Posts Tagged ‘Catholic Prayer’
Why Catholic Prayer Depends on an Accurate Vision of Heaven
The goal of all Catholic spirituality is to get to Heaven. But if we have a messed up view of Heaven, how are we supposed to know how to get there? An inaccurate view of Heaven can seriously interfere with your prayer life because to misunderstand Heaven is to misunderstand your relationship with God. You…
Read MoreCatholic Prayer: Four Great Obstacles and How to Defeat Them
Second Key to Spiritual Growth: Forming the Habit of Prayer & Spirituality I’m going to read your mind. Are you ready? I sense that you have a great desire for spiritual growth. You want a stronger relationship with God that brings meaning and significance to your life. You want a life centered on love. But…
Read MoreCatholic Spirituality
I recently stepped in to teach a high school Catholic spirituality class for a teacher out on leave. This was a time of spiritual discovery for me. My first question for myself is why I’m so miserably bad at growing my own Catholic spirituality. Now don’t get me wrong. I go to Mass at least…
Read MoreCatholic Prayer and Internal Distraction
Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against…
Read MoreHow to Pray – Praying with the Saints
Looking for methods that show you how to pray? One of the greatest methods of prayer we have at our disposal is to pray with the saints. We are not alone in our quest to grow in Catholic spirituality. Not only do we benefit from the family of the Church on earth (the Church Militant),…
Read MoreCatholic Prayer: The Virtue of Prudence and the Habit of Prayer
Catholic spirituality and prayer often begins with the virtue of prudence. We need to deal with our own weaknesses & bad habits in order to grow in love for God.
Read MoreCatholic Prayer: How Sacramentals Tie your Prayer to the Sacraments
Sacraments are the fonts of grace that Jesus gave us to draw us into the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. But from that font springs other outpourings of grace from our loving Lord. The sacramentals are one of those smaller fonts of grace. These are ceremonies, rites, or blessed objects instituted by the Church for private…
Read MoreHow the Sacrament of Confession Deepens Catholic Prayer
Most Catholics don’t see the intimate unity between the Sacraments and their daily Catholic prayer life. Here are three connections to encourage you to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a regular part of your Catholic spirituality. Reconciliation is physical prayer One of the keys to learning how to pray is to engage your whole…
Read MoreHow Can I Pray to the Holy Spirit?
“I can relate to the Father as creator and as a father. I can relate to Jesus because He actually walked among us. But the Holy Spirit? I just don’t know how to relate to Him.” I hear this all the time. On one hand, I understand. The Third Person of the Holy Trinity doesn’t…
Read MoreHow to Pray – True Humility Is the Foundation of Prayer (Do You Have It)?
If you really want to learn how to pray, you always need to start with uniting your heart to God’s. The virtue of humility gives our hearts the right disposition for a relationship of love with God. But too many Catholics misunderstand this important virtue. Most people think of humility as a refusal to acknowledge…
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