To prepare for the release of To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach, I’m dedicating each week to a specific theme. This week’s theme is “Be Evangelized.” Even the most veteran of teachers and ministers need to be continually evangelized. As Catholics we have a treasure trove of devotions to help us be evangelized each and every…
Catholic Prayers
Because God Loves Me
Adding a new prayer practice? Giving something up for God? I hate to break it to you, but you won’t get anything out of it. Well, at least not all by itself. Setting the table and sitting down, doesn’t make a meal. You still need the food. It’s pretty easy to put all of our…
How to Pray the Examen
There are many different approaches to praying the examen. St. Ignatius described his approach in the Spiritual Exercises and other spiritual directors have developed their own approaches and forms of presenting the examen in their work. Still others add their own personal or unique elements to praying the examen. Below, I humbly offer my own approach…
The Ignatian Examen
There is an incredibly powerful prayer practice in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola called the Prayer of Examen. While the Ignatian examen has been interpreted and applied in various ways, I have found that looking closely at the origin of the practice and developing my own variation of the examen has had a tremendous effect…
The Meaning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
I wonder how many Catholics upon seeing the “Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” on the calendar will have any idea what it means. I had spent years studying theology and never understood its meaning or purpose. In fact, about a year ago I sat in on a meeting at work (Ave Maria…