The man of darkness once stood over me like a phantom, working his power against me. He tried to kill me. He thought he killed the Man once, too. But the Man came down from the wood. He entered in upon the grave, made of stones he fashioned with his own hands. And then...
But, as Thérèse points out, being something other than a rose, or a lilly, doesn’t mean I’m not important. It doesn’t mean my vocation is not beautiful. It just means it’s different. And just because I said yes to marriage and living a simple, uneventful life doesn’t m...
Step Two: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
I remember telling my sponsor early on that the first few steps in my 12-step program didn’t pose much of a challenge to me because I already believe in a “Higher Power.” I didn’t...
Up until my senior year of college, the only type of prayer that really existed in my world was memorized prayer.
It wasn’t a conscious decision. It just happened that whenever I thought of prayer, my mind would immediately go to the rote, structured prayers. The praye...
If you wish to advance along the path of prayer, what is required, according to the wisdom of the saints, is docility and great love for God above all else. God can do more with a senseless child in his arms than the smartest man in the world. But for those of us too...
Step One: We admitted that we were powerless over [ ] – that our lives had become unmanageable.
I like to say I walked into overeaters anonymous looking for help with my “diet” problems and walked away with something else entirely. Step One was a jarring experienc...
Anyone who takes himself for his own spiritual director is the disciple of a fool. - St. Bernard of Clairvaux
It may be very hard or very easy to find a good spiritual director. It is all up to God. Our souls, ultimately, are under the direction of the Blessed Trinity....
Resist the devil and he will flee from you – James 4: 7
Do you know that the devil and his minions have a well-developed plan for your life? They have studied you since the time you entered this world. They have reviewed all of the case files. They have watched your par...
