Eucharistic Adoration: Holy Hour Meditations on the Seven Last Words of Christ

By Charles M. Murphy and Cardinal William Levada

This creative prayer compendium invites readers to spend an hour in eucharistic adoration while meditating on the seven last words of Jesus and shows them how to do it. Charles Murphy also profiles seven contemporary Catholics--like Edith Stein and John Paul II--who are inspiring models of eucharistic devotion.

Like many devotions that fell out of favor after the Second Vatican Council, eucharistic adoration has seen swelling popularity in recent years. Msgr. Charles Murphy, author of the acclaimed The Spirituality of Fasting, reintroduces this practice for today. Offering a simple guide for those new to eucharistic devotion, he brings together reflections on the seven last words of Jesus with the profiles of seven modern Christians known for their devotion to the eucharist, including Simone Weil, Edith Stein, Dorothy Day, Blessed John XXIII, Blessed John Paul II, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press
• Release date: Oct 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9781594713521

Charles M. Murphy

Monsignor Charles M. Murphy is the director of the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Portland, Maine. He is the author of a number of scholarly articles and several books, including The Spirituality of Fasting, At Home on the Earth, Wallace Stevens: A Spiritual Poet in a Secular Age, and Belonging to God. Murphy is the former academic dean and rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome and served as part of the editorial group working in Italy under Cardinal Ratzinger on the third draft of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which became the fourth and final version. Murphy serves as consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops committee on catechetics, reviewing materials for conformity with the Catechism. He served as chair of the editorial committee that produced the pastoral letter on environmental issues by the Bishops of the Boston Province and he served as a consultant to the USCCB for their statement on global warming. He has been the pastor of four parishes in Maine and has served his diocese in ecumenical and educational capacities. Murphy holds a doctorate in sacred theology from the Gregorian University, a master’s degree in education from Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree in classics from the College of the Holy Cross.