As the National Eucharistic Revival continues, we reflect on the parts of the Mass and what each part is calling us to do and be the other six days of the week. Our inspiration is my book, Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life, co-authored by Fr. Dominic Grassi. Today, we look at the Rite of Peace and reflect on how it helps us to begin the work of living […]
Scripture tells us that, when Jesus was born, the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.” (Luke 2:13–14) In fact, in many of our Christmas carols, we sing of peace: “Sleep in heavenly peace.” (“Silent Night”) “And praises sing to God the king, and peace to men on earth.” (“O Little Town of Bethlehem”) “His law is love and His gospel is peace.” (“O Holy […]
This article continues a series in which we are exploring practices that can help each of us and our students to develop a space for grace. My last article focused on growing in gratitude and listed some practices that can spiritually strengthen us. Today we will focus on releasing regrets so that we can rest and reset. Release Regrets Releasing regrets is one of the keys to interior freedom and peace. Making peace with ourselves […]
We live in a fast-paced and increasingly anxious world that is clearly affecting the social, emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual health of children. Studies published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics and based on data collected from the National Survey of Children’s Health indicate significantly increased rates of anxiety among children, youth, and young adults. Researchers found a 20 percent increase in diagnoses of anxiety for children ages 6–17 between 2007 and 2012. […]
The Peace Prayer, usually associated with St. Francis of Assisi, is a popular traditional prayer. Download a coloring page to use in introducing or meditating on this prayer’s famous first line, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” The Spanish version, “Señor, haz de mí un instrumento de tu paz,” is also available as a coloring page. The Peace Prayer is part of Finding God and Christ Our Life sessions in fourth and eighth […]
The notion of “forgive and forget” sounds nice, but the forgetting part is not realistic and, more importantly, it’s not healthy. Remembering is an important part of our spirituality. Presently, as a country, we are remembering the events of September 11, 2001, as we mark the 20th anniversary of this tragedy. We remember, not in order to hold on to anger and hatred, but as a way of honoring those who died and as a […]
This is the seventh article in a series exploring the Beatitudes as they relate to being a catechist. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Happy are the catechists who live as God intends, for they can’t help but love the young people in their classrooms. I spent some time cleaning out my catechist’s bag earlier this week, and I came across some prayers written by the young […]
On Friday, September 9, 2016, the Church in the United States will observe a special day of prayer dedicated to peace and justice in our communities and in our nation. My friend Jonathan Sullivan has put together a list of suggestions and resources for his home diocese of Lafayette, IN, and he is graciously sharing these with the rest of us. Thanks, Jonathan! Resources for Day of Prayer for Peace in Our Communities
Here are some more wonderful comments and questions from last evening’s Webinar on my new book, Under the Influence of Jesus: The Transforming Experience of Encountering Christ. Love your reference to the lightness of being in children. I teach first graders and they remind me of this everyday when we stop our day to teach Religion and kearn about the love of the Trinity. (Kathleen K.) The idea of simplicity in how we approach others […]
Advent is, above all else, a season of hope—a virtue that is all too rare in our world. To live as a person of hope is to behave in such a manner as to draw suspicion that we are behaving somewhat erratically as far as worldly norms go. This new type of behavior—what some may even call erratic behavior (the behavior that led people to conclude that the Apostles were “under the influence” on Pentecost)—is […]
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