“Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.”
— St. Dominic
Morning Offering – Arm Yourself with Prayer
Resisting Happiness with Matthew Kelly – #13 of 30 Hour by Hour
Feast Day – April 25 – Good Shepherd Sunday
The Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as “Good Shepherd Sunday” because the Mass reading is taken from the Gospel of John, where Jesus uses the imagery of a shepherd guiding and guarding his flock to describe His relationship with those He has redeemed: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11). The communion antiphon for this Mass reads, “The Good Shepherd is risen! He who laid down his life for his sheep, who died for his flock, he is risen, alleluia.” Good Shepherd Sunday is also recognized as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, where the faithful pray that God will send them good and holy priests who, following the example of Christ, will lay down their lives for His sheep.
//The Catholic Company//
Morning Offering – The Highest Degree of Prayer
“The limitless loving devotion to God, and the gift God makes of Himself to you, are the highest elevation of which the heart is capable; it is the highest degree of prayer.”
— St. Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
//The Catholic Company//
I Heard God Laugh – I Heard God Laugh
Prayer isn’t easy. We might have a moment, or a day, or even a week at a time where prayer feels very natural and rewarding—but there are also many challenges that come with maintaining a consistent spiritual life.
I Heard God Laugh – Does God Have a Sense of Humor?
There is an old Jewish blessing: “May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.” A new prayer for this week might be, “May you be so close to Jesus you can hear him laugh!”
I Heard God Laugh – Six Life Changing Awakenings
Prayer is one of the most difficult things we can do in this life, but there is good news: God does all the heavy lifting!
I Heard God Laugh – The Sixth Shift
Each of the five seismic shifts so far has the power to completely transform your prayer life: begin the conversation, ask God what He wants, give yourself to prayer, transform everything into prayer, and make yourself available. But the sixth shift is more important than all of them put together.
I Heard God Laugh – The Fourth Shift
“Offer it up!” You may have heard this phrase from a parent or grandparent before. Sometimes it might feel like an excuse to ignore the pain that a difficult challenge in your life is causing. But it’s really an opportunity to transform every part of your day into prayer. Will you invite God into the smallest moments of your day today?
I Heard God Laugh – The Third Shift
We have the chance to give ourselves to lots of things. We can devote ourselves to our work. Pour ourselves into a workout regimen. Maintain a commitment to our family or our friends. But what about prayer? Can we say that we “give ourselves” to prayer?