Lenten Devotionals

This Lent I read three different devotionals;

A Wondrous Love: Daily Lenten Meditations and Prayers by Henri Nouwen and C.S. Lewis
2015 Lenten Meditations by Episcopal Relief and Development
Show Me the Way: Readings for Each Day of Lent by Henri Nouwen

A Wondrous Love

This is a paper pamphlet that I received when exiting the Ash Wednesday service at The Episcopal Church at Princeton (ECP). I greatly enjoy the services at ECP but only usually go to the non-Sunday services since they meet at 9p.m. on Sundays and that is too late for me. This devotional was nice for a number of reasons:

1. C.S. Lewis and Henri Nouwen are BOSS. How could you go wrong with excerpts from their many writings?
2. Neat picture on the front
3. The excerpts are short so can be read easily
4. The booklet is lightweight and not a burden to add to a heavy backpack to be read on the train

A few things I wasn't crazy about:

1. After each devotional is a one sentence prayer that sometimes had nothing at all to do with the content of the actual excerpt.
2. The prayers were not written by CSL or HN and their lack of depth was obvious
3. Sometimes the excerpt didn't seem to fit the day or the bit of scripture it was paired with.

Overall a good devotional I would be happy to use again during another Lent. Since the days are listed according to liturgical time it is not year specific and this is possible.

ERD

I obtained this devotional from Trinity Church in Princeton, but I was turned on to it by a fellow student at General Theological Seminary. The theme throughout is that of social justice and Lent is divided in several sections each with a different theme summed up in an "I believe" statement. Some examples are: I believe that everyone should have access to clean water, I believe that no one should go hungry, and I believe that all children and families deserve a healthy start in life. These are statements core to the work of ERD and connected to the Millennium Development Goals. Each day begins with one of those statements, followed by a bit of scripture or other writing, and then a reflection on that. These are specific to the day, so this is particular to Lent 2015. Some things I like about this devo:

1. There are some nice reflections connecting social justice to personal piety
2. Several authors are involved so if one person writes poorly you don't have to worry about the next devo being bad necessarily
3. Since it is set up for 2015 I found it easier to find the day. Searching by date is sometimes easier than by liturgical day.

Things I did not like about it:

1. Many of the reflections have less to do with personal piety or practice and more to do with the great things ERD is up to (which gives a sense of fundraising in the guise of devotional material)
2. Sometime the scripture and reflection were totally out of sync with the liturgical day, particularly during Holy Week.
3. At the end of the booklet is an envelope in which to send a donation to ERD as "My Lenten Response." While supporting the mission of ERD may be important, I think the emphasis should be more on personal choices and actions, which most of the reflections focused on.

Overall this was not my favorite devo. There were a few reflections I found meaningful and helpful, but most were not. I would not use a devo put out by ERD again.

Show Me the Way

More Henri Nouwen! I found this on my shelf midway through Lent and decided to use it. This book contains longer excerpts from Nouwen's works, about 2-3 pages in length for each day of Lent and each one concludes with a prayer.

1. Nouwen is really great
2. The prayers were thoughtful and deep
3. The length allowed for settling into the reading instead of reading and moving on without much reflection

This review is shorter than the others because I'm tired of writing, but I really enjoyed using this book and will use it in the future.