Tag Archive for ‘prayer’
Monday 5 July
Genesis 28:10-22, Psalm 91, Matthew 9:18-26 Deep sharing in prayer Jacob encountered God in a dream which transformed his life. God became not just the God of his family, but personal to him. Grace touched Jacob and though his response reveals his manipulative character, God perseveres in a healing relationship with him. In Matthew, the […]
Staying Both Anchored and Nimble
Watching young people at play or at sports’ training, reminds me of times past when I could run, jump, kick a footy, bowl a reasonable leg-break and hit a fair forehand – not all at once of course! The athletic flexibility of young people is a joyful gift and I often pray for them that […]
Wednesday 19 May
Acts 20:28-38: Psalm 68; John 17:11-19 The power of prayer Remember the catechism answer to “What is Prayer? Prayer is the raising up of the mind and heart to God.” There are many ways of praying, from formal prayer to wordless contemplation in the presence of God. We can pray together or we can pray […]
On praying with the Scriptures
On praying with the Scriptures The words of Sacred Scripture were not written to remain imprisoned on papyrus, parchment or paper, but to be received by a person who prays, making them blossom in his or her heart. The Word of God goes to the heart. The Catechism affirms that: “prayer should accompany the reading […]
The Pulse Prayer
Once, during a retreat, a person I was accompanying plonked himself in the chair opposite me and exclaimed, with some degree of frustration, “I can’t pray!” “Do you want to pray?” I asked. “Of course,” he replied. “Do you know why you want to?” I enquired. This brought some time of silence and quiet reflection. […]
Pope Francis and the Pandemic
This issue’s cover shows Jesus alone in his agony in the garden. It is a striking image of the Lord’s pain and sorrow, and also a stark symbol of the agony, pain and sorrow of each and every one of us. Jesus embodies our pain, our pain is his, and his is ours, because as […]
Friday 20 November
Apocalypse 10:8-11; Psalm 119:129-136; Luke 19:45-48 Habit of prayer A house of prayer can be a consecrated place where the world expects sacred things like prayer to go on. Our homes can be places of prayer too. We perhaps experienced this during lockdown. Keeping a time for family prayer is easier if adults also pray […]
The Interior Castle of St Teresa of Jesus of Ávila
Part 1 of 7 Introduction The Interior Castle is St Teresa’s masterpiece and one of the greatest books ever written about prayer. It is her most ordered and mature work, written in 1577 and taking six months to complete. It was said that those who observed her during this time saw a glowing radiance about […]
A Simple Way to Pray Always
Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Thuận (+ 2002) was imprisoned by the Vietnamese government for thirteen years. After my liberation, many people said to me: “Father in prison you must have had a lot of time to pray”. It was not as simple as one might think. The Lord permitted me to experience all my weakness, my […]
St Teresa of Ávila and The Way of Perfection
Its teaching on prayer — Part 2 of 2 The second major teaching in this spiritual classic, The Way of Perfection, is found in St Teresa’s commentary on the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, in Chapters 27-42. Imagine the honour and privilege of being able to address God as our Father. How close we are […]
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