“We may be adult human beings, but we are not above ourselves, supposing ourselves to be higher than God”

Fr Simon Gaine · “Prayer for Grown-Ups”

“Praying for peace and justice keeps our hearts aimed in the right direction and may allow God to show us something that we can do to foster a more just world”

Fr. George Smiga · “Keep Knocking”

“As St Paul tells us in the second reading, through Christ we are raised to new life. That life means being part of the eternal communication of love and joy between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Fr John Patrick Kenrick · “Be Sincere and Persevere”

“How were seeds of faith planted in you? Were they like the seeds in today’s Gospel, “scattered and sown” without your parents or teachers even realizing what was happening? Were they tiny mustard seeds?”

Mary Ortwein · “Of Seeds and Saplings”

Mary Ortwein · “Adventures in Prayer”

“God IS doing something very new. He is making healing an ordinary event.”

Mary Ortwein · “What Needs Healing?”

“In the Body of Christ, we’re not isolated individuals, but God brings us to himself by making us depend on one another, and so sometimes the dead depend on our love for them”

Fr Simon Gaine · “Love Without Borders”

“So many, many times in my life God has had a better idea...I’ve been so blessed with God listening to my prayers, then answering them in ways that I would never have imagined.”

Mary Ortwein · “When God Has a Better Idea”

“prayer is ultimately about relationship with the One who created us, who sustains us, who knows us better than we know ourselves, who saves us, who loves us, and who is our most tender and dear friend”

Fr John O’Connor · “All Times and Seasons”

“Senior living buildings are everywhere. That means senior loneliness is omnipresent. How do we find ways to distribute the “daily portion” of God’s love?”

Mary Ortwein · “Living Stones”

“I began the ritual for praying with the dying and along with some family members, I led them in prayer. As I went through the prayers, I realized I was moving from saying the prayers to being in prayer with the woman and her family. What a difference it made in me.”

Br. John Blazo, MM · “Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time”

“The antidote to pride is total abandonment to the mercy of God, and total trust in his grace to empower us to turn from sin and live charity”

John Bergsma · “The Cry of the Poor”

“Paul may have demonstrated that he “was not like the rest of humanity,” because he forgave, but there was no pride in himself—only gratitude to Jesus who stood with him in solidarity”

Mary Ortwein · “What’s the Difference?”

“Prayer is a cooperation with God’s will for us”

John Bergsma · “The Battle of Prayer”

“Prayer is conversation with God that is best done with humility, gratitude, honesty, and trust. Sometimes prayer can go dry because of little things that get in the way. Sometimes obstacles are big. The obstacles mostly come from us.”

Mary Ortwein · “Measuring Prayer”

“If our life is a struggle, we must know that in Jesus the victory has already been won. To be in the struggle is to be winning the struggle because we rely not on our own strength but on the cross of Christ.”

Fr Nicholas Crowe · “Joshua and Amalek”

“I guess we all need from time to time such spirited reminders of the love God has for us, a reminder that we have been graced with nothing less than the Spirit of Christ crucified and risen in glory. Such support is proper to our shared life as sisters and brothers in Christ.”

Fr Richard Finn · “The Consolation of the Spirit”

“Knowing what to do in a storm is not easy. The answer is not always to speak—nor is it always to keep quiet. We must listen for what God asks of us.”

Mary Ortwein · “In a Storm”

“The Christian life is being portrayed as a perpetual Exodus, a continued experience of freedom from slavery to sin and Satan, which nonetheless requires struggle and divine help to maintain”

John Bergsma · “Bargaining with God”

“perseverance in prayer for others frequently leads me to changes in myself—understanding that makes forgiveness easier, ideas for new ways to cope with a difficult situation, resolution of difficulties that often begins with softening in me, rather than the other person”

Mary Ortwein · “Intercessory Prayer”

“We are reluctant, yet God continues to seek our friendship. In the end, God’s prayers (like ours) are always answered: but are we giving him a Yes or a No?”

Fr Matthew Jarvis · “Saying Yes”

“Mark presents Jesus today not only as a healer but one who heals when we have spent all we have. In other words, he heals gratuitously.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “A life restoring God”

“If the incarnate son of God needed to seek solitude to commune with the Father, how much more so do we?”

John Bergsma · “Is Life a Drudgery?”

