Often when we hear the word “meditation,” we think of a Buddhist monk sitting on the floor, eyes closes, and emptying his mind from everything so that he literally thinks about nothing. That is why many people balk at the idea of meditating on God’s Word, either not knowing what to do or being intimidated […]
The Second Step of Lectio Divina: Christian Meditation Read More »
We live in a culture of immediacy and often we take that same thought process into our prayer life. We don’t want to sit-down and read the whole bible…we want it to be summarized in three short sentences. [featured-image single_newwindow=”false”] Lectio divina can help curb that habit, especially in regards to the first step in
The First Step of Lectio Divina: Slow Down! Read More »
In this context, I would like in particular to recall and recommend the ancient tradition of “Lectio divina“: “the diligent reading of Sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking, and in praying, responds to him with trusting openness of heart” (cf. “Dei
What is Lectio Divina and Why Bother? Read More »
Much of prayer is poetry and so during this National Poetry Month, I thought it would be beneficial to look at a piece of Catholic poetry and examine the depths behind it to help us in our own prayer life. For our purposes, we will look at the poem/hymn Pange lingua and meditate on the source
Prayer, Poetry & the Eucharist Read More »
“He who sings prays twice.” – Saint Augustine An important aspect of vocal prayer that shouldn’t be missed is the singing of prayer. The singing of hymns and prayers has been an essential part of personal and liturgical prayer for thousands of years, even before Christianity. The Psalms are a great example of this tradition,
While sacramentals have biblical roots, some are surprised to know that the number of sacramentals has changed over the centuries. The Church in her wisdom can change, modify, add, or subtract sacramentals according to the circumstances of the culture. [featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]Wikipedia [/featured-image] So how many sacramentals are there? Is there a list where I can go
How Many Sacramentals Are There? Read More »
The Sacred Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday & Holy Saturday) is by far the most holy and sacred time of the year. It offers us a time to experience the greatest sorrows and the greatest joys the world has ever seen. [featured-image single_newwindow=”false”]Harrowing of Hell by Fra Angelico[/featured-image] The liturgy helps us to enter into
These Words of Jesus are Addressed to You Read More »
