Spiritual reading is an excellent way to grow during Lent, but knowing where to start can be difficult. Here are some of the Lent books our team at Catholic-Link has found worth reading during this holy season.

40 Lent Books For Catholics

Aquinas’s Lenten Meditations: 40 Days with the Angelic Doctor – There’s a multitude of Lenten meditation books but only one that’s packed with the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas. Journey through Lent with the Church’s greatest philosopher-theologian. This unrivaled spiritual master will guide you in encountering Our Lord and experiencing the type of fruitful Lent that he often experienced.

Bringing Home Lent with Mother Teresa: Prayers, Reflections and Activities for Families: My family used this book to guide our Lent last year and we found it to be a great fit for our busy (young) family. Using Mother Teresa’s famous quote “small things with great love” the activities are just enough to lead both children and parents to truly understanding Lent.

Born of Fire | Fr. Mark Mary Ames– This is honestly the best Lent resource for Catholic men we’ve ever read! If you desire to provide Catholic resources for men this is a must-read.

Crux: A Lenten Journey of Surrender journal may be purchased and used by anyone and is a wonderful add-on for those who want more space to journal, a beautiful space in which to track their progress through the four disciplines, and the opportunity to pray the Examen with prayer prompts in a screen-free way.

Desert Bloom: Discovering Unexpected Joy in the Wilderness prepares you to experience deep, meaningful transformation, especially if you are entering this Lenten season feeling weary or longing for renewal. Inspired by a desire for you to experience the Lord’s gentleness and compassion, this devotional offers encouragement and challenges you to grow in a way that is loving and hopeful rather than overwhelming.

Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life’s Hurts – We all have wounds. We all experience the emotional suffering that arises when we’re prevented from receiving or giving love as we were created to. As we orchestrate our lives to hide our wounds and avoid the discomfort of having them irritated, we end up creating anxiety, unhappiness, exhaustion, anger, and a sense of meaninglessness. The good news is that God wants to heal us! In Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life’s Hurts, Dr. Matthew Breuninger examines the nature and causes of our wounds. Finding Freedom in Christ outlines a six-step model to help readers identify and remove the barriers to God’s healing grace—making deeper conversion possible. Ultimately, the goal of this healing model is to free individuals to love and serve God and one another.

Holiness of Life | St. Bonaventure – In Holiness of Life, Saint Bonaventure offers a rich and challenging reflection on the virtues that lead the soul to union with God. Exploring themes of humility, prayer, poverty, and the remembrance of Christ’s Passion, this spiritual classic guides readers to conform their hearts to Christ and embrace the life of holiness.

Jesus, Friend of My Soul – “As Christians,” Joyce Rupp writes, “we look to the person of Jesus to learn from him.” Because our lives are filled to the brim with activity, it is easy to drift away from trying to live as Jesus did, and we find ourselves in need of time to focus on drawing close to him again and learning from his example. In Jesus, Friend of My Soul, Rupp guides us from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday illustrating both how Jesus called his followers to change and how his actions provide us a blueprint for growth.

Jesus I Trust in You: A 30-Day Personal Retreat with the Litany of Trust | Sr. Faustina Maria Pia, S.V. – We were made for love, and love requires trust. In Jesus I Trust in You: A 30-Day Personal Retreat Based on the Litany of Trust, Sr. Faustina Maria Pia Bianchi, S.V., learn what it means to place our trust in Jesus―no matter the circumstances. In this powerful invitation to a loving, trusting relationship with our Lord, you will pray with the Litany of Trust to overcome every obstacle to peace.

Jesus and You, Woman: Ignatian Retreat for Women under the guidance of Edith Stein – The present work contemplates the encounters of Jesus with the principal feminine figures of the New Testament in accord with the method of prayer proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises and offers material for silent meditation. In this interior journey, the reader is accompanied in a particular way by the philosopher and Discalced Carmelite, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), and her insights, experiences and reflections on the mystery of woman.

Made for Heaven: Join Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR—founder of Corazón Puro—on a multimedia Lenten journey inspired by St. Francis. Begin the season with a vow of poverty and end at Easter with a heart free from the desert of sin and open to love, serve, and care for others. Made for Heaven features stunning original art by Valerie Delgado of Pax.Valerie, along with daily meditations on a passage from scripture, reflection questions, prayer, and space for journaling and notetaking. A life of simplicity and poverty orients you toward God’s love and reminds you that you are made for heaven. Torres says the best way to prepare yourself for that final destination is to live as true pilgrims who need to “travel lightly” and detach from earthly pleasures. The book is also available in Spanish. Free companion videos with Fr. Agustino accompany the reader to enter into the season of Lent as they read this book alone, or with a group or parish. Take a look at the teaser video.  Purchase HERE.

Marriage Care Novena Book : The Marriage Care Novena is a 9-day adventure designed to help couples put God at the center of their marriage.

Media Fasting: Six Weeks to Recharge in Christ helps you assess your current media habits; develop a media fasting plan based on your personal goals; and grow in your relationship with Christ through six weeks of devotional readings, reflection questions, and prayer prompts. Learn tips for cultivating virtue, practice media mindfulness, and discover powerful ways to pray for our media world and witness to Christ from within it. By the end of your fast, you will have the tools you need to revisit your approach to media and develop a Christ-centered strategy for your personal media use—one that leads to greater freedom and peace.

My Burden Is Light | St. John of Ávila – Saint John of Avila, the 34th Doctor of the Church, gave numerous sermons on this subject, in which he offers the consolation of Christ’s own example and that of saints, like St. Francis of Assisi. St. John never failed to instruct, edify, and challenge those who listened attentively to his sermons. Within these sermons, we too can find renewed strength as we embrace the redemptive suffering of this life and hope for the beatific vision in the next. Published for the first time in English, this carefully translated work of St. John’s selected sermons will be a great spiritual aid to any soul along his path to holiness.

Offer It Up | Megan Hjelmstad – What if the way to endure suffering is not to run from it, but to find deep healing through it? In Offer It Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Redemptive Suffering, learn how God can repurpose your pain to become redemptive—benefitting not only your own soul, but others’ too. Author Megan Hjelmstad draws from her experience with chronic illness to address the fear, grief, limitation, and needs that accompany suffering. Along the way, readers will be given practical tools to face any cross with purpose and peace.

Personal Prayer: A Guide for Receiving the Father’s Love by Fr. Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.

Prayers of Desperation: A Questioner’s Prayer for Answers in Our Darkest Moments | Bishop Robert J. Baker – Sometimes our best prayers can be the questions we ask. Bishop Robert J. Baker, S.T.D., explains powerful ways to pray when facing the pain of abandonment, serious illness or addiction, loss of a loved one, or large-scale disaster.

Praying with Jesus and Faustina During Lent and in Times of Suffering – The book opens with daily Lenten meditations featuring the words of Jesus and St. Faustina on the Passion. Each day also includes both special reflections for times of suffering and a prayer. In the following chapters, St. Faustina will lead you through heartfelt prayers on the Way of the Cross, Christ’s wounds, and on the Blessed Mother’s sorrows. Susan also includes chapters on unique litanies, the Divine Mercy devotion, and confession.

Psychology and the Cross | Fr. G. Emmett Carter  – In this trail-blazing book, first published in 1958, Fr. G. Emmett Carter has assembled the wisest Christian thought showing how psychology can aid the Christian in achieving maturity, overcoming character defects, and conquering emotional disorders.

Restore: A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation | Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT – Take a healing journey with Sr. Miriam James Heidland, SOLT, as she helps you turn away from what wounds you and toward God who heals you and makes you whole. In this beautiful guided journal for prayer and meditation, Sr. Miriam invites you to meet the tenderness of God’s mercy, the power of his love, and the restoration of your heart and life as you practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Return | Fr. John Burns – Return is a beautiful guided journal for prayer and meditation, Fr. John Burns—author of the bestselling and award-winning book Adore—invites you to strip away your confusion, attachments, and sin so you can return to the Lord and undergo real and lasting conversion. Each week of Lent, the book breaks down part of the liturgy’s first reading from Ash Wednesday in which the prophet Joel calls us to wholehearted conversion: “Even now, says the Lord, return to me, with your whole heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning, rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God” (Jl 2:12–13). Then, during Holy Week and the Resurrection on Easter, you are invited to weave your own stories into that of the Paschal Mystery.

Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Fr. Jacques Philippe – Peace of heart is a pure gift of God. We should seek it and ask Him for it.

Simply Scripture for Lent and Easter | Colleen Reiss Vermeulen – Have you ever wished to recite scripture quotes off the top of your head? Or do you long to build a habit of daily scripture reading? Having a doable plan to regularly and prayerfully engage scripture can make this practice sustainable for people with busy lives. Simply Scripture for Lent and Easter is the perfect place to begin. This daily prayer guide, keyed to the Lenten and Easter seasons, provides a simple framework for reading and reflection upon Mark’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles.

Suffering: What Every Catholic Should Know | Mark Giszczak – Just as Job was tried, all of us are tested by suffering. It comes to us in many different forms: grief about the past, pain in the present, and sadness about what might have been. The personal dimension of suffering means that it marks our experience and, in some ways, makes us who we are. Coping with suffering as Christians includes certain spiritual practices that lead us to surrender our lives more fully to the Lord. By offering our suffering as a spiritual sacrifice, joined intentionally to the suffering of Christ through prayer, we engage with the most profound Christian teaching about suffering: that it is redemptive. Suffering can transform us to be like God. Purchase HERE.

The Catholic Playbook: Lenten Reflections for Singles  – “If you’re tired of walking through the desert of single life alone, this book is for you! Join other single Catholics and journey through your most meaningful Lent ever. With 40 meditations written by and for single Catholics, you’ll walk together every step of the way, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday.”

The Cries of Jesus from the Cross | A Fulton Sheen Anthology – For the first time ever, Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s complete writings and reflections on Christ’s last words have been compiled into this one book. Sheen shows how the seven words are, in fact, a full catechism on the spiritual life. From them, you’ll learn the secrets to living the Beatitudes, ways to avoid the deadly vices of anger, envy, lust, and pride, and how to cultivate the heavenly virtues of fortitude, prudence, justice, and charity.

The Holy Spirit, Fire of Divine Love: “Fr. Stinissen’s writing is profound enough for theologians, yet accessible enough for anyone seeking a fuller and more meaningful life. This is an important, inspiring, and timely book.” -Vinny Flynn, Author, 7 Secrets of Divine Mercy

The Lenten Cookbook | Scott Hahn and David Geisser  – From breads to stews to omelets and desserts, award-winning chef and former Vatican Swiss Guard David Geisser returns with 75 new international recipes that were specially conceived for the penitential season of Lent. From delicious soups and salads to zesty curries and classic Lenten staples, Chef Geisser offers here a uniquely Catholic way of celebrating the Lenten season in your home each year.

The Imitation of Christ – his classic of Christian devotional literature has brought understanding and comfort to millions for centuries. Both Protestants and Catholics — as well as mystics and historians of religious thought — have studied these meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus, finding in them a path to prayer and spiritual guidance. Written in a candid and conversational style, The Imitation of Christ discusses liberation from worldly inclinations, recollection as a preparation for prayer, the consolations of prayer, and the place of eucharistic communion in a devout life. With its simple, readable text, this translation will appeal to new readers as well as to those already familiar with this religious classic.

 The Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ | Alban Goodier  – This absorbing account provides you with an intimate look at the sufferings of Our Lord through the minds and hearts of those closest to Him. You’ll see Jesus through the eyes of His apostles, of those who condemned Him, of His executioners, and of those He met along the way of the Cross. Drawing from historical research, culture, and his own profound spiritual insights, Archbishop Alban Goodier, S.J., masterfully intersperses scriptural accounts and narration to bring the Passion of Jesus fully to life.

The Road to Calvary | St. Alphonsus Liguori– With St. Alphonsus Liguori as your spiritual guide, The Road to Calvary: Daily Meditations for Lent and Easter will take you on the long difficult path Our Lord took to His death and crucifixion. Drawing on the insights of the saints who have gone before him, Liguori adds his own insights into the events of the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord so that you may truly enter the details of Christ’s suffering and ultimate victory over death. 

The School of Christian Perfection | St. Alphonsus Liguori – In this seminal work, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church, presents a comprehensive guide to achieving Christian perfection through the pursuit of virtue. Drawing from his extensive theological writings, Alphonsus provides a month-by-month exploration of essential virtues such as faith, hope, charity, poverty, chastity, obedience, meekness, and humility. Each chapter offers insightful meditations, scriptural reflections, and practical counsel for cultivating and integrating these virtues into everyday life.

The Way of Prayer: Is “an acclaimed commentary on Saint Teresa of Avila’s classic work, Way of Perfection, discusses the various forms of Christian prayer, with an emphasis on Teresa’s meditation on the Our Father. The author, Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. (1893–1953), was a Carmelite priest, a revered master of Carmelite spirituality, and an expert in the spiritual and mystical doctrine of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.”

The Way of the Cross with the Saints uses spiritual methods from saints such as St. Alphonsus Liguori, St. Francis of Assisi, St. John Henry Newman, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, and Ven. Mary of Agreda. This Lent, trust that by abiding and praying using traditional prayers, Lenten hymns, and meditations, you will have fostered deeper contrition, humility, and appreciation of Christ’s Passion –beautifully bound and thoughtfully edited for you.

Turn to the Cross – Lent isn’t about training ourselves with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving so we are “good enough” to be worthy of God’s mercy. Instead, we practice these disciplines to more closely pattern our lives after the example Jesus set through his Cross and Resurrection. In Turn to the Cross, each day from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday begins with a passage from the Liturgy of the Hours—a psalm, prayer, antiphon or response—followed by a short spiritual reflection, morning and evening prayers, and a question to ponder throughout the day. About five minutes a day is all we need as we turn to the Cross for healing, hope, and renewal. Purchase HERE.

Training the Tongue and Growing Beyond Sins of Speech | Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P. – Gossip. Lying. Flattery. Crass words. As we grow in Christian maturity, many of us are aware that we fall frequently into sins of speech. We realize instinctually that these faults are holding us back from the fullness of life. But what can we do about them? Training the Tongue and Growing Beyond Sins of Speech promises to help us attain verbal virtue. As this brief book shows, by cultivating healthy habits, we can effectively crowd out sinful speech and experience the gift of our tongue as God intended.

Walk in Her Sandals: Experience Christ’s Passion through the Eyes of Women – Walk in Her Sandals, edited by popular Catholic author and speaker Kelly M. Wahlquist, takes you deeper into your relationship with Jesus by helping you relate to him in a profoundly intimate way. Looking at six universal gifts of women through the eyes of women in the gospels, the book guides you on a prayerful and creative journey through the days of Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.

Who Is Jesus? (Meg Hunter-Kilmer) invites you on a twelve-week journey through the gospels to meet Jesus Christ as he reveals himself in scripture. Whether you’re a lifelong Catholic or exploring Christianity for the first time, this Bible study will help you answer the question Jesus asked his disciples—and still asks each of us today: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15).

Witness A Guided Lent Journal for Prayer and Meditation | Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP – This Lent, walk the road to Calvary with those who witnessed the Passion firsthand. Dominican friar and popular Godsplaining podcaster Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, OP, is your guide on that journey in this daily Lenten devotional. Witness brings you face-to-face with the people of the Bible who encountered Christ in his Passion—saints and sinners, friends and enemies, the faithful and the afraid. From the Good Thief to Pontius Pilate, Martha to Barabbas, these figures reveal the depths of the human heart—flawed, fearful, hopeful, and deeply loved.