Prayer

Fr Simon Gaine. "Prayer for Grown-Ups" Torch. October 15, 2025 Sometimes it is easy to feel that praying for things is not quite the best way to pray.

Fr. George Smiga. "Keep Knocking" Building on the Word. July 27, 2025 The parable that Jesus offers us in today’s gospel can be easily misunderstood.

Fr John Patrick Kenrick. "Be Sincere and Persevere" Torch. July 21, 2025 One of his disciples asks Jesus ‘Lord, teach us to pray’, but what exactly is he asking?

Mary Ortwein. "Of Seeds and Saplings" A Catholic Moment. June 15, 2024 It was early May, 1966. I was a senior in high school. But instead of thinking about graduation or college, I was thinking about my mother. She was just laying there in our local hospital.

Mary Ortwein. "Adventures in Prayer" A Catholic Moment. February 24, 2024 The rich readings for this Sunday could take us in many directions. One of them is prayer. Prayer can have many forms and many definitions.

Mary Ortwein. "What Needs Healing?" A Catholic Moment. February 3, 2024 Today’s Gospel is one of my favorites. It looks like only a bit of narrative that ties the story of Jesus casting out an unclean spirit last Sunday with his healing a leper next Sunday. But, to me, it has always been very exciting–and this week, it is healing.

Fr Simon Gaine. "Love Without Borders" Torch. November 9, 2023 The Thessalonians had joyfully received the message of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead, and they were confident that Christ had conquered death, and their great faith had become an example throughout Macedonia and Greece. They stopped worshipping idols and turned to the one, true God, waiting for his Son, the risen Jesus, to return from heaven.

Mary Ortwein. "When God Has a Better Idea" A Catholic Moment. August 12, 2023 I remember reading something by Peter Kreeft that included these words of wisdom. “God has three answers to prayer: “Yes,” “later,” and “I’ve got a better idea.” I’ve mulled that over for months, and I’ve seen it hold true again and again.

Fr John O’Connor. "All Times and Seasons" Torch. July 4, 2023 Jesus clearly has a lot to contend with. Disciples of John the Baptist have gone to ask him if he is the one ‘who is to come’, the Messiah. In response, Jesus asserts both his Messiahship and the great value of John the Baptist’s ministry.

Mary Ortwein. "Living Stones" A Catholic Moment. May 6, 2023 What do you see in today’s picture? Some pebbles in a bowl? Yes. A rosary? Yes. You see that—and there is more. These are my prayer rocks. I am resurrecting them, because I need them just now.

Br. John Blazo, MM. "Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. October 23, 2022 The reading from Sirach tells us that, while having no favorites, God listens to the voice of the poor.

John Bergsma. "The Cry of the Poor" The Sacred Page. October 22, 2022 Several years ago, Christians around the world were shocked and saddened by the execution of twenty-one Egyptian Christian men

Mary Ortwein. "What’s the Difference?" A Catholic Moment. October 22, 2022 What do you mean, Jesus? What’s the difference?

John Bergsma. "The Battle of Prayer" The Sacred Page. October 15, 2022 Usually we think of men of prayer and men of war as complete opposites.

Mary Ortwein. "Measuring Prayer" A Catholic Moment. October 15, 2022 I am on retreat this weekend at St. Meinrad, my almost-heaven home on earth.

Fr Nicholas Crowe. "Joshua and Amalek" Torch. October 12, 2022 We heard in our first reading that Amalek came and waged war against Israel.

Fr Richard Finn. "The Consolation of the Spirit" Torch. September 27, 2022 Across the Day Treatment Unit, the nurse picked up my high levels of anxiety.

Mary Ortwein. "In a Storm" A Catholic Moment. August 13, 2022 A prayer group was discussing body positions for prayer—better to kneel, sit, or stand? Arms raised? Hands folded?

John Bergsma. "Bargaining with God" The Sacred Page. July 23, 2022 Who has the guts to bargain with the Divinity?

Mary Ortwein. "Intercessory Prayer" A Catholic Moment. July 23, 2022 Last Sunday we had a visiting priest who titled his homily “Let go, let God in.”

Fr Matthew Jarvis. "Saying Yes" Torch. July 20, 2022 Does God answer prayers? The Psalmist seems to think so

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "A life restoring God" A Catholic Moment. June 27, 2021 The story about Ann Jillian (an American singer and actress) is quite inspiring to hear. It is all about her victory over breast cancer.

