Editor’s Note: This is a re-posting from 2014 on prayer which I thought could be useful as we contemplate resolutions for the New Year. At times referred to as the Divine Office, the Liturgy of the Hours, or the Breviary,…
Christian Prayer: A Catholic Tradition
Ponderables
With the commercial side of Christmas over, we can now quietly and simply, focus on the spiritual side of Christmas and the coming New Year. I know many of us have already embarked on a spiritual Christmas by celebrating Advent…
Practical Steps to Fill Your Grace Well
The most effective way to refill the ‘grace well’ at the heart of how we choose the things of God over that of the world is by participating, in what I affectionately refer to as, the “Grace Trifecta”. The secret…
7 Ways to Share Christ at Christmastime
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” With these memorable words, Charles Dickens has captured the sentiment of every enthusiastic Catholic evangelist regarding Christmas. On the one hand, Christmas is an evangelist’s dream – a…
The Lord’s Prayer Part 2: The Holiness of God’s Name
When he spoke with God through the Burning Bush, Moses asked God what Name he should give the people when they ask what God has sent him. Moses might have been trying to be a bit too clever. It is…
The First Believer
Readings for the 4th Sunday of Advent, December 20, 2015 The Beatitudes rank high on the list of all-time favorite Bible passages. But what is “beatitude,” anyway? In the bible, a “blessed” person is someone who has received gifts of…
A Light Shall Pierce the Darkness
His birth did not come with fanfare however, angels trumpeted the news. His parents were not of royalty, but he was the King of Kings. He was born in a dark stable, yet he is the Light. In a world…
Mercy Missed
The Gospel reading for the Third Sunday of Advent (or as I liked to call it in my youth, “Pink-Candle-of-Joy, Is-It-Really-Still-TWO-Weeks-Until-Christmas?” Sunday) caught me off-guard this time around. Luke’s Gospel is mostly widely recognized for Verse 16, where John the…
Take Up Your Cross, Parents
Being a parent is wonderful. It has made my life richer and better. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, though; let’s be honest. It’s also a challenge — but it is a challenge we should be willing to take up. It…
Wilderness Dwellers
Sometimes I think that the circumstances that we hear about in the Bible are simply lost on us because we weren’t there. The atmosphere and history of a place can enrich a story or occurrence that happened in that place….