Each year for Christians around the world the season of Lent and its time of prayer, penance, and reflection, precedes Easter, which is meant to be a day and season for celebration and joy. This year, two of our favorite Christian authors — Joyce Rupp and Christine Valters Paintner — have penned new books to guide a Christian through their Lenten devotions.
Both authors are members of our Living Spiritual Teachers Project. Both are popular retreat leaders, conference speakers, and spiritual midwives for people looking to find their way.
(For the other new Lenten book by one of our Living Spiritual Teachers, go to Paintner's A Different Kind of Fast.)
Lenten devotionals are, by design, short and usually small books. They are meant to be carried for forty days, throughout Lent. Scripture passages, short reflections, original prayers (Joyce Rupp’s prayers are loved by her readers), and pointers or suggestions for the day, are the features of this book. Rupp begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter Sunday.
A Roman Catholic religious sister who has often pushed her readers to think more broadly and consider a wider net of acceptable views, Rupp in this book returns to what is essential for her. She explains at the start: “When I pause to consider what guides the flow of my life, the teachings of Jesus in the Christian gospels are center stage. These transformative messages continue to provide counsel and direction for how I am to live. I cannot imagine a spiritual journey without its being based on these foundational principles.”
“Each Lent I return to their guidance,” she explains. The book covers a lot of ground of what it means to follow Jesus, from learning to forgive, to caring for those less fortunate, to practicing humility, joy, patience, not worrying, and being a light in your community.
Try a Body Blessing Ritual for a Lenten Prayer Service
Go Deeper:
The Grace of Lent: This e-course invites you to view Lent as an artful preparation to a slow and sustained intentional journey where the heart is awakened into a new life through divine love.
