The Life of Christian Prayer
Catholic Prayer: Activating the Power of Your Confirmation
The sacraments are the fountain of grace that Jesus gave us to connect to Him and to His Body, the Church. So it makes sense for us to turn to the sacraments when we want to deepen our Catholic prayer life. The Sacrament of Confirmation is an untapped power for most Catholics. It has taken…
Read MoreGod’s Thirst Meets Ours: The Desire of Catholic Prayer
Catholic prayer is a personal relationship with God. But this relationship is not the emotional feeling of connection that modern Christians often associate with a “personal relationship with Jesus.” In fact, Catholic spiritual masters often warn against being driven by feelings. While feelings of warmth and closeness to God are certainly real, and are in…
Read MoreA New Pentecost? Can a New Charismatic Renewal Revive Lay Spirituality? Part 2
Part one of this 2-part series laid open some of the problems with the early Charismatic movement. In part 2 we going to explore how the movement could become an authentic Catholic lay movement. We’ve already seen quite a bit of maturity in the Catholic charismatic movement. Institutions like Franciscan University at Steuvenville, OH, have…
Read MoreA New Pentecost? Can a New Charismatic Renewal Revive Lay Spirituality?
To prepare for Pentecost, I have been leading a study in my parish using The Wild Goose. This is a program on the FORMED parish platform. The group enjoyed the simple but profound message of Father Dave Pivonka. But the amount of theological clarification I needed to do surprised me. It wasn’t that Father Dave…
Read MoreGifts of the Holy Spirit: Gift of Fear of the Lord
The Gift of Fear of the Lord is the gift of the Holy Spirit that moves our hearts to awe and wonder at God’s awesomeness, and to fear of losing our relationship with our Heavenly Father The Gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us to deepen our intimacy with God and to participate in His…
Read MoreGifts of the Holy Spirit: Gift of Piety
The Gift of Piety is the gift of the Holy Spirit that moves our hearts to love God with the love that children have for their father The Gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us to deepen our intimacy with God and to participate in His Divine Life. Three of the Gifts enhance our will…
Read MoreGifts of the Holy Spirit: the Gift of Wisdom
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us to deepen our intimacy with God and to participate in His Divine Life. Four of them enhance our intellect: knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and counsel. These gifts enlighten our human understanding with the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom Also, Wisdom is one of the seven gifts…
Read MoreGifts of the Holy Spirit Empower Our Adventure: Gift of Understanding
The Adventure of Faith is to share in Jesus’ divine life and to participate in his mission and the mission of the Church. And God equips us with the gifts we need to fulfill our mission. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit empower us to deepen our intimacy with God and to participate in His…
Read MoreGifts of the Holy Spirit Empowering Our Adventure: Gift of Knowledge
The Adventure of Faith is to participate in the divine life of God and to be active members in the mission of Jesus and His Church. The Holy Spirit gives us certain gifts that can be used to increase your own faith, but can also be used for the aid of others. The Gifts of…
Read MoreLiving Catholic Spirituality in Sacrocanctum Concilium from Vatican II
Most people don’t turn to the documents of ecumenical councils for advice on how to live Catholic spirituality. So it may surprise you that we’re turning to a document like Sacrocanctum Concilium to talk about our prayer life. Sacrosanctum Concilium is the Constitution on Sacred Liturgy from the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. This document if…
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