“Think about the saint you know. Let us not be so much carried away by imaginary names unknown to us.Think about the people who have impacted positively on your life and who irrespective of human weaknesses tried their best to identify with Christ while on earth.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “A Cloud of Witnesses”

“Our Church should not claim monopoly of salvation. It is extended to all categories of people: the outsider who is not a member of our Church, the public sinner whom the human society abhors and that criminal that we often think deserves nothing good.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “One God, Same Salvation”

“we have a God who takes care of our physical and spiritual needs without charging us any bills. He is generous with his gift even when we do not merit it. He only needs our cooperation.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “God the Strength of the Pilgrims”

“Everyone is a sinner living among sinners. If we demand too much, condemn too quickly, or break off from others too easily simply because of their weaknesses, then we may find ourselves also doomed and living in perpetual loneliness.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “Let them be. reliving the experience of a Patient God”

“For it is in the humility of the child who asks questions, who wants to learn, and who wants to change that war and pestilence can be banished, and peace and wellbeing reign”

Fr Benjamin Earl · “But Why?”

“Prayer is not only an act but it is a way of life. It is an expression of our ‘belongingness’ to the Father.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “Waiting in Prayer”

“Of course, we cannot, and indeed shouldn’t, simply stay, avoiding the realities of our daily struggles. But what might those struggles look like once we’ve climbed the mountain, and given ourselves time to rest in God?”

Fr Robert Gay · “Consecrated in Prayer”

““You are the light of the world.” It expands the space of my inner being, pushes out the boundaries of my comfort zone, and makes life intensely meaningful. But it also carries the responsibility of being a light-bearer, of responding to the challenge of darkness in myself and in the world.”

Judy Walter · “Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time”

“I would venture to guess that 98% of us hearing that story spontaneously nurse this feeling: “Thank God, I’m not like that Pharisee!” And, in doing that, we are him! Exactly like him, we’re brimming over with our own sense of virtue and, because of that, begin judging others.”

Ron Rolheiser, OMI · “The Frustrating Struggle for Humility”

“he got what he asked for which is nothing: nothing because he had no need of God. He relied heavily on his personal effort, thereby forgetting that it is only God who can make one holy and not just ones good deeds.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “God loves the Humble”

“Our faith and prayer need to become the springboard for us to grow in intimacy with God and sensitivity towards others, specially the poor and those in need. Praying should help us to become better human beings seeking what is just and good in our daily life.”

Fr. Roberto Rodriguez, MM · “Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time”

“Jesus does not say that the Tax-collector is a virtuous man. Jesus does not say that the tax collector is not a hypocrite in his own way. What is good about the tax collector, according to Jesus, is that he admits his faults and his hypocrisy, he is humble, and asks God for mercy.”

Fr David McLean · “Become a good hypocrite!”

“Thus constant prayer and love for the Word of God are two pillars in the life of a believer and sure ways to stay close to God always”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “Pray Until Something Happens”

“Because we can assess the quality of our prayer by the increase in our desire to be merciful – as He is merciful”

Fr John Farrell · “Prayers and Prayerfulness”

“The world encourages an attitude in which we use people to gain things. Jesus reverses this: use things to gain people. If spending money and giving goods can open others to friendship with the Church and ultimately Christ Himself, then spend the money, give the goods.”

John Bergsma · “God and Mammon”

“the message is not ‘you can’t change God’s mind, so don’t bother trying’, but ‘you can’t annoy God, so don’t be frightened of asking.’ We should indeed ask, as little children ask their parents, in the confidence that they are loved”

Fr Richard Ounsworth · “Nonsensical Prayers”

“no single sacrifice and charity shown to the “Other” especially to the strangers, the homeless, the abandoned, the sick and all who cannot reciprocate our charity will go unrewarded. Our God takes account of every single charity we show to others.”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor · “God our guest”

“A devotion to regular daily prayer keeps us grounded and focused, and I know that through persistent prayer, all these other things take care of themselves through Gods grace.”

Joseph LaCombe · “Feel His Warmth”

“In those times where you’ve seen God at work, or you’ve received blessings or experienced a change in yourself – be thankful”

Joseph LaCombe · “Rise to the Challenge”

“I rejoice because through all the struggle, the uncertainty, the pain, and yes, the anxiety, I rejoice because it was through all this that God brought me closer to Him, where He revealed Himself to me”

Joseph LaCombe · “Anxiety”

“In everything I do, I have a choice – it’s either God’s will or it’s my will. Seeking to choose God’s will in everything, the old WWJD (what would Jesus do) mantra – that is a prayer.”

