Our friend and writer Mary Eberstadt sends a link to a short National Review Online symposium on Lenten reading. We’ll borrow the idea and ask you to supply the one book (one) you’d recommend for Lenten reading this Lent. Not books for general improvement or edification, but books the reading of which will aid you in observing Lent and working toward the goal of a holy Lent. You may also explain why.
Mine is St. Francis de Sales’ Introduction to the Devout Life. It is a book I always avoided reading because of an early encounter with it, when it struck me as too sentimental. Maybe I read the wrong passages or just wasn’t ready for it. A few weeks ago I came across some quotes from it that made me see I’d missed the point. Now, as a kind of apology, I’m starting on the book for Lent.
Please jump in.
March 9th, 2011 | 10:38 pm
Dear David ,
My recommedations for Lenten reading are the following:
The Seven Last Words by Bishop Fulton Sheen
Death on a Friday Afternoon by Father Neuhaus
The King, Crucified and Risen by Father Groeschel
The Divine Comedy translated by Anthony Esolen
I usually reread one of the above during Lent
and find these books to be spiritualy rewarding.
I always choose one of the Passion narratives to meditate on during Lent
Joe
March 9th, 2011 | 10:59 pm
Not sure how this small tradition started, or even if the book has any qualiiesy in particular that would relate it to the season, but I’ve read or listened to The Screwtape Letters every Lent for the last few years.
March 10th, 2011 | 6:50 am
Athanasius’ On the Incarnation
[Try to find the trans. by Sister Penelope Lawson, with Intro. by C.S. Lewis]
March 10th, 2011 | 7:49 am
I would like to suggest “The Irresistable Revolution” by Shayne Claiborne. Mr. Claiborne’s view of Christianity–service to the least of these, nonviolence, and a very generous theology–is inspiring. When we peel back the layers of Christian tradition and history, we are left with a very simple (but terrifically difficult!) message: love God, love your neighbor. Repeat as necessary.
March 10th, 2011 | 8:22 am
Alan E. Lewis’ Between Cross and Resurrection: A Theology of Holy Saturday.
March 10th, 2011 | 8:47 am
Every year, Orthodox monks (and pious households) read The Ladder of Divine Ascent by my patron saint, John Climacus. It’s one of the classics of Christian (and especially eastern Christian) spirituality. I’ve read it each of the last few years and my copy is dog-eared and highlighted throughout.
It’s organized into thirty chapters, one for each year of Christ’s life before He began His ministry. Read one chapter/step per day and you’re good to go. The Paulist Press has a good translation with intro by Archbishop Kallistos Ware as part of their Classics of Western Spirituality series.
March 10th, 2011 | 9:20 am
I rather like the patristic commentary on Isaiah in the series edited by Robert Wilken. I used it last year for Lent and intend to do it again this year.
March 10th, 2011 | 11:48 am
Tom Wright, “Lent for Everyone: Matthew Year A” (just out: http://wipfandstock.com/store/Lent_for_Everyone_Matthew_Year_A)
Rowan Williams, “Christ on Trial: How the Gospel Unsettles Our Judgment”
Sam Wells, “Power and Passion: Six Characters in Search of Resurrection”
These are all designed to be used during the season of Lent.
March 10th, 2011 | 2:21 pm
Does I Corinthians count?
Apart from divinely inspired texts, “Little Lamb” by Piers Harper is the best book on repentance I have ever read, and is suitable for children. It teaches that we leave the sheepfold in small, seemingly innocent steps. This quickly finds us lost, tired, lonely, dirty, and hungry, with no hope of finding our way home on our own. [Incidentally, I find "Little One Step" by Simon James the best uninspired book on discipleship I've ever read. First line: "We're lost!"]
If you require a book without pictures, I’ll go with “Cost of Discipleship” by D. Bonhoeffer. It deals with the Lenten themes of true repentance and serious discipleship, while keeping in mind the hope of the resurrection.
My parish does a Lenten study each year of a book chosen by the clergy. They’re typically of an exegetical or catechetical nature, rather than devotional, however.
March 10th, 2011 | 2:22 pm
“To Know Christ Jesus” by Frank Sheed – not the most recent of commentaries on the Gospels but the love the author has for his Subject shines through and makes it more than a worthwhile read.
March 10th, 2011 | 2:33 pm
“The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition,” by Jaroslav Pelikan (first in a series on the history of the development of doctrine).
For some reason I get more out of historical studies than from more devotional lit. I find inspiring how the Church found its way through troubles not unlike our own
March 10th, 2011 | 5:22 pm
The Australian Lutheran John Kleinig’s “Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today.” It gives illumination on every page. I thought I knew pretty much everything there is in Christianity, but Kleinig keeps showing me more and more.
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