Gaze Upon Jesus: Experiencing Christ's Childhood through the Eyes of Women Edited by Kelly Wahlquist

The great G.K. Chesterton has famously said, “Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.” How does this quote strike each of us? Does it challenge us, or make us feel uneasy? Or, perhaps, does it make you smile and think “yep, that sounds about right!” Maybe for you, like for me, your response can feel dependent upon the recent quality of your prayer life. How tempting it can be at times to rush through your nightly prayers or mindlessly fulfill your Sunday obligation, rather than offer yourself completely in this intimate relationship with the Lord? The reason I begin this review with this reflection is because this book, Gaze Upon Jesus, offers us a way for our faith to become passionate, personal, and life-giving. How is this done? By approaching prayer and intentional reflection in a way that combines all of our faculties to help us enter into greater encounter with our Lord. Each chapter, which focuses on a different virtue and scene in the childhood of our Lord, contains a compilation of sections that approach this moment in time from a different perspective. One contributor may help to contextualize different aspects of what is being said in Sacred Scripture, giving us a fuller understanding of what is being revealed. Another may lead us in the practice of visio divina, or praying with sacred art, unpacking the stylistic choices of the artist to unpack the richness of the scene. And still another may lead the reader in imaginative prayer, inviting them to use their creativity and understanding of the text to more fully envision the experience of the Holy Family and the characters that they encountered along their journey. This book really emphasizes that everything we have been given by God is an opportunity to come into greater communion with Him, whether that be our intellect, our desire for beauty, and our ability to participate in His process of Creation.