Why do tragedies occur? Why do the innocent have to suffer? Why do so many of us experience pain and desolation during our lives? In these profound reflections drawn from his homilies and speeches over a period of twenty years, Cardinal Basil Hume shares his own questioning, his searching, his anguish. He joins with us as a fellow pilgrim on the pathway through life, and meditates on the deep mysteries and uncertainties of our journey.

The central mystery of our faith, says the Cardinal, is the cross: In the midst of the pain and suffering that it brings, it offers the possibility of hope and resurrection. Drawing on the liturgy of the Church, especially the Easter liturgy, he gently reminds us that Christ shared our pain and that "our suffering brings us closer to Christ and closer to God." He opens and closes the book with beautiful, specially written reflections on the mystery and power of the Mass.

Until his death in June 1999, Basil Hume, OSB, was the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster and a monk of Ampleforth Abbey in Great Britain. One of the best-known and best-loved religious figures in the United Kingdom, he wrote several books, including To Be a Pilgrim, Searching for God, The Mystery of Love, Basil in Blunderland, and Footprints of the Northern Saints.