A Year with the Church Fathers: Meditations for Each Day of the Church Year

by Concordia Publishing House

Drawn from the themes of Scripture itself, these devotions consider the salvation plan of God fulfilled in Jesus and carried to the world through the Church. The in-depth, thought-provoking content offers rich insight into Scripture and the Christian life and encouragement in the faith. Along the way you will drink deeply of the fountain of eternal life and gain in understanding of the message of God's Word.

The daily devotions of A Year with the Church Fathers follow the seasonal movements of the Christian Church Year in a broad, general fashion, but not in the more focused and specific way that one expects for the lessons appointed for particular Sundays and festivals of the Church Year.

408 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2011

Reviews

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are familiar with Treasury of Daily Prayer and its format, this is a very comfortable transition. The daily Lectionary that it follows is the exact same as far as readings (at least every time I spot compared them) and there is a daily collect. Everything follows the Liturgical Calendar of the Church Year, guiding you when to move from one season to the next. The only thing that changes is the meditation for the day. This entire volume's meditations focus on writings from the Church Fathers. Some were more challenging to process than others, but I found them quite edifying, especially with the opening thoughts provided for each. My ultimate goal is to continue with the daily devotional practice of following the Treasury of Daily Prayer pattern, but cycling through Treasury of Daily Prayer; this volume, which is A Year with the Church Fathers; the one I have started for the current Church Year, which is A Year in the Old Testament; and the one I will move to next Church Year, which is A Year in the New Testament. This would keep me steadfast in the discipline of this time in devotion, while giving me a variety of readings upon which to meditate, in a rotating four-year cycle.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Church Fathers are often best read in small doses. This collection of selections from the writings of the fathers is a perfect way to engage them, especially with Rev. Scott Murray's insightful overview prior to each reading.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much of the author / editor, not enough fathers for my purposes. Nevertheless this is a good selection and Murray is a capable writer. It would give a novice a good introduction to the various fathers with an adequate amount of helpful context.