Editor’s note: We conclude our series exploring each of the steps of the Examen. We’re using the Examen version from Jim Manney’s book, A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer. Find the full series here. 5. Look toward the day to come. In the last step of the Examen, we look toward the day to come. This is […]
My love of nature began when I was a young child nurtured through the witness of my parents’ respect and awe of creation in our own backyard. Avid gardeners, they spent their free time designing and creating beautiful gardens, flowerbeds, and sanctuary nature nooks in our backyard that magnified the natural beauty of the Louisiana […]
My three-year-old grandson called me last week, excited to share with me an important lesson he had finally learned. The same boy who had multiple “time out” sessions for refusing to say, “Sorry,” when he had done something wrong blurted out, “Sitti, if you say, ‘I’m sorry’ right away, the problem stays very small, but […]
Editor’s note: We continue our series exploring each of the steps of the Examen. We’re using the Examen version from Jim Manney’s book, A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer. We’ll look at a different step each week. 4. Face your shortcomings. The Examen is a prayer of attentiveness. Prayer, like any action that we limited, finite, fallible […]
As we approach All Saints Day, we highlight a few resources designed to challenge and entertain. Quiz: Which Saintly Dreamer Are You? Take a fun online quiz to learn which saintly dreamer you are. The quiz is inspired by A Catechism of the Strange: Stigmata, Relics, and the Miracles That Shape the Soul by W. […]
Have you ever felt lost, bewildered, or off-course in your journey through life? The classic literary expression of lostness is Dante’s, at the beginning of The Divine Comedy. Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Who hasn’t felt this way? Perhaps […]
Editor’s note: We continue our series exploring each of the steps of the Examen. We’re using the Examen version from Jim Manney’s book, A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer. We’ll look at a different step each week. 3. Review the day. In all my years of Catholic education, no one ever told me prayer could be getting […]
I step off my bike into a hole in the grass. Down I go; it is as simple as that. Everything happens in slow motion: the fall, the break as I reach out with my left arm, the visit to urgent care followed by the nine-day wait for surgery, and eight weeks of recovery. There […]
I grew up in a house that was well over a hundred years old. This house had a series of cast-iron radiators to keep it warm. During the winter months, the furnace would kick in and the heat and pressure would move the warmed water through the pipes and heat the house (when the furnace […]
Editor’s note: We continue our series exploring each of the steps of the Examen. We’re using the Examen version from Jim Manney’s book, A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer. We’ll look at a different step each week. 2. Give thanks. Gratitude is the attribute of the Examen that makes it a prayer rather than a laundry list. […]
This past summer while on retreat I sat outdoors at breakfast, looking out at a beautiful garden of flowers and a blossoming tree near a statue of Mary. On the tree was a bird feeder attached to a branch. Beneath it I saw a chipmunk gathering seeds. There was a chickadee eating above the chipmunk, […]
“How many sign-ups do we have?” I asked excitedly at the start of the meeting. “One,” he replied. “Just one so far.” We were meeting to plan the next offering of a course on Ignatian spirituality, and “one” was a smaller number than I expected to hear so close to the start. The previous offerings […]
Editor’s note: Today we begin a series exploring each of the steps of the Examen. We’re using the Examen version from Jim Manney’s book, A Simple, Life-Changing Prayer. We’ll look at a different step each week. 1. Ask God for light. “Ready for bed?” my husband asks at the end of each evening. It’s not […]
Editor’s note: This week we bring to you a three-part mini-retreat devoted to reflecting on our individual and communal prayer. The retreat was written by Joe Paprocki, D.Min., author of 2027: A Book of Grace-Filled Days. The Lord’s Prayer Who is a famous person that you wish you could meet? Often, when the occasion arises […]
Editor’s note: This week we bring to you a three-part mini-retreat devoted to reflecting on our individual and communal prayer. The retreat was written by Joe Paprocki, D.Min., author of 2027: A Book of Grace-Filled Days. Family Heirlooms I was born in 1959, right before the Second Vatican Council, so I remember slightly the Latin […]
Editor’s note: This week we bring to you a three-part mini-retreat devoted to reflecting on our individual and communal prayer. The retreat was written by Joe Paprocki, D.Min., author of 2027: A Book of Grace-Filled Days. Pray Without Ceasing I’m sure you are familiar with a game that children love to play in the swimming […]
Somedays I do not want to get out of bed. The fire station on the corner let their sirens blare 15 minutes before my alarm. I think of the to-do list for the day ahead, and getting up just doesn’t sound like fun. Then I think of coffee. I will not be able to have […]
St. Ignatius’s Suscipe is a prayer of radical self-surrender. I have always imagined Ignatius in his knightly garb making a grand gesture and deep bow as he said this prayer, similar to the way in which he laid down his sword at the feet of the Black Madonna at Montserrat. As he bowed, he offered […]
When hearing I’ve been on silent retreats, people often wonder what I do during my time in the quiet. Following are 50 ideas for things to do on a silent retreat, written while on my last retreat. Not all of these activities fit in a weekend retreat, but many find their way into the rhythm […]
Actor Denzel Washington and author Anthony Carter spoke at Fordham University on themes of friendship and a purpose-driven life. The two met as students at Fordham and have remained friends for more than 50 years. The occasion for the Fordham event was a celebration of Carter’s book, This I Know: Principles for a Life of […]
