Vatican City, Feb 19, 2021 / 05:00 am
Pope Francis has given each member of the Roman Curia a book to include in their spiritual reading for their Lenten retreat this year.
The book was written by an unnamed Cistercian monk in the 17th century and is entitled "Abbi a cuore il Signore," which means "Keep the Lord in your Heart." It was originally written to aid monks in the Italian monastery of San Bartolo to grow in their spiritual lives.
The first edition of the manuscript was published in Italian in November 2020 by Edizioni San Paolo as a 320-page book. It is not currently available in English.
Jesuit Fr. Daniele Libanori edited the text which contains spiritual meditations, including an exposition on the deadly vices. Libarnori wrote in his introduction that the book can be useful in "overcoming oneself and going more quickly toward God."