To Live in God's Presence

The most holy practice, the nearest to daily life, and the most essential for the spiritual life, is the practice of the presence of God, that is to find ...

What to Ask God For

I asked God to take away my pride, and God said no. He said it was not for him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my handicapped ...

The Discipline of Prayer

The paradox of prayer is that it asks for a serious effort while it can only be received as a gift. We cannot plan, organize or manipulate God; but without ...

Secret Sin Blocks Prayer

In his book Why Prayers Are Unanswered, John Lavender retells a story about Norman Vincent Peale.

When Peale was a boy, he found a big, black cigar, slipped ...

Faith Plus Works?

Among the remembered prayers of the very wise and holy St. Thomas More is this: "The things, good Lord, that we pray for, give us the grace to labor ...

Communion Prayer

It is fitting and right to sing of you, to praise you, to thank you, to adore you in all places of your dominion. For you are the ineffable God, inconceivable, ...

A True High-Pressure Situation

Going to bat in the ninth is nothing compared to praying in an intensive care unit.

The Blessings of Spiritual Struggle

Blessed are you, if the struggle grows fierce against you at the time of prayer.

Praying Well

To pray is the greatest thing we can do, and to do it well, there must be calmness, time, and deliberation.

Love Your Enemy, Save Yourself

Jesus didn't teach us to love our enemies for their good. It is for our own good--to keep from becoming the enemy.