Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings

Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite spiritual writers; I have no less than nine of his works in my personal library, so I was looking forward to spending time with this collection of writings during Lent. I was not disappointed as my expectations were met in abundance.The book is arranged for daily readings beginning on Ash Wednesday and running through Easter Sunday. The days are arranged in themed weeks; for instance, Week One is titled Only in God and features the topics of hospitality, prayer, forgiveness, and love as the subjects of the meditation. The following weeks have similar themes leading up to Passion Week, Holy Week, and Easter Day.I particularly enjoyed the structure of this devotional guide. Each day's reading begins with a Scripture verse followed with a thoughtfully probing devotional from Henri Nouwen and concludes with a prayer. I do not recall any day that exceeded four pages in length, so I feel confident in saying the time commitment for these readings is minimal. This is not to say more time cannot be devoted to them, but for those persons whose schedules are busy, this might be a worthy consideration.Perhaps another reader might see something different, but I noticed a recurring theme or maybe it was THE theme for the devotional. I think that that theme was attentiveness to God. One particular day seemed to capture this idea very well for me.Thursday of the Third Week of LentThrough the practice of a spiritual discipline we become attentive to that small voice and willing to respond when we hear it.Jesus' life was a life of obedience. He was always listening to the Father, always attentive to his voice, always alert for his directions. Jesus was "all ear." That is true prayer: being all ear for God. The core of all prayer is indeed listening, obediently standing in the presence of God.A spiritual discipline sets us free to pray or, to say it better, allows the Spirit of god to pray in us. (pp. 94-95)I make no apologies for my bias and favor toward Henri Nouwen, but bias and favor aside, this was one of my favorite devotional books for this season. If you have never experienced the gentle and pastoral writing of Henri Nouwen, I recommend this book for a first experience. I don't think it necessary to wait for Lent to pick it up for reading. I know that I will be returning to it again regardless of the season, I was and will be inspired by it over and over again... of this, I am sure.

This devotional was exactly what I was looking for. Each day includes a brief scripture passage, a reflection by Nouwen, and a prayer. My only complaint is that the Kindle version has frequent typos, often in the scripture reference (I.e. "ft." instead of "Eph.") This makes it a little more challenging to look up the passage for yourself if you want to read it in a different translation or see more of the context for the verses.

Our Lenten group used this book for our daily devotions. It was very thought provoking and gave us many deep conversations.

Henry Nouwein. Is a great writer for the everyday person. He knows the human heart so we'll.

The past two years I have used this book as a part of my Lenten journey. It is by far one of the most consistent devotionals I have used for some time. The format makes it easy to pick up and read for a minute, or for an hour. The substance revolves around traditional Lenten themes, yet I was finding myself thinking in directions that were new for me, all under the tutelage of Nouwen. What a wonderful mentor in all things spiritual. Very Christ centered, all of it good news.

Short and appropriate. Very applicable.

I love reading Nouwen’s material. This Lent I have really appreciated his comments for each day of Lent and each day of the season of Easter.

Show Me the Way will encourage you to reflect, pray, and rest in knowledge that God deeply loves you. Highly recommend! It’s a book I’ll read over and over.

One of the best books to read at Lent!

Perfect. An amazing book!