“Once our motives are pure and upright and we seek not our own interests, but those of our Lord and Master, He has constant care over us, because He is infinitely good.”        St. Ignatius Loyola

Consider having goals of your own with your spouse and family. Have a few that are spiritual, something fun; others can be professional or health-related.

Join me for a Lenten Prayer Group called Lightworks beginning the week of Feb 5. It’s on Tuesdays at 7 pm or Thursdays at 2:30 pm (eastern time).  Contact me here or via Facebook or Instagram.

This week’s challenge, Plan with God! Ask this question in prayer: What do you want me to do that will give glory to you?

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“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9

Because God has something to say to you, and you can’t hear him if you are not silent. Each day, spend some time with the Word, silence, and your journal. And by journal, it can be a sticky note on the page you re reading. Something to write what you hear in your time of listening to God.

What will your commitment be to God for quiet prayer, dedicated time just for him?

Contact me and we can talk about it!

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So often, we think, because of the way we were taught, that prayer is “talking to God.” And while that is true, we also need to be silent and listen to him and be with him.

God’s words to Catherine of Siena: “You see then, that perfect prayer is not arrived at through many words, but through affection or desire, when the soul raises itself to me, knowing itself and my mercy, seasoned one with the other.  Thus, the soul will practice mental and vocal prayer together, for even as the active and contemplative are one, so are they.”  God further goes on to explain vocal and mental prayer, vocal being the type of prayer we say aloud or in our mind, while mental prayer is prayer without words, for being united with God.  He also explains that “mental prayer is reached by exercise and perseverance”  and that vocal prayer, practiced persistently, will lead to “perfect mental prayer.”

Learn more about different types of prayer when you sign up for my newsletter. 

Advent begins on December 3, 2023, and ends on December 24, 2023. It is a mere 22 days. Instead of trying to fill it with all the things, consider lighting your Advent wreath or a candle, reading the daily Gospel and then sitting in silence for 15 minutes a day. God desires to fill you with his grace and blessings; give him the time to do that for you.

Learn more about the retreat and sign up to join us!

The post What does God say is perfect prayer? appeared first on Ultimate Christian Podcast Radio Network.

St. Charles de Foucauld may be a new saint to you. He was to me. Here is some information about his life and work.  He lived and served as a priest, hermit, and missionary in France and Algeria.

Father, I abandon myself into your hands, do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands, I commend my soul;
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart;
For I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself:
To surrender myself into your hands without reserve and with boundless confidence. For you are my Father.

Life can wear us down, and our prayer life can suffer.  If you can’t find the words to pray, use the words of others!

This prayer, in particular, will help you know and understand God’s will for your life. The line that stands out for me is, “I love you, Lord, and need to give myself, to surrender myself not your hands, without reserve and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.”

Give your all to the One who gave you all!

Pray the Prayer of Abandon every day this week.

If you’d like to invite me to speak at your parish or organization, let’s start the conversation!

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“The gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. ” St. Rose of Lima

We want actual grace – that is, the grace supplied for a particular reason or purpose.

Consider reading scripture to find what you are looking for. God’s Word is the living word that lives in you!

You can try this online concordance, BibleGateway. Set the version you use and then type in the topic to get results.

I prefer a Bible I can hold in my hands and write in and put notes in it. Make it yours!

Here are the verses I mentioned in the episode:

Exodus 14:14, Deuteronomy 7:6-9, Isaiah 43:1-7, 1 Samuel 17:41-54

In particular, 1 Samuel 17:50.

Pick a few verses that strike you and pray them when you need an infusion of grace!

I’d love to come and speak to your ministry or parish. This page on my website has information for you on talks I’ve done in the past and how to reach me.

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We celebrate St. Francis on October 4. He was the founder of the Franciscan Order and embraced the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The prayer below is a favorite of mine!

Prayer before the Crucifix

Most High, glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me true faith, certain hope, and perfect charity, sense and knowledge, Lord, that I may carry out

from A Concise Dictionary of Theology, O’Collins and Farrugia, S.J.

What does a parking lot have to do with grace? Listen and you’ll find out!

HOLINESS! And we all want to be a bit holier, right?

This week, pray St. Francis’ prayer above.

Interested in having me speak to your group? Let me know; I’d love to come in person or virtually!

The post What is Grace? appeared first on Ultimate Christian Podcast Radio Network.

I’ve been hearing about ‘glimmers’ on social media lately. I’ve seen a few memes. And while I liked the thought of a glimmer as opposed to a trigger, I wasn’t happy with the advice to look for the glimmer.

You see, to me, a glimmer is not about looking for something good, but it is God breaking through, reaching out to offer us hope, grace, a bit of pat on the back that says, “I’ ‘m here for ya!” from the Lord.

What the world and pop culture call glimmers, I say, they are from God. God loves us so much that he does reach out to us. But we ran around in a noisy, fast-paced world where we don’t pause often enough to say thanks for the good things that come our way.

This notion of looking for God each day comes from St. Ignatius of Loyola. I may have mentioned him a time or two before.  This week, our Not Lukewarm challenge is to answer the question, “Where did I see God today?”, every night.

And if you are interested in learning more about Ignatius and prayer, sign up for my newsletter to receive 4 Ways to Pray with Scripture and learn about a new offering on the Spiritual Exercises coming up soon.

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Need a bit of a laugh? Listen to my pretend banter about my haircut and eyebrows!

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that he, in his goodness, sends to us day after day.”                                                                                                                                          St. Gianna Beretta Molla

We all want to be happy, but we often think it will happen later or when our life is perfect. Not so. It happens when we realize that God gives us all and will help us with all. Turn to him, thank him for the good and the not so good. He will help if we ask.

Learn more about St. Gianna’s life here. 

These are super short show notes today as I have to go do some hard things. (wink, wink)

This week, when you are faced with something wonderful or difficult, stop, turn to God, thank him, and then ask how you are to handle the situation in a way that gives him glory.

Stay in touch by signing up for my newsletter. You’ll receive a video series of 4 Ways to Pray with Scripture when you do. And I promise I don’t clutter up your inbox with lots of emails.

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Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you,

“If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”

Being faithful, faithfulness – is an attribute of God. He is always faithful, even when we think he is not with us or doesn’t care. God can not go against himself, his nature.

222 Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.

Every day for the next 7 days, journal on this: Ways that God has been Faithful to Me in My Life.

If you want to talk about this with me, please contact me here or send me a message via Facebook or Instagram.

If you’d like to invite me to your parish or group, let me know! I’d love to meet you.

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In the story of Joseph, we find an example of forgiveness. Joseph not only forgives his brothers for the wrong they did to him but restores and blesses them. The verses below show a small piece of the story.

” Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Israel made his appearance, Joseph threw his arms around him and wept a long time on his shoulder.” Genesis 46:29

“And Joseph provided food for his father and brothers and his father’s whole household, down to the youngest.”  Genesis 47:12

We can see a foreshadowing of Jesus in this story of Joseph. He saves his family, the family of Israel, in a time of famine. He forgives his brothers. He restores his brothers and gives them land and herds.

This week, forgive someone.

Would you like to have me speak at your parish or ministry? I’d be happy to join you in person or virtually. Start the conversation! 

The post Toward Forgiveness appeared first on Ultimate Christian Podcast Radio Network.