Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Vol. 2

Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word #2

by Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis

To the unstudied eye, St. Matthew's gospel can seem a terse narrative, almost a historical document and not the tremendously spiritual (and doctrinal) storehouse that it is. In his second volume of meditations on Matthew (chapters 12-18), Erasmo Leiva shows Matthew s prose to be not terse so much as economicalastoundingly so given its depth. The lay reader can derive great profit from reading this. Each short meditation comments on a verse or two, pointing to some facet of the text not immediately apparent, but rich with meaning.Leiva s work is scholarly but eminently approachable by the lay reader. The goal of the book is to help the reader experience the heat of the divine heart/the light of the divine Word.Leiva comments on the Greek text, demonstrating nuances in the text that defy translation. He uses numerous quotes from the Fathers and the Liturgy of the Church to demonstrate the way the Tradition has lived and read the Word of God. His theological reflection vivifies doctrine by seeking its roots in the words and actions of Jesus."

Genres: Scripture, Spirituality

800 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2010

About the author

Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis (now Fr. Simeon, OCSO) is a Trappist monk and accomplished author, preacher, and retreat master.

He received his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Theology from Emory University.. His areas of interest include liturgy and liturgical texts, Georg Trakl's poetry, the Gospel of Matthew, French and German poetry of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Greek and Roman classics, and Dante.

Father Simeon entered the St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, MA in April of 2003 and was ordained to the priesthood in May of 2013. He is currently serving as secretary to the Abbot General in Rome. He continues as editor of the Monastic Wisdom Series for Cistercian Publications. When at his monastery in Spencer he leads retreats in the Abbey Retreat House, pitches in as community cook and does his part in the regular round of chores. Father Simeon tells us that he treasures: “the rhythm of the common life that draws me back to essentials even when I am most distracted or concerned with more relative things.”

He has also translated numerous works for Ignatius Press, including several books by Hans Urs von Balthasar.