When retreatants ask for suggestions about how to deepen their prayer and to grow in their spiritual lives, their directors might have suggestions about some new approach to try. But often it is better to encourage people to work patiently … [Read more...]
The Interface of Spirituality and Theology in Leontius of Jerusalem and Theodore the Studite
June 12, 2017 by Nicholas Senz
Lex orandi, lex credendi: the law of prayer is the law of belief. This maxim, attributed to the fifth century writer, Prosper of Aquitaine, pithily expresses the inherent link between theology and spirituality. The way in which one connects … [Read more...]
Prayer as the Key to Forgiveness
March 26, 2017 by Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
At times, the word "unforgiven" can be terrifying, especially if someone does not forgive us. We do not know what to think or what to do. Evil is all around us, and within us, and can easily magnify when forgiving is not practiced. However, … [Read more...]
Ministerial Rosary Reflections for Priests
October 13, 2016 by Rev. Edward Lee Looney, STB, MDiv
The Church regards the month of October as the rosary month, a practice encouraged by many pontiffs, most especially Pope Leo XIII. Many of our parishioners will dedicate themselves to praying the rosary this month. Some will do so at their … [Read more...]
Beginning Each Day in the Presence of God
The Importance of the Morning Offering
June 13, 2016 by Dr. Jeffrey Morrow, Ph.D.
We’ve all heard, and we all know from experience, how important it is to start the day off right. If we wake up grumpy, or overly tired, it is much more difficult to face the challenges of each day cheerfully and with optimism. How often do … [Read more...]
A Garden Unfinished
May 28, 2016 by Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart: … [Read more...]
Reverence for Truth in Ecumenical Prayer
February 29, 2016 by Dr. Peter Kahn
Introduction The ecumenical movement faces an ongoing lull. Hopes for a speedy restoration of full unity amongst Christians following the Second Vatican Council have simply not been fulfilled. There are only a couple of occasions in the … [Read more...]
Love Is a Liturgical Act
February 12, 2016 by Francis Etheredge
“Christian marriage ... is in itself a liturgical action glorifying God in Jesus Christ and in the Church” (Familiaris Consortio, 56) (Man, Male and Female, is a "religious being" (CCC, 28[1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, hereafter CCC … [Read more...]
The Pillars of Lent
February 1, 2016 by David Vincent Meconi
The purifying Season of Lent is quickly upon us. We human persons are enabled to do something that lower creatures cannot, and higher creatures need not: to sacrifice and thus to learn to delay partial gratifications for even greater … [Read more...]
Make Your Hearts Firm This Lent
February 1, 2016 by Maria Cintorino
During Lent, the Church calls the faithful to conversion by calling to mind the image of Christ being drawn into the desert by the Spirit. There, for forty days and forty nights, Jesus prays, fasts, and is tempted by the devil. By … [Read more...]
The Our Father: Ladder to the Heavens
December 28, 2015 by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
In my article previously published in HPR, “Overlooked and Underprayed: the Our Father,”[1. hprweb.com/2015/11/overlooked-and-under-prayed-the-our-father/] I tried to point out several unique and important characteristics of the prayer, the … [Read more...]
The Transforming Power of Love
December 14, 2015 by Rev. William J. Nessel, OSFS
A rich Japanese widower decided to retire from the city to a high cliff above the ocean. He built a beautiful mansion overlooking the ocean and was very happy, surrounded by beauty and solitude. He liked to gaze down the beach and observe … [Read more...]
Overlooked and Under-Prayed: The Our Father
November 29, 2015 by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
The Our Father is simple, easy to memorize and recite, and is thus, easily and often, very poorly prayed. I would say it is abused, is misused, and even is, shamefully, to the point of dishonoring the Lord, who personally gave this prayer … [Read more...]
Prayer As Bedrock for Service
June 13, 2015 by Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
Although prayer and service have many splendors within Christianity, one cannot exist without the other. Prayer is spiritual respiration to the soul, which oxygenates Christian service. Pope John XXIII said, “Perfume all your actions with t … [Read more...]
Summer Reading for June 2015
May 31, 2015 by Book Reviews
Our Father, Who Art on Earth: The Lord’s Prayer for Believers and Unbelievers. Jose Tolentino Mendonca, with a Foreword by Enzo Bianchi. (Mahwah, New Jersey/New York: Paulist Press, 2012) 114 pages; $14.95. (Reviewed by Brandon H … [Read more...]
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