Spiritual Reading

“When I was in prayer, I would try to keep Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Good, present within me. I would think about a scene in his life and then try to picture it with my mind’s eye. But what I liked best was to read good books.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)

One of my favorite things to do is to read—my daughters gave me 500 Great Books by Women: A Reader’s Guide for my birthday—and Teresa of Avila spends time in The Book of My Life discussing the joys of spiritual reading. Some of the books she mentions include The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Francisco de Osuna, The Morals of St. Gregory and the Confessions of St. Augustine. Teresa has “great affection” for St. Augustine, and I remember feeling an outpouring of love and delight toward him, too, as I read the Confessions ten years ago, more than four hundred years after Teresa would have made her way through the text.

What are some of your favorite spiritual books? Mine include Bread for the Journey by Henri Nouwen, The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris, The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila, The Holy Longing by Ronald Rohlheiser, Mystery and Manners by Flannery O’Connor, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, Praying our Goodbyes by Joyce Rupp, The Rule of Benedict: Insights for the Ages by Joan Chittister, The Story of a Soul by Thérèse of Lisieux, and Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle. These books are more than books to me. They have become friends or family members, and I know I am not alone in this response. In the same way we turn to the Bible in all the joys and sorrows of life, our favorite spiritual books guide us, inspire us, calm us and comfort us.

Teresa writes, “If I didn’t have a book, I would suffer from terrible aridity. The minute I found myself without something to read, my soul would become immediately agitated and my mind would start to wander. But as soon as I started reading, the words acted like bait to lure my soul and my thoughts began to collect themselves again. Sometimes it was enough just to know that I had a book beside me; I didn’t even have to open it. Sometimes I read just a little, sometimes a lot, depending on the mercy of God.”

Spiritual reading is one of the great delights in life. I encourage you to find a book that speaks to you and spend some time considering the wisdom you find there. I will do the same thing, too. And may God smile upon us and be gracious to us in our efforts.