Dom André Louf, OCSO (1929–2010), became a monk at the Cistercian abbey of Mont-des-Cats, in the northwest of France, in 1947. After being elected abbot in 1963, he continued in that position for almost thirty-five years, earning widespread admiration for his preaching and teaching.

“Blessed Weakness is a rich and transformative work that invites readers to engage deeply with the liturgical year. Louf's contemplative approach and patristic interpretation shed light on the Gospel messages that can inspire readers to reflect on their lives on a spiritual journey.”Cistercian Studies Quarterly

• ContentsForeword xiJane FoulcherFirst Sunday of Advent: The Vigil of Love   1Second Sunday of Advent: The Two Baptisms   4Third Sunday of Advent: The Chiaroscuro of Faith   7Fourth Sunday of Advent: To Consent to Grace   10Christmas: The Human Beings Whom He Loves   14Feast of the Holy Family: Assured of Seeing Him   18Epiphany: A Subversive King   22Feast of the Baptism of Jesus: The Word of  Paternal Love   26Ash Wednesday: The Abasement: A Pedagogy of Love   29First Sunday of Lent: “Clothed in Weakness”   32Second Sunday of Lent: “Listen to Him”   35Third Sunday of Lent: God’s Strength Is Weakness   38Fourth Sunday of Lent: The Graced Shame That Is a Source of Grace   42Fifth Sunday of Lent: Everyone’s Ultimate Temptation   45Palm / Passion Sunday: To Die Praying (The Passion According to Saint Mark)   49Holy Thursday: Lower than This, Jesus Could Not Have Gone   52Good Friday: Learning through Suffering   56Easter: The Son Recovered   59Second Sunday of Easter: The Faith That Has Not Seen   62Third Sunday of Easter: The Word and the Bread   66Fourth Sunday of Easter: The Free Gift of Love unto Death   70Fifth Sunday of Easter: To Remain in Jesus   73Sixth Sunday of Easter: Gratuitously Loved   76Ascension: An Active Absence   79Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Upper Room   82Pentecost: The Johannine Pentecost   86Holy Trinity: To Know the Three   89Corpus Christi: Jewish Passover, Christian Passover, Eternal Passover   92Second Sunday of Ordinary Time: To Remain with Jesus   96Third Sunday of Ordinary Time: To Follow Empty Handed   99Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Power of the Word   102Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Of Diseases and of Deaths for the Sake of Life   105Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Impossible Healing   108Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time: Healed by a Miracle of Mercy   111Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Unrepentant Lover   115Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Desire and the Law   119Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: How to Know Jesus?   123Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Hidden Power of the Kingdom   127Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Weakness Snuggling Up against God   130Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Utter Weakness and Omnipotence of Faith   133Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Eyes of Faith   137Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Chosen with Our Small Means   140Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Heart Touched   143Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Impasse of Love   146Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Other Bread for the Other Hunger   150Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Inner Attraction   153Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time: To Live from His Life   156Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time: A Free Love   159Twenty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time: Beyond the Law   162Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Interior Ears   166Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time: To Truly Know Jesus   169Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Last Place   172Twenty-sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Handicapped of the Kingdom   175Twenty-seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time: Man and Woman   179Twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Missed Opportunity   183Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time: The Baptism and the Cup   187Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Believing or Unbelieving   191Thirty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time: God Close at Hand in the Neighbor   194Thirty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time: Poor, to Become Rich   197Thirty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time: Jesus Already Near   200Thirty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Solemnity of Christ the King (on the occasion of a monastic profession): The King’s Militia   204All Saints’ Day: The Beatitudes: Grace, Not Effort   208