For Catholics, the beauty of Easter is that it’s not just a day, it’s a season. Throughout Lent, we meditate on Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, and on Easter Sunday and in the weeks that follow, we continue to reflect on the miracle of the Resurrection. This Lent and Easter, we invite you to explore four devotional books intended to guide your meditations, featuring the wisdom of great spiritual teachers from St. Augustine to C.S. Lewis.
Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C. S. Lewis
Featuring excerpts from C.S. Lewis’s essays, poems, letters, and more, Preparing for Easter invites the reader into deeper contemplation of the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. Each selection in this carefully curated collection draws on a major theme in Lewis’s writings on the Christian life, as well as others that consider why we can have confident faith in the Paschal Mystery. This insightful compilation is intended to help Christians strengthen their faith.
Season of Beauty
An artistic exploration of Lent and Easter, Season of Beauty features selections from Scripture, poetry, and prayers alongside great works of Christian art. In this treasury, you can find high-quality reproductions of pieces like Briton Riviere’s The Temptation in the Wilderness and Ilya Repin’s Last Supper, as well as selections from writers including Dostoyevsky, Henry Van Dyke, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and others! This breathtaking collection invites you into moments of contemplation through inspiring words and pictures.
Lent and Easter Wisdom from St. Augustine
A brilliant scholar and theologian, St. Augustine was not simply an influential Church father – he’s one of the greatest philosophers of all time. For 34 years, he served as bishop of a rural diocese in northern Africa, and throughout his lifetime, he gave over 500 sermons. Today, we can learn not only from his writings, but from his humble example of compassion and love.
In Lent and Easter Wisdom From St. Augustine, Agnes Cunningham, SSCM, an expert on the early Church Fathers, has compiled key passages from Augustine’s writings to facilitate reflection during the Easter season. This volume invites you to explore the mystery of our salvation with St. Augustine through reflections on repentance and redemption.
Lent and Easter Wisdom from G.K. Chesterton
Beloved for his incisive wit, humor, and philosophical insights, G.K. Chesterton was one of the greatest apologists and authors of the 20th century. Each daily reflection in this book – from Ash Wednesday through the Second Sunday of Easter – begins with thoughts from the finest writings of Chesterton on an appropriate theme, supported by Scripture, a prayer, and a suggested activity for spiritual growth.
*Book descriptions adapted in part from their respective publishers.
Looking for more book recommendations?
There’s always more to read! In the inaugural post of our Basilica Book Club series, we discuss five iconic works of literature every Catholic should read – from the writings of philosophical giants St. Augustine and St. Aquinas, to beloved mystic reflections like The Dark Night of the Soul.