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Showing posts with the label Prayer

Meditations on Vultum Dei quaerere for lay people

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In July, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Constitution on women’s contemplative life, called  Vultum Dei quarere.  Although aimed at orders of cloistered women religious, this document can also teach lay people how to enter into a more authentic relationship with Christ. Vultum Dei quarere  is Latin for “Seeking the Face of God.” The phrase comes from Psalm 27, my favorite Bible passage on prayer. I encourage you to prayerfully read and meditate upon the entire Psalm. Vultum Dei quarere  was addressed to women because they comprise the majority of contemplative orders. It is the first apostolic constitution for contemplative orders issued since Vatican II. Pope Francis wished to address problems in contemplative life that have gone unaddressed for decades, as well as encourage contemplatives in their increasingly counter-cultural vocation. Read the rest at Contemplative Homeschool.

Recipe for Holiness - Ingredient 4: JOY!

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While some may consider strange occurrences in the world as coincidence - I definitely prescribe to what I refer to as the GODCIDENCE mindset! Why wouldn't the God of the universe, who created me out of love, not also want to show himself to me -- especially when I am seeking!!   "Seek and ye shall find!" Today's godcidence is brought to you by the letter J for JOY!! Though when this all began to fall into place, one would have never seen joy as the end result. Late Saturday night I received a private message on Facebook to pray for a young man who had been in a serious accident. I prayed, but went rather quickly back to my reading - feeling confident that all would be fine.   The next morning I learned, sadly he did not make it. My heart ached for the family's great loss; but also within those emotions was great shame and guilt for not praying harder. If it had been my son; I would have gone to my knees to beg God's mercy - regardless of

Recipe for Holiness: Two Parts Courage

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Life requires courage.  That is clear in the horrific events of this year - just making the decision to leave our homes can be cause for pause.  In the case of my dear friend from our parish, stabbed in her own home by a random act by a distraught young man , even home doesn't feel safe any longer.  There is illness and accidents; and so much beyond our control that can lead our hearts to ache; and fall into despair and fear.   As a person who has battled anxiety her entire life (actually diagnosed with a 'nervous stomach' at age 9); just watching the news or reading social media can send me spiraling into a panic attack.   So what do we do? Where do we find the courage and strength to get out of bed each morning, to love life and those you are blessed to share it with, and to embrace the promise and hope of an unseen heavenly abode?  ...  read full post on my blog: Reconciled To All rights reserved,  Allison Gingras

Pope Francis' Recipe for Holiness - One Part Grace

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The Grace Trifecta Standing before a room of 30 or so women facilitating my first faith sharing back in 2006, I fumbled around for the proper words as I tried to answer one participant's seemingly simple question on the grace of God.   What is grace?  While I had this innate understanding, I could not formulate the right words to express what I believed it to be. I realized, I had no definition. Fast forward a few years, I am sitting in a small chapel in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament ( aka Jesus in the Eucharist ). In my reading I once again face the question, what is grace? This time I open the  Catechism of the Catholic Church ; and prayed for guidance from the Holy Spirit.   That day the  Allison abridged version  of how I define the grace of God, was born (see image above) and I discovered the GRACE TRIFECTA ... Read More   All rights reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

To pray is human

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Since starting my new website Is Centering Prayer Catholic?, I’ve been pondering why certain errors about prayer are so common. I think I’ve hit on a root misunderstanding that’s at the bottom of many of these errors: ignoring the distinction between the natural and the supernatural in prayer. The Catechism quotes St. John Damascene in saying: “ Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” (No. 2559) This indicates prayer is a human activity. One raises one’s own mind and heart to God. Note that this is not true of contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer is a divine activity. As St. Paul says, “We do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rom 8:26), so God steps in to help us. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool

Death in Orlando: Love and Solidarity

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The 49 folks killed at an Orlando entertainment venue late Saturday night/early Sunday morning, and the person who killed them, are still dead. Others are hospitalized, and may or may not survive. A whole lot of folks are mourning the loss of family and friends. Repeating what I wrote Sunday afternoon, I should love God, love my neighbors, see everybody as my neighbor, and treat others as I want to be treated.... ...Here's what a Bishop, an Archbishop, and someone at the Vatican, had to say.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Ways Faith Can Help Overcome Stress and Restore Peace

