Healing Prayer of Silence

I know it is customary during the Lenten Season for us to start reflecting on the great victories we will experience on Easter Sunday: the victory over sin and death; the victory over the enemy of this world; the victory over pain and sickness, heartache and fear, everything that would rob us of...

It might be a tough message to hear, but truthfully, it is often our very difficulties in this life that represent our greatest blessings. In fact, that is exactly what St. Paul tells us in his Second letter to the Corinthians. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the...

There is a remarkable story of transformation that occurs in the Old Testament, and it happens to a character we all know very well. “Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a...

For years now, I have reflected deeply on the word ‘Abandonment.’ This can be a difficult word to understand when it comes to our relationship with God. Luckily, there is a wonderful book, Abandonment to Divine Providence, by Jean-Pierre de Caussade, that can serve as a guide to understanding...

Through the continual practice of contemplative prayer, we become increasingly who we truly are. Vigilance is one of the most important disciplines practiced in the spiritual life. This is not the worldly vigilance to guard our homes or our families, though these are prudent things to do. In...

It is interesting how much time some people spend worrying about things they can do nothing about. There are so many details in our lives that are simply beyond our control. We did not get to choose the time or the place of our birth; we did not choose the family we were born into; we did not...

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. One of the greatest challenges our modern society faces is our overwhelming focus on self. Evidence of this predisposition to self is found in the language...

There is a phrase many people find confusing in the spiritual journey of life. The phrase is The Interior Life. The interior life refers to a life which seeks God in everything, a life of prayer and the practice of living in the presence of God. Living in the presence of God means nothing more...

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. (1 John 4:18) How do we respond to this Scripture verse from the First letter of John? Can we accept it at face value? Do we believe we can really...

What did you go out to the desert to see? (Luke 7:24) Jesus asked this question to those who went out to the desert to listen to John the Baptist. John foretold the coming of the Lord, but he was clearly not what his listeners expected. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a...

What did St. Paul mean when, in his Letter to the Ephesians, he wrote the phrase… So that we might exist for the praise of His glory, we who first hoped in Christ. (Ephesians 1:12) This is an interesting way to describe the followers of Christ, but what does it mean? It should not be...

  The best way to prepare for the coming of the Lord is to model His own preparation before His coming. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, she gave birth to her first child, a son. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and she wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and...

The Masters of prayer teach us that progress in prayer moves along a continuum from need to desire. But what exactly does this mean? When we were children, we turned to our parents to ask for, and most often received, what we wanted or believed we needed. Of course, there was often a difference...

Glancing at a bookshelf the other day, a particular title seemed to stand out among all the others. It was a book by the well-known German philosophy professor, and prolific Christian author, Dietrich von Hildebrand. It was entitled: Transformation in Christ. The main title alone should be enough...

Many of us have known the great benefit of having a mentor in life, someone who can Help us along and show us the ropes, whether in school, sports, our profession, or in some cases, even in our roles as spouse or parent. Often mentors don’t realize they are serving as our guides. We might...

Have you ever wondered if God’s Grace is sufficient for you? Many of us experience those moments in our lives when we begin to question whether God is still in our corner, whether He is sufficiently aware of what we are dealing with in our life. We might begin to wonder whether His grace truly...

The idea of a Bucket List has become very popular in the past many years. It is the motivation to complete a list of the experiences or achievements a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime. Unfortunately, this mindset can also lead us to place the focus of our lives on the...

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left...

May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.  May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace. (Numbers 6:25-26) Just what is it that makes God smile? Perhaps we were not even aware that God smiles, but according to the Book of Numbers, God does indeed smile on us. The...

There is real confusion these days about the virtue of Hope. So many people see it as waiting for something in the future, the ultimate realization of a dream we have, an unfulfilled desire, or a condition we will experience at some point down the road. But that is not hope. Hope is directly...