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The Church Fathers are strikingly unanimous: a Christian life that neglects spiritual reading soon grows thin. Spiritual reading forms our consciences and tutors us in prayer and charity. In a culture calibrated for speed and stimulus, recommitting to spiritual reading is a critical and necessary way of setting aside distractions and committing to a practice of faith that forms the soul and consequently makes us better spouses, parents, siblings, friends, workers, and Christians.
Reading’s Enduring Importance
“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” — St. Jerome (Commentaries on the Book of Isaiah)
Revelation is given to the Church and handed on in living tradition, but it is received by us through our intellect and imagination. Books are one of the ordinary means by which God educates both. At a critical moment in his life, St. Augustine heard the words tolle lege (“take up and read”). God invited him to turn to Scripture and be transformed by His Word. Because of Augustine’s response, we now have one of the greatest Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and his Confessions continue to be one of the most influential autobiographies of Western Tradition.
In addition to St. Augustine’s story with spiritual reading, St. Francis de Sales commends a steady, moderate plan of sacred reading precisely because such reading shapes habits of thought, desire, and decision over time. St. Teresa of Ávila, too, testifies that good books rescued her in aridity.
Spiritual reading is a discipline for the intellect. It trains our attention, imposing a consistent tempo on our inner life, and furnishes our prayer with a richer vocabulary than our solitary efforts can supply. Thanks to technological innovations, anyone can find ways to read—whether with books, audiobooks, e-readers, or trustworthy blogs and newsletters.
Starting with the Basics—Physical Books
We often think of traditional books as something commonplace and assume that the ancients had the same tools at their disposal as we do today. But until the printing press came about in the 15th century, reading and book ownership was something that only the wealthy could afford, and if they did, they owned very few books. It’s a special blessing to be able to be in a time where information, and physical conduits of information, are so easily accessible to every person.
We already know our modern digital tools are useful, but the physical book remains uniquely fitted to recollection. A printed page offers a bound field; its very limitations are defined by its binding—no notifications, no hyperlinks—so the will must consent to a single act: reading this line, right now, in the present moment. The hand’s cooperation (turning pages, underlining, annotating margins) engages the body in the act of learning. Over months and years, a marked Bible or a worn copy of The Imitation of Christ becomes a material memory of the graces received while engaging with it.
So, make print books your baseline: Scripture and your principal devotional work should ordinarily be read with a book in hand, at a desk or chair set apart for prayer.
Technology as an Instrument to Truth
In addition to printed books, newer tools can be of much benefit for our spiritual journey, too. Audiobooks, e-readers, and carefully curated apps can offer us new ways of participating in the printed work. Audiobooks, in particular, convert otherwise intractable minutes (commutes, household tasks, walks) into occasions of exposure to Scripture, the Church Fathers, and sound contemporary writers. They prepare the mind for deeper, slower engagement later while recollecting or rereading the same material in print. After all, an e-reader can travel where a small library cannot.
When selecting digital tools, the criterion is simple: Does this tool increase my capacity for prayerful, intelligent attention, or does it merely offer frictionless consumption of entertainment that will be forgotten shortly after? If the latter, adjust your settings, narrow your library, or even return to a paper format to refocus. (For readers seeking a reliable audio format, Sophia Institute Press’s new audiobook app Saintifi is worth a look.)
A Modest Rule for Recollection
Rules exist to liberate us and order our hearts to God. So, establish a small, durable pattern. Here are some suggestions to help get your spiritual reading habits started off on the right foot:
- Dedicate a specific time—the same time each day—to read the day’s Gospel slowly. Then devote ten to fifteen minutes to secondary spiritual reading. Afterwards, close the book and articulate or journal one concrete petition, reflection, or resolution.
- Each week, aim to keep one longer session—an hour, if possible—dedicated to a single spiritual book. This enables the mind to engage with what it’s reading or listening to in a more continuous way.
- Across your daily activities (commutes, chores, office time), let audiobooks supplement, but not completely supplant, your print reading commitments.
The mind is always learning, and our responsibility to form our souls is never finished. Habits don’t form overnight, but aiming for continuity regarding the practice of these steps will help us commit, or re-commit to carrying out this responsibility.
Reading as an Ecclesial Act
Spiritual reading bears its best fruit when integrated into our life as part of the body of Christ in the Church. In other words, it isn’t an activity we should always keep just to ourselves. Reading with your family after dinner or with a book club that meets once every so often can bring community into our intellectual journey. Gather monthly or quarterly with friends or a parish group around a primary text by a saint. You’ll be surprised by how much another’s insight can increase your own.
Begin Again
No elaborate program is required to start; only one’s resolution and discipline to set aside other distractions for personal formation. Place a Bible and one spiritual classic where you will actually reach for them after a long day at work. Listen to an audiobook on your next drive. Read a little today; write one line; and ask the Holy Spirit to make it live in your daily life.
Spiritual reading is critical for growth in the spiritual life. It deepens and encourages prayer, informs our love of God, and unites us with the Mystical Body of Christ. So, this season, let’s make, or recommit to, an intentional use of our leisure time, for the glory of God, the wellbeing of His Church, and the formation of our souls.
Author’s Note: Check out Sophia Institute Press’s new Audiobook App Saintifi today!
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
