The Journey to Peace: Reflections on Faith, Embracing Suffering, and Finding New Life is a posthumous collection of previously unpublished excerpts from the homilies of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin. Like Bernardin"s autobiography, The Gift of Peace, much of this new volume has an elegant and simple style. ("When Jesus invites us to join him, the Cross is embossed at the very center of the invitation," he writes.) These sermons, however, may be even more direct than his memoirs. Their organization, according to the 14 stations of the cross, underscores Bernardin"s constant focus on the most basic aspects of the gospel stories and spotlights his ability to draw contemporary lessons from these ancient stories. Even more impressive is the trustworthy tension between confidence and humility that characterizes Bernardin"s messages to his flock. One sermon concludes, "Accepting the fact of alienation is the equivalent of embracing the Cross each day, as Jesus himself did." The Journey to Peace is full of such forthright, realistic, and faithful reflections. --Michael Joseph Gross