Category Archives: Prayer

Lenten Reflection from His Holiness: First Sunday

Posted on March 11, 2011 by Tommy Piolata

In Jeffrey Morrow’s recent post, he suggests a prayerful reading of Pope Benedict XVI’s lenten message. I second that suggestion. The Holy Father’s words are touching, beautiful and enlightening. As somewhat a response to Morrow’s post, I have decided to write a brief, personal reflection over the text of the Pope’s lenten message. What I would like to do is develop this into a short series given each week of Lent. I propose this because the Holy Father, in his message, offers a theological synopsis of each Gospel reading on the given Lenten Sundays. Hence, he writes this message with a chronological, theological flow in mind. As best I can on a blog and with my limited theological knowledge, I want to reflect upon and follow the theology weekly. And I invite you, reader, to accompany me on the journey! Let us begin:

The Holy Father begins with an invitation to the Church: to intensify her journey in purifying the spirit, “so as to draw more abundantly from the Mystery of Redemption the new life in Christ the Lord”. Through this invitation, Benedict introduces Baptism, explaining that this life “was already bestowed upon us on the day of our Baptism, when we ‘become sharers in Christ’s death and Resurrection’, and there began for us ‘the joyful and exulting adventure of his disciples’”. After quoting from the writings of Paul, the Holy Father comes to a beautiful conclusion:

Posted in Holiness, Liturgical Year, Pope Benedict XVI, Prayer | 1 Comment

And So, We Begin Our Lenten Pilgrimage

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Jeffrey L. Morrow

Lent is upon us. It is a time of renewal, a time of purification. I thought I would post just a few comments to help get us in the right frame of mind.

I love the season of Lent. It is the perfect time to get one’s life in order. It is the perfect season to reflect upon our relationship with God in an even deeper way than usual. We have many disciplines to help us, especially the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. To be clear, it is important that we pray at all times and in all seasons, not just in Lent. Likewise, it is good for us to fast and habitually practice small mortifications, small penances, small acts of loving reparation, throughout our lives even outside of Lent (and outside of Fridays throughout the year). And, it’s never a bad time to give alms; “now” is always the perfect time. But in Lent, the Church lays a special emphasis on these practices to help us through our desert journey. In Lent, we travel with Jesus (and with all of the saints who have gone before us) into the wilderness, toward the joy which Easter brings.

Posted in Holidays (Holy Days), Liturgical Year, Prayer | 1 Comment

Wired For Silence

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Jeremy Priest

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.  See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”  -Blessed Mother Theresa

Wired with Sound

The average college-aged male spends between 4 and 14 hours a day in electronic media.  If you add-in sleep, our time for work, and personal interactions, there’s not much time for anything else.

I often find myself having to really focus on paying attention to people in everyday surroundings; avoiding the temptation to multi-task while I’m around others.

Entering Into the Silence: Reflection

The silence of the church is so different than the constant sensation we find outside.

Coming from such a sound and media-saturated environment, it’s hard to get settled into the silence.  Why do we find it so difficult?

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A Laud of Jacopone da Todi

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Tommy Piolata

I highly recommend the reading of Jacopone da Todi, a Franciscan friar born in the 1230s. He was a poet–mystical, spiritual, theological. His Lauds, as they are called, are fascinating. At one level, they are enlightening. Yet, on another level, reading them–speaking the words aloud–prayerfully and reverently leads to song of the heart. It’s beautiful when the words of another become the words of the self that praise God. Jacopone’s Lauds surely evoke reflection and prayer. In this post, I want to go through one of his poems that I have recently spent some time reading. By no means do I intend to act as a scholar on Jacopone or what I will present. I hope that my commentary–inasmuch as it can be called that–simply provokes discussion, and by God’s grace, praise to Him, too!

The Laud examined is: “The Angels Ask the Reason for Christ’s Pilgrimage to This World”.

Posted in Love & Truth, Prayer | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

The Knees of Adoration

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Tommy Piolata

In the letter to the Philippians, there is a beautiful passage, a hymn and prayer of the early Church that confesses faith in Jesus Christ:

[T]hough he [Christ] was in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness…he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth. (cf. Phil 2:6-11)

Posted in Holiness, Liturgy, Orthodoxy, Prayer | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Trinitarian Theology of Faith

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Jeremy Priest

Mysterious Hunger

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it.”

Pope John Paul II wrote those words almost 31 years ago, yet they still resonate with us today.  But why?  Why does love make the world go ‘round?  Why do we sacrifice so much for even a glimmer of it?  Why do we sell everything once we have found it? Why are we hard-wired for love?

