Posts in Spiritual Practices
While Waiting, Watch

As we begin going back to Mass on Sundays, we might remember the practice of the apostles and the earliest disciples. After Jesus was gone and the Holy Spirit came, the first thing they did was go together to the Temple every day and meet in their houses for the breaking of the bread.

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Stop Talking And Listen

Perhaps you've heard these words from your spouse or good friend. Truth be told, it seems that many people these days have very little practice in being quiet and still--think of movie theatres, liturgical services, wakes, and even silent retreats.

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Here's Hoping

Along with faith and love, hope is one of the classic three theological virtues but I think the least known and appreciated. It does, after all, have a focus on the future which necessarily means that it cannot be experienced in the way the other two can be in the present.

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The Incarnation Continues

At Christmas, we're celebrating the beautiful mystery of the Incarnation. The Incarnation didn't just happen and end. It's more like the Big Bang, creation's beginning that is still expanding the cosmos and bringing more and more of us on this earth.

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Welcome Jesus

Advent preparation is finally over, and the Christmas feast now begins! Probably for most of us, there was a lot to do in the time we were given to prepare Him room—and there still is. Among other things we have already searched, shopped, mailed, cooked, cleaned, decorated, baked, and visited quite a bit already.

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Waiting, But Not Alone

Everything about Advent points to the future. Here are some thoughts about that. First, getting to the future means waiting. You have to wait. Mary had to wait, and Joseph, too. He had to wait because he's the one who will give the baby His name.

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Give Thanks

We are about to celebrate thanksgiving as a civil holiday. We symbolize in this celebration that we are a nation "under God," and a people gathered from the east and from the west, from the north and the south, and made one nation. Let's make sure we are grateful by checking in on the three crucial steps.

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Persevere in Prayer

In my encounters with the faithful, everyone seems to express a longing for a better relationship with God. Most of them have some kind of difficulty with prayer. Finding time to pray or making prayer time meaningful are common struggles.

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