Books for Lent: The First Part

[In our previous post, we mentioned some lists for Lenten reading. Read on for the first in the series.]

These books stir up the Lenten spirit, entreating us to consider "the grace of the Fast" and the firm resolve necessary on our part to make, and continue making, a good beginning. Click on the titles or authors to link through to the Eighth Day website.

Great Lent by Alexander Schmemann
An exploration and explanation of the liturgical services, fasts, symbols, and prayers of the Lenten season.

The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
translated by Benedicta Ward
Always relevant, the desert fathers speak directly to the human condition and also the human desire to seek after God.

The Ladder of Divine Ascent
by John Climacus
A seventh century ascetical handbook read every year during Lent in Orthodox monasteries.

The Holy Way: Practices for a Simple Life
by Paula Huston
Practical guidance on the pursuit of spiritual simplicity, drawn from the powerful histories of the saints and personal experience. 

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness
by Paula Huston
Traces the ancient process of Christian transformation through the eight virtues, pairing each with a contemplative saint.

The Year of Grace of the Lord 
Monk of the Eastern Church
A devotional look at the seasons of the church.

The Seven Perennial Sins and Their Offspring
by Ken Bazyn
A reader’s meditation on the seven deadly sins.

Confession: Doorway to Forgiveness (email or call for availability)
by Jim Forest
An Orthodox Christain examines the communal nature of sin and forgiveness.

Ladder of the Beatitudes 
by Jim Forest
An anecdotal exploration of the extraordinary dimensions of the Kingdom.

The Beatitudes: Soundings in Christian Tradition
by Simon Tugwell
A Biblical and devotional stirring of the moral imagination.

The Return of the Prodigal Son
by Henri Nouwen
A luminous meditation on the parable in regard to Rembrandt’s painting.

Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life 
(email or call for availability)
by Henri Nouwen
Summarizes the Christian way as transforming loneliness into solitude, hostility to hospitality, and illusion to prayer.

The Arena
by Ignatius Brianchaninov
A manual on the inner life and outward conduct of the monk.

Humility Matters: Toward Purity of Heart
Thoughts Matter: The Practice of the Spiritual Life
Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life
by Mary Margaret Funk
Notable manuals for keeping us awake to that ‘’still, small voice.’’

Back to Virtue (email or call for availability)
by Peter Kreeft
Ethics without virtue is illusion.

Unseen Warfare (email or call for availability)  
by St. Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain / St. Theophan the Recluse
One of the most useful and trusted manuals in the literature of Orthodox teaching on the spiritual life.

The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned to It
by St. Theophan the Recluse
Letters of direction written to a young woman serious about seeking God.

Cyril of Jerusalem: Works, Volume 1 (Fathers of the Church Series) 
(email or call for availability) 
Cyril of Jerusalem: Works, Volume 2 (Fathers of the Church Series)
by St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Includes the Catechetical Lectures, one of the earliest known catechisms of the Christian Church.