John Bergsma. "Is Life a Drudgery?" The Sacred Page. February 7, 2021 Life is difficult, but it is neither helpful nor virtuous to utter expressions of stoic fatalism. The true virtue, the true courage, is to maintain hope (and also love and joy) in the face of what can sometimes look and feel like an ocean of darkness.

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "A Cloud of Witnesses" A Catholic Moment. November 1, 2020 Historically, Pope Boniface IV was the first to institute All Saints Day on May 13 in 609 AD when he dedicated the Pantheon in Rome as a church in honor of the Virgin Mary and all martyrs

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "One God, Same Salvation" A Catholic Moment. August 16, 2020 The Liturgy of the Word on this 20th Sunday Year A celebrates God’s eternal desire that all men be brought to salvation. Each of the readings speaks of the expansive and universal nature of the “Kingdom of God,” in contrast with the theory that salvation was offered first to the Jews and through them alone to the rest of the world.

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "Let them be. reliving the experience of a Patient God" A Catholic Moment. July 19, 2020 The readings today draw us closer to the mystery of the kingdom. The first reading and the Gospel are meant to widen our vision about the attitude of God towards the world and the created beings. He shows himself as a God rich in mercy and patience to those who do not live in conformity to his will, but then his mercy and patience cannot be wasted forever.

Fr Benjamin Earl. "But Why?" Torch. July 1, 2020 Children who wish to be learned and clever, wise and understanding, will not cease to ask questions, will want to learn, and will want to change for the better. And if they ever stop asking questions then there is the danger – I use the word advisedly – that they will have grown up.

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "Waiting in Prayer" A Catholic Moment. May 24, 2020 The end of Easter Season is very close as we could see it even from our directions. The Ascension of the Lord into heaven opens another important moment meant to perfect the Easter festivity; the Pentecost. The Pentecost not only concludes the Pascal mystery that reaches its “summum punctum” at Easter, but it equally perpetuates it.

Fr Robert Gay. "Consecrated in Prayer" Torch. March 5, 2020 Our second Sunday in Lent puts before us a great manifestation of the Glory of God which happens on Mount Tabor. It is a theophany, a manifestation of the Divine, and has features both old and new, and shows itself as such in its details. First, let’s look at the features it has in common which other such manifestations in the Scriptures.

Judy Walter. "Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. February 9, 2020 In Judy Cannato’s beautiful book, “Radical Amazement,” she reflects on how planet Earth was in darkness for billions of years because there was no receptor on earth to receive the light of the sun.

Ron Rolheiser, OMI. "The Frustrating Struggle for Humility" ronrolheiser.com. October 28, 2019 It’s hard to be humble, not because we don’t have more than enough deficiencies to merit humility

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "God loves the Humble" A Catholic Moment. October 27, 2019 The Psalmist today says that “The Lord hears the cry of the poor” (Ps 34); not just the weak and the oppressed but the poor in spirit.

Fr. Roberto Rodriguez, MM. "Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. October 27, 2019 The readings for this Sunday present to us two different models of faith and prayer.

Fr David McLean. "Become a good hypocrite!" Torch. October 22, 2019 Church leaders are often confronted by those who assert that they don’t go to Church because it is full of hypocrites.

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "Pray Until Something Happens" A Catholic Moment. October 20, 2019 Therefore, if we must survive the “valley of war”, we must learn to climb the “mountain of prayer.”

Fr John Farrell. "Prayers and Prayerfulness" Torch. October 16, 2019 St Luke tells us that Jesus gives us this parable in today’s gospel for a definite reason.

John Bergsma. "God and Mammon" The Sacred Page. September 19, 2019 As Jesus continues his “death march” to Jerusalem in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 9–19), he challenges us this Sunday to choose

Fr Richard Ounsworth. "Nonsensical Prayers" Torch. July 24, 2019 You can’t prove that the Catholic Faith is true.

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "God our guest" A Catholic Moment. July 21, 2019 In the quest to concretize our reflection, I deemed it fitting to share an observation which may be familiar with most of us.

Joseph LaCombe. "Feel His Warmth" A Catholic Moment. March 24, 2019 I love to stare at a fire. I love the comfort that it provides.

