Brief Life of Christ

Fulton J. Sheen turned his voice and pen to many subjects during the course of a long and remarkable apostolate. But nothing came closer to the core of his message than bringing the life and saving words of Jesus to the problems of modern life and the modern world. He wrote the 559-page Life of Christ in 1958. For those who have not the time or the inclination to undertake a reading of that massive volume, Sheen wrote four years earlier a much smaller and more accessible book, a distillation of his thought on the life of Jesus, now made available for the first time in nearly 60 years.

In A Brief Life of Christ, Sheen employs the twin pillars of faith and reason to draw out the meaning of the life of Jesus for our times. For example, he notes that once Christ appeared He split history in two, the period prior to and subsequent to His Coming. He pointedly shows how Christ issues His challenge alike to nations, peoples, and individual souls. The final chapters on Christ’s public life, and Passion, Death, and Resurrection contain tremendous insights and provide the reader material for a lifetime of reflection.

Fulton Sheen was unparalleled in his ability to combine theology, devotion, and the profoundest meditation on the central events of the Christian narrative. Displayed here in full are the literary and rhetorical skills of one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century. A Brief Life of Christ is a book to lift our hearts and place them securely in the timeless message of the gospels.