Letters to My Lord: Intimate Conversations with Christ

In this rediscovered spiritual classic, Rev. Daniel A. Lord, S.J., offers a collection of sixteen deeply personal letters written to Christ as Lord was dying of cancer. Known as “the Hollywood priest” because of his involvement in the film industry, Lord was the author of ninety books and almost three hundred pamphlets. First published in 1963 and now back in print, these letters are still a shining example of an intimate relationship with Christ and a model of how to talk with God in an honest and intimate way.

In 1954, Fr. Daniel Lord made his annual Ignatian retreat while being treated in a St. Louis Hospital. On the second day of his eight-day retreat, Lord learned that his lung cancer would leave him with only a short time to live. He shares his reflections in this collection of letters written to Christ. Remarkably, Lord doesn’t write about his cancer, and if not for the introduction by the book’s original editor, Rev. Thomas Gavin, S.J., readers would never know of it.

Following the path of the Spiritual Exercises, Lord eloquently expresses gratitude and praise; acknowledges his complete dependence on God; confesses the constant repetition of the same boring sins; and reflects on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But this is no ordinary retreat companion. Lord’s originality and lively imagination shine through as he reflects on the beauty of a hyacinth, compares himself to a goldfish in a bowl, and pictures the scene of himself standing before God in judgment.

This new edition includes a foreword by Michael Rossmann, S.J., editor of the Jesuit Post, and an introduction to Fr. Daniel Lord’s life and work by US Catholic historian Rev. David Endres. Lord’s popular article, “Cancer Is My Friend” is included as an epilogue.

Features & Benefits

• Lord was the author of more than ninety books and almost 300 pamphlets.
• After consulting for Cecil B. DeMille’s production of the silent film King of Kings in 1927, Lord was instrumental in creating the Production Code of 1930 to ensure decency in film production. He was known as “the Hollywood priest.”
• A lively expression of the Spiritual Exercises and a model of how to pray through letter writing or journaling.
• Lord is already beloved by older Jesuits and the foreword by Michael Rossmann, S.J., editor of the Jesuit Post, will introduce Lord to a new generation.

Daniel A. Lord, S.J. (1888–1955), was a prolific writer and talented musician and composer. Soon after his ordination in 1923, he was appointed director of the Jesuit-sponsored Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Under his leadership, the Sodality grew to have a presence in almost every Catholic school in the United States. Lord wrote regularly for the organization's magazine, The Queens Work. An accomplished pianist, he composed grand-scale musical dramas that involved hundreds of youth and were performed in different locations around the country. In 1927, Lord consulted for Cecil B. DeMille's production of the silent film King of Kings. He worked with Martin Quigley to create the Motion Picture Production Code to ensure decency in film production, earning Lord the nickname “the Hollywood priest.”

Lord wrote more than ninety books and three hundred pamphlets. His autobiography, Played by Ear, was published in 1959.

Rev. David J. Endres is codirector of field education and assistant professor of Church history and historical theology at The Athenaeum of Ohio. A priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, he earned a doctorate from the School of Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

Rev. Michael Rossmann, S.J., is the editor-in-chief of The Jesuit Post. He joined the Jesuits in 2007 after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. He taught at Loyola High School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and is currently studying theology at Boston College.

Thomas Gavin, S.J., was the author of Daniel Lord's biography, A Champion of Youth.