Joseph LaCombe · “Make Your Life a Prayer”

“As we all see and know in the world today – there are a lot of weeds around us. We’re followers of Christ. Yes – we sin. And if we’re not careful, sin overcomes us and we become a weed ourselves.”

Joseph LaCombe · “Call In a Prayer-Strike”

“Every day, God gives us moments to reflect, regroup, and look to where we can improve for tomorrow. But in this busy world...We get so caught up in life, that we fail to take this time to listen to God. We fail to spend time with Him, and grow that relationship. We get distracted.”

Joseph LaCombe · “Persistent Prayer”

“Prayer isn’t about persuading God to do what we want, however noble that may be; it is about inviting God to mould us in faith into what he wants for us. Prayer can’t change God; it should change us.”

Fr Benjamin Earl · “Why Do We Pray?”

“if we stop talking to God, and stop asking Him “Why?”, and we stop asking questions, and stop seeking to understand, and we unfriend Him from our lives – then evil wins”

Joseph LaCombe · “Answered Prayers”

“God does bring about good things in answer to our prayers, but what that good might be is often very different from any expectation and understanding we might have”

Fr Martin Ganeri · “The School of Prayer”

“When we pray – to God – a light must shine in the world of the spirit, and we are transfigured ourselves, and in such majestic company”

Fr Duncan Campbell · “Glowing with God”

“We need to pray about what our baptism means and what we’re called to do, just as Jesus did. Because while it is a gift, and a gift we need for our salvation, it also means we have a responsibility to do more with our lives.”

Joseph LaCombe · “Pray for Your Calling”

“God placed in our hearts the desire to properly orientate ourselves towards him and to love one him, which in turn creates a desire to love our brothers”

Carolyn Berghuis · “Let There Be Peace on Earth”

“the more deeply we are united in Christ’s one body, the more our prayer will be a sharing in his prayer, a sharing that can spread throughout us to touch every detail of our lives”

Fr Simon Gaine · “Enwrapped In Prayer”

“To listen to another person’s pain is to show them love and to show them acceptance. To be listened to by another is to receive love and to receive acceptance.”

Fr John O'Connor · “Eternally Loved”

“In today’s reading, prayer is the way that Jesus finds continuous strength to fulfill his ministry. Indeed, there is great peace and comfort in spending time alone with God and this gives a person the strength to respond in a world with so many needs.”

Sr. Genie Natividad, MM · “Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time”

“Don’t we all seek this deep down sense of peace, of healing, of rest and refreshment? Why do we struggle alone with so many things? We often do though. We forget to pray. We forget to turn to Jesus and give him our cares and concerns, our worries, our problems, our heartaches.”

Laura Kazlas · “Take My Yoke Upon You and Learn From Me”

“If we listen to Jesus, we will learn that we must spend time apart in prayer in the company of God and the saints; but we also learn from Jesus that we must come down from the mountain too.”

Fr Simon Gaine · “Down from the Mountain”

“The difficult challenge is to recognize both our good works, our strengths, and our moral failings. In refusing to admit what virtues he lacked, what sins he had committed, the Pharisee failed to ask for God’s further transforming graces.”

Fr Richard Finn · “Humble Prayer”

“We are all in mission to one another. When we meet one another in prayer, we leave behind our judgments, our prejudices and biases, our seeing each other as so different from ourselves.”

Marj Humphrey · “29th Sunday in Ordinary Time”

“Christian prayer is multi-layered and has varied aspects. If we consistently ignore many of these aspects, then our prayer will lack a certain depth.”

Fr Peter Harries · “A Surge of the Heart”

“The prayers God hears the most are those spoken from the heart. Giving Him our heart in prayer, opens our heart itself. It opens the door to our heart. The more our hearts open to the Lord, the more the Holy Spirit can enter in.”

Laura Kazlas · “It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask”

“It is only the one who is like Jesus who prays like Jesus, who has no shame before God to keep on asking. Namely, one who is a child of God. Jesus teaches us that prayer is about simply and confidently calling God, Father. And because he is our Father, we can be bold and persistent.”

