God is on the Cross: Reflections on Lent and Easter

‘This is my second Passiontide here. When people suggest in their letters … that I’m “suffering” here, I reject the thought. It seems to me a profanation. These things musn’t be dramatized. I doubt very much whether I’m “suffering” any more than you, or most people, are suffering today. Of course, a great deal here is horrible, but where isn’t ? … No, suffering must be something quite different, and have quite a different dimension, from what I’ve so far experienced.

FROM A LETTER TO EBERHARD BETHGE FROM TEGEL PRISON, 9 MARCH 1944

These stirring words are among forty-seven devotions that will guide and inspire readers as they move thematically through the weeks of Lent and Easter, encountering themes of prayerful  reflection, self-denial, temptation, suffering, and the meaning of the cross. Passages from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s letters and sermons provide special encouragement as readers prepare themselves spiritually for Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Supplemented by an informative introduction to Bonhoeffer’s life and a Scripture passage for each day of the season, these daily devotions are moving reminders of the true gift of Christ on the cross.