Lenten reading (and listening).

Whether you started Lent last night with Forgiveness Vespers or begin the season two days from now on Ash Wednesday, readers who observe this season of fasting and penance have probably already started thinking about Lent. If you are looking for some new Ignatian or Jesuit-specific reading resources for Lent, the following links may be of interest.

Last year, I called readers' attention to the Spiritual Exercises blog, a joint venture by several young Jesuits offering Lenten meditations based on the Spiritual Exercises. The Spiritual Exercises blog is back again this year with a new group of authors, Jesuit scholastics Andrij Hlabse, Joe Simmons, Michael Wegenka, Stephen Wolfe, and Michael Wood. If you'd like to know more, check the Spiritual Exercises blog for daily updates starting on Ash Wednesday.

Though not specifically tied to Lenten themes, another new Jesuit blog that I'm pleased to recommend is Catching Fire, written by a group of scholastics studying in London. Reflecting the varied interests and experiences of authors Eddie Cosgrove, Stefan Garcia, Philip Harrison, Kensy Joseph, John Duhyun Kim, and Samuel Overloop, Catching Fire offer regular reflections on topics ranging from culture to ecology, sports to spirituality, film to scripture, and beyond. If you enjoy the range of content that I share here, there's a good chance that you'll like Catching Fire as well - so go ahead and check them out.

Finally, moving from reading to listening, I'd like to share news of the fourth annual Lenten podcast offered on the website of the Chicago-Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus. This year's podcast provides brief audio reflections for each of the weeks of Lent, given by Father Jim Gartland, president of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, and Father Martin Schreiber, a doctoral candidate in education at Loyola University Chicago. If you're looking for a way to deepen your experience of Lent but can't find the time for spiritual reading, please consider this Lenten podcast. AMDG.

The photo that illustrates this post depicts the iconostasis of Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hamtramck, Michigan (source).