num_pages: 192
description: The middle years are a time when people yearn to abandon the trivial, create a better self, and begin living in relation to life's ultimate questions. Yet it's also a time when people need new energy, new reasons for being faithful not only to God but to themselves. From the author of Urgings of the Heart comes this warm guidebook to help those in their middle years "live with soul"--that is, actively choose life until the very end. The book offers itself as a kind of "triple A autoclub" for the soul, providing a map for the journey, fuel for the long haul, and emergency roadside assistance. Most spiritual journeys are blocked at some point by such obstacles as the need for control, the fear of the unknown, or the desire for possessions. The Enduring Heart provides concrete help. It's packed with stories, examples from classic and contemporary spirituality, meditations, prayers, and exercises. Just a few of these are--how to write a spiritual autobiography, how to make an examination of consciousness, and how to take a contemplative prayer walk. All this points the traveler toward living with more awareness, more immediacy, more gratitude, and more compassion. Readers of Au's earlier books, By Way of the Heart and Urgings of the Heart, will find this even more insightful and heartening. His newest is also perfect reading for Christian baby boomers, empty nesters, spiritual seekers, people in therapy, and anyone experiencing change or loss. In addition it's a wonderful title for use by pastors and pastoral counselors and for DREs to use in adult ed courses.
language: English
title: The Enduring Heart: Spirituality for the Long Haul
titlecomplete: The Enduring Heart: Spirituality for the Long Haul
ratings_count: 19
publisher: Paulist Press