The season of Lent starts in a week. If you are hoping to find a good Lent devotional, one of the best on the market is God For Us (Paraclete: 2013). I used it as my primary devotionals a couple of years ago and referred to it throughout the Lenten season last year. The book has a poet or spiritual writer give a week's worth of daily devotions. Contributers include: Scott Cairns, Kathleen Norris, Richard Rohr, Luci Shaw, James Schaap and Lauren Winner. Beth Bevis's historical articles on the celebration of Lent and various feast days punctuate the text Ronald Rolheiser, OMI writes the introduction and all of this was assembled under Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe's (both of Image Journal) editorial eyes.

For this Lenten season, Paraclete has just released the readers God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter - Reader's Edition. The book's text is the same as the previous edition; however the earlier edition was sort of a coffee table book, with glossy pages full of art. The Reader's Edition is a simple paperback with french flaps. While I absolutely loved the beauty of the previous edition, this is somewhat more practical and user friendly. I felt guilty about underlining and making notes in the original edition (I still did it) because it was such a pretty book. The Reader's Edition doesn't contain the art or the glossy pages and is more portable.

However, I did notice one small error unique to this edition. Page 35 of my copy, mistakenly attributes the entry to the late Richard John Neuhaus (I have a review copy, so I may be looking at a proof copy). My guess is that this a typographical error. Neuhaus contributed to the companion volume God With Us: Readings For Advent and Christmas which Paraclete also published a reader's edition of, late last year. I checked that page of the devotional because I remembered that the lectionary readings for that day (First Sunday of Lent) didn't correlate to the passages that Richard Rohr discussed in his devotion. They still don't.

This doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the overall text. This devotional stands apart for its ecumenical spirit--bringing together an impressive list of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox (Cairns) spiritual writers. the devotions vary, but they are all quality. If you are looking for a devotional that will deepen your experience and appreciation of the practice of Lent, this is perhaps the best one out there. Bevis's contributions give this a historical rootedness often missing from devotional literature. I give this edition 4.5 stars.

Note: I received this book from Paraclete Press in exchange for my honest review.

P.S.--This devotional is also available from Paraclete with a companion CD of Easter themed Gregorian chant. I have not listened to the CD, but I have been impressed with Paraclete's collection of sacred music and see how popping this CD in as you read the book will help mark sacred time. ( )