I don't know if anyone else likes to do some spiritual reading during Lent, but I know I do.This year I am tackling a couple weighty books. Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross and Pope Benedict's second volume of Jesus of Nazareth.
Dark Night of the Soul is a classic of Christian/Catholic mysticism. Here is what amazon.com has to say about the book:
As a Carmelite monk, the 16th-century Spanish mystic St. John of the Cross was well trained in the systematic theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. In Dark Night of the Soul, St. John's sharply organized mind gives clean shape to his mystical belief in a loving Being somewhere outside the realm of feeling, thought, or imagination, who can only be known through love. Dark Night of the Soul describes the process of purgation, first of senses, and then of spirit, that precedes the soul's loving Union with God. To quote from this book would detract from the coiled power of its tightly focused picture of the soul's progress; suffice it to say that there has never been a better book for discouraged Christians. When you cannot understand what or why you believe, but you find yourself unable to abandon faith, look to St. John for help.
Sounds like a real winner, I am super excited to get my hands on this one.
The other major reading project I have in mind for Lent is as I said Jesus of Nazareth Vol. 2 by Benedict XVI. I loved his book The Spirit of the Liturgy and think he writes at a level that is amazingly deep and profound yet accessible. His new book is centered around the final week of Christ's life from the triumphant entry into Jerusalem to the glory of the Resurrection. Seems an appropriate read for the Lenten season.
Now if I could just figure out which of my vices I am going to try abstaining from for that 40 day journey.
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