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I’m sure I’m not the only one who has plenty to worry about in daily life. Worry seems to be one of those things you just can’t get away from. As soon as we let go of one worry, another comes along. Major worries take priority, but when those run out, there are plenty of trivial ones to fill their place. I can worry about world peace, the future of this nation, and whether or not there’s too much fluoride in my toothpaste all in the same breath. I worry about catastrophes that never take place (thank heaven!) but certainly do drain a lot of mental energy as I envision every possible ending to the story. I second-guess things that I can’t change and aren’t that important anyway in the grand scheme of things. I worry that there just isn’t enough of me to go around enough for my family and people I care about. Sometimes it helps me to step back for a minute and remember where God is in all of this (...) Continue reading about ways faith can help move away from stress and restore

Talking to God

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Pope Francis' universal prayer intention for May is "Respect for Women." One innovative way to pray with the Pope this month is to invite women into prayer. Author Julie Dortch Cragon can help, with her unique and refreshing new book from Franciscan Media,  Talking to God: Prayers for Catholic Women .  Please join me at Praying with Grace  for an excerpt!

Common errors of Centering Prayer practitioners

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  Centering Prayer practitioners are often very sincere people who are seeking a closer relationship with God. For some, a Centering Prayer group at church was their first introduction to the idea of cultivating a deep prayer life. Others have read the saints’ works about prayer, but have not understood them. Both groups are vulnerable to false teachings about prayer. Unfortunately for them, they are taught a skewed interpretation of the saints, the fathers, and even the Catechism. Theses errors take root. People become emotionally attached to their method of prayer. It is very difficult to convince them that the practice is not in line with Catholic tradition. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

Praying Your News Feed

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#WorthRevisit - Praying Your Newsfeed          4/20/2016 0 Comments Prayer is a power gift . Perhaps you have not thought prayer in terms of gift. The interesting thing about gifts to be USEFUL — they need to be: Received, Opened, and well...Used. In putting it to use the receiver can truly express gratitude for the gift. If we are presented with a new book, dress or game, and put it in a drawer never to be touched again, couldn’t we be considered ungracious?  The irony is the only one missing out from not using the gift is the recipient.  Even Great Aunt Hilda’s itchy multi-color sweater can be put to some use with a little imagination; and should we not want to try to figure out how to do that, after all Great Aunt Hilda put into getting it for us? Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above.     James 1:17 If it is important to be attentive to sweet Auntie Hilda, how much more should my response be then to  every good gift God offers  

Have the Last 40 Days Changed You?

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Holy Week is here ... Lent 2016 will soon be done But am I any different than when it all began 40 plus days ago? Did my Lenten sacrifices - prayers, almsgiving and fasting - transform me? Did they prepare me for the coming Triduum s(Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday) services? Most importantly have the readied my heart to rise again with Jesus on Easter -- a new creation in Christ ? Lent and the expectation of the coming of Spring, maybe because I live in a seasonal location, have always co-existed in my heart. Lent starts often in the harshness of winter - cold, long, dark nights. Easter arrives after daylight savings and (usually) the last snow fall. Flowers and trees are budding, maybe even flowering, and there is an emerging from the cocoon like feel to the world. But have I changed? Has this time of no television, extra prayer and attention to participating in the Sacraments, awoken something in my heart.   What will my spiritual practices look like goi

5 Ways to Pray without Ceasing

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Always be joyful.  Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (NLT) This concept of "praying without ceasing" that St. Paul speaks of has always fascinated me. How can I have a life - read, work, be with friends and family, shower, etc. and yet still be praying? After nearly 10 years of trying to stay connected to Christ throughout my day - here are 5 ways I have learned to never stop praying. Pray Your Newsfeed. How often we encounter requests for prayers when perusing Facebook or Twitter? How about the many situations and persons we read about that could surely use our prayers. I don't stop at every post to pray - unless something is so dire that I feel it truly warrants such attention. Usually, I merely keep God at the forefront of my thoughts as I read through my social media outlets - and offer a passing, "Lord, hear my prayer" or "Lord, h

A FAST Improvement

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The last time I shared what I 'gave up' for Lent, I was severely chastised.  The person was horrified that I would seek glory for my Lenten sacrifice instead of doing it in secret where only God and I would know.  This made me sad - as it was not at all my intent.  Sharing our Lenten sacrifices, our fasts, instead allow us to do several things: Encouragement for each other .  Fasting is hard work - and we can get discouraged.  It is good to know how others are celebrating this season - it is not so much misery loves company but for me anyway.  I think more of the scripture that states a chord of 3 is not easily broken.  Accountability .  This is probably my greatest catalyst for blogging about and sharing with others my Lenten fasts.  If it is just between God and I, while that should surely be enough to keep me on track, often it is not.  I need those extra eyes on my behavior - to be sure I'm not sneaking TV apart from Sundays, or spending money (if you read Mond

How can you grow in prayer?

