We look forward to Advent as a season of waiting, a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ at Christmas. In our busy modern lives, it can be hard to accept this season’s quiet invitation to reflection and repentance.
One way to prepare ourselves for Christmas is through spiritual reading. Books that inspire and deepen our faith can help us enter into the spirit of Advent.
Check out this list of classic spiritual books to help you fully embrace the Advent season.
As the first Sunday of Advent is approaching on December 1, here’s your reminder to order your books or request them from your library now!
1The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander
First published in 1944 and now a spiritual classic for Catholics across the globe, The Reed of God contains meditations on the humanity of Mary, Mother of God.
British Catholic writer and artist Caryll Houselander lovingly explores Mary’s intimately human side, depicting Our Lady as a musical instrument who makes divine love known to the world.
I first discovered this book when Well-Read Mom included it on their reading list several years ago. It’s the perfect read for this time of year.
2Advent of the Heart by Alfred Delp, S.J.
Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J., was a heroic German Jesuit priest who was imprisoned and martyred by the Nazis in a Nazi death camp in 1945.
At the time of his arrest, he was the Rector of St. Georg Church in Munich, and had a reputation for being a gripping, dynamic preacher, and one who was an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime. He was an important figure in the Resistance movement against Nazism.
While in prison, Fr. Delp was able to write a few meditations found in this book, which also includes his powerful reflections from prison during the Advent season about the profound spiritual meaning and lessons of Advent, as well as his sermons he gave on the season of Advent at his parish in Munich.
These meditations were smuggled out of Berlin and read by friends and parishioners of St. Georg in Munich. Advent of the Heart offers a stirring call to interior renewal for us today.
3Sermons Of St Bernard Of Clairvaux For Advent
The 12th-century abbot and contemplative known to history as “The Mellifluous Teacher” wrote sermons for the entire Advent and Christmas liturgical seasons. His timeless reflections call us to rejoice in the wonder of the Incarnation.
4Joy to the World: How Christ’s Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does) by Scott Hahn
What could be more familiar than the Christmas story—and yet what could be more extraordinary?
The cast of characters is strange and exotic: shepherds and magicians, an emperor and a despot, angels, and a baby who is Almighty God. The strangeness calls for an explanation, and this book provides it by examining the characters and the story in light of the biblical and historical context.
Bestselling author Scott Hahn who has written extensively on Scripture and the early Church, brings evidence to light, dispelling some of the mystery of the story. Yet in Joy to the World, Christmas is made familiar all over again by showing it to be a family story.
Christmas, as it appears in the New Testament, is the story of a father, a mother, and a child—their relationships, their interactions, their principles, their individual lives, and their common life. To see the life of this “earthly trinity” is to gaze into heaven.
5Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI
This short but rich and powerful work dives deeply into the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth, offering theological and spiritual insights that will deepen your understanding of the mystery of the Incarnation.
