Sometimes I get frustrated with myself. I get impatient with my imperfections. I get upset at how I can be so focused on the Lord and spiritual living for an extended period of time and then, it seems, in an instant I can slide back into old habits. So often I take two steps forward [...]
“Let’s be honest.” “I’ll be honest with you.” “Honestly…” “Honest to goodness.” These are all phrases we’ve either heard or spoken numerous times. As children, we were taught that telling the truth is the right thing to do. And yet how many of us got into trouble–or maybe even still do!–for lying? But what [...]
It is important that we have the proper focus when we pray. Christian prayer is not about introspection; Christian prayer is Christ-centered. And so our awareness as we begin to pray is crucial. When we quiet our minds and hearts by relaxing and focusing on our breath, we are not preparing to naval-gaze; we are [...]
Let’s go deeper into the subject of how to pray. In my last post I suggested four steps to help us enter into prayer. I’d like to explore each of these in more detail in the next few posts. As we enter into prayer, we first choose to be still. “Be still and know that [...]
“Master, teach us how to pray” (Luke 11:1). After being in the company of Jesus, listening to His words, witnessing His healings, and seeing His deep relationship with His Heavenly Father, the Apostles longed to know how to pray as Jesus prayed. They were attracted by His holiness and His peace. We, too, long to [...]
The act of consecrating oneself to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a venerable tradition in the Catholic Church. It has been promoted by many saints, St. Louis de Montfort being one of the more popular proponents. But consecration to Mary is also greatly misunderstood, especially by non-Catholic Christians. Simply put, when a person consecrates oneself [...]
Last Wednesday I returned from Rome where I’d been visiting with seminarians at the North American College. It was my fifth trip to Rome, but each time I visit I’m always reminded of the importance of the transcendent in our lives. When one walks into St. Peter’s basilica–or other major basilicas or churches in Rome [...]
What was it like for Mary to receive the Archangel Gabriel’s greeting? What did she feel in her heart? What of that moment when, renouncing fear, she chose faith, and a surge of confidence arose in her heart, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be it done to me according to [...]
Catholics don’t worship the Blessed Virgin Mary, and anyone who says that we do is simply false. You will not find a single line in any official Church document that uses the word “worship” in association with devotion to Mary. True, there may be some misinformed, well-intentioned Catholics who think they are supposed to worship [...]
There’s a renewed interest in spirituality these days, especially the practice of meditation. For the next several posts I’d like to reflect upon a great Catholic tradition that I believe is one of the best ways to practice meditation and to progress in contemplative prayer: the Rosary. Let’s start with the most obvious fact about [...]
I was really filled with gratitude to the Lord on Sunday and Monday. We were blessed with gorgeous weather here in the Northeast. On Sunday, I celebrated Mass and then enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the Scituate Art Festival with good friends, followed by a great dinner, and topped off with a New England Patriots’ [...]
Are you living in your head or from your heart? What does it feel like to live in our heads? When we live in our heads we over think, we easily tire, we literally feel our minds buzzing with distractions. We feel mentally, spiritually, and emotionally cluttered. Living in our heads is heavy, burdensome, and [...]
Shhhhh. Can you hear it? Be still. Are you conscious of it? It’s silence. It beckons you. You long for it. But there’s too much noise. Get away from the noise. In order to connect you must disconnect. There’s a longing in your heart. It can only be interpreted in silence. There’s a light inside [...]
I’ve recently made a few decisions that might seem drastic to some of you: I deleted my Facebook and Twitter accounts and I disabled email on my iPhone. Yes, I’ve decided to rebel against a culture that tells us we need to multitask, that our personal value depends upon how much work we get done [...]
I have to be honest, self-love is not a topic that I remember hearing much about growing up. I can’t remember hearing a single homily on self-love, I don’t remember hearing about it in Catholic elementary school, and I know for a fact that I didn’t hear much about it in the seminary. For some [...]