WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Here is a selection of recent releases that might be suitable for your spiritual reading during Advent and the Christmas season:

-- Exploring Advent With Luke: Four Questions for Spiritual Growth by Timothy Clayton. Ave Maria Press (Notre Dame, Ind., 2012). 149 pp., $13.95.

-- A Catholic Family Advent: Prayers and Activities by Susan Hines-Brigger. Franciscan Media (Cincinnati, 2012). 50 pp., $7.99.

-- Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St. Vincent de Paul by John E. Rybolt, CM. Liguori Publications (Liguori, Mo., 2012). 128 pp., $10.99.

-- Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent by Richard Rohr. Franciscan Media (Cincinnati, 2012). 93 pp., $8.99.

-- Catholic Spiritual Practices: A Treasury of Old & New, edited by Colleen M. Griffith and Thomas H. Groome. Paraclete Press (Orleans, Mass., 2012). 166 pp., $18.95.

-- The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life and Trials of Nicholas of Myra by Adam C. English. Baylor University Press (Waco, Texas, 2012). 230 pp., $24.95.

-- Italian Christmas Eve: The Feast of Seven Fishes: A Reminiscence with Recipes by Linda and Rocco Maniscalco. StataBuon.com (2010). 77 pp., $12.95.

-- The Christmas Plains by Joseph Bottum. Image Books (New York, 2012). 212 pp., $14.99.

-- Holy Days: Meditations on the Feasts, Fasts and Other Solemnities of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI. Wm. B. Eerdmans (Grand Rapids, Mich., 2012). 94 pp., $12.

-- A Mary Christmas by Kathleen M. Carroll. Franciscan Media (Cincinnati, 2012). 94 pp., $12.99.

-- Holy Family Prayer Book: Prayers for Every Family by Missionaries of the Holy Family. Liguori Publications (Liguori, Mo., 2012). 111 pp., $8.99.

-- O Radiant Dawn: 5-Minute Prayers Around the Advent Wreath by Lisa M. Hendey. Ave Maria Press (Notre Dame, Ind., 2012). 32 pp., $1.25.