Ponder Contemplative Bible Study for Year A

"In Ponder: Contemplative Bible Study for Year A, Mahri Leonard-Fleckman draws on Ignatian spirituality and Lectio Divina to create an engaging model for the study of the Sunday readings, attending to the important details of the passages and encouraging personal engagement with Scripture."

"A marvelous way to enter into the Sunday readings. Often we may focus only on what a preacher or a Bible commentary has to say about these readings. Both are important of course. But just as important is what our prayer tells us. The Bible is the Living Word, through which the Holy Spirit is powerfully at work. Ponder will help both groups and individuals encounter God more deeply and more fully through the riches of Scripture."

"Ponder successfully embraces both rigorous scholarship and practical suggestions for personal spiritual growth. Our faith-sharing group has found its format to be adaptable to our needs while also opening us up to the rich experience of lectio divina and contemplative silence."

"Ponder is an ideal Bible study companion, one that informs without intimidating and inspires reflection without imposing any interpretation or agenda. An excellent guide to praying with the Sunday Scriptures deeply and receptively throughout the year."

"Strongly rooted in Lectio Divina and Ignatian Contemplation, Ponder opens readers to the best of contemporary biblical scholarship and some of the best Christian meditative practices for a deeper reading of Sacred Scripture. Leonard-Fleckman’s attention to the text’s key words offers her audience profound insights into the readings, and her highlighting of both Catholic and Jewish tradition brings today’s readers into dialogue with the richness of the past. I highly recommend this most fruitful tool for a richer reading of God’s Word."

"Mahri Leonard-Fleckman has written a beautiful resource for those seeking contemplative, lectionary-based spirituality grounded in excellent biblical scholarship. Each unit includes the lectionary texts, along with brief commentary setting the material within its historical and literary context, followed by a guided opportunity for reflection, all within a Catholic context. I recommend this book to parish Bible studies as well as to individuals seeking quality spiritual approaches to Scripture."