NB: This was my 1st homily as a deacon in my home parish, Christ  the Redeemer, on December 8th, 2019. Click here for an audio recording of my homily. And here are the homily notes that I used to prepare: [Homily in 1 sentence: Live with Christmas … [Read more...]

The Soul of the Apostolate by Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O., Tan Books, 1946. Who should read this book?  “This book is addressed to such active workers as are animated with a burning desire to spend themselves, but who are liable to … [Read more...]

Introduction In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a post-synodal apostolic exhortation titled Verbum Domini to emphasize the importance of the Word of God in the life of the Church. He expressed a desire for the Word to be "ever more fully at the heart … [Read more...]

St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was a French Cistercian abbot during the "middle ages" and made a tremendous impact in Christendom through his reform of Benedictine monasticism (thus causing the formation of the Cistercian order) and his … [Read more...]

Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation  Sacramentum Caritatis: "On the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Church's Life and Mission." Introduction: "The Sacrament of Charity" The Holy Eucharist, according to St. Thomas … [Read more...]

The purpose of this book "The purpose of this book is to describe the life of prayer, at least in its initial stages, for those who truly want to learn to pray. It thus attempts to be not an attempt to convince the doubter of the value of prayer … [Read more...]

 #1: Make it a "mini habit" "Mini habits" are small & easy versions of the desired habits you wish to form. They are great because they (1) bypass any motivation issue (which is an unreliable source to establish a new habit) and they (2) do … [Read more...]

BJ Fogg is the director of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University.  Click here for his free online week-long program that teaches you how to pick small goals and then support you as you work toward them using scientifically-sound, behavior … [Read more...]

(Click here for a link to this resource) WHAT IS CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER?  According to Fr. Spitzer, contemplative prayer is "any form of prayer that is open to direct connection with the Lord for enough time to establish intimacy." This "intimacy" is a … [Read more...]

Lectio divina, or  "divine reading", is a form of Christian meditation that makes full use of the intellect in an effort to understand God's Word, hear God's voice, and encounter God's transformative love. In order to help facilitate this encounter … [Read more...]