Spiritual Reading in Minutes A Day

7 Spiritual classics between now and Pentecost--you can make it happen!

I’ve come up with a plan to read seven classic and liturgically thematic works before Pentecost (four of which are free online), broken down into prayerful accessible chunks you can start right now.

Much of the content is food for thought needing days to chew on it before returning to it so this schedule takes advantage of that by interweaving connected themes between books for focused spiritual growth. I thought I would share so others can join me! Download it here!

• *Alexander Schmemann’s Great Lent: A Journey to Pascha 
• **Alexander Schmemann’s Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week (free online)
• Vassilios Papavassiliou’s Thirty Steps to Heaven: The Ladder of Divine Ascent
• Vladimir Soloviev’s A Short Story of the Anti-Christ (free online)
• The Way of a Pilgrim (free online)
• Brother Lawrence’s Practice of the Presence of God (free online)
• Catherine Doherty’s Sobornost: Experiencing Unity of Mind, Heart, and Soul

Those on the old paschalion just move the date forward one week this year. Daily reading reminders at Your Word From the Wise's FB page include both new and old calendar.

*All of the books are appropriate for any Christian. Schmemann covers Byzantine liturgical practice which is beneficial to understand and explore the universality of the faith no matter one's tradition. Those who are already familiar with his work and not living within a Byzantine framework might prefer a more western lenten book for these Schmemann days.

May I suggest instead of Great Lent that such a person read Station to Station: An Ignatian Journey through the Stations of the Cross by Gary Jansen (intro and part one divided between the first three Great Lent reading days and each station subsequently getting its own reading day) or read the lenten classic The Sadness of Christ by Sir Thomas More which is free online and works out to only about 4 pages of reading per assigned day to get through the entire parts 1-5.

**Instead of Schmemann's Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week, the reader might choose Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection by Pope Benedict XVI or The Living Flame of Love by St. John of the Cross which is free online. The intro and prologue would be read Palm Sunday, Stanza 1 on Holy Monday, Stanza 2 on Holy Tuesday, Stanza 3 lines 1-46 on Holy Wednesday, Stanza 3 lines 47-67 on Holy Thursday, and Stanza 3 lines 68-85 on Great and Holy Friday, with Stanza 4 completing the work on Holy Saturday.

Lenten and Paschal Reading Plan 2019
Preparing for the Great Fast

Jan 27: The Thirty-Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Epistle: 1 Tim 1:15-17   Gospel: Luke 18:35-43
28: Great Lent Introduction - Lent: Journey to Pascha
29: Great Lent Ch. 5 - Participation in Lenten Services and Appendix (9) - A Total Rediscovery
30: Thirty Steps to Heaven Intro and Step 1

Download your printable schedule here!

31: Great Lent Ch. 1 - The Desire (Zacchaeus)
February 1: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 2
2

February 3: Zacchaeus Sunday
Epistle: 1 Tim 4:9-15   Gospel: Luke 19:1-10
4: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 3
5: Great Lent Ch. 5 - “Taking It Seriously…” and A Lenten "Style of Life”
6: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 4
7: Great Lent Ch. 1 - Humility (The Publican and the Pharisee)
8: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 5
9

February 10: Publican and the Pharisee
Epistle: 2 Tim 3:10-15   Gospel: Luke 18:10-14
11: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 6
12: Great Lent Ch. 2 - The Triodion and Ch. 5 – “But By Prayer and Fasting"
13: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 7
14: Great Lent Ch. 1 - Return From Exile (Prodigal Son)
15: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 8
16: Great Lent Ch. 4 - Saturdays of Lent and Sundays of Lent

February 17: Prodigal Son Returns
Epistle: 1 Cor 6:12-20   Gospel: Luke 15:11-32
18: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 9
19: Great Lent Appendix (1) - An Urgent and Essential Question and Appendix (2) - “Religionless Religion”
20: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 10
21: Great Lent Ch. 1 - The Last Judgment (Meat-Fare Sunday) and Great Lent Ch. 2 – The Holy Scriptures
22: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 11
23

February 24: Last Judgment (Meatfare)
Epistle: 1 Cor 8:8-9:2   Gospel: Matthew 25:31-46
25: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 12
26: Great Lent Appendix (6) - The Meaning of Communion and Appendix (7) - The Meaning of Preparation for Communion and Appendix (8) - Confession and Communion
27: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 13
28: Great Lent Ch. 1 – Forgiveness (Cheese-fare Sunday)
March 1: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 14
2

March 3: Adam and Eve Cast from Paradise (Cheesefare)
Reading: Rom 13:11-14:4     Gospel: Matthew 6:14-21
4: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 15
5: Great Lent Ch. 2 – The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem
6: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 16
7: Great Lent Ch. 4 - The Beginning: The Great Canon
8: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 17
9

Lenten and Paschal Reading Plan 2019
Preparing for Pascha

Download your printable schedule here!

