Hey, everybody! Welcome back to Tumnus’ Bookshelf, where we review any and all books written by, about, and inspired by CS Lewis, The Land of Narnia, and The Inklings. For today’s review, we will be looking at the Lenten Devotional Preparing for Easter: Fifty Readings from CS Lewis
Title: Preparing for Easter: Fifty Readings from CS Lewis
Author: CS Lewis
Editior:Zachry Kincaid
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN-10 : 0062641646
ISBN-13: 978-0062641649
Summary:
Prepare your heart for Easter and celebrating the triumph of Jesus’s Death and Resurrection on this fifty-day journey through the work of CS Lewis. Drawing from the breadth of his work, Preparing for Easter allows the reader to pause, reflect and wonder about the meaning of Easter and God’s love and sacrifice for us all.
Review:
When it comes to the Liturgical calendar there is probably no shortage of devotionals for the Advent Season. Perhaps it is not too surprising as for many Christians as we approach the commemoration of the Birth of the Savior, we want to take time, both as individuals and families, to focus less on commercialism and gifts and more on the Baby in the Manger. However, it is well noted among the faithful that Christmas without Easter is meaningless. The two go hand in hand, creating a perfect circle in the calendar, celebrating the Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
Thus, as one approaches the celebration of Easter, and prepares by observing Lent some may wish to mark the passage of time. For some it’s by giving up something for the forty days. Others much like with Advent, seek a Devotional to help meditate and reflect on the meaning of Easter. It was always certainly the case in my family, as my mother always sought to make Easter about more than colored eggs and chocolate bunnies, and thus my basket often had something better, something that could give me more spiritual nourishment, whether it was a graphic novel based on John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, copies of Colin Duriez’ CS Lewis Encyclopedia, and the JRR Tolkien Encyclopedia, Stephen Lawhead’s final book in The Pendragon Cycle, a DVD copy of The Ten Commandments, or yes, a DVD of Walden Media’s adaptation of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This year she gave me my gift earlier, as she knew full well that I’d get more use out of it. On a trip to the book store she purchased for me a copy of the devotional Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from CS Lewis.
Lewis is no stranger to the world of devotionals with such books as A Year with CS Lewis, The Business of Heaven, and A Year with Aslan. There are even wonderful study guides for teens and young adults such as Sarah Arthur’s Through the Wardrobe, or The Heart of Narnia, and the Advent devotional Advent in Narnia. Considering the wealth of materials that he left behind, a Lenten Devotional is a perfect fit for the work of CS Lewis.
Right off the bat, setting this devotional apart from others is how each reading is structured. While other devotionals may have discussion questions to ponder a passage or saying, this one begins each day with two of the Scriptural verses relating to the days of Lent. The Lenten season is a time of quiet reflection and contemplation, not necessarily discussion. This makes the book more of a personal introspection that allows the reader to pause and reflect on Christ’s sacrifice.
The selections chosen from Lewis’s vast library of works are nothing short of exquisite. Very naturally, the editors chose such seminal works as Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and A Grief Observed. However just as fitting there are also select passages from The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Perelandra, and the Narnia books as well as Lewis’s letters, his poetry and even his scholarly works like English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama and The Preface to Paradise Lost.
The most delightfully surprising inclusion of his more academic and scholarly works to be featured in this devotional is an excerpt from his essay on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Some would find it an odd choice considering that it is essentially a review of a book. However, Lewis, knowing Tolkien’s work as well as he knew his own knew that at the core of the story of the Hobbits of Middle-earth was a reminder of the joy and consolation we all seek in stories, and a reminder on how great stories like Lord of the Rings and Narnia remind us of the Joy Easter brings in the Eucastrophe of Christ’s Resurrection. The fact that the final reading comes from The Last Battle in which the children see Aslan and the veil is torn away and at last they understand just Who their journey in Narnia was leading towards, it’s a perfect point of literary criticism to include. The joy of the Easter story comes in Christs resurrection, and the Hope we have in one day seeing Him face to face and it was towards that Joy, that Eucastrophe, that Lewis continually pointed readers towards in his work.
Zachry Kincaid did a masterful job selecting and editing the readings for each day. Considering the wealth of work Lewis left behind from sermons, to stories, to essays, to criticism, to letters to journals and diaries it would be a Herculean task of the highest order. Yet as the reader draws closer to Easter and the celebration of our Savior’s victory over sin and death, each reading feels appropriate for the day, and not once did I ever feel like there should be another in its place. Notably the reading for the Tuesday of Passion week, the day upon which Jesus’s disciples saw the withered fig tree, the reading comes from Lewis’ book Miracles and examines that very Scriptural passage, while the reading for the Wednesday of Passion Week, the day upon which Judas betrayed Jesus comes from The Screwtape Letters.
Appropriately one reading comes from Reflections on the Psalms in which Lewis contemplated a poem written by a small boy that talked about Easter being about chocolate eggs and Jesus being risen. Lewis acknowledges that in the childlike simplicity that may be the case, but as the child grows Easter must be about more than the chocolate and eggs. Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from CS Lewis is the perfect way to help Christians not only prepare for the Easter Holiday, but more importantly move beyond the chocolate and baskets and eggs and bunnies to the real hope, and the real Joy that the day offers. I was thrilled when my mother gave it to me as a Lenten season gift, and I firmly believe that for fans of CS Lewis, they would do well to go on this journey with our favorite writer.
Five out of Five shields.
Buy the book on Amazon.
The post Tumnus’ Bookshelf: The NarniaFans Book Reviews: Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from CS Lewis appeared first on Narnia Fans.
Link: https://narniafans.com/2025/04/tumn...ster-fifty-devotional-readings-from-cs-lewis/
Title: Preparing for Easter: Fifty Readings from CS Lewis
Author: CS Lewis
Editior:Zachry Kincaid
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN-10 : 0062641646
ISBN-13: 978-0062641649
Summary:
Prepare your heart for Easter and celebrating the triumph of Jesus’s Death and Resurrection on this fifty-day journey through the work of CS Lewis. Drawing from the breadth of his work, Preparing for Easter allows the reader to pause, reflect and wonder about the meaning of Easter and God’s love and sacrifice for us all.
Review:
When it comes to the Liturgical calendar there is probably no shortage of devotionals for the Advent Season. Perhaps it is not too surprising as for many Christians as we approach the commemoration of the Birth of the Savior, we want to take time, both as individuals and families, to focus less on commercialism and gifts and more on the Baby in the Manger. However, it is well noted among the faithful that Christmas without Easter is meaningless. The two go hand in hand, creating a perfect circle in the calendar, celebrating the Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
Thus, as one approaches the celebration of Easter, and prepares by observing Lent some may wish to mark the passage of time. For some it’s by giving up something for the forty days. Others much like with Advent, seek a Devotional to help meditate and reflect on the meaning of Easter. It was always certainly the case in my family, as my mother always sought to make Easter about more than colored eggs and chocolate bunnies, and thus my basket often had something better, something that could give me more spiritual nourishment, whether it was a graphic novel based on John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress, copies of Colin Duriez’ CS Lewis Encyclopedia, and the JRR Tolkien Encyclopedia, Stephen Lawhead’s final book in The Pendragon Cycle, a DVD copy of The Ten Commandments, or yes, a DVD of Walden Media’s adaptation of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This year she gave me my gift earlier, as she knew full well that I’d get more use out of it. On a trip to the book store she purchased for me a copy of the devotional Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from CS Lewis.
Lewis is no stranger to the world of devotionals with such books as A Year with CS Lewis, The Business of Heaven, and A Year with Aslan. There are even wonderful study guides for teens and young adults such as Sarah Arthur’s Through the Wardrobe, or The Heart of Narnia, and the Advent devotional Advent in Narnia. Considering the wealth of materials that he left behind, a Lenten Devotional is a perfect fit for the work of CS Lewis.
Right off the bat, setting this devotional apart from others is how each reading is structured. While other devotionals may have discussion questions to ponder a passage or saying, this one begins each day with two of the Scriptural verses relating to the days of Lent. The Lenten season is a time of quiet reflection and contemplation, not necessarily discussion. This makes the book more of a personal introspection that allows the reader to pause and reflect on Christ’s sacrifice.
The selections chosen from Lewis’s vast library of works are nothing short of exquisite. Very naturally, the editors chose such seminal works as Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and A Grief Observed. However just as fitting there are also select passages from The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, Perelandra, and the Narnia books as well as Lewis’s letters, his poetry and even his scholarly works like English Literature in the Sixteenth Century Excluding Drama and The Preface to Paradise Lost.
The most delightfully surprising inclusion of his more academic and scholarly works to be featured in this devotional is an excerpt from his essay on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Some would find it an odd choice considering that it is essentially a review of a book. However, Lewis, knowing Tolkien’s work as well as he knew his own knew that at the core of the story of the Hobbits of Middle-earth was a reminder of the joy and consolation we all seek in stories, and a reminder on how great stories like Lord of the Rings and Narnia remind us of the Joy Easter brings in the Eucastrophe of Christ’s Resurrection. The fact that the final reading comes from The Last Battle in which the children see Aslan and the veil is torn away and at last they understand just Who their journey in Narnia was leading towards, it’s a perfect point of literary criticism to include. The joy of the Easter story comes in Christs resurrection, and the Hope we have in one day seeing Him face to face and it was towards that Joy, that Eucastrophe, that Lewis continually pointed readers towards in his work.
Zachry Kincaid did a masterful job selecting and editing the readings for each day. Considering the wealth of work Lewis left behind from sermons, to stories, to essays, to criticism, to letters to journals and diaries it would be a Herculean task of the highest order. Yet as the reader draws closer to Easter and the celebration of our Savior’s victory over sin and death, each reading feels appropriate for the day, and not once did I ever feel like there should be another in its place. Notably the reading for the Tuesday of Passion week, the day upon which Jesus’s disciples saw the withered fig tree, the reading comes from Lewis’ book Miracles and examines that very Scriptural passage, while the reading for the Wednesday of Passion Week, the day upon which Judas betrayed Jesus comes from The Screwtape Letters.
Appropriately one reading comes from Reflections on the Psalms in which Lewis contemplated a poem written by a small boy that talked about Easter being about chocolate eggs and Jesus being risen. Lewis acknowledges that in the childlike simplicity that may be the case, but as the child grows Easter must be about more than the chocolate and eggs. Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from CS Lewis is the perfect way to help Christians not only prepare for the Easter Holiday, but more importantly move beyond the chocolate and baskets and eggs and bunnies to the real hope, and the real Joy that the day offers. I was thrilled when my mother gave it to me as a Lenten season gift, and I firmly believe that for fans of CS Lewis, they would do well to go on this journey with our favorite writer.
Five out of Five shields.
Buy the book on Amazon.
The post Tumnus’ Bookshelf: The NarniaFans Book Reviews: Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from CS Lewis appeared first on Narnia Fans.
Link: https://narniafans.com/2025/04/tumn...ster-fifty-devotional-readings-from-cs-lewis/