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 […]
Editor’s note: We asked readers for their stories of finding God in the unexpected. Today we feature a story by Michelle Mehring. I slowly walk to the back pew of the chapel, yearning for silence from the noisy outside world so I can spend some time in quiet prayer. I plunk down in the pew, […]
Those of us in the Western world have forgotten a lot of what we once understood about visual pathways. Before written language became the focal point of communication, people used symbols, signs, and objects to express their needs, their memories, and their prayers. Now I can go to some ancient site and look at pictorial […]
Each morning at 7 a.m., I sit in the dry sauna at my gym after my workout and pray. It might seem an unlikely place for prayer, but it has become one of my favorites. It is uncomfortably hot in there, 175 degrees, but I have gotten used to it, especially as I sit in […]
“You know, Gretchen,” the doctor paused to double-check my birthdate on the screen, “when we get into our 40s, simply getting out of bed can be dangerous.” Sigh. These were the wise and comforting words of my ER doctor one late Tuesday night a few weeks ago. I reluctantly had asked my husband to drive […]
This summer, I was blessed to be able to see a double rainbow. I had been outside, near the ocean and watching storm clouds come in, and eventually those clouds brought with them a torrential downpour. I ran back into my retreat room, only to wonder whether a rainbow might be in the mix. Sure […]
Author and speaker Jean Heaton will be a panelist and a breakout session leader at a virtual conference exploring a Catholic response to addiction, “Reclaiming Our Belovedness.” The September 25, 2026, conference is hosted by Catholic in Recovery and iTHIRST Initiative. The keynote will explore “the effectiveness of the Examen prayer in a regular rehab […]
