Recently I found myself nearly tripping into a huge black hole of depression. I have had some success in using this knowledge to lessen the frequency and intensity of depression. And so, I tried to work my way backwards to see where this came from. Continue reading

O God, give us grace to walk humbly and save us from pretension and every arrogant folly. You have made us, and not we ourselves. Help us to remember the limits of our power and our wisdom, but help us, also, to do our duty within the limits of our... Continue reading

Lake Erie by Hank Plumley “To live the monastic life in a monastery on the edges of a windswept Lake Erie makes something very clear: hospitality is not a matter of gentility or niceness. Here, as it was in biblical desert lands, hospitality is often a factor in physical survival.... Continue reading

Lord, open our eyes that we may see you in our brothers and sisters. Lord, open our ears that we may hear the cries of the hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed. Lord, open our hearts that we may love each other as you love us. Renew in us... Continue reading

Indeed the life of a good religious man is a cross, but it is a cross that conducts him to Paradise. St. Therese Continue reading

Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who... Continue reading

O Immaculate Mother, in the presence of all the heavenly court I choose you this day, for my mother and mistress. I deliver and consecrate to you, as your servant, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past,... Continue reading

Abbot Philip is a Benedictine monk who lives in the New Mexico desert at Christ in the Desert monastery. I find his reflections honest and clear. Here’s an excerpt from The Abbot’s Notebook (24 April 2013): “For the past 50 years, there has been a movement of the Holy Spirit... Continue reading

O supreme, eternal Good! What moved you to enlighten me with the light of your truth? You yourself, the very fire of love, you yourself are the reason. For it always has been and always is love that constrains you to create in us your own image and likeness, and... Continue reading

In this holy moment before the day begins, I turn to you, O Lord, and ask: shape the words in my mouth, the actions of my body, the thoughts of my mind. Let everything that comes from me reflect the light that comes from you. Amen. - Patricia Leonard-Pasley Continue reading

Mother, the root of this little yellow flower Among the stones has the taste of quinine. Things are strange to-day on the cliff. The sun shines so bright, And the grasshopper works at his sewing-machine So hard. Here’s one on my hand, mother, look; I lie so still. There’s one... Continue reading

O glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations, to work with gratitude and joy, in a spirit of penance for the remission of my sins, considering it an... Continue reading

The perpetual pressure and intense interior physic hegemony of loneliness is common to the vast majority of God’s children and is magnified in the prison environment. The methods used to mitigate the pain of loneliness and to assuage the intolerable thirst it causes may vary widely. Continue reading

"Thou alone art true joy, Thou my hope and my crown, Thou my gladness and my honour, my Lord!" St. Therese Continue reading

Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by you, always follow your plans, and perfectly accomplish your holy will. Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever you require of me. Help me respond... Continue reading

Friday May 3, 2013 Sts. Philip and James Lord, grant us to believe in the heart, to confess with the mouth, to confirm with works that the covenant of God is in our flesh, so that others, seeing our good works, might magnify our Father who is in heaven, through... Continue reading

Why does God name Himself? What’s in a name? Who is it who wants to know our names? A mother? A teacher? A police officer? A cashier who is checking our ID? A friend? A sibling? This demand for a name infers relationship. A child. A student. A suspect. A customer. A friend. A brother. A cousin. Because of these relationships we need names. Perhaps, God named himself so we could have a relationship with him. Continue reading

We long for what we do not have. That is why the Christian yearns for God, for healing, for home, for hope, for Jesus. We want what we endure to stop and what we long for to finally show up. In Christ we find what we need. Continue reading

Our deepest fear, is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear, is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Continue reading

Oh, how I love to praise the Lord. The very thought of Yeshua fills my imagination with fields of lilies that I can run through and the scent of lilac and honey to flood my nose while the warmth of his arms are there to catch me at the back of the pasture when I run full force into Him. Continue reading

Forget all sense of failure and shortcomings, all the painful jolts, just trust Me, Love Me, call upon Me. Continue reading

For some of us a personal apocalypse is necessary for us to let our kingdom go that our Heavenly Father’s kingdom may come in our lives. Continue reading

According to St. Athanasius the Psalms can teach us all about our selves. In this book, he wrote,”you find depicted all the movements of your soul, all its changes, its ups and downs, its failures and recoveries” (Letter or Marcellinus) Continue reading

Speak to Him, Thou, for He hears, And Spirit with spirit can meet— Closer is He than breathing, And nearer than hands and feet. Continue reading

Grant me grace, O merciful God, to desire ardently all that is pleasing to thee, to examine it prudently, to acknowledge it truthfully, and to accomplish perfectly, for the praise and glory of thy name. Amen Continue reading