6 Lenten Reads to Foster Spiritual Growth

Lenten offerings from Mother Angelica, St. Thérèse of Lisieux and others

EWTN Religious Catalogue offers a variety of good reads for these 40 days.
EWTN Religious Catalogue offers a variety of good reads for these 40 days. (photo: EWTNRC.com; Unsplash)

It’s not too late to grow spiritually this Lent. As Pope Francis reminds us in his Lenten Message 2021:

“To experience Lent in hope entails growing in the realization that, in Jesus Christ, we are witnesses of new times, in which God is ‘making all things new’ (cf. Revelation 21:1-6). It means receiving the hope of Christ, who gave his life on the cross and was raised by God on the third day, and always being ‘prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls [us] to account for the hope that is in [us]’ (1 Peter 3:15).” 

 

To aid our efforts in personal growth, EWTN Publishing has some timely offerings, including:

As Mother Angelica liked to remind the faithful, “Make the Stations a daily devotion!” Lent is an especially good time to add this prayerful devotion that is focused on accompanying Christ into one’s spiritual routine. 

As the past Register review notes, while Father of Mercy Wade Menezes writes about death, judgment, heaven and hell, ultimately, “Father Menezes provides practical steps to living a sanctified life.” That is what we all need, during Lent and always.

Register writer Patti Armstrong found this book to be “full of all-around good Catholic inspiration,” which prompted reflection: “I realized more clearly that Lent is a time to draw deeper into the life of Christ and what it truly means to love God and love our neighbor.”

 

Some personal favorites of mine are also good Lenten reads:

For devotees of the Little Flower, this is a must-read. Learn the “Little Way” of love from this beloved saint and draw closer to this saint friend in the process, and Jesus, too.

As I noted in my blog review, this book shows how “ … in the midst of our specific responsibilities in the here and now, we can find Christ.” 

As I noted, “Finding Christ in the present moment is truly at the heart of it all, contemplating the eternal amid the earthbound, for faith and fellowship should be rooted within all that is ‘home.’”

And the same goes for Lent.

  • In addition, Signs of Life is an excellent primer on Catholic belief and practice. Lent is a perfect time to brush up on the basics of Catholicism and learn the why behind all that the Church does and teaches.

 

Happy reading! Lenten blessings!