Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit (Ave Maria Press) [Paperback]

Paula Huston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 19, 2011

Award-winning author and Benedictine oblate Paula Huston invites readers to de-clutter their minds, hearts, relationships, and souls in a book of daily Lenten practices woven from the gospels, the Desert Fathers, and the author's own wealth of spiritual experience.

"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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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


"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


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


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

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Ave Maria Press (December 19, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594712697
• ISBN-13: 978-1594712692
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #444,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Holidays > Easter
  • #40 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Holidays > Lent

More About the Author

(Author Photograph by Dennis Eamon Young). Paula Huston, the eldest of five children, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1952. Her Norwegian Lutheran family moved to California when she was only two; she grew up in Long Beach, married at nineteen, and relocated to San Luis Obispo county on the Central Coast in her early twenties. About the time her two children were born, she began writing short stories; in her early thirties, she divorced and spent several years as a single working mother, which convinced her that she really needed to complete her college education. After remarrying and becoming a stepmother of two, she returned to school for a B.A. in English, and went on for a Masters in English and American Literature while continuing to write and publish fiction.

She began teaching at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo after completing the Master's degree. While still matriculating, she took a class in ethics that helped spur a return to the Christianity she had abandoned years before. This time, however, she came back to the church as a Catholic, and in the process, shifted to writing spiritual non-fiction. Eventually, she became a Camaldolese Benedictine oblate, a lay associate of a contemplative Catholic hermitage on the Big Sur coast, which means she does her best to live by two ancient rules written primarily for monks and hermits: the Rule of St. Benedict and the Brief Rule of St. Romuald of Ravenna, Italian founder of the Camaldolese. For many years, she and her husband Mike have lived on four acres in the country where, in the spirit of St. Benedict, they produce much of the food they eat, including fruits, vegetables, olive oil, eggs, honey, and wine. They have six young grandchildren

Huston is the author of six books and a co-editor and contributing essayist for a seventh, SIGNATURES OF GRACE: CATHOLIC WRITERS ON THE SACRAMENTS. Her essays and short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals and magazines over the years, including AMERICAN SHORT FICTION, STORY, NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, IMAGE, AMERICA, THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY, and GEEZ. She is a National Endowment of the Arts Fellow in Creative Writing, and a founder and faculty member for a low-residency California State University Consortium Master of Fine Arts program. Her work has been honored by BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES and included in the annual BEST SPIRITUAL WRITING anthology. She has taught at the Glen Workshop and in the Glen Online writing school, and is currently teaching in Seattle Pacific University's MFA in creative writing program.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Helpful Huston Book! February 11, 2012

By J. Brent Bill

Format:Paperback

Paula Huston is one of premier spiritual writers today (disclaimer (sort of): Paula is a friend of mine). She writes clearly and well about the deepest parts of the human experience -- our spiritual life. Simplifying the Soul provides wonderful (as the subtitle says) "Lenten practices to renew your soul."

Now, as a Quaker (a sect that eschews Advent, Lent -- where every day is both ordinary time and extra-ordinary time), I am not normally drawn to materials that are liturgical seasonally based. But, since Paula wrote this, I knew I wanted to read it and would find it helpful. And I did. And I'll return to it again and again -- in Lent and other times.

Lent is quickly approaching. So if you're a liturgical type, pick it up soon. And if you're un-liturgical (like me) get it anyhow!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for your Lenten journey! February 15, 2012

By Sarah Reinhard VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I sat down to read Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit, by Paula Huston, with the intention of just reading the first section. Then I decided I could read the first couple of sections.

And then I read the whole book.

In my defense, I had a whole evening before me and I needed to get the review written for the Patheos Book Club. What I found with this book, though, was much different than what I expected.

I don't know what, exactly, I expected, but I'm sure it had to do with preaching and a feeling of insignificance at the end. I was excited at the premise and what the book jacket promised, but maybe a little sure that I would not be able to approach Lent using this book as an actual resource.

"It will be good for someone, though," I thought, "and I can surely read it and see what I have to look forward to."

(Negative much?)

I was gloriously, wonderfully WRONG. I found myself reading, shaking my head, and looking forward to Lent, when I can dig in.

Will I fail? Yeah, probably. I do every year. In the failure is the kernel I need from Lent, I think, and success isn't usually about what I plan, but about what graces I allow God to work.

Each day of Lent has a task, with a reflection by the author from her own experience, and then an brief description of the task or practice for the day.

Throughout the book, you get to know Paula Huston as your guide, someone walking beside you and encouraging you, even as she doesn't settle for less than what you can at least try to do. She's gentle, but tough. She weaves humor in with what I can only call teaching: she makes the Desert Fathers and Mothers an accessible crew, even for a busy mom in the Midwest.

Not only will I be embracing this book to the best of my ability this Lent, but I encourage you to do the same. It's not too much, but the seed it will plant and tend during Lent, I believe, will grow into habits that make me a better Christian.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars True to it's title: Simplifying THE SOUL renews your spirit, March 23, 2012

By Faithy

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

simplifying THE SOUL is just what the title says. It introduced me to some simple Lenten practices that made a lot of sense. I enjoyed Paula Huston's reflections, meditations and simple suggestions for practice. I am planning on continuing to practice her suggestions throughout the year to help become a better person and Christian.