Joseph LaCombe. "Rise to the Challenge" A Catholic Moment. February 10, 2019 One of the things I really love about sports is how the really good players make those around them better

Joseph LaCombe. "Anxiety" A Catholic Moment. December 16, 2018 Anxiety. Worry. Fear. All things we struggle with in our daily lives.

Joseph LaCombe. "Make Your Life a Prayer" A Catholic Moment. December 17, 2017 A memory came up on my Facebook page today, from five years ago. It reminded me of something else that had happened that same week, five years ago when I was told I was going to be laid off from my company at the time, a company where I had spent almost 13 years.

Joseph LaCombe. "Call In a Prayer-Strike" A Catholic Moment. July 23, 2017 There’s a scene in the Mel Gibson movie, We Were Soldiers, where Gibson’s character, Lt. Col. Hal Moore is leading his regiment in the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam in 1965. In this particular scene, the battle has gotten sporty, as Col. Moore puts it, and he and his men were surrounded by the enemy.

Joseph LaCombe. "Persistent Prayer" A Catholic Moment. October 15, 2016 Today was a day of distractions. You ever have one of those?

Fr Benjamin Earl. "Why Do We Pray?" Torch. October 11, 2016 Prayer is so woven into the fabric of what it is to live as a Christian that perhaps sometimes we forget to ask that simple question: “why do we pray?”

Joseph LaCombe. "Answered Prayers" A Catholic Moment. July 23, 2016 I have always loved the song, “Unanswered Prayers”, by the American Country Music Artist Garth Brooks.

Fr Martin Ganeri. "The School of Prayer" Torch. July 19, 2016 This Sunday’s readings are about prayer and, more specifically about petitionary prayer.

Fr Duncan Campbell. "Glowing with God" Torch. February 16, 2016 Why did Jesus appear, suddenly, and so changed, to his closest followers?

Joseph LaCombe. "Pray for Your Calling" A Catholic Moment. January 9, 2016 I think one of the most overlooked aspects of Jesus, is really just how much he prayed.

Carolyn Berghuis. "Let There Be Peace on Earth" A Catholic Moment. December 24, 2015 Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, and what a glorious day it is! The light who, not only created us, the light whom we live, move and have our being within has entered into the world. Yes, our Savior is our Alpha, our Omega – our everything! Today’s Gospel so beautifully reveals the fullness of the truth of Christ. Oh how many exquisite hours we could spend bathing in the beauty of Christ as we meditate on today’s readings. However, as I often do when I read scripture I ask myself why the Church selected these particular readings today.

Fr Simon Gaine. "Enwrapped In Prayer" Torch. December 16, 2015 The Psalms of David were the prayer book of Jesus, as they were the prayer book of his own Jewish people.

Fr John O'Connor. "Eternally Loved" Torch. June 30, 2015 I remember hearing a radio programme where someone made the following remark: “You know, to grow up knowing that you are loved and accepted is an enormous birthright.”

Sr. Genie Natividad, MM. "Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. February 8, 2015 As I reflect on the readings especially of today, I was struck that throughout the Gospel Jesus has been portrayed as a man grounded in prayer. His life is described as one spent in communion with God despite the many demands and pressures of life, attending to many people afflicted with all kinds of troubles.

Laura Kazlas. "Take My Yoke Upon You and Learn From Me" A Catholic Moment. July 6, 2014 The scriptures for Mass today are all about Jesus. The old testament reading is a prophecy about Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem, riding on an ass, which he fulfilled. Isn’t the first reading from the old testament beautiful? It describes Jesus perfectly:

Fr Simon Gaine. "Down from the Mountain" Torch. March 16, 2014 Today’s Gospel has more than one thing to say to us about Lent. We can easily think Lent is just about ourselves, putting ourselves in order, training ourselves to love ourselves in more healthy way. Fasting is the Lenten penance that most easily comes to mind, something by which we train ourselves to love ourselves in a healthy and moderate way.

Fr Richard Finn. "Humble Prayer" Torch. October 26, 2013 There’s no doubting the good deeds of our Pharisee! His fasting, his tithes, are exemplary.

Marj Humphrey. "29th Sunday in Ordinary Time" Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. October 20, 2013 What remarkable readings for the day the Church has chosen as World Mission Sunday.

Fr Peter Harries. "A Surge of the Heart" Torch. October 19, 2013 Luke especially records Jesus telling us stories, parables, involving some disreputable characters.

