Tagged: prayer

Ralphie from A Christmas Story

Homily

The Persistence of Ralphie: Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Being a parent or grandparent can be really strange. And one of the strangest things about it is when the kids start to imitate you. At first its kind of funny and cute, the way you make faces at them and they try to make faces back. They dress up as mommy or daddy, pretending to do grown up things. But it’s not so funny when they start imitating your bad habits or repeating certain words. As they get older they begin to admire other people and try...

Bible and iPhone

Books and Reading

Prayer in the Digital Age by Matt Swaim

I’m a tech guy and a Catholic school administrator, so I was very interested when a kind-hearted school parent gave me a copy of Matt Swaim’s Prayer in the Digital Age. I was hoping it would give me insights into how to help students cultivate the habit of prayer in today’s digital world. The blurb on the back promised “practical suggestions for learning how to ‘unplug’ in order to cultivate a fruitful relationship with God.” Unfortunately, the book’s suggestions were lost in a sea of negativity, generalizations, and judgments....

Moses and Amalekites

Homily

C.S. Lewis, Joy, and Persistent Prayer: Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

The dramatic scene from the first reading, with Moses raising the staff of God during battle, and Joshua mowing down Amalek, almost feels like a scene from The Lord of the Rings. But it’s not Tolkien that I find most helpful in breaking open today’s scripture, but rather one of his best friends, C.S. Lewis. Lewis, as many of you know, was the author of the Narnia series, that wonderful set of books about Aslan, Prince Caspian, and the magical world on the other side of the wardrobe. Lewis...

Sunset

Spirituality / Writing

Stylish Prayer

Some people are naturally stylish. Their clothes, their hair–their entire manner–exude style, a magical word that blends elegance, originality, and visual appeal. While I am most certainly not stylish, I appreciate my stylish family and friends. Whenever I try to be stylish, either in my appearance or in my writing, I come off artificial, stilted, and phony. The same thing happens when I try to be stylish in prayer. Oh, I don’t intentionally try to be stylish, but that’s what it is when I’m not myself in prayer, when...

The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner

Spirituality

Discovering Yourself by Getting to Know Jesus Better

The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner was one of my favorite books from last year. and I’ve been slowly rereading it, trying to taking in all he has to say and put it into practice. One of the best chapters explains how to get to know Jesus better. He strongly encourages daily meditation on the gospel and on life experiences in the Ignatian style: “First, take a moment to quiet yourself in God’s presence. Close your eyes and ask God to take the words of Scripture...

Bill Cosby

Homily / Prayer

Bill Cosby and Prayer: Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s readings deal with prayer, and as I’ve been following the events of World Youth Day this past week, I came across a video by one of my favorite authors, Jesuit Fr. Jim Martin, editor-at-large for America Magazine on the topic of prayer. The U.S. Bishops asked Fr. Martin to make a few short videos to show to the pilgrims at World Youth Day this past week, and one of them happened to be about prayer. In this video, Fr. Martin says that whenever he gives a talk...

Prayer is like a child crying

Prayer / Spirituality

Like a Child Crying Tearfully for Its Mother: St. John Chrysostom on Prayer

This morning’s second reading from the Office of Readings is a beautiful meditation on prayer by St. John Chrysostom. It’s easy to forget that prayer is an orientation of the heart more than a specific act in time, but St. John reminds us that authentic prayer colors every moment of every day: Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit, when it is intent...