Suffering With Joy

Top Ten Books for a Profitable Lent

February 13, 2010

Ash Wednesday is coming.  Are you agonizing over what to do for your soul during Lent? Every year I struggle with this, but today I read Father Tom Euteneuer’s Don’t Waste Lent post over at Human Life International and the Gordion Knot untangled. He said:

…stay simple; that is, don’t load yourself down with too many spiritual exercises or intentions that may discourage you if you run too fast out into the desert.

Good advice for a perfectionist like me!  For people under stress and struggling with various mental or physical health issues, simplification of life is essential.  If we focus on one new good habit to acquire during Lent we will have done more for our soul than if we had five or six penances we failed to do well.

I have 10 books to recommend for those who want to spend some minutes each day doing spiritual reading for Lent. They are great for a journey with the Lord into the desert – books for renewing the soul and enlarging the Christian heart.  Any of them would make a good Lenten companion.

1.  Holy Thursday: An Intimate Remembrance Francois Mauriac is known for the deep spiritual insight of his novels.  In this book, not a novel, he carries you to the table of the Last Supper and from there to the tabernacle.

2. The Passion of Jesus and Its Hidden Meaning This book by Father James Groenings, S.J. has been through many printings since it first came out in 1900.  Discover many lessons of the Passion you never dreamed were there, including those of the seven last words.

3. The Art of Praying: The Principles and Methods of Christian Prayer The great Father Romano Guardini was a noted philosopher, theologian, and spiritual director of the 20th century.  Here he teaches modern man to pray with greater depth in simple, practical ways.

4. The Plaints of the Passion,: Meditations on the Reproaches of the Good Friday Liturgy Father Jude Mead gives us beautiful meditations on the Reproaches of Good Friday.  It is sad that so many parishes do not use the Reproaches in their Good Friday liturgy because they are strong impetus towards true contrition.  The Extraordinary Form of the liturgy always has the Reproaches so if you can get to a Traditional Latin Mass nearby you will see what the Church celebrated for 1500 years.

5.  The Sadness of Christ (Yale University Press Translation) This great book by the great layman, St. Thomas More, teaches alertness and patience in the Christian life.  Written in the Tower of London while awaiting execution, it is his last work.  As he faced death, he left us a testament of resolve and courage drawn from the Scriptures.

6.  The School of Jesus Crucified: The Lessons of Calvary in Daily Catholic Life The Passionist priest, Father Ignatius of the Side of Jesus, gives us 31 daily meditations on the Passion and nine spiritual exercises.  You can use this book every day of the year if you have a special devotion to the Passion of Christ.

7. Sermons of The Cure of Ars St. John Vianney is the patron saint of priests perhaps because he was such an excellent pastor.  He confronts and probes the various rationalizations we have for sinning and addresses the following topics among others: Be Religious or Be Damned, Do You Want to Be Happy?, Repairing the Wrong Done, The Duties of Parents, The Sewer of Hell.  He was well known for walking in the forest, falling on his knees and weeping to God for the souls of his flock.  People came from great distances to confess their sins and obtain spiritual advice.

8. Spiritual Combat: How to Win Your Spiritual Battles and Attain Peace This famous classic by Father Lorenzo Scupoli was first published in 1589 and was a favorite book of St. Francis de Sales.  It contains 66 short chapters on how to grow in holiness and combat concupiscence.

9. What Jesus Saw from the Cross Father A. G. Sertillanges lived in Jerusalem and spent many days walking the streets where Jesus walked.  It brings new insight into the Passion of Christ, taking us back 2000 years.  One of my favorite books.

10. Praying With Icons This book opens our hearts to the treasure of our Eastern Catholic heritage.  Pope John Paul II spoke of the two “lungs” of the Church as necessary for her breathing.  The Orthodox are separated from us, but they share the same spiritual heritage as our Eastern brethren.  Jim Forest is an Orthodox layman who writes of icons as the aid to prayer and contemplation they are, not just art.  I included this book for Lent because of the importance of icons and sacred images to those whose health makes reading difficult but who may find prayer much easier by gazing at an icon.

You can use these books for yourself or as part of family prayer.  Home schoolers may find them a springboard to activities or projects when covering religious subjects.  Besides the links here, all are available in my Amazon store.  Have a joyful Lent in the peace of Christ in the desert.

Tags: Lent, peace and joy

1 Comment to Top Ten Books for a Profitable Lent

1. 

   Thanks for the booklist and thanks for joining us for Sunday Snippets–A Catholic Carnival
RAnn on February 14th, 2010