"Prayer is essentially a personal encounter, an encounter between a person and God. But for it to be a genuine encounter, the two persons must be truly themselves. Too often, truth is missing from our prayer. Instead of turning to the living and true God, we address ourselves to something we imagine to be God. Thérèse, instead, sought the real face of God in truth and this is why her relationship with him was so genuine." From Holy Daring. Do you know someone who has a devotion to St. Therese? ...

I received this in my inbox today and since Fr. Frank Pavone said to share it freely I reproduce it below: From: Priests for Life Reply-To:  Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 09:40:44 -0700 Subject: No, the Pope is not diluting the anti-abortion focus of the Church. September 23, 2013 I just had a wonderful trip to Rome where I was again with Pope Francis. While there, I was asked to comment on the controversy caused by his recent i...

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I love being around children, and when I get their jokes I love to laugh along! I recently admired my cousin’s love and patience as he played a three-year-old’s version of Name that Tune. He hummed, whistled, or did lip trills to the tune of Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday, and The Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. When it was my goddaughter’s turn, she hummed the same three songs and was absolutely thrilled with each of his belabored guesses.I admire Pope Francis. Don’t you? I think m...

"It goes without saying that married life can be a serious challenge: living with another, flawed human being for a lifetime cannot be otherwise. But the solution is not to throw up our hands over our disappointments and problems with our spouses. The solution is to enter more deeply into relationship with them, to prayerfully work out our problems together, and to grow in love and fidelity, mutual respect and forbearance. The sacrament of Matrimony offers Catholic spouses special graces to do s...

The day of prayer and fasting for peace called for by Pope Francis and prompted by the possibility of US military intervention in Syria united men and women across nationalities and religious divisions in one great cry to God for mercy on our world. I spent those days attempting to fast from the violence in my heart, for the world’s wars spring from the wars waged in the secret of our inner worlds.The homily of Pope Francis on September 13th caught my attention as a powerful message in this reg...

The UN sponsored a global survey between 2010 and 2012 and ranked the happiness levels of people in 156 countries. They just released their findings. The criteria they used, as would be expected, were wealth, health, freedom to make life choices, having someone to count on in times of trouble, freedom from corruption, and the generosity of fellow citizens. The leading countries were Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden. US came in 17th place. As we commemorate the Triumph of...

Last weekend millions of Catholics joined Pope Francis in a vigil of prayer and penanceasking God for peace in our world, and particularly a peaceful and just solution to the tensions in Syria. This past week we have marked another anniversary of 9/11. Sometimes the world seems hell-bent on destruction, or at least survival of the fittest. And yet our Faith shows us a completely different perspective! As Monsignor Bransfield reminds us, “The only way to make sense of life is to give it away as...

Once a year where I come from there is a huge county fair. Pumpkins piled high, baked goods, and horses, cattle, and every kind of farm animal await the visitors. More subdued yet no less attractive are displays of lovely model homes. These always feature the newest “built-in” appliances: dishwasher, freezer/refrigerator, and stove. But no matter how lovely and appealing the kitchens with the built-in luxuries appear, reality sets in at the first meal. The food in the freezer has to be defrost...

"We can trust that even if it seems God is delaying to save us, he never leaves us. We want God to rescue us whenever we feel out of control, vulnerable, or tempted. And we usually want it now. However, often God holds back a quick rescue because the struggle opens up every inch of our being to receive more of his divine grace. God wants more for us than we could ever desire for ourselves. We may focus on quick fixes, but God sees the big picture. He knows all that he wants for us, all that we c...

St. Teresa of Avila said that we should pray as we can and not as we can't. That means that we can honor the way we are drawn to pray and not put ourselves down for what we consider mediocre prayer. Sometimes we feel that we can't pray as well as others do. How do we know? It doesn't really matter. God is working in each of our lives in a unique way. Our sole responsibility is to respond to what God is doing, to follow his direction, to let him do the leading. So how is God leading you right now...