My priest sent out an e-mail of the liturgical schedule all the way up to Pascha, thus cementing the feeling that Lent is coming along way too fast this year.

It makes me start thinking about a good book to read through Lent. Last year I read Frederica’s “First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through the Canon of St. Andrew” (LINK) which I thoroughly enjoyed. But maybe it’s time to re-read Fr. Schmemann’s “Great Lent” (LINK). And I also had a book that was was a reading and reflection for every day of Lent, but I don’t seem to be able to find it (anyone know the one?). That might be good too.

Or, if I felt like being mighty, I could go through Fr. John Mack’s “Ascending the Heights:A Layman’s Guide to ‘The Ladder of Divine Ascents’.” (LINK) Or try to make it through Fr. Jack Sparks trilogy based on “Unseen Warfare” (LINK).

If I don’t think I’m up to that kind of spiritual benchpressing, there are books made up of short thoughts that a person can take at their own pace. Things like Fr. Elchaninov’s “Diary of a Russian Priest” (LINK), which I’ve been raving on about. Or one called “The Time of the Spirit” (LINK) that has eclectic readings for all the months of the year — the Lenten portion is a very short read, but it’s sometimes interesting to get an ecumenical (gasp!) perspective.

Just curious — anyone else got a Lenten book they like? All of the ones I just mentioned are good, but something new would be good too. (And BTW, it doesn’t have to be Orthodox.)