Meditations on the Life and Passion of Christ

John Tauler (1300-1361) was a German Dominican theologian, preacher, and devotional writer. He had a profound influence in his own time on both clergy and laity. Tauler was a man of profound spiritual devotion, and he preached against a purely external Christianity defined by empty ritual. Faith, for Tauler, included a personal relationship between the Triune God and the believer. Luther cited Tauler as one of the foremost influences upon his thinking. Later devotional writers such as John Arndt and Johann Gerhard would similarly draw heavily on the works of the medieval mystic. The reason for Tauler's popularity, particularly among heirs of the Reformation, is apparent in this work, titled Meditations on the Life and Passion of Christ. This book is a Christ-centered devotional masterpiece, throughout which the author contemplates various elements of Christ's life and passion. Throughout, he expresses the Christian's own sins and sole reliance upon Christ for salvation. This is an ideal work for Lenten devotions.