Life Everlasting: Catholic Devotions and Mysteries for the Everyday Seeker

Jansen, director of Image Books at Penguin Random House and author of Station to Station: An Ignatian Journey Through the Stations of the Cross, has provided what he calls a "spiritual first aid kit." This spiritual bandage is first and foremost Roman Catholic; personal and devotional rather than dogmatic or institutional. Jansen's effort is to fill the void of "holy yearning" with a practical piety that aims to focus personal spiritual discipline: praying to stains, making the sign of the cross a preparatory rite, and centering the role of items such as novenas and miraculous medals. A 20-page appendix of devotions is titled "Spiritual 911"; a set of petitions to be prayed during spiritual crises, when words do not immediately present themselves. Helpfully, the book can be read sequentially or according to an individual's spiritual needs without harm to its overall thrust. However, while Jansen asserts that the prayerful piety he offers holds power for all faith traditions, it seems unlikely that non-Catholics will find comfort in some of the more mystical and miraculous elements here.