Laura Kazlas. "It Doesn’t Hurt to Ask" A Catholic Moment. July 28, 2013 Abraham was sure brave in pleading with God to save the inhabitants of Sodom in the first reading for mass today.

Fr Bruno Clifton. "Persistent Prayer" Torch. July 27, 2013 It is a feature of Luke’s gospel that Jesus is often to be found praying.

Fr Gregory Pearson. "Staying the Course" Torch. April 16, 2011 Gethsemane provides the final lesson in discipleship given by Jesus before his execution and exaltation, and that lesson is rooted in prayer.

Fr John O'Connor. "Urgency and Eternity" Torch. October 16, 2010 In the readings this weekend we are given some insight into how our requests to God relate to time, our time and God’s time.

Ron Rolheiser, OMI. "Maturity in Relationships and Prayer" ronrolheiser.com. October 10, 2010 Several years ago, a friend shared this story with me: Raised a Roman Catholic and essentially faithful in going to church and in trying to live an honest moral life

Fr Mark Edney. "The Praying Game" Torch. July 24, 2010 ‘I am their father, says God. Our father who art in heaven. My son told them all about my being their father.’

Fr Dominic Ryan. "The Imitation of Christ" Torch. February 10, 2008 At its most basic, Christian life is about imitating Christ, Christ as presented to us in the gospels. So given that today’s gospel recounts Christ going into the wilderness to be tempted, must we do the same also?

Fr Robert Pollock. "Asking and Being Asked" Torch. July 28, 2007 When we ask a question we expect an answer. In the course of our lives, we ask, and we must ask, many questions.

Fr Rudolf Loewenstein. "In God's Time" Torch. May 14, 2006 Most of what we read or hear in today's Gospel presents us with very little difficulty, but there is one particular phrase that can sometimes cause puzzlement to people, however simple or innocuous it sounds: 'you may ask what you will and you shall get it'. Now commonly I and many others would take that phrase to mean that if I wanted something enough and asked God for it, then I would get what it is I wanted.

Fr Rudolf Loewenstein. "How do you pray?" Torch. October 23, 2004 One of the questions that anyone who seeks to enter a seminary or religious institute or order is bound to be asked is how they pray, and what they pray.

Fr. Paul-Martin White. "Done Speedily" Torch. October 16, 2004 Through radio, television, the internet, and many other means of communication

Fr Timothy Calvert. "Praying into Divine Friendship" Torch. July 24, 2004 If a character on a soap opera is shown praying, we are usually supposed to infer that they are either a religious maniac who should be avoided at all costs

Fr Colin Carr. "Lost to the Temple" Torch. December 28, 2003 This could be a manifesto of the confidently tough-minded

Fr Aidan Nichols. "The Articulation of Desire" Torch. October 20, 2001 The readings of today’s Liturgy are meant to say something about one part of the God-man relationship, the part we call the ‘prayer of petition’.

Fr Richard Ounsworth. "Asking God" Torch. July 28, 2001 Petitionary prayer – asking God for the things we need, or even just for things we want – is a very peculiar activity

Ron Rolheiser, OMI. "Praying for Pentecost" ronrolheiser.com. July 3, 2001 Every generation needs to experience pentecost for itself. It needs God’s spirit and it needs it in its own particular way.

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. Today’s gospel passage is a tremendously important one, because in today’s gospel, Jesus recognizes that he cannot do everything. As great as Jesus was, he shared fully in our humanity. Therefore, he had to live with limitations. He could not meet every need.

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. Today’s gospel is not about plants. It’s about people. It is not about vines. It’s about life.

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. Normally we are quite respectful when we speak to God. Controlled and subservient we place our needs before the Lord. “Dear Jesus, help my son be accepted into the college he prefers.”

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. The gospel shows us that abundance can occur in the midst of scarcity.

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. When someone hates you, you have two choices: you can hate them back or you can refuse to hate.

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. Today’s first reading from the book of Genesis is one of my favorite passages in all the scriptures.

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. None of us can tell when dramatic change might enter our lives. In fact, there are two kinds of days: days which unfold according to plan and days which change everything.

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. This is a peculiar parable. Why is it that we find Jesus at the end praising a dishonest person?

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. There is no such thing as a life without tears. No matter how blessed we may be

Fr. George Smiga. "" Building on the Word. Today’s Gospel is meant to trap us. But I must admit that the trap probably worked better at the time of Jesus than it does today.