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Preparing for Easter: Fifty Devotional Readings from C. S. Lewis
Together in one special volume, selections from the best of beloved bestselling author C. S. Lewis’s classic works for readers contemplating the "grand miracle" of Jesus’s resurrection.
Preparing for Easter is a concise, handy companion for the faithful of all Christian traditions and the curious to help them deepen their knowledge and consideration of this holy season—a time of reflection as we consider Jesus’s sacrifice and his joyous rise from the dead.
Carefully curated, each selection in Preparing for Easter draws on a major theme in Lewis’s writings on the Christian life, as well as others that consider why we can have confident faith in what happened on the cross.
Preparing for Easter is a concise, handy companion for the faithful of all Christian traditions and the curious to help them deepen their knowledge and consideration of this holy season—a time of reflection as we consider Jesus’s sacrifice and his joyous rise from the dead.
Carefully curated, each selection in Preparing for Easter draws on a major theme in Lewis’s writings on the Christian life, as well as others that consider why we can have confident faith in what happened on the cross.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2017
754 people are currently reading
1448 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,297 books47.1k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
April 16, 2022
Excerpts from various writing by C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis wrote the selections in this volume but did not compile them. Instead, we have the hand of an editor at Harper Collins.
If you are looking for devotionals concerning Easter and the days leading up to it, this book is probably not what you are looking for. There are excerpts from a wide variety of Lewis' writing including books and letters. There are also two selections from Lewis' writing before he became a Christian.
This quote from the preface by Michael G. Maudlin of Harper-Collins explains the collection quite well:
"It is this latter role of Lewis’s, as a visionary prophet for how to follow Christ today, that this collection is concerned with. In many Christian traditions, the period before Easter is seen as a time of spiritual preparation for the day we later celebrate and welcome the “grand miracle” Christ accomplished through the cross. In these anticipatory days, often called Lent, many Christians choose the spiritual discipline of reading a devotional work each morning to help keep their focus on God. In Preparing for Easter, we have put together fifty readings from a broad swath of Lewis’s works, many of which come from books and essays that few people encounter but which still embody Lewis’s characteristic wisdom, for just this purpose. The selections come to us from the skilled editorial eye of Zachry Kincaid, the Lewis expert who edits the popular blog on our website CSLewis.com."
C.S. Lewis wrote the selections in this volume but did not compile them. Instead, we have the hand of an editor at Harper Collins.
If you are looking for devotionals concerning Easter and the days leading up to it, this book is probably not what you are looking for. There are excerpts from a wide variety of Lewis' writing including books and letters. There are also two selections from Lewis' writing before he became a Christian.
This quote from the preface by Michael G. Maudlin of Harper-Collins explains the collection quite well:
"It is this latter role of Lewis’s, as a visionary prophet for how to follow Christ today, that this collection is concerned with. In many Christian traditions, the period before Easter is seen as a time of spiritual preparation for the day we later celebrate and welcome the “grand miracle” Christ accomplished through the cross. In these anticipatory days, often called Lent, many Christians choose the spiritual discipline of reading a devotional work each morning to help keep their focus on God. In Preparing for Easter, we have put together fifty readings from a broad swath of Lewis’s works, many of which come from books and essays that few people encounter but which still embody Lewis’s characteristic wisdom, for just this purpose. The selections come to us from the skilled editorial eye of Zachry Kincaid, the Lewis expert who edits the popular blog on our website CSLewis.com."
April 20, 2022
"Preparing for Easter" by C.S. Lewis is a thought-a-day for Lent. There's a theme for each week and each selection from Lewis's works ties in to this theme. When I first picked up the book, I thought it was actually written by C.S. Lewis. It does not take long to realize that this is not the case. Instead, the publishers have taken short pieces from the Lewis canon that fit the weekly theme. At first I was annoyed with this because I felt like I had been tricked. Plus I'm not a fan of chopping up a complete work and using it in a compilation.
I almost gave up on this book due to my issues with compilations. However, after finishing the first week, I started to become familiarized with the flow of the book. Also, the majority of the pieces do come from letters and essays and are presented in their entirety. Only rarely do they chop a whole piece into a smaller part. What kept my attention is that I was introduced to some of Lewis's writings that I had never heard of. At the end of each piece, they give the title of the collection of which it is a part. I added several of the titles to my to-read list.
What's really apparent throughout the book is the way in which Lewis viewed his faith and how open he was about incorporating his faith into his craft. Whether it's writing to a friend or pointing out themes of faith and belief in other classical works, or creating a piece of his own which demonstrates an aspect of Christianity, Lewis's works reveal the ins and outs of his belief in God. As a person of faith, I appreciated that the publishers didn't just choose pieces that showed Lewis confidence in God, they also incorporated moments where Lewis questions aspects about what he believes or he's reacting to something that is troubling him. It's important to show that no one has all the answers and having faith doesn't mean you're never going to have doubts.
