By taking the figure of Jeremiah, one that can be immediately associated with that of Jesus, Cardinal Martini highlights in this volume the prophetic life afflicted by dark and difficult times.

As is typical of his style, however, Martini does not offer an exegetical commentary on the Book of Jeremiah, nor a continuous reading of the fifty chapters we find in the Bible. He simply chooses to explore some of the more surprising pages of this prophet that are particularly useful for pursuing the dynamic which is proper to the Spiritual Exercises: purifying the heart, freeing it from all forms of slavery in order to discover God’s will. In other words, putting one’s life in order, the order the Lord would like.

The human being does not understand this order nor keep to it, precisely because we are not free. Nor is it easy to discover God’s will in the context of a city that is as divided, idolatrous, lost and humiliated, as wounded as Jerusalem was in Jeremiah’s day, and as our cities are today. What does it mean, then, to be prophetic voices today and how can we still achieve that?

Carlo Maria Martini (15/2/27 - 31/8/2012), Jesuit and biblical scholar, was Archbishop of Milan from 1979 to 2002. Considered by Catholic and non-Catholics alike to be one of the most listened to and followed voices there, he resigned from his various responsibilities in 2002 and decided to retire to Jerusalem to resume his beloved biblical studies, but even from this ancient capital of Major Faiths, he ensured that his voice was strongly heard. He returned to Italy for health reasons but even during his illness, he never ceased disturbing consciences with clarity and intelligence. At his death, more than 150,000 people filed past as he lay in state in the Milan Cathedral.