Folios from the Mayer van den Bergh Breviary (Wikimedia Commons).
I like to say that almost everything I know came from a book. That’s true even in the spiritual life. Spiritual reading gives me the knowledge I need to do God’s will.
Of course, after I read advice from the Bible, the lives of the saints, or other spiritual works, I have to ingest it. I learn by experience how it applies to me. But I’d be more or less ignorant of the spiritual life if I never read about it.
Writing about spiritual matters also keeps me focused on truth. Having thought about trust so much over the past fifteen months, especially while writing blog posts and my upcoming book, I find it easy to think about God throughout the day.
That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to do His will. I’ve been struggling in various ways this week. Ironically, my own written words help me let go of my fears and frustrations and trust in God.
Here are some of my favorite spiritual books from past posts:
- Fire Within by Fr. Thomas Dubay
- Introduction to the Devout Life By St. Francis de Sales
- Time for God by Fr. Jacques Philippe
Take time to read spiritual books regularly, especially the Bible. And if you really want to dig deeply into a spiritual subject, write about it–even just for yourself.
Connie Rossini
HI Connie, thanks for this. Good spiritual reading is so important to advance in the spiritual life. I’ve read 2 of the 3 books you mentioned. The one I haven’t read is your selection by Fr. Dubay although I’m reading another one of his books right now – The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science and Theology Meet.
It’s good to hear from you, Terri. I haven’t read The Evidential Power of Beauty yet. Fr. Dubay’s Happy Are You Poor is also excellent–and challenging.
I find that writing about spiritual matters helps me too. It helps to ground me in the truths that I have read about. I am naturally very tactile anyway and will jot down insights in a small notebook whenever I do any spiritual reading. I even write in my books, underlining and making notes in the margins of the pages. I really like your blog posts! God Bless.
Thanks, Solitary Bird. There is a sort of processing that goes on when we take what we have read and write about it. It really makes you think about it more deeply. I do the same thing often with my boys for school. Narrations are based on this same principle. Just reading is usually not enough to retain or fully understand the implications of what we read. Yes, even notes in the margins can take it one step further.