Fr Bruno Clifton · “Persistent Prayer”

“His final, dynamic command, ‘Arise, let us go’ – the last words Jesus will speak to his disciples in Matthew’s account before the resurrection – indicates Jesus still wants their company, even if they – and we – stumble and fall away”

Fr Gregory Pearson · “Staying the Course”

“To enter into the perspective of eternity is an invitation to enter into a deeper relationship with the God who ‘stepped out’ from eternity into the vulnerability of time and space in Jesus Christ”

Fr John O'Connor · “Urgency and Eternity”

“The deeper we go in relationships and in prayer, the more unsure of ourselves we become, and this is the beginning of maturity: It’s when I say, I don’t know how to love and I don’t know how to pray, that I first begin to understand what love and prayer actually are”

Ron Rolheiser, OMI · “Maturity in Relationships and Prayer”

“A child pulls the heartstrings, but only when his father lets him. He lets him because a father already knows how to give good gifts. The Father who gave us his Son. The Son who gave us the Our Father.”

Fr Mark Edney · “The Praying Game”

“In praying for the dead, we are not merely witnessing to the Resurrection, we are instruments of the Resurrection”

Fr Euan Marley · “A Great Divine Courtesy”

“the corrective to wrong desires is prayer. When we pray we communicate with God and through that we are changed.”

Fr Dominic Ryan · “The Imitation of Christ”

“The disciples were learners, and asking led to a deeper knowledge of his teachings, which later they would be commanded to preach to all the nations of the earth”

Fr Robert Pollock · “Asking and Being Asked”

Fr Rudolf Loewenstein · “In God's Time”

“we hope that when someone hears us pray, they will not exclaim that what we are saying is just ‘a set of words’”

Fr Rudolf Loewenstein · “How do you pray?”

“It is also possible that God’s justice may not necessarily be satisfying to us in the way we want it. What we can be sure of is that he is just and does deeds of justice, but not according to our human reckoning.”

Fr. Paul-Martin White · “Done Speedily”

“Prayer is not about somehow getting hold of God, to put him to work for us, but being drawn beyond ourselves, into friendship with the thrice-holy God”

Fr Timothy Calvert · “Praying into Divine Friendship”

“This episode certainly wasn’t about Jesus’ rebellion against family life; but it indicated that there will always be an ambiguity and tension in family life if we take seriously the centrality of God in all life”

Fr Colin Carr · “Lost to the Temple”

“Prayer is the articulation of desire. It is bringing our desires into the open, making a clean breast of them before God.”

Fr Aidan Nichols · “The Articulation of Desire”

“at the heart of our Christian faith lies this very mystery, that we changeable, weak and foolish creatures can enter into a relationship with the eternal and almighty God: a relationship so intimate that it can be called friendship, and we can dare to call God our Father”

Fr Richard Ounsworth · “Asking God”

“What pentecost needs to pour into us today is the spirit of resiliency, the spirit of forgiveness, the spirit of patience, the spirit of long-suffering, the spirit of understanding, and the spirit to not go jogging or bowling alone.”

Ron Rolheiser, OMI · “Praying for Pentecost”

“in order to be changed, we must come before the Lord as the people we really are. When we give to God our anger, God can heal it. When we give to God our doubt and emptiness, God can fill it. When we complain to the Lord that we are desperate and without hope, we open the door for salvation.”

Fr. George Smiga

“The very life of Christ within us gives us direction in facing challenges of life. Our connection to Christ is deep enough to give us the freedom to live.”

Fr. George Smiga

“The only person God can love, the only person God can answer, is the real person that we are. Therefore, it is much better to pray as a real sinner then a fake saint.”

Fr. George Smiga

“The gospel is challenging us to believe that if we consciously claim the presence of Christ in our lives, we can have abundance, even where scarcity exists”

Fr. George Smiga

“The Christian life is not about measuring one thing against another. It’s about imitating God, about being merciful to others because God is merciful to us.”

Fr. George Smiga

“We are asked to believe that God is both Creator and Savior, and that our life is really in God’s hands. We believe all of those things in our head, but it is only in prayer that they move from theory to reality.”

Fr. George Smiga

“The best way to prepare for the crisis that is to come is to be thankful for the blessings of today”

Fr. George Smiga

“The person who understands God’s kingdom understands that everything that we have been given has been given to us to share. Faithful stewardship requires giving back part of what we have been given.”

Fr. George Smiga

“It is difficult to do the right thing. If we try to do what is right on our own...will likely be worn out. But if we call upon the help of God and others, we are more likely to become patient, generous, and just people—disciples who do not grow tired of building the kingdom of God.”

Fr. George Smiga

“The stance, then, of a disciple is not to come before the Lord with all of our blessings and achievements but rather to bow down before God and to be empty enough to let mercy in. This is why we must begin to cultivate in our lives an attitude of humility.”

Fr. George Smiga