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Dear Father Joseph, The last time I went to confession, the priest ended up using my fears and sins (the ones I had confessed) while preaching his next Sunday homily. I want to go back, but I was so humiliated by this. Help!!! It is not hard to see how uncomfortable this must have been. … Read more
Dear Reverend and very honored Mother, To become truly spiritual the heart must be empty of all other things, since God desires to be its only Master. And since He cannot be its Master without emptying it of all that is not Himself, He is prevented from doing all that He desires if it is … Read more
On our last post about Marriage Spirituality Rachel asked, “I like these but is there a prayer that encompasses more of the life and responsibilities spouses share together such as parenting, etc.” So – this prayer book recommendation is just for you Rachel! Please purchase from us HERE to support this site. Here’s a summary: … Read more
Dear Father John, I have been working on my prayer life consistently for a few years. During this time I have been on retreats and other similar activities. I have noticed a strange pattern: the conservative groups I have had contact with talk a lot about spiritual warfare, but the less traditionalist groups don’t. Until … Read more
Reverend and very honored Mother, You are not writing anything new to me. You are not the only one agitated in thoughts. Our mind is extremely fickle, but since the will is master of all our powers, it must call back the mind and carry it to God as its final goal. When the mind … Read more
Problems with My Mind … Any Ideas? To love God is everything to me – to serve him – more than everything. He is worthy of all that I have, all that I am. However, I have a problem. I have a very active mind. From the moment I rise to the moment I sleep … Read more
Dear Father John, I have heard that most saints have had spiritual directors in their lives. Why would a saint need spiritual direction? Is there something about the human condition that does not allow spiritual progress without this kind of assistance? Let me answer your question with a question: Why did God choose to save … Read more
Lectio Divina and the Practice of Teresian Prayer I don’t ever recall reading a book, looking at the price tag, and then thinking to myself that I would have been happy if I had paid double the price. This book is one of a kind in that sense. With respect to the content, if you … Read more
Dear Father John, I have been working on my prayer life consistently for a few years. During this time I have been on retreats and other similar activities. I have noticed a strange pattern: the conservative groups I have had contact with talk a lot about spiritual warfare, but the less traditionalist groups don’t. Until … Read more
Dear Father John, I have been working on my prayer life consistently for a few years. During this time I have been on retreats and other similar activities. I have noticed a strange pattern: the conservative groups I have had contact with talk a lot about spiritual warfare, but the less traditionalist groups don’t. Until … Read more
The Second Most Important Thing… Let’s face it; life is fast-paced. We never have enough time to do everything we want to. We rush around from commitment to commitment and still can’t squeeze everything in – especially something like prayer, which is not only difficult and demanding, but its results are most often intangible. So, … Read more
Dear Father John, I have a question about preparing for meditation. I have been deeply blessed by the insight you and have provided with respect to meditation recently. I wonder if what I am seeking as a fruit of meditation is too lofty. Why? Because it doesn’t change day to day and I don’t perceive … Read more
There is a New Version of the Liturgy of the Hours … and it’s known as The Mundelein Psalter For those of you who love the Liturgy of the Hours but prefer more traditional forms and chant, the Mundelein Psalter is a beautiful work. Here are a few of the details about it: Translations of … Read more
Make a Decision… Decide. You’ve got to decide. Once and for all. If you don’t decide, really make a firm, specific, concrete decision to build your life on the earthquake-resistant foundation of prayer, then your life won’t be earthquake resistant. If God matters to you, then you will spend time with him – that’s prayer. … Read more
My reading in the gospel this morning made me laugh (Luke 5:12-16). Here’s the breakdown. Jesus heals – Jesus tells the healed to not tell anyone – the word gets out anyway – a crowd gathers – Jesus leaves to pray! I can just imagine a dumbfounded group of people, particularly the disciples, saying “Hey, … Read more
Dear Father John, I am new to spiritual direction. After asking a newly ordained priest if he would be my spiritual director, he graciously accepted…thanks be to God. We have met several times over the past eight months, however, at our last meeting he caught me off guard. It had been four months since our … Read more
Sufferings of Longing for my God Woe is me, woe is me, Lord, how very long has been this exile! And it passes with great sufferings of longing for my God! Lord, what can a soul placed in this prison do? O Jesus, how long is the life of humans, even though it … Read more
Dear Father John, I have been following your blog since the beginning, and I have noticed a pattern in your answers – a pattern that disturbs me. You seem consistently to counsel people against trusting in their experience of God. You seem to recommend instead a kind of abstract faith. But didn’t Jesus become man … Read more
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