El compañero de Cuaresma de Ascension

A real Lenten Journey is something I’ve never done, and I’m 82 years old.
I’m so glad I did and hope to do it again.
I’m not a journaler, writer of my inner feelings, and don’t usually follow directions. BUT, I did. I connected with Jesus. I wrote. I prayed. I cried a bit too.
I’m grateful for Father Toups’ writing and his you tube presentations during Lent.
God Bless you, Father.

I so looked forward to each morning and the revelations in Fr. Toups' book. It was possibly my best Lent ever, thanks to the way his reflections helped me dig more deeply into the areas of my life (some not expected) that were holding me back from a fuller relationship with Jesus. I can't say enough about how powerful and loving the texts and scriptures were for me.

This book might help some people fall in love with Jesus, but for me, I fell in love with Jesus all over again. It is amazing!!! Highly recommended.

Thank you so much for the GLORIOUS 2022 Lenten Companion. Our Bible Study Group did the Lenten Companion and met weekly to discuss our reflections. WOW!!! All of the guided meditations really helped us to unite our sufferings to Christ in a way that none of us had ever been able to before. We found great hope, encouragement and strength in uniting ourselves to our blessed Savior. It truly was the BEST LENT EVER for so many of us. The BEST meaning we found great intention, inspiration and connection in these 40 days!! The best Lent is transforming and leading us into the best Easter as we continue to now unite ourselves to our RISEN Lord!! We are experiencing His continued presence with us as we journey Home!! Thank you Father Toups for your honest, humbling, and authentic stories and reflections that brought forth the same in our Spirits. Thank you Ascension for continuing to create, support and spread these tools for our spiritual growth, maturity and deeper communion with Christ. We are SO VERY GRATEFUL!! Well done, good and faithful servants!!

I want to thank Fr. Toups for this book! It helped me to fall in love all over again with the person of Jesus. What a precious gift-to renew my love for Him and to allow Him to love unworthy me. I find myself daily thinking of Jesus telling me to look at Him, keep my eyes on Him. I have come to a new recognition of mercy and He who is Divine Mercy!
God bless you, Fr. Toups!

This study helped me have my best Lent yet. My relationship with Jesus became much more personal. I highly recommend the study, even outside of Lent.

The experience was beautiful. I felt that Jesus was calling me to a closer relationship with him an even more intimate relationship. During the day I often think of Jesus saying don’t take your eyes off me and I know his eyes are on me.

I want to thank Father Toups for writing this book. I loved reading it, meditating daily and being in the scene. I ordered 27 books and gave them out to family and friends. I loved the weekly videos that I got to watch with my friends virtually and discuss. I had a great Lenten experience. God Bless!

This Lenten meditation guide was exactly what I was looking for to draw me closer to Jesus. I loved putting myself in the scenes with Jesus. At first I was not excited about the repetition, but I soon discovered how different my responses were was how day that I allowed myself to be drawn further into the scene. I find myself missing these medications since Lent has ended.

I facilitated The Lenten Companion in my parish this Lent 2022. It was the first time we had used this Lenten study. I sent out evaluations to those who participated. The comments were all positive. A close friend said that this study was the best Bible study she had ever done. She said that for the first time she really connected with the humanity of Jesus in a way she had not done before. I had many people say that same thing, and I can also affirm that the pictures of Jesus that were part of the meditations had a great impact on most of the participants. Also, the passage about seeing others with the lens of Jesus was particularly powerful. We also had many people look at the Sacrament of Reconciliation in a new light, as a means to spiritual freedom and joy. Fr. Mark Toups is very gifted in presenting people with a true understanding of how Jesus loves us, how He looks at us and how merciful He is toward us. Thank you, Ascension Press and Fr. Mark for blessing our parishioners this Lent.

Putting yourself in the scene with Jesus and having a conversation with him helps your relationship grow. A wonderful experience. Thank you for the journey.

This was a beautiful companion to my Lenten journey. I love that Father Toups takes you, the reader, up close to Jesus, to dwell in His Gaze and to really be there with him in the various Gospel scenes, leading up to Lent. This helped me to draw closer to the Lord. It is an authentic, real and personal journey. Thank you for this.

I enjoyed tremendously this lent book. Fr. Toups way of helping walk in a repetition matter with Jesus was easy and very helpful. I felt very connected at the campfire.
Blessing

Fr Mark Toups led me on a beautiful journey this Lent, reminding me specifically to "never take my eyes off Jesus." Looking forward to his next publication.

Amazing book. Father Toups has a wonderful way of bringing you into a closer relationship with Jesus. He makes Him a real person that you can relate to. Loved the book.

We enjoyed reading and discussing the thoughts presented.

A blessed journey Fr. Mark Toups took me on!!

I truly enjoyed this book for Lenten meditation. It gave some deeper spiritual thoughts into Passion as I put myself in the scene.

I did several things for Lent this year and this Lenten Journey was the one that really touched me and helped me.
It was my first year to do this Companion but it won’t be my last.

The idea of a campfire alone is appealing. But one with Jesus at your side, insisting on His unending love for you? Yes, please!! I will definitely be returning to the campfire again and again. The master of imaginative prayer hit this one out of the park!

This was transformative for me. Sitting by the campfire meditation was very reflective for me. At first, I thought redundant...but I continued to ask God to help me be open to this exercise. The videos that Fr Toups does, are just beautiful and thought provoking. So thankful for this program.

Fr Toups truly guided us beautifully through lent. Every reflection he gave drew me right in the moment with Jesus. I will be looking forward to his next advent and lent guide
Thank you!

I enjoyed accompanying Fr. Toups and his reflections. It was my best lent ever. I fell in love with Jesus and I am still in love with him. The repetition, reflection and imaginative prayer was very effective. Being with Jesus at the campfire is one of my favorites though uncomfortable at first to look into Jesus’ eyes. To travel with Jesus during the passion(Holy Week) to be there…helped me to be with Jesus in a deeper way. This was phenomenal.

I have done the Lenten and Advent companions with Father Toups in the past. I enjoyed this one so much. I definitely had a transformative lent this year due to this book. I highly recommend it. I have encouraged multiple others to get it in the future as well. Thank you so much 🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️

I loved the program. The prayers helped me deepen my relationship with Jesus. I really learned to know him and love him so much more. The videos were wonderful and praying every day with the journal was such a blessing. I am still glowing in the beauty of Jesus revealed to me. God Bless you Ascension.

I loved Fr Mark Toups Lenten reflections in the Lenten Companion. He helped me to have a more personal relationship with Jesus. It touched me so much, that I ordered one of the art prints in the book to always remind me of that personal relationship!

Fr. Toups does an amazing job of walking you through Lent, revealing the beauty of the season, the mercy of God’s grace & throughout it all seems to speak directly to your heart! I highly recommend this companion for a deeper spiritual experience of Lent 🙏🏼💕

The Lenten Companion was amazing and so well written! It was a great read for not only us parents, but to read to our kids too. It really helped us to dive deeper into a relationship with Jesus. Truly made this Lent one of the best! Thankyou for putting so much thought and love into a book that helped us all fall more in love with Christ!

Fr. Toups has a way of drawing us into a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus through prayer. It may, at first, seem different. I urge you to stick with it and “trust the process.” God bless Fr. Toups for his willingness to help draw others closer to God.
I definitely recommend these meditations.

This was my first time using the Lenten Companion though I have used all of the Rejoice! series. I am so glad I did and will be back for next year's Lenten Companion. I love the word for each day and it sticks with me all day. The companion videos are beautiful. I think an Easter Companion would be a wonderful addition to the works of Fr. Toups.