Short List: Short Books for Lenten Reading

Lent is nigh, brethren!

There are plenty of other great Lenten Spiritual reading lists out there. I thought I would take a different approach. 


Spiritual reading is one of those potentially great things we could do for Lent that unfortunately falls to the wayside in the busy lives of Young Adults. Some of us just don't have enough time to do spiritual reading. So, I am here to help y'all out. I have compiled a list of books that are 200 pages or less. 200 PAGES OR LESS! That's less than 5 pages a day, and you don't even have to read on Sundays. Even if you are uber busy, you can handle that - that's something like the equivalent of watching one youtube video a day. 


You can sacrifice watching the cat dancing to Justin Bieber in order to grow a bit spiritually. I believe in you.


Plus, even though they are short, they are still great books.

• Priestblock 25487 by Jean Bernard (177 pages) 
• 4 & 1/2 pages a day
• In May 1941, Fr. Jean Bernard was arrested for denouncing the Nazis and imprisoned in Dachau's "Priest Block," a barracks that housed more than 3,000 clergy (the vast majority Roman Catholic priests). Priestblock 25487 tells the gripping true story of one remarkable priest's survival amid the inhuman brutality and torture of a Nazi concentration camp.
• Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis(160 pages) 
• 4 pages a day
• This book is for someone who wants to have their mindblown to the reality of sin and insight on the tactics the devil uses to draw us away from God.The story takes the form of a series of letters from a senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior "tempter" named Wormwood, so as to advise him on methods of securing the damnation of a British man, known only as "the Patient".
• Blessed are the Bored in Spirit by Mark Hart (129 pages) 
• 3 1/4 pages a day
• Too many young Catholics experience their faith as Mark Hart did. They rarely miss Mass even if they don't understand it; they have a Bible even if they never read it; they go to confession even if they are not particularly repentant. Is that your experience of Catholicism? Is yours a religion of Thou Shalt Nots? If so, forget about a dreary life of mindless obedience and rules you don't understand. It's time to enter into the transforming light of your Creator who invites you to live from the still center of his undying love. The author's humorous and hard-hitting reflections drive home the point that God isn't calling the reader to be a good person--someone who merely obeys the rules--but a new person in Jesus Christ.
• Adventures in Orthodoxy by Father Dwight Longenecker (192 pages) 
• 5 pages a day
• In this book, Father Longenecker breaks down the Creed line by line. In a word, says Longenecker, the Creed catapults believers to the brink of mystery and invites them to dwell there, in silent wonder and contemplation. Here you'll finally encounter the Creed as it really is: a striking affirmation that bears us not into theological dead ends, but unto a world that never ends; not into an obsolete medieval universe — closed, dark, and dying — but unto a bright and exciting world that moves in ever increasing spirals of glory, a world to which the only natural response is a grateful and hearty "Amen!"
• Journey to Easter by Pope Benedict XVI (184 pages) 
• 4 & 1/2 pages a day
• I had to include something from the Holy Father. Pope Benedict shares a Lenten blessing that evaluates the meaning of the season, the significance of the birth and death of Christ, and the meaning of Jesus in the lives of Christians everywhere, in a spiritual meditation that follows such themes as the mystery of Mary and the Pentecostal sending of the Spirit.
• What Happens at Mass by Fr. Jeremy Drischoll, OSB (144 pages) 
• 3 & 1/2 pages a day
• For anyone who is interested in deepening their understanding of the mass. Father Jeremy is a priest at my school. Do you want to know the meaning behind all the actions we do at mass? Read this book. Father Jeremy explains it all in an engaging and easy to read manner. Beautiful stuff.
• Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to Blessed Mary: Prayers and Meditations for Thirty-One Visits (106 pages) 
• 2 & 1/2 pages a day*
• There are 31 visits so although you could do 2 1/2 pages a day, if you have the time, hop into a church for even 10 minutes a day and do these reflections... given that it is only 31 visits you can miss 9 days. Be prepared to have your heart broken open to the realities of Jesus' love for you, and the power of the Real Presence.

Honorable mentions (Books slightly over 200 pages)

• Faith at the Edge: A New Generation of Catholic Writers Reflects on Life, Love, Sex and Other Mysteries (224 pages) 
• 5 1/2 pages a day
• Okay... so this is over 200 pages, but it is a collection of essays and so it is easy to pick and choose which ones you want to read. Honestly once I picked up this book I couldn't put it down. I finished it in two plane rides. Gathering the experiences, fears, and joys of young adult Catholics whose search for faith often puts them on a collision-course with modern society, this anthology explores the mysterious, exhilarating, and sometimes infuriating terrain of faith. With celebrated contributors like Paula Huston, Matthew Lickona, and John Zmirak, and compelling personal narratives like "Porn and the Sacred Heart" and "My Tallahassee Purgatory," these essays give voice to the struggles and triumphs of a new generation of Catholics who are transforming the Church.
• Story of a Soul: the Autobiography of St. Therese (216 pages) 
• 5 1/2 pages a day 
• It is the story of Saint Therese. She is beautiful. Changed my life. Read it. That is all. 

Hope that helps. 

Those are brief descriptions, but I am hoping to do more in depth descriptions of these books before Lent begins. (Yikes... one week)


Those are my suggestions. Any additions or further comments?

Be God's, brethren.