Honest to God: Prayer
My publisher-friend from Chicago likes the Cubs as much as my mom liked the Cleveland Indians. Twice last week he asked me to pray for a Cubs game. The team won the first game by hitting six home runs. They also won the second game, making them the champs of the National League Division Series. […]
Spotlight on the Family: The Domestic Church 1
Where did you learn the Hail Mary? the story of Christmas? to go to Mass? that you should share your toys with others? that hitting someone is wrong? Undoubtedly, in your family. In view of the focus on the family this month in the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and in the upcoming Synod […]
Where’s God When You Can’t Pray?
Lately I’ve been writing books on prayer, in particular about praying on empty. Maybe you can identify with this: During your prayer you keep checking the time and the minute hand seems barely to have moved. You understand why St. Teresa of Avila shook her hourglass as she prayed, attempting to speed up the time. […]
Tearing the Veil before God’s Presence
A woman attending my Bible study commented that she never knew the meaning of the veil of the sanctuary being torn at the crucifixion. The next Sunday, our pastor began his homily speaking of this veil. In the Jewish temple there was a veil separating the rest of the space from the Holy of Holies, […]
Detecting Grace in Life’s Messes
I can relate to the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day because I just had an entire week of bad days! My phone was cancelled by mistake, and it took six days and talks with seven agents before it was restored. I lost the PBS station on TV (jeopardizing […]
The Art of Listening . . . to Others and God
Last week a workman was explaining a new carbon monoxide detector to me. When I said, “I don’t know where there’s another outlet,” he said, “You’re not listening. I said it doesn’t need one.” This made me wonder how many other times I wasn’t listening and what I was missing because of it. Usually when […]
The Challenge of Spontaneous Prayer
A Catholic convert from an evangelical tradition asked me this week, “Why don’t Catholics pray spontaneously?” This is a good question. My friend proposed that it was because no one taught us to offer personal prayers out loud. I wonder, though, how it happened that our Christian brothers and sisters find it so easy to […]
God Speaks Through Nature, His Creation
Now that the trees are about to burst in autumn glory, I thought the introduction to the first book I ever had published (Voices) would be appropriate. (It’s out of print now.) Here it is: Creators are mirrored in their creations, A song reflects the composer; a painter, the artist; a book the author. In […]
Short Prayers for Everyday Spirituality
When I entered the convent, a custom prompted us to think of God all day long. Every hour a bell rang over the PA, and we prayed a lengthy ” hour prayer.” This is no longer done, and it has never been done in regular homes as far as I know. Yet, we are still […]
Praying to God like a Friend
Usually when I’m on retreat as I walk around our province center property, I encounter beautiful works of creation like a blue heron or a deer resting in a field. This past week on the day of our retreat when we were to go outside and enjoy “God’s Playground,” I expected similar treats and hoped […]