Simplifying the Soul

Paula Huston's Simplifying the Soul (Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit) is a beautiful, memorable, and practical book.

It's such a lovely book that I think I regret that it is intended for reading during Lent. Don't get me wrong: it is perfect--in tone, in style, in application--for Lent. But it seems to me it could be profitably read and enjoyed at any time of the year. And, though it is written by a Benedictine oblate and published by Ave Maria Press, it is far more ecumenical than you might think.

Simplifying the Soul invites the reader to slow down and, well, simplify. It is pitch perfect. It draws beautiful, thoughtful lessons from the author's life, from the writings of the Desert Fathers, and of course from the Bible. It is, as one of my favorite writers, Phyllis Tickle, says, "A verbal retreat that invites both the soul and the body to a holy retooling."

I read it last year. It is so good, I have pulled it out to read again this year.