Simplifying the Soul

by Paula Huston

Overview

"What are you giving up for Lent this year?" It's the expected question amongst Christian friends each spring. In Simplifying the Soul, Paula Huston asks her readers a deeper, alternative sort of question: "How will you rid your life of excess this Lent?" Huston encourages readers to see Lent as a time to seek out silence and free themselves of "stuff"; to de-clutter minds, hearts, and lives; and to acknowledge the connections between what they pray about and what they do.

With honesty, vulnerability, and grace, Huston challenges readers to move outward and act, showing them how everyday actions like cleaning out a junk drawer, giving away something no longer used, or spending fifteen minutes in silence can be surprisingly powerful ways of experiencing a more meaningful Lent and a simpler life. Whether cutting up a credit card, visiting someone at the hospital, or forgiving someone with whom they are angry, readers experience, under Huston's gentle and expert care, how such practices lead to a more authentic Christian faith.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594712692
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	12/19/2011
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	570,437
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Paula Huston wrote literary fiction for twenty years before shifting her focus to spirituality. Since then, she has published the critically acclaimed Signatures of Grace, The Holy Way, By Way of Grace, and Forgiveness. A Camaldolese Benedictine oblate, Huston is married, has four grown children, and lives in central California.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

beginnings: Simplifying Space 1

first week of lent: Simplifying the Use of Money 17

second week of lent: Simplifying the Care of the Body 39

third week of lent: Simplifying the Mind 61

fourth week of lent: Simplifying the Schedule 85

fifth week of lent: Simplifying Relationships 109

holy week: Simplifying Prayer 135

Conclusion 153

Notes 163

Bibliography 167

What People are Saying About This

James Martin

Too often thought of as simply a season of sacrifice, Lent is revealed here as something far richer—a privileged time to experience God in your everyday life, to open yourself to conversion, and to savor God's transforming love. (Rev. James Martin, S.J., Author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything)

Eugene Peterson

Huston offers herself as a lively companion in a Lenten practice stripped of clichés. Join her—it might be the simplest and liveliest Lent you have ever kept. (Eugene Peterson, Author of Pastor: A Memoir)

Luci Shaw

When I read Huston's words I am galvanized and motivated toward greater simplicity. (Luci Shaw, Author of Water My Soul)

Phyllis Tickle

This is the most moving, most appealing, and, at the same time, most practical book I have ever seen on Lenten practices. (Phyllis Tickle, Author of The Great Emergence)