I don't know that I would read this every year. I may come back to it at some point. I will hang on to this book to share with others or as a reference to find certain works by Lewis. I would recommend this book if you are a fan of Lewis and/or a person of faith yourself.
I almost gave up on this book due to my issues with compilations. However, after finishing the first week, I started to become familiarized with the flow of the book. Also, the majority of the pieces do come from letters and essays and are presented in their entirety. Only rarely do they chop a whole piece into a smaller part. What kept my attention is that I was introduced to some of Lewis's writings that I had never heard of. At the end of each piece, they give the title of the collection of which it is a part. I added several of the titles to my to-read list.
What's really apparent throughout the book is the way in which Lewis viewed his faith and how open he was about incorporating his faith into his craft. Whether it's writing to a friend or pointing out themes of faith and belief in other classical works, or creating a piece of his own which demonstrates an aspect of Christianity, Lewis's works reveal the ins and outs of his belief in God. As a person of faith, I appreciated that the publishers didn't just choose pieces that showed Lewis confidence in God, they also incorporated moments where Lewis questions aspects about what he believes or he's reacting to something that is troubling him. It's important to show that no one has all the answers and having faith doesn't mean you're never going to have doubts.
I don't know that I would read this every year. I may come back to it at some point. I will hang on to this book to share with others or as a reference to find certain works by Lewis. I would recommend this book if you are a fan of Lewis and/or a person of faith yourself.
May 11, 2017
"It is no good trying to 'be myself' without Him."
April 19, 2025
I really loved this book and it exposed me to Lewis writings I haven’t yet read.
April 23, 2019
What's not to love about C.S. Lewis? Nothing . . . except when his work is put into an Easter collection and you expect some deep devotionals leading up to holy week. Yeah. In this one? You won't get that at all.
Nonetheless, as long as you readjust your expectations that this won't be particularly Easter-centric, there are still some great musings and insights into the life of Christ, sanctified living, and the amazing unfathomable God that we serve. So, a solid 4-stars because Lewis. 'Nuff said.
Nonetheless, as long as you readjust your expectations that this won't be particularly Easter-centric, there are still some great musings and insights into the life of Christ, sanctified living, and the amazing unfathomable God that we serve. So, a solid 4-stars because Lewis. 'Nuff said.
April 23, 2019
This was a compilation from various parts of his works along with scripture reading suggestions (which didn’t always seem to go?). I think Lewis would have chosen different scriptural references. This was compiled by others, not Lewis, which I think others would appreciate knowing. He was so specific about what and how he chose things to go together, I think this would have been too random for his tastes.
March 31, 2024
Overall I LOVED this book. After reading it for a few weeks I told my husband, “it kind of feels like whoever compiled this picked all the excerpts from Lewis that I don’t agree with doctrinally and put them in here!” Lol, but after that it got “better” and honestly, even when I disagree with him Lewis is delightfully to read and makes you really think about what you believe and why.
April 15, 2020
I never thought I'd give a C.S. Lewis book only 3 stars, but this book was not exactly written by C.S. Lewis, so there you go, haha. This book was not what I was expecting. I thought it was a devotional/daily readings written to guide us intentionally, thoughtfully to and through Easter with intellectual yet practical theology as only Lewis can do. It is actually a compilation organized by an editor at HarperCollins, containing snippets of various other Lewis works, strung together to make a daily reading regimen. Unfortunately- to me at least- it felt very disconnected, not at all the steady, methodical, inspiration walk toward Easter Truths I was expecting, as one finds with other intentionally written devotionals (ie. Spurgeon, Chambers, etc.). Many of the excerpts were wonderful, of course, while others were very complex and hard to grasp as snippets taken out of their original context and flow. This made it hard for me to find a clear re-focus and deep dive into Easter, which I was longing for. However, as a handy, topical guide for Lewis's thoughts on certain topics, already excerpted and cited for you, it is a great resource. And a great introduction to many of Lewis's works, especially the lesser known ones.
March 19, 2017
Recommended for Lewis readers as well as those who have not read before, as it has a nice range of excerpts (including my favorite Narnia!)
April 3, 2018
It is very difficult to rate this book. I ordered it and used it for an e-mail discussion group for Lent, 2018, with just four other readers. There are short excerpts from a wide range of C.S. Lewis writings, with each day also having an assigned Psalm (or portion thereof) and another biblical reading, most often from the NT.
I do not know how this would work for individual use; some might rate it higher, others lower than my 3.0 - 3.5 star rating. I was leader for the discussion group and the only one who contributed every day to discussion. Most times, I gave short commentary on the biblical texts, vocabulary helps from the Greek NT, and so forth. Then I hoped for the participants to comment on their readings, any or all of the three assigned for the day.
