A prayer for Lent from Catholic Fire “Heavenly Father, as I begin this journey into the desert with You, send Your Holy Spirit to enlighten me and to give me wisdom as to what it is You desire to change within me. Help me turn away from sin and come
With Ash Wednesday we begin the beautiful and important liturgical season of Lent. Even though Advent is such a happy season, full of light and joy, I actually prefer Lent. Perhaps because there are so many other distractions during Advent with parties, Christmas cards, gifts, special meals, etc. I like
St Paul asked us to pray without ceasing, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1Thessalonians 5, 16-18). We have hundreds of prayers at our disposal to help us pray without ceasing, but the Jesus
Study Scripture
From Mark 1:40-45 40 A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” 42 Immediately
Do you pray the Angelus? I have a small print of this same painting at my desk, honoring the time when people would actually stop their work and pray when they heard the Angelus bells playing from a distant church at 6:00 AM, noon, and 6:00 PM. I
Over 150 years ago today the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a 14 year old peasant girl, in front of the Grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, France. We are still inspired and growing spiritually from Mary's message and Bernadette's experience. Benadette, her sister and
Pray
Lord Jesus Christ, for some reason some Christians seem to lack a sense of humor. They become so bogged down in the gravity of things that they are perpetually tense and serious-minded. I ask today that I may cultivate a sense of humor and use it to help others, as
It seems that we humans were created with a hunger and thirst for something greater than ourselves. We anxiously crave more. Some people call it a “God hole’ that can only be fulfilled by God. Even Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, logician, and atheist said: “The center of me is
O my God, behold your sick child before you. Heed her special request, that which she feels is most important for her. May you, my Lord, entrust to her heart these words: "The health of the soul, too, is vital." Lord, may your will be done in her;
Study Scripture
Since the presentation of Jesus in the temple is the 4th Joyful Mystery of the Rosary, it is an event with which I’m very familiar and hence, I never thought much about what was behind the scripture verses. Whenever I meditate on this mystery during the Rosary I imagine
An inspirational quote from Archbishop Oscar Romero on social justice: “I will not tire of declaring that if we really want an effective end to violence we must remove the violence that lies at the root of all violence: structural violence, social injustice, exclusion of citizens from the management of
When I woke up this morning I had the refrain of a song playing on "repeat mode" in my mind. "Abba! O Abba Father". That's all I could hear, music and all. I recognized the song, although I have not heard it in a