Wonder

It is not fear or lack of meaning that opens us out toward these ‘why’ questions.  Love itself brings us to these questions, to this wonderment over our existence, what we are here for.  It is only where “love is missing…[that] the question of meaning lacks the air it needs to catch fire.”  Indeed, “the experience of love is the birthplace of wonder, the first step along a new journey toward the fullness of meaning…Wonder can be born only in the matrix of love.  Even the amazement that fills us when we behold the marvels of creation makes sense only in light of the experience of love” (Called to Love).

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According to Saint Claude la Colombiére, S.J.

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Tommy Piolata

Saint Claude la Colombiére is a 17th century Jesuit saint. It is unfortunate that there are not more of his writings in English translation, yet. However, of what we have, a small book of excerpts, there is a great deal of spiritual wisdom and depth to be found. In this post, I would like to highlight and briefly examine a few of the beautiful passages of such a reverent and intelligent servant.

In an excerpt of some retreat notes, the Saint writes on the power and beauty of prayer:

[Prayer] is the only means of purifying us, of uniting us to God, and of allowing God to unite himself to us and be glorified in us. We must pray to obtain the apostolic virtues; pray that we may use them to help others, and pray also that we may not lose them while serving others.

Posted in Holiness, Liturgy, Love & Truth, Prayer, Saints | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Deus Caritas Est: The Mystical Power of Love

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Tommy Piolata

In the Second Reading of the Divine Office for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, the excerpt is from a homily on the Gospels by Pope Saint Gregory the Great. It is a beautiful passage about love, coming to know Jesus Christ, and eschatological joy. The aim of this post is to focus primarily on Gregory’s emphasis on love as read in this selection from the Liturgy of the Hours.

The primary Gospel message that Gregory is preaching on is Christ the Good Shepherd (Jn 10). He is speaking to encourage the flock to truly be flock, and by that he means true followers of the Heavenly Shepherd: “Ask yourselves whether you belong to his flock, whether you know him, whether the light of his truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know him, but by love”. To be a sheep of the Good Shepherd is if to, not surprisingly, follow Him—and this requires love.

Posted in Holiness, Love & Truth, Prayer, Saints | 6 Comments

Pro-Life Rosary App for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Ryan

liferosaryCaritas et Veritas is proud to announce that Apple has approved the very first Pro-Life iPhone app for distribution!

Life Rosary – Meditations and Prayers is a meditation and instructive aid for those praying the Rosary. It does NOT replace your Rosary beads, but rather helps you focus on the mysteries of the Rosary.

Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life has shared additional prayers and meditations to compliment and focus your attention on life and human dignity. Each day of the week includes special prayers for mothers, the unborn, for forgiveness, governments, and the world.

Our Pro-Life Rosary app is priced at $1 to help raise money for pro-life causes. All of the proceeds go to support pro-life initiatives and organizations, including Priests for Life. Our first iPhone app is free and was downloaded 25,000 times in 6 months. With your help in promoting this latest app, we could raise $25,000 or more for pro-life initiatives this year!

Please help us spread the word about this app to your friends, parish and diocese. Share this post on Facebook and Twitter.

Screenshots from Life Rosary – Meditations and Prayers

Each image is linked to a higher resolution version for press and sharing with friends.

Posted in Life Issues, Love & Truth, Prayer, Pro-Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Lent for Life: Prayer

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Ryan

prayerNext up in the Lent for Life series is Prayer.

The USCCB’s Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities encourages us, alongside the Scriptures, to petition the Lord for mercy and justice.

Prayer is the foundation of all that we do in defense of human life. Our efforts—whether educational, pastoral, or legislative—will be less than fully fruitful if we do not change hearts and if we do not ourselves overcome our own spiritual blindness. Only with prayer—prayer that storms the heavens for justice and mercy, prayer that cleanses our hearts and our souls—will the culture of death that surrounds us today be replaced with a culture of life.1

I’d like to focus on three points in the pastoral plan that every one of us can take action.

Pray for life at every Mass

Parishes should include in the petitions at every Mass a prayer that ours will become a nation that respects and protects all human life, born and unborn, reflecting a true culture of life.2

As a new Catholic I was impressed by the prayers for life offered daily at Mass. If your parish does not participate in this request from the USCCB, please consider adding it to the book of petitions or speak with your pastor about including prayers for life at every Mass.

Posted in Life Issues, Love & Truth, Prayer, Pro-Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments