Season of Beauty; A Lent and Easter Treasure of Readings, Poems, and Prayers

If you’ve ever been in a classroom, a meeting, or even around a dinner table with me, you will know that I’m a big fan of sitting in a different seat each time we come together. I like seeing how the regular experiences get changed up when you shift your position. Changing the side of the bed that I sleep on? Fun for me. My brain uses different pathways when I mix it up and I’m always given some new understanding or epiphany as a result. When I get a chance to re-read some favorite passages in different contexts, I find myself walking away with a deeper appreciation for the subject, but also with new ways to apply it to my life. When Season of Beauty: A Lent and Easter Treasury of Readings, Poems, and Prayers from the editors at Paraclete Press arrived, I was excited to see what this collection of readings would bring. Yes, I’ve already read most of what is between the covers, but never in this context of Lent and Easter devotions. I was not disappointed.

Season of Beauty is a treasury of poems, readings, and prayers from hymns, sacred poetry, the Bible, and various works of fiction and nonfiction across historical periods. We have Charles Wesley mingling with Gayle Boss and Louisa May Alcott. We have beautiful paintings alongside prose. The text is rich, the paintings lush, and the effect inspiring. The book is organized into sections for the season of Lent, for Holy Week, and the season of Easter, with works tailored to the focus of each season. We have all probably read at least 50% of the works included before, but never with this focus. To read through the words of the hymn How Can It Be That I Should Gain alongside poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and embellished by paintings by Louis Comfort Tiffany causes my brain to remember various parts of my life that were never connected until now. 

Season of Beauty is a lovely resource to have on your resource shelves. You’ll reach for it for your own spiritual nourishment, enjoying the jewels contained on the pages. You’ll recommend it to people looking for something to help guide them to new understandings through the seasons of Lent and Easter. You’ll hand it over to those leading adult small group classes as a resource to open sessions. You’ll find inspiration between the covers for midweek groups and even for sermons. This beautiful volume will flex multiple muscles and give you a resource with many possibilities.