It was a good discipline for me. I'm not sure how to rate the outcome for other participants, since I did not ask them to give a review of their experiences. The advantage to this was for use with a group who kept different hours, one who travels for work and was not able to be in a regular Bible study or worship setting, one who is housebound with Hospice coming in twice a week, and two neighbors in our Senior community. I keep very late hours because of husband's sundowning Alzheimer's Disease, so it worked for me to submit the next day's offerings after midnight, so that others could contribute by "reply all" anytime the day of the readings.
I would say this would take extra work if one is not fluent in C.S. Lewis, since the excerpts are so short, but by the end of the Lenten period, there were longer and more easy-to-enter topics.
I did not recognize the names of those who chose the biblical readings for each day, and there were times they really didn't make a lot of sense to me as companions for reading the Lewis daily offering. This should have been included, in my opinion, if only in a sentence or two, at the beginning or end of each reading.
I do not know how this would work for individual use; some might rate it higher, others lower than my 3.0 - 3.5 star rating. I was leader for the discussion group and the only one who contributed every day to discussion. Most times, I gave short commentary on the biblical texts, vocabulary helps from the Greek NT, and so forth. Then I hoped for the participants to comment on their readings, any or all of the three assigned for the day.
It was a good discipline for me. I'm not sure how to rate the outcome for other participants, since I did not ask them to give a review of their experiences. The advantage to this was for use with a group who kept different hours, one who travels for work and was not able to be in a regular Bible study or worship setting, one who is housebound with Hospice coming in twice a week, and two neighbors in our Senior community. I keep very late hours because of husband's sundowning Alzheimer's Disease, so it worked for me to submit the next day's offerings after midnight, so that others could contribute by "reply all" anytime the day of the readings.
I would say this would take extra work if one is not fluent in C.S. Lewis, since the excerpts are so short, but by the end of the Lenten period, there were longer and more easy-to-enter topics.
I did not recognize the names of those who chose the biblical readings for each day, and there were times they really didn't make a lot of sense to me as companions for reading the Lewis daily offering. This should have been included, in my opinion, if only in a sentence or two, at the beginning or end of each reading.
May 7, 2022
Not what I expected. I'd prefer to read C.S. Lewis books separately than bits and pieces extracted from his works that somehow don't manage to paint the full picture. Some devotionals seemed so abstract that I had a hard time figuring out what they're conveying. However, you get a glimpse of all kind of books from Lewis and you can choose which one sparks your interest for further reading. Also, it surely shows Lewis' complex stream of thought and his philosophical mind, which triggers your brain to meditate more upon these excerpts.
March 21, 2025
This is a book filled with excerpts from Lewis' many works, and while they are very good, most have nothing to do with Easter (I should have read others' reviews!) The title is misleading. I'll look for another lenten devotional.
April 20, 2025
Lewis makes some really interesting points and remains one of my favourite theologians. I imagine that this will be a book that I revisit yearly for Lent because I certainly didn't absorb all of it in one reading.
April 13, 2020
I wouldn't use this as my primary devotion for Lent, but I used it as a supplementary devotion and it worked pretty well for that.
June 5, 2022
Daily devotional scripture passages with readings from the writings of C.S. Lewis.
This was a thought provoking study leading up to Easter. It contained many diverse excerpts from Lewis that caused me to contemplate many spiritual truths. The man was truly a genius. You could tell that he considered things deeply.
* I won a copy of this ebook from Lifeverse Books. All opinions are my own.*
This was a thought provoking study leading up to Easter. It contained many diverse excerpts from Lewis that caused me to contemplate many spiritual truths. The man was truly a genius. You could tell that he considered things deeply.
* I won a copy of this ebook from Lifeverse Books. All opinions are my own.*
April 22, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
I tended to read most of the selections in the evening when I was tired, which probably wasn’t the best choice since one needs attention and awakeness to read Lewis (well, except Narnia).
I enjoyed many of the selections and disagreed with parts of others. I probably would have appreciated it more in an awake frame of mind.
My favourite selections tended to be from his Narnia series and Mere Christianity, as I am more familiar with them, but other selections were great as well. Very theological and almost heady arguments. Like I said, don’t read this when you’re tired, or you’ll read the same sentence six times like I did trying to understand what is being said.
_____
Update after a Reread…
Lewis is best read in full context, not just by being dropped into a handful of paragraphs in the middle of a work. Still, some lovely points.
I tended to read most of the selections in the evening when I was tired, which probably wasn’t the best choice since one needs attention and awakeness to read Lewis (well, except Narnia).
I enjoyed many of the selections and disagreed with parts of others. I probably would have appreciated it more in an awake frame of mind.
My favourite selections tended to be from his Narnia series and Mere Christianity, as I am more familiar with them, but other selections were great as well. Very theological and almost heady arguments. Like I said, don’t read this when you’re tired, or you’ll read the same sentence six times like I did trying to understand what is being said.
