Cool, Time to Pray. Now What?

If you have been involved in Catholic community or have run in circles with people of faith, I am sure you have heard about the importance of the interior life. So often do we hear that we must “pray, pray, and pray some more.” But few times do we learn about what this actually looks…

The Beauty of Prayer

“Prayer is being on terms of friendship with God, frequently conversing in secret with Him who, we know, loves us.” Saint Teresa of Avila was a very wise woman, and this has to be one of my favorite quotes from her. Growing up, my view of prayer was very firm and polished. Thanks to the…

Know Thyself: A Practical Guide to (One Way of) Prayer

I always thought the phrase, “know thyself” was such a weird thing to say. As a teenager, I would often hear it spoken of at church and wondered why self-knowledge was so important to a person of faith. Isn’t that a selfish way to think, always reflecting on yourself? Well, to answer that question, we…

When Faith Gets Hard

It’s no secret that there are going to be times in our lives when having faith can get really hard. Just look at the world we are living in today. The state of affairs can sometimes make it seem like having faith is the worst thing in the world that a person can do. Or…

Prayerful Practicals: How to Pray in Desolation or a “Dry Season”

As with anything in this life, the experience of prayer is an ebb and flow of consolation and extreme joy, desolation and darkness, or just general dryness and uncertainty. Prayer—“a surge of the heart” (Therese of Lisieux)—is a divine mystery of relationship with The Triune God. Of course, this can get confusing and complicated in…

Learning to Trust God

Like most people, or at least most type-A people, I have always had a plan for how I wanted my life to look. It involved graduating from college in four years, and going straight in to grad school for my doctorate in fill in the blank degree. It’s safe to say that this “plan” I…

Responding To Our Suffering

How do we respond when faced with suffering? I know often times, I am quick to run to the things of the world looking for comfort though I know that I should run to God first. Why is it that we so often choose to run away from Him? Rather we seek to find happiness…