Now that we’re a couple of weeks into Lent, I wanted to share how my plan of Lenten reading is going, and see what others are reading and finding helpful this Lent.
When I wrote at the beginning of the month that I hoped to pick up Introduction to the Devout Life as I often do during Lent, it was partially to stay accountable so I actually would. And so far, so good.
I am more than halfway through this great classic by St. Francis de Sales, and really enjoying it and finding new things in it.
Just one quick, fairly random quote to share:
From the Third Part of the Introduction, in a section entitled, “Propriety in Dress:” “For my part, I would have devout people, whether men or women, always the best dressed in a group but the least pompous and affected. As the proverb says, I would have them adorned with grace, decency, and dignity.”
I still hope to read Forget Not Love: The Passion of Maximilian Kolbe by Andre Frossard, that I’ve had for some time and have not yet read.
So how is your Lent going? What are you reading?
Last year, my spiritual director asked me to read Holy Thursday, by Francois Mauriac. What a wonderful meditation, and an easy read, on the the days before the crucifixion. But the text is much more than that- a living conversation with the Eucharist. I plan to read this again in the next weeks.
This year’s Lenten season was less prepared for; I had no reading planned. Yet one day at the bookstore, Michael O’Brien’s book Father Elijah popped out at me from the crowded shelves. I read a chapter at the bookstore and was compelled to bring it home.(I did pay for it.)
Even though the story is fictional, so much of it is true to the church. I feel the desire to strengthen my faith as a result of reading this book. And while there are a small handful of political jabs i disagreed with, overall the book is a beautiful testament to the Catholic faith.
I am eager to read O’Brien’s other books now, including one book about exposing our children to fantasy. His acid test: The dragon is the bad guy. We dont make friends with him, we defeat him. A fascinating point to make in our strange love affair with ‘the bad guy’.
Jen McDaniel