Tag: spiritual life
3 Morning habits that start your day off on the wrong foot
Aleteia: We crowd-sourced lots of ideas for starting your morning off on the right foot, in order to have a more successful day. Whether we’re early birds getting our worms or night owls hooting it up until the wee hours, starting our day off right — no matter when we get up — is not… Read More ›
People on the fringe
When speaking about people who are on the fringe we will all think of different types of individuals. People on the fringe for me are ‘normal’, just a little further out than most of us are. They can be very interesting, lovable as well as irritating and very difficult to communicate with. Yet most of… Read More ›
Start Over and Do It Well
It is not complicated to lead the spiritual life. But it is difficult. We are blind, and subject to a thousand illusions. We must expect to be making mistakes almost all the time. We must be content to fall repeatedly and to begin again to try to deny ourselves, for the love of God. It… Read More ›
We must allow ourselves to be led
None of us who commit to prayer and the spiritual life enjoy those periods during which prayer, liturgy, or spiritual reading seem dry or dull. But such moments are necessary—or so it would seem—for God permits them. If something were always pleasant, we would not be sure if we loved God or merely the pleasantries. An old saying asks… Read More ›
Bishop to priests: ‘Stop the homily abuse’
MANILA, Philippines – Below is the homily of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas at the Cathedral of Lingayen-Dagupan, the St John the Evangelist Cathedral in Dagupan City, on Thursday, April 2. Today we make a spiritual journey again to the Upper Room to remember our priesthood. We come once again to thank the Lord for calling us… Read More ›
Reaching out
There are people who are straight arrows. Some who seem to fly down the path of life, disciplined, focused no matter what they do. In the spiritual life the stay on the path, pray always at the appointed time, energetic and centered. I have no doubt that God is very pleased with these warriors who… Read More ›
Why the Psalms
(The Church) recommends the Psalms to her priests, her monks, her nuns, and her lay people, in order that they may have “the mind of Christ”, in order that they may develop an interior life which is really the life of the Mother, the Church. It is by singing the psalms, by meditating on them,… Read More ›
Spiritual Life Today
Many of the problems and sufferings of the spiritual life today are either fictitious or they should not have to be put up with. But because of our mentality we block the “total response” that is needed for a fully healthy and fruitful spirituality. In fact the very idea of “spirituality” tends to be unhealthy… Read More ›
Praying with Icons: from the Eastern Orthodox tradition
One of the odd things that has happened to prayer in much of Western Christianity — in some churches with the Reformation, in others more recently — has been the drastic erosion of the physical dimension of spiritual life. Prayer has become mainly an activity of the head. Many of us have become like birds… Read More ›
The monk does not live for himself but for others
Dear young people, let yourselves be totally won over by Christ! And start out with determination yourselves too, on the path to holiness, that is by being in contact, in conformity with God a path that is open to all because this will also enable you to become more creative in seeking solutions to the… Read More ›