Become All Flame: Lent With African Saints

Deacon John Gresham responded to the invitation to author this book, with a text that truly invites us into a rich Lenten journey with the saints of Africa. A flaming love for Jesus Christ is the common thread that binds these clerics, Desert Fathers and Mothers, and martyrs together, offering their flame to kindle our hearts. I hope Christians of all walks will take this volume as a guidebook towards the glorious Resurrection of Christ.-Nun Katherine Weston, authorPresident of the Fellowship of St. Moses the Black

A beautiful collection of saint stories, each short enough to read in a few minutes but long enough to capture the essence of each saint. May we learn what each of these African Saints have to teach us.-Phoebe Farag Mikhail, author of Putting Joy Into Practice

Recovering the tradition of African Christian holy men and women from centuries-long neglect, Fr. Deacon John R. Gresham, Jr. restores the sacredness of early African Christians to modern seekers. This book is a remedy for the broken images about Black sanctity that have eroded the hope of the African diaspora and the whole Church in the years since violence, greed, and negligence pushed these stories into obscurity. From the African pilgrim who carried Christ’s cross in His passion to the holy women in hiding who overcame demons in Christ’s name, these African Christian ancestors shone so brightly that they still enlighten the Church, extending the call to the African diaspora to reclaim their place at God’s table. With poetic prayers and suggested scripture readings after each brief recollection of a saint, this daily lenten devotional will draw you into habits that will build you up to be more like the saints, too.

This collection of the stories of 49 early church saints from Africa can be read in Lent or at any time of the year.