Simplifying the Soul Quotes

“PRACTICE Today, wear your oldest and least presentable clothes, no matter what's on the schedule. Notice how people react. Think about what it is like to move about in a consumerist society when you cannot afford to keep up appearances. Pray for awareness regarding your own sense of self-worth when you are not “looking your best.” Ask to be freed up from this unnecessary self-preoccupation. Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. (Lk 12:27)”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Wednesday: Pray for Strangers You See throughout This Day One of the elders said: Just as a bee, wherever she goes, makes honey, so a monk, wherever he goes, if he goes to do the will of God, can always produce the spiritual sweetness of good works.5”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me.” (Mt 25:34–36)”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“the development of a humble heart. In Lent, we are invited to look deeply inside, identify what is impeding our ability to follow Christ along the path of humility, and begin applying antidotes. Early church tradition is rich in the”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Truly humble people are grounded in reality; they neither preen under illusions of greatness nor suffer agonies of self-hatred.”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven,” says the priest, and instantly we are connected to all those who have believed and died before us and all those who abide in realms we cannot yet fathom. We have passed through the shimmering membrane that divides the created world from the universe of spirit, and momentarily, we are transported. And then, as we partake of the Body and the Precious Blood, we see with startling clarity that we truly do remain in Christ and he in us and that, through us, he is still working his miracles here on earth.”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Remember, you are not making this examen in preparation for Confession but instead as a form of devotion and, possibly, as a new daily practice. You may thus find it helpful to focus on one particular weakness–say, impatience–and then evaluate your day in terms of when and under what circumstances you succumbed. When you pray for reconciliation, don't forget to also make a resolve to stop caving in to this particular temptation. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. (Jn 16:33)”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Today, spend a little time reading more about the practice of lectio divina. When you feel as though it makes sense to you, look up the key passages for the day in the daily missal, or online. Choose one of these to use for lectio, and then take it to your place of prayer. Because it is a form of meditation, it's important that you give it plenty of quiet, uninterrupted time. Sit here while I go over there and pray. (Mt 26:36)”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Today, find a place where you can kneel for ten minutes without interruption. You might be able to do this at church, perhaps before the Blessed Sacrament, or at home in front of an icon. During this time, your knees will ache and you will most likely feel tension in your body because of the unfamiliar position you are holding. If you are physically unable to kneel, then find a position that reflects compunction. Try to ignore any physical signs of discomfort and simply focus on quieting your mind. Think of the ways that you have wounded others and failed to revere God. Think about your habitual failures to love. Acknowledge your weakness. Then apologize and ask for forgiveness. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 5:3)”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Today, try sleeping on the floor for the first hour of the night. Think about your own death. Ask God to help you ponder what is almost impossible to comprehend. Ask him for wisdom and insight, and most of all, hope in the promises of Christ. Then go off to your warm bed in a state of thanksgiving. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: “Watch!” (Mk 13:35-37)”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Christian faith keeps reminding us that death is the doorway to eternal life,”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. (Jn 6:38)”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“This morning, try your best to practice custody of the eyes when it comes to the mirror. It will be hard to comb your hair, wash your face, and brush your teeth without your own reflection to guide you, but since you do the same things every day, it's likely that gazing into the mirror is simply a habit. As you move through the house, think about how often you glance into the mirror to see if you pass muster. Think also about the harsh judgments you've made about your own appearance over the years, along with the occasional vainglorious “highs” of believing you've never looked so good. Pray to move beyond surface appearances, both with yourselves and with others, and into a state of true seeing.”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Monday: Cover Your Mirrors for a Whole Morning”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Each time we peer into the mirror, our minds are set to wondering: Am I looking older these days? Am I as attractive as I used to be? Should I get surgery? Maybe I should get contacts, buy wrinkle cream, or color my hair. Mirrors, by their very nature, focus us on our physical appearance in the most superficial of ways. And by constantly rerouting our thoughts back to how we look, they make us sitting ducks for advertising ploys that promise to make us more attractive.”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“[Abba Poeman] also said, “If a monk can overcome two things, he can become free from the world.” The brother asked him what these two things were and he said, “Bodily ease and vainglory.”3”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit

“Instead of humbly following along behind Jesus, I've let myself get sidetracked by a myriad of temptations: overly ambitious creative projects, delusions about my own importance, worrisome relationships, secret small addictions, stubborn resentments, and a hundred forms of self-indulgence.”
― Paula Huston, Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit