For for Lent: Recommended Seasonal Reads

Families with school-age children will enjoy Claire McGarry's With Our Savior: Family Devotions for Lent. Each day begins with a line or two from Scripture, followed by a short reflection: sometimes a story with a message, sometimes a vignette about a famous person, sometimes an explanation of something from the Bible. A one-sentence prayer focuses on the meat of the story. Finally, there's an action item, ranging from questions to spark conversation at the dinner table to prompts for works of mercy the family can do together. This inexpensive 48-page booklet is available directly from the publisher, Creative Communications for the Parish, and on Kindle.

Give your teenagers their own devotional. Katie Prejean McGrady and Tommy McGrady's Lent: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens (Ave Maria Press) starts out with a scenario we can all relate to: that absent-minded way we break out "Lenten resolution" only one week in. Leading off with this story allows the McGradys to remind the reader that Lent doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing kind of thing, but is instead supposed to be a time when we can re-center our lives: on Jesus.

Each Sunday offers a challenge for the week and suggestions for making it happen, as well as a Gospel reflection, journal prompt (and space to write right there in the booklet), and short prayer. Journal prompts for the rest of the week will require a separate journal; each Saturday the week wraps up with an examination of conscience of sorts, based on the challenge from the Sunday before. It's an easy-to-use book and inexpensive enough to purchase for a whole class or youth group.

Gary Zimak makes no secret about the fact that he's a worrier, which makes him the perfect person to write encouraging books for other people who worry too. New from Ave Maria Press, Give Up Worry for Lent: 40 Days to Finding Peace in Christ is a devotional for people who make a habit of worrying. I appreciate that Gary never takes the tactic that if only you trusted God more, you magically wouldn't experience anxiety anymore. He does talk about trust, but in a way that encourages the reader instead of dismissing their suffering.

Each day's reflection begins with a short Scripture passage; following this, there's a reflection (about a page long), an area called "Respond" with a spiritual action item, often including a way to turn around the tendency to worry or be anxious and instead, turn to God. A short prayer wraps up the day's section.

Lenten devotionals are wonderful, but I'd be remiss if I didn't include Maria von Trapp's re-released Around the Year with the von Trapp Family in my list of Lenten must-reads. With this one, your best bet is to start reading it early, because it's a guide on living the liturgical year, and in many parts of the world, that includes Carnival! Learn about the Old World customs that you can import into your family life. As you move into the Lenten season, read about Maria's spiritual-reading program, a discussion of fasting and society's motives for fasting (which reads like something written in 2019, not 1955!), and other Lenten practices.

Around the Year is a book you'll want to keep handy the whole year long: it's packed with recipes, descriptions of and historical information about customs, family stories, and even hymns and folk songs - with music! Sophia Institute Press has packaged this book as a beautiful hardcover with lovely touches and simple illustrations. (And if you're a Sound of Music fan, this is definitely not to be missed.)