The Life of Christian Prayer
The Path of Spiritual Growth
What exactly is Catholic spiritual growth? So let’s say you are working on creating a habit of prayer. You’ve found your prayer language. You are becoming more and more focused on your relationship with the Three Persons of the Trinity. First of all – go You! That’s just a slice of awesomeness! But does that…
Read MoreExploring Active Styles of Prayer
Spiritual growth requires us to form a consistent habit of prayer. Because prayer is a relationship with Jesus, we need to find ways of praying that fit our personality and our relationship with our Lord. In our last article, we talked about various styles of prayer for people who are drawn to more quiet, meditative…
Read MoreCatholic Spirituality is Living the Adventure of Faith
If you follow From the Abbey’s spiritual growth tutorials for any length of time, you’ll notice a number of repeated themes: We need to put God at the center of our daily lives and conquer “external distractions” with the virtue of prudence. We need a daily habit of focused, meaningful prayer. Developing virtue is the…
Read MoreThree Ways To Inspire Awe in Your Parish
The architecture of a church building is meant to elevate our hearts and minds to Heaven. That’s why traditionally Catholic architecture has been so grand and ornate. the same is true for the interior of a church. Before the modernist iconoclastic movement after Vatican II, the interior of any parish church was designed to help…
Read MoreCatholic Prayer: Why Prayer is a Vital Part of Your Vocation
“Do you think you might have a vocation? I heard this question constantly when I was in high school and in college. Of course, what people meant by this question was, “Do you think you might be called to the priesthood?” I prayed and discerned a call to the priesthood throughout college, and finally discerned…
Read MoreLiving the Sacraments
The seven Sacraments form the backdrop of Catholic life. Most Catholics can name all seven Sacraments. Most have basic knowledge of what the Sacraments are. But as with other parts of our faith, the Sacraments are an unfathomable mystery. That means that there is always more to understand. It also means there is always more…
Read MoreLeaning Into the Fruits of the Holy Spirit
A large part of the Catholic spiritual life is learning how to cooperate with the actions of grace in our lives. Grace is the free gift of the Holy Trinity in our souls. We do nothing to earn this divine Presence. We receive grace in Baptism and through the other Sacraments. But the Holy Trinity…
Read MoreShift Your Focus with Gratitude
Listen to the audio version of this article [wp_ticker ticker_title=”Notice” effect=”slide-h” category=”704″] “Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In all things give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you all.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Douay-Rheims It’s easy to give thanks when your day is going well. You’re wearing your favorite…
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