Books for Lent: The Third Part

[In a recent post, we mentioned some lists for Lenten reading. Read on for the third in the series.]

If the primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence on God and to enable us—as the Lenten Triodian puts it—to "draw near to the mountain of prayer," the following books are hammers, saws and levels for the task.

When You Fast
by Kallistos Ware
Maybe the all-time best use of a dollar (fifty)—it’s actually an excerpt from the introduction to The Lenten Triodion.

Celebration of Discipline (email or call for availability) 
by Richard Foster
Foster’s chapter on fasting is excellent, like nearly everything he writes regarding spiritual discipline.

The Spirit of Food: 
Thirty-four Writers on Feasting and Fasting Toward God
edited by Leslie Leyland Fields
A poetic rendering of spirituality's physicality and the ways attentive living can be an act of prayer. 

Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life
by Mary Margaret Funk
Like Foster, Funk’s thoughts on fasting are not to be missed. The teachings of John Cassian and other desert masters are palpable throughout.

Great Lent: Journey to Pascha
by Alexander Schmemann
Especially helpful is the section titled “The Two Meanings of Fasting.”