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So, you have set aside a certain time every day to converse with God. You are reading short passages of Scripture as a basis for your conversation. You recognize that dryness is a normal part of prayer that even the saints experience. Meditation on Sacred Scripture is just the beginning. God has much more in store for you. He desires the closest union with you. Now that you have taken the first big step, how can you continue to grow? Let’s explore what you need in order to steadily come into more intimate union with God. St. Teresa of Avila wrote about the virtues necessary for continued prayer growth. The first virtue is perseverance. In Interior Castle she says to beginners in prayer, “Perseverance is the most necessary thing here.” Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.

Prayerful Thoughts from St. Ignatius of Loyola

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I wanted to pray "for families" today. Then I looked in my little book of Ignatian thoughts and realized that's too vague. His words challenge me to become a better wife and mother myself--THAT is an important step in praying for families! Open this booklet with me at Praying with Grace !

Transforming Prayer with Humility and Confidence

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I think God is pleased with all our prayers, no matter how imperfect they may be. After all, even if we’re pretty distracted, the fact that we’re praying tells God that we care. We believe in him. We want him involved in our lives. And he’s merciful. If we take one step toward him, he’ll take ten toward us. So if you’re praying and trying to connect with God even just once a day ( more about how to do that here ), you’re already doing great. But there is a way to make our prayers more meaningful. Our attitudes make a difference. Not because God gives more grace or less grace depending on how “good” our prayer is, but because the state of our mind and heart makes a difference on how open we are to receiving that grace. Think of the simple image of a cup. You’re standing before a waterfall. The water flows on, and on, and on… ceaselessly. How much you receive depends on you, and the cup you bring with you. If your cup is full of other stuff, you can’t take as much water away wi

Making an Altar of Your Heart

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St. Paul of the Cross lived in the 1700s. A time period presumably very different from our own. But it seems like wives and mothers of all ages have one thing in common: too much to do.  In 1760, a busy married woman wrote Paul of the Cross saying that she couldn’t find enough time to pray. Somehow, I think I, and probably many of you, could have written the same letter. Continue reading at Eyes On Heaven.

Think You Don't Have Time to Pray? Try the Examen

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Sometimes it’s hard to find time to pray. Actually, most of the time. Maybe once in a while life calms down enough to lend itself to prayer, but the rest of the time, we can easily go from morning until evening barely keeping up with family, work and responsibilities, and never finding the time to talk to God. Finding time for prayer doesn’t have to be a daunting challenge. St. Ignatius of Loyola developed a simple prayer we can say each day called the Examen. A priest recommended this prayer to me several months ago; I’ve prayed it (almost) every day since then and have found it helpful. The best part? If I have half an hour, it can fill the full half hour. If I have only 3 or 5 minutes, that’s OK – it still works. There are many different versions of the examen, but they all consist in five basic steps that came from St. Ignatius of Loyola.  Continue reading at Eyes On Heaven.

In our prayers, remember lawmakers

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"In order to achieve their task directed to the Christian animation of the temporal order, in the sense of serving persons and society, the lay faithful  are never to relinquish their participation in 'public life',  that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the  common good." --Pope St. John Paul II, apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici In my state, the legislature convenes today. People from a wide variety of backgrounds are coming together to make decisions about the right to life and the government's role in protecting the public good. What's a good Catholic to do in the face of what can seem like a decidedly messy secular environment like the State House? Pray, of course. Not in desperation, but in hope and confidence. The trick is to remember that our hope and confidence lay not in human institutions, but in God. Either God is

The merciful God of the Old Testament

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One of the most common criticisms of the Bible by non-believers is that the God of the Old Testament is a tyrant, completely different from the God of the New Testament. This idea appeared as early as the second century, with the heretic Marcion. We have heard this criticism so often that I’m afraid most of us are affected by it. During this year of mercy, if God wills, I want to present a series of meditations on God’s mercy in the Old Testament. I am not planning to write scholarly articles aimed at increasing your knowledge of Scripture. Rather, I ask you to ponder these things in your heart, especially during your mental prayer time. I hope we will all learn to appreciate the ways in which God showed his merciful character to the people living before Christ. Continue reading at Contemplative Homeschool.