Read: Give Yourself and Others a Gift

Of course, we hope you’re in the midst of reflecting on Scripture this Advent using the LRSS study of The Infancy Narratives of Jesus with commentary by Stephen J. Binz, or Amy Ekeh’s book, Advent, Season of Divine Encounter. And then we hope you’ll treat yourself and your small groups to spending time after December 25 with Christmas, Season of Wonder and Hope by Catherine (Cackie) Upchurch.

But what about reading for personal and spiritual enrichment just to start or end each day? We can discover so much about our outer and inner worlds when we allow well-crafted words of skilled writers and thinkers, even in small pieces, to engage our minds and imaginations.  We’ve pulled together some suggestions (old and new titles) from our staff members in Little Rock, Connecticut, and Minnesota. You may want to explore one or two of these daily reflection books yourself, or select a title to give to a friend for the year ahead.

• A Book of Hours by Thomas Merton is a beautiful little book of some of Merton's most poetic writings arranged (by editor Kathleen Deignan) into prayers for Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Dark for every day of the week. Illustrations by John Giuliani add to the gentle, prayerful experience of this book.
• A Year with Thomas Merton provides a daily short reading from the journals of Thomas Merton, selected and edited by Jonathan Montaldo, to demonstrate Merton’s insights into the language of love that permeates our lives.
• With Grateful Hearts is a collection of reflections that first appeared in the small monthly books known as Living Faith. A wide range or writers contributes to this collection, offering personal reflections on Scripture passages.
• Glimpses of Faith is a book of daily thoughts and reflections for every day of the year, gleaned by Carole F. Chase from the writings of Madeleine L’Engle, whose craft helped her, and will help us, see God’s movements in the ordinary events of life.
• Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2019 is a lovely guide through the year with brief reflections on the daily readings.  This yearly book is a resource put together by the Jesuits of Ireland and includes a weekly point of focus as well.
• A Maryknoll Book of Prayer is edited by Michael Leach and Susan Perry and, while it does not designate a prayer or reflection for each day, it provides more than enough material for the entire year from sources around the world.

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