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
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
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
St. Teresa, I am committed to developing my prayer life and life of virtue but I am feeling isolated, lonely, and I am struggling. What should I do? A great evil it is for a soul to be alone in the midst of so many dangers. It seems to me that if I should have … Read more
Dear Father John, what is a “Program of Life” and why is it important to my spiritual progress and Spiritual Direction? One of the enemies of good spiritual direction is excessive subjectivity. We all have urgent personal issues that come and go; they occupy our attention and energy intensely for brief periods, but they really … Read more
Dear Father John, what is the best way to find a Spiritual Director? Should it be your pastor? A friend? Or someone whom you do not know when you begin? Finding a spiritual director usually follows four steps: First, you need to remember what spiritual direction is all about. The role of a spiritual director … Read more
Foundational to any sound spiritual direction is the idea that there actually is a tangible direction to discover. That is, the practice presumes that spiritual truth is an expression of objective reality – just as objective and real as a map of your own hometown. For instance, if you asked someone to give you directions … Read more
Although we should do what we can to avoid the temptations we are able to foresee, temptations will nevertheless arise that we are unable to avoid. These we are called to resist. The first measure in resisting temptation is to seek the help of God. If we think that we must resist all temptation by … Read more
Claire Dwyer talks with Mark Hart of Life Teen International about making time for what is most important–and the dangers of sacrificing our prayer life on the altar of activity.
What recourse do we have when a spiritual director hasn’t seen us, especially when we have an urgent question or issue? Find out what Fr John Bartunek recommends in today’s post.
Numerous readers have asked, “Can I trust Fr. Richard Rohr?” As long time subscribers to Catholic Spiritual Direction know, we prefer to focus on the positive side of spirituality and to leave the apologetics and correction of false and otherwise dangerous teachings to those who are called to that emphasis. Even so, we regularly get … Read more
Dryness in Prayer – God’s Part in the Struggle (Part III of III) Editor’s Note: In Part I, we talked about what is going on with dryness in prayer. In the second installment of this series, we addressed our part in the struggle. Today, we will look at God’s part in the struggle. A reader … Read more
Dear Father John, I have been actually struggling with the examples mentioned [on another post] concerning “excessive prayer” that results in neglect of responsibilities. I’ve had such difficulty in this area as justifying doing so is easy to do. What would you recommend as a proper balance? I am very protective and almost selfish about … Read more
Why is it that the smallest inconvenience can set some people off while others maintain calm in the face of great adversity? What is the difference between those who know peace on earth, and those who don’t? The difference is in how they approach life and what they bring to it. These people possess a seemingly … Read more
Navigating the Interior Life Video (with Dan Burke Regarding his New Book) Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God. Spiritual Direction is for every person. The Spiritual Direction Book Club will soon begin reading Dan Burke’s book on spiritual direction. Today’s video is an interview with Dan Burke regarding his book, … Read more
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