What's on our bookshelf? Spiritual reads for busy women this Lent
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The season of Lent is just around the corner. While some of us might have our resolutions for the next forty days set in stone, perhaps some of us are scrambling at the last minute to decide how to make the best use of this time to grow in our relationship with God.
If you’re looking for ideas, we’ve touched on some practical ways we can grow in the traditional practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving during Lent on the blog before, as well as considering some ways to approach Lent with our families. Do check out those links if you’re looking for some inspiration.
Whatever you plan to do this year, we’d love to encourage you to add some spiritual reading to your Lenten devotions…but life is busy and time can often seem in short supply! That needn’t put us off trying however, so here are our pick of spiritual reads for busy women.
Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart by Fr. Jacques Philippe
You can’t go wrong with any book by Fr. Philippe, whose spiritual reads are usually short but incredibly impactful. All of us have some area of our lives where we need some peace; this little book is full of wisdom on how we might attain it.
The Man Christ Jesus: How the Lord Looked, Acted, Prayed and Loved by Giacomo Cardinal Biffi
While it might be tricky to get your hands on a physical copy of this book, if you can find it, snatch it up! It might sound obvious, but sometimes we forget that our Catholic faith is based on a person, Jesus Christ. Our life of faith is about developing our relationship with Him. This is a wonderful book that really encourages us to get to know Jesus in his full humanity. Also available on Kindle.
The Way by St. Josemaria Escriva
One of the most well known works of St Josemaria, this little book is full of short but meaningful points on all aspects of the spiritual life. Use it for reading or for prayer and its small size is perfect for throwing in your handbag, your pocket or the glove box of your car! Whatever the situation, St, Josemaria offers words of encouragement to help us love God more in whatever the day throws at us.
Night’s Bright Darkness: A Modern Conversion Story by Sally Read
Sally Read, the writer and poet is a great friend of Hearts+Minds and has featured on the podcast recounting her conversion to the Catholic faith. This book tells her conversion story in detail and is a gorgeous read showing how God always longs for our good, no matter what path we are on.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
This apologetic novel by Lewis is well known and well read for good reason. The book is a fictional collection of letters between a devil Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, a novice demon who has been tasked with securing the damnation of a very ordinary man. Screwtape coaches his nephew in the best ways to tempt humans and it’s not nearly as grandiose and elaborate as you might think. A great read that lets us see the subtle way we can be pulled from a life of faith.
Let us know in the comments if you’ll be adding any of these books to your list this Lent. If you have any other recommendations for the Hearts+Minds community, feel free to share!