Holy Simplicity or Walden or Life in the Woods

Holy Simplicity: The Little Way of Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day & Therese of Lisieux

Author: Joel Schorn

Seeing God in every moment-is it possible? Does God really "walk among the pots and pans," as Saint Teresa of Avila once said? Do we ignore the seemingly forgettable moments of life to our own spiritual peril? Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day and Therese of Lisieux started small and stayed small, even though their works and heroism have since earned them worldwide acclaim.

Holy Simplicity reveals how these three modern Catholic women found holiness in letting God's love flow into the most ordinary tasks-Mother Teresa and Dorothy Day among the poor and Therese within the confines of the cloister. Their stories will inspire you to seek God in the challenges of ordinary life, a little way to holiness that, as Dorothy Day pointed out, unleashes forces "that help to overcome evil in the world."

About the Author:
Joel Schorn is a writer and editor in Chicago

Table of Contents:

Introduction     1
Names     3
Inspirational Moments     9
The Little Way     19
All Are Called     29
Prayer     41
Hidden Treasures     51
Downwardly Mobile     59
One Person at a Time     71
Works of Peace     83
The Embrace of Suffering     91
Spiritual Poverty     103
A Challenge to Christians     111
Time Lines     119
Notes     123

New interesting textbook: From Your Ice Cream Maker or Rick Steins Complete Seafood

Walden or Life in the Woods: and "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"

Author: Henry David Thoreau

In the spring of 1845, Henry David Thoreau built a wooden hut on the shores of Walden Pond outside Concord, Massachusetts, intending to devote himself--for a time--to a simple life. The product of his two-year stay there was this volume of classic essays--one of the great books of American letters and a masterpiece of reflective philosophizing. Accounts of his daily life are interwoven with musings on the virtues of self-reliance and individual freedom, on society, government, and other topics--all expressed with clear-headed wisdom and remarkable beauty of style. Unabridged republication of the work published by Ticknor and Fields, Boston, 1854. Introductory note. 1 line illustration. 1 map.

Publishers Weekly

Shrinking Walden into picture book size is somewhat like trying to fit Moby Dick into an aquarium. Still, Lowe's selections from Thoreau's iconoclastic work will give children a brief taste of this classic. Using only quotations from the original work, Lowe tells the story of Thoreau's year in the woods, emphasizing his descriptions of nature,stet comma and action rather than his philosophical musings. Readers see the young Thoreau putting shingles on his roof, hoeing beans, welcoming a stranger; they can revel in the natural wonders he describes--the ``whip-poor-wills,'' in summer, the drifting snow in winter, the ice breaking in the pond in spring. Sabuda's superb linoleum-cut prints lend a hard-edged brilliance to the dark woods--where sunlight is filtered through etched leaves, and moonlight shimmers on the waters of the pond made famous by a young man's experiment with life. All ages. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Walden's original publisher releases an annotated edition to celebrate the book's 150th anniversary.

School Library Journal

YA-An unintended effect of the cultural diversity curriculum is that we lose touch with seminal works such as Walden. Written for an audience thoroughly versed in Western tradition, many of Thoreau's metaphors and references are unrecognizable to today's students. Though some references were intended to prove his erudition, one is chagrined at the number of necessary explications of standard classical concepts. Though some annotations are noisy comments upon Thoreau's life, most are informative and enhance the work. Many YAs will view Thoreau's natural essays as he intended, thanks to Harding's efforts. A must for libraries.-Hugh McAloon, Prince William County Public Library, VA

Booknews

Bill McKibben ("The End of Nature", "The Age of Missing Information") provides an introduction and notes to the text of the 1854 edition. Downplaying the recent appropriation of both the book and the author by environmentalists, he emphasizes Thoreau's social and cultural prescience, and focuses on the two questions of how much is enough and how we know what we want. No index or bibliography. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.