_____
Update after a Reread…
Lewis is best read in full context, not just by being dropped into a handful of paragraphs in the middle of a work. Still, some lovely points.
May 16, 2025
An assortment of experts from C.S. Lewis’ catalogue put into a simple and approachable 7 week devotional. Lewis is unrivalled in his ability to distil Christianity down to the core and make it approachable for all so that his work is continuing to reach millions.
April 9, 2023
I loved every daily excerpt from Lewis' writings. Many if them are well-known to me already, but are so rich in meaning that it is always good to re-read them. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it was a stretch to call some of the readings "preparation for Easter."
April 18, 2022
Three stars for this book is a pretty low rating considering how much I love C.S. Lewis. The three stars is for this collection, though, not his actual writing, because the excerpts used in this book are, of course, excellent. The issue is that I think it’s better to read his actual writings instead of these short snippets. The flow of his ideas and words makes more sense if you read the whole chapter the excerpt is from. It was also kind of weird to include excerpts from his fiction work. The couple of pages from a Narnia book or part of Screwtape’s letters or a few paragraphs of Perelandra make more sense when you understand the full context of the story. I did like this, but in the future, I’d read one of Lewis’ books instead.
April 23, 2022
Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him.
There were a few gems in this book that resonated with me, but for the most part, it was kinda disappointing:
- There was no clear theme, not even a weekly one (as I thought there was gonna be because it's called 'Preparing for Easter'). I felt like the people who put it together did not think it through, or maybe they did that on purpose, idk...
- Also, the daily devotionals were sometimes a bit too much to handle.
Would not recommend it for Lent as a daily devotional, but maybe to read at one's own pace. :)
Christ is Risen!
There were a few gems in this book that resonated with me, but for the most part, it was kinda disappointing:
- There was no clear theme, not even a weekly one (as I thought there was gonna be because it's called 'Preparing for Easter'). I felt like the people who put it together did not think it through, or maybe they did that on purpose, idk...
- Also, the daily devotionals were sometimes a bit too much to handle.
Would not recommend it for Lent as a daily devotional, but maybe to read at one's own pace. :)
Christ is Risen!
April 28, 2022
I liked reading the readings one by one and it made me want to start up reading all his work again so I could really fully understand the context of these lessons. I always liked CS Lewis because he was easy to understand when he described religion and Christianity, as a TEEN no less. So I look forward to reading up on his stuff again as an adult, especially thanks to this book.
April 21, 2025
4.5 stars.
This is unlike any other sort of devotional I’ve done before. I enjoyed the compilation of readings from C.S. Lewis and the journey it was I leading up to Easter and especially during this past Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday.
I’ll probably read again next Easter or try and find something along the same premise in preparing for Easter.
This is unlike any other sort of devotional I’ve done before. I enjoyed the compilation of readings from C.S. Lewis and the journey it was I leading up to Easter and especially during this past Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday.
I’ll probably read again next Easter or try and find something along the same premise in preparing for Easter.
March 30, 2025
I did not read this as proscribed; one entry a day from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. Due to logistics, I read several entries a day. It was interesting to go through a compilation of different times, styles, and themes in Lewis’s writing, and to have something to think about.
April 13, 2025
Didn't finish this and will soft DNF for now. However, I thoroughly enjoyed what I read and plan to finish it if not this year then next Lent season.
April 20, 2025
Excellent readings for the Lenten season.
August 17, 2025
C.S. Lewis is far above my comprehension in so many ways. While I enjoyed these excerpts, I don’t know that I would recommend as an Easter devotional. This compilation did however provide me with a list of future reads to pursue.
April 2, 2024
Livro devocional com recortes de diversos textos de C.S. Lewis. Trechos de suas obras mais famosas, artigos e até cartas pessoais que conectados com leituras bíblicas te preparam para a páscoa.
Adorei tanto que acho que vou ler e reler todos os anos nesse período!
Adorei tanto que acho que vou ler e reler todos os anos nesse período!
May 5, 2019
This was a very good, inspiring book. I love C.S. Lewis' writings, although I have not read all of them. Because of that there were a few devotional passages which were less than inspiring to me, I believe if I had read the books those devotionals were collected from I would have understood them and found inspiration. As it was, most passages in this delightful book were highlighted, earmarked and are awaiting another read from me next Easter. This book will definitely go on my "life changing", "most inspirational", "to be re-read once a year" shelf.
May 15, 2020
This was not only a good daily devotional for Lent but also a really good overview of Lewis's best-known spiritual writings. It was rewarding to revisit excerpts from books I have previously read, this time paired with related Scripture readings, and the selections from books I haven't read yet renewed my interest in getting to those in the near future. I would consider using this book for Lent again next year, as it provides much to pray and think about.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews