as the poem’s writer was. The book focuses mainly on how the wounds of Christ can be a source of comfort. This work draws on a variety of Biblical, historical, Catholic, and secular references, along with a concentration on the author’s own European Catholic culture. The writing is engaging, but advanced vocabulary is used regularly, and the book assumes a basic knowledge of Catholic theology, which makes it unsuitable as a beginner’s devotional.
VERDICT Catholic readers celebrating Lent will appreciate Varden’s hopeful insights and distinctive Cistercian perspective on the passion of Christ. The book is designed and billed as a 2025 Lenten devotion, but it would be suitable for using other years or even outside of Lent, especially for people experiencing illnesses or chronic pain or readers interested in hymns.
Reviewed by Shelby Hogle , Jan 01, 2025
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