We sometimes wonder why our prayers are not answered in the way that we hope. And often, we will never know because there are so many variables, including the fact that we may actually be asking God for something that’s not good for us in the long run. Or we may be...
On May 13, 1917, the Blessed Mother appeared for the first time to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. Each time our Blessed Mother visited Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia, she gave some specific instructions to the children. “I have come, to warn the...
In this episode of the Catholic Link podcast, Fr. Rob is once again joined by Fr. George Elliot and they discuss why do Catholics pray for the dead and how the prayers help them in purgatory. They reference 2 Maccabees 12:46 where it states "it is a holy and wholesome...
What is the Liturgy of the Hours? The Liturgy of the Hours is also called the Divine Office or the Breviary. The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, but it is not the only daily prayer of the Church. The Liturgy of the...
The first thing to realize about prayer is that it can be boring. Just about everything else we do gives us results within a relatively short period of time. Not so in prayer. I began praying the rosary daily as a freshman in high school. My motive was to pray for...
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to sacred art. I used to buy books as a kid about the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo. Ironically, I had no idea of their Catholic ties, nor would the term “sacred art” have been in my vocabulary. I was simply mesmerized...
THE LITANY OF THE HOLY FAMILY Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.Christ, hear us.Christ, graciously hear us.God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.Holy...
If you've not yet had the opportunity to watch PRAY: The Story of Patrick Peyton, I highly encourage you to make the time to see this inspiring documentary. Before watching this film I, sadly, had never heard of Fr. Peyton. I had no idea of the incredibly innovative...
Veni, Creator Spiritus | Catholic Prayer For New Year's Day (January 1) Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,and in our souls take up Thy rest;come with Thy grace and heavenly aidto fill the hearts which Thou hast made. O comforter, to Thee we cry,O heavenly gift of God...
Historically the Rosary is a simple alternative to the Liturgy of the Hours. If you couldn't read or afford the book, these prayers allowed for the lay or common man to enter into contemplative, daily prayer reflecting over the...
We all are in need of healing. Maybe it’s from something life-altering – the death of a loved one, a lost job, a chronic illness, a miscarriage, a hurting relationship. Or maybe it’s from something that seems small, the thing that we want to push aside, but continues...
Hallow is a Catholic app for prayer and meditation that helps users deepen their relationship with God through audio-guided contemplative prayer. Some people refer to it as the “Headspace/Calm, for Catholics.” Hallow was started by a group of friends struggling...
When I first heard Matthew Kelly state, "Our lives change when our habits change," it rang so true in my heart. In fact, looking back those words rang true in regards to all of my life experiences. In school, if I wanted to get an A on the test, I put in the...
Litany Of The Sacred Heart Litany Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus Pray The Litany Of The Sacred Heart Today! Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy God our Father in heaven, have mercy on us God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us God the Holy...
Many of us are living a Lent we never expected. Let's take this gift of time and use it to grow in holiness. There is so much we can do to continue our journey to Easter! We've created a list of free resources to help you with your quarantined Lenten adventure....
Priest, Prophet, and King A Baptized man shares in the offices of Christ of priest, prophet, and king. A Baptized man who is the father of children is a priest, prophet, and king in a particular way. His house is his domestic church and his children are the flock that...
Historical Introduction of the Nicene Creed We call the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed is professed every Sunday at Mass in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church and in our separated...
There are certain, obvious parts of the Mass that become more automatic touchstones ... easier, in a sense, for us to focus on or re-focus from. For instance, we can read along in our missals during the Liturgy of the Word—a natural way to engage. And at the...
There's an interesting phenomenon at work in this annual, very public ritual (and it's not exclusive to Catholics; other Christians mark their foreheads with ashes to commemorate the start of Lent). While in some parts of the world it's become less common to see...
Prayer is intended to be our way of communicating with God. It is a gift, yet sometimes it becomes a task, a burden, or a mundane part of our daily routine. We may also experience dry spells in our spiritual life and begin to feel disconnected from the God who...
No matter how spiritual we are, we cannot ignore our bodies when we pray. Indeed, we pray with and through them, not only with our voice and thoughts. If we are happy, our face expresses it, and our body does, too; if we're worried, we put our head in our hands. When...
A terrible tragedy for Christianity has been, and always will be, the separation between rite and symbol; or to be more precise, the tragedy is due to the fact that the believers have forgotten the meaning of the symbols that take place during the various rites. Yes,...
How often do we hear the phrase, or even say ourselves: "I should pray more...; I would like to but often I have no time." It's true. Our lives are busy. But maybe instead of taking time away from us, prayer is really the remedy to our obsession with the apparent lack...
If you’ve read my post on taking children to Mass, you know that I’m constantly searching for tips, tricks, and strategies that will help keep my 5 kids engaged in the celebration of Mass. One of my #MomGoals is to help my kids learn to understand, appreciate and...
Have you ever found yourself in a prayer rut? Perhaps you've been saying the same prayers for so long you no longer pay attention to the meaning behind the words. Your prayer routine has become just that, routine. Though it is good to be in the habit of...