March 10: Sunday of Orthodoxy
Epistle: Heb 11:24-26, 32-12:2   Gospel: John 1:43-51
11: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 18
12: Great Lent Ch. 3 - The Evening Communion and Great Lent Ch. 3 - The Order of Service
13: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 19
14: Great Lent Appendix (3) - Why Sacraments? and Appendix (4) - The Norm and (5) - The Decay: Its Causes And Its Excuses
15: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 20
16

March 17: Gregory Palamas
Reading: Hebrews 1:10-2:3   Gospel: Mark 2:1-12
1:10-2:3 Gospel: Mark 2:1-12
18: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 21
19: A Short Story of the Anti-Christ (first half)
20: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 22
21: Great Lent Ch. 4 - Mid-Lent: The Holy Cross
22: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 23
23

March 24: Veneration of the Holy Cross
Epistle: Hebrews 4:14-5:6   Gospel: Mark 8:34-9:1
25: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 24
26: A Short Story of the Anti-Christ (second half)
27: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 25
28: The Way of a Pilgrim 1
29: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 26
30

March 31: John of the Ladder
Epistle: Hebrews 6:13-20   Gospel: Mark 9:17-31
April 1: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 27
2: The Way of a Pilgrim 2 (first half)
3: The Way of a Pilgrim 2 (second half)
4: The Way of a Pilgrim 3
5: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 28
6

April 7: Mary of Egypt
Epistle: Heb 9:11-14 and Heb 2:11-18   Gospel: Mark 10:32-45 and Luke 1:24-38
8: The Way of a Pilgrim 4 (first half)
9: The Way of a Pilgrim 4 (second half)
10: Thirty Steps to Heaven Step 29
11: Great Lent Ch. 4 - On The Way to Bethany and Jerusalem
12: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - Beginning of the Cross: Lazarus Saturday
13

April: 14: Entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem
Epistle: Philippians 4:4-9   Gospel: John 12:1-18
Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - Palm Sunday
15: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - The End and On Monday
16: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - The Ultimate Passage and On Tuesday
17: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - On Wednesday
18: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - Holy Thursday
19: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - Great and Holy Friday
20: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - Great and Holy Saturday

April 21: Pascha
Epistle: Acts 1:1-8   Gospel: John 1:1-17
Paschal Homily of St John Chrysostom
22: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - Holy Pascha
23: Liturgical Explanation of Holy Week - Pentecost and Pascha
24: Practice of the Presence of God - Intro and Preface
25: Practice of the Presence of God - First Conversation
26: Practice of the Presence of God - Second Conversation
27

Lenten and Paschal Reading Plan 2019
Preparing for Pentecost

Download your printable schedule here!

28: Thomas Sunday
Epistle: Acts 5:12-20   Gospel: John 20:19-31
29: Practice of the Presence of God - Third Conversation
30: Practice of the Presence of God - Fourth Conversation
May 1: Practice of the Presence of God - First Letter
2: Practice of the Presence of God - Second Letter
3: Practice of the Presence of God - Third Letter
4

May 5: Myrrh-bearing Women
Epistle: Acts 6:1-7   Gospel: Mark 15:43-16:8
6: Practice of the Presence of God - Fourth Letter
7: Practice of the Presence of God - Fifth Letter
8: Practice of the Presence of God - Sixth Letter
9: Practice of the Presence of God - Seventh Letter
10: Practice of the Presence of God - Eighth Letter
11

May 12: Paralytic
Epistle: Acts 9:32-42   Gospel: John 5:1-15
13: Practice of the Presence of God - Ninth Letter
14: Practice of the Presence of God - Tenth Letter
15: Practice of the Presence of God - Eleventh Letter
16: Practice of the Presence of God - Twelfth Letter
17: Practice of the Presence of God - Thirteenth Letter
18

May 19: Samaritan Woman
Epistle: Acts 11:19-26, 29-30   Gospel: John 4:5-42
20: Practice of the Presence of God - Fourteenth Letter
21: Practice of the Presence of God - Fifteenth Letter
22: Sobornost - A Strange New World and Experienced at Pentecost
23: Sobornost - One in Mind and Heart and An Exchange of Hearts
24: Sobornost - The Fiat of a Jewish Maiden
25

May 26: Man Born Blind
Epistle: Acts 16:16-34   Gospel: John 9:1-38
27: Sobornost - Trinity: Fire, Flame, Motion
28: Sobornost - A New Creation
29: Sobornost - An Inner Pilgrimage
30: Sobornost - Becoming a Contemplative
31: Sobornost - Forging a Chain of Hearts
June 1

June 2: Fathers of the First Nicaean Council
Epistle: Acts 20:16-18a,28-36   Gospel: John 17:1-13
3: Sobornost - Unity in Eucharist
4: Sobornost - Service in Christ
5: Sobornost - The Little Mandate
6: Sobornost - Obstacles to Sobornost
7: Sobornost - We Have a Father
8

June 9: Pentecost
Epistle: Acts 2:1-11 Gospel: John 7:37-52; 8:12