“I love you” It just was the most believable utterance of that phrase I’ve ever heard, while sitting in an utterly unremarkable conference room transformed with incense and song into a place open to worship; somehow breaking through the stubborn habits of conventional self-assurance I felt forced to carry. For some, a vocation is automatic, an easy skin to fit into. For others, God’s call is great, the response is real, and yet it is something one must learn to love. Take a moment to read and pray with a reflection about my vocation, and maybe it will illuminate something about yours.
Posts in Prayers
What Deer Hunting Taught Me About Prayer
One Jesuit thought he was done with deer hunting for good when he entered religious life. Then he had an opportunity to hunt earlier this month in northern Michigan. Here’s what he learned about prayer during that time.
Transcendence: A Poem About Becoming More Fully and Authentically Human
When I take a more honest look at life, with its’ beauty, and also its’ darkness and suffering, I’m drawn to see the meaning of seeking something that transcends worldly pleasures or pursuits, even the willingness to sacrifice those things. And I want to affirm this desire to “transcend” is not an escape from reality, nor is it inhuman. It is rather a call to become even more fully and authentically human concretely in the world. Chris Williams, SJ, invites us to see this transcendence in his newest poem perfect for prayer and reflection.
Poetry Can Also Be Prayer: What Will Bring You Home?
Chris Williams, SJ, shares with us a poem for your prayers. In his poem he writes, “I will do anything to have your eyes / Lock in on mine, widen slightly, / And glisten in impulsive, destined wonder…” We invite you take a moment to read, pray, and reflect on his words.
One Moment for One Thing: Make Room For Hope
Today, we introduce to you “One Moment for One Thing,” a video series and a tiny space for you in your day to reflect, to pray, to consider where your heart is and how God is working in you. And today, we invite you to reflect on Hope.
#Blackouttuesday: It Wasn’t About a Trend, It Was About Real Life
My interpretation of #BlackOutTuesday: mute the self-centeredness of social media and heed the words of Psalm 34:15: “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry.” It was a call to learn something, and maybe even do something. What did you learn yesterday? Anything?
Struggling with Live-Stream? A Different Way to Have Liturgy at Home
With sheltering-in-place during the coronavirus pandemic, it can feel like the only option for liturgy is watching a live-stream Mass on a screen. But the Mass isn’t the only form of liturgy in the Catholic Church. What do you know about the Liturgy of the Hours? It’s a form of liturgy that can be prayed anywhere, with anyone. And it’s a very participatory prayer, which makes it great for small groups and families. Learn more about it here, along with how you can put it into practice in your own home!
Our Good Friday ‘Wake Up Call’
On this Good Friday, Jesuit rapper, Michael Martinez S.J. produced a music video in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to Celebrate the Easter Triduum at Home
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, public Church services have been prohibited around the country. But that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the richness of the Easter Triduum this week. Here are some free liturgical guides to celebrating Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday exactly where you are: at home. These liturgical guides are based on the Roman Missal and include prayers, readings, and rituals with easy to follow directions. Download the guides today!
When I’m Anxious, Worried, and Uncertain I Pray, and Here is My Prayer
I know that from struggle will come new life, because I believe the resurrection is always the new beginning after any heavy cross. And it is with this cross that I come to the altar where Your arms are open wide.