It’s so easy for Lent to lose its meaning. Our Lenten penances can become like New Year’s Resolutions – they become a means to an end that is all about what we want to change about ourselves and our lives, such as giving up snacking to lose weight or kicking habits you’ve wanted to lose for a while, rather than using them to draw closer to Jesus.
So how about doing Lent differently this year, growing ever closer to Jesus with spiritual reading that supports your Lenten penance? Take a look at our recommendations to help you strengthen your spiritual life this Lent.
Reading with a Lenten Theme
You probably think you know the meaning of Lent and why we fast. But there’s a lot of depth to this incredible season the Church gives us in order to prepare for our spiritual rebirth at Easter. The books below will help you deepen your understanding of Lent and the purpose of fasting.
Reconciliation
As we spend time considering the great sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross, it’s appropriate to go to Confession during Lent. Whether you go to Confession once a week or you haven’t been in years, reading about the Sacrament in the books below will help leave you with a greater sense of gratitude for what God did just for you.
Discover how to improve your prayer life
The more we pray, and the richer our prayer life is, the closer we become to God and the easier it becomes to live out His commandments. Everyone has their own preferred way of praying, but every one of us can make improvements to how we pray. The titles we recommend below cover different methods of prayer, but can all help you develop an intimate relationship with the Lord.
Stations of the Cross
While not exactly spiritual reading, the Stations of the Cross is a beautiful and beloved practice of meditating on the Passion of Our Lord and so the devotion deserves a mention here. But even this practice can become meaningless if we merely recite the words without meaning them, or if our minds are constantly drifting. Two ways to improve this are praying them by yourself (in addition to praying them with your parish, as this is a great practice), and trying a new form of Stations that can help you reflect on the Passion from a fresh perspective. Here are our recommendations below.
We wish you a very fruitful Lent!