Spiritual Tools

How to pray with your spouse

How to Pray with Your Spouse

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How to Pray with Your Spouse (by Chris Stravitsch)

Step 1 – Reconcile & Rejoice

  • Together in a comfortable place / walk
  • Sign of Cross
  • Express any hurts & offer forgiveness
  • Thank God

Step 2 – Discover God Together

  • Read a Scripture passage together & discuss
  • Talk about life – What are experiencing & learning? What might God be saying?

Step 3 – Share Your Love

  • Kiss, embrace, resting in each other’s arms
  • Words of affirmation

Step 4 – Serve Each Other

  • Continue through the day / week…
  • Cooking, cleaning, listening, etc.

Creating a Prayer Space

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Do you know the benefits of creating a prayer space in your home? Invite God into your home formally by creating a simple prayer space. You only need a few items, and you can always make it personal by adding items that are special to you.

Set up your prayer space at a place in your home that you see everyday if you tend to forget to pray. Even the top of your dresser can be a great place for you to stop and pray before you begin your day.

  • Bible
  • Crucifix
  • Candle (battery operated works, too)
  • Holy Water
  • Rosary

It’s helpful to have a chair or place to sit or kneel here. If you have small children, even a special blanket on the floor with faith-related books or toys that stay in this area can be a way to welcome them to pray here with the family.

Making It Personal

  • Other items: Prayer Cards, Saint Statues, angel statue, icon images or other sacred art, etc.
  • For couples: Items related to your wedding/marriage
  • For families: Baptismal candles or other reminders of your reception of the sacraments

Perhaps each member of the family has a favorite saint? Find an image of that saint & make a place where you can all together ask for their prayers. For example: At Pilgrim Center of Hope, each of our staff members has a saint that journeys with us through the year. At the end of our Chaplet of Divine Mercy, each of us says, “St. (Name)” and we all respond, “Pray for us.”

Let us know if you have any questions about setting up a prayer space or send us a picture of your space to share ideas with others! You can email it to us at media@pilgrimcenterofhope.org or post it to us on Facebook @PilgrimCenter.

Manual For Eucharistic Adoration

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Eucharistic adoration according to Fr. Frederick Faber is the queen of all devotions. Pope St. Pius X taught that it was the devotion most profitable for our salvation. And St. Gemma Galgani treasured it as the school of Paradise where one learns how to love.

So many popes and saints exhort us to spend time with our Eucharistic Lord. And the Manual for Eucharistic Adoration will enrich your hours with Him.

Part One, Preparing for Eucharistic Adoration, answers these questions:

  • What is Eucharistic adoration, and why is it so important?
  • What does Scripture teach about this devotion?
  • What are the fruit of Eucharistic adoration?
  • How should I spend my time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?

Part Two, Aids in Eucharistic Adoration, provides these essential resources:

  • Teaching about the Eucharist from Scripture and Church documents
  • Scripture verses for adoration, wisdom and inspiration from saints especially devoted to our Eucharistic Lord
  • Prayers, Rosary meditations, reflections and hymns

Mother Teresa once said: The time you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will spend on earth. Take this great saint s words to heart. Then take the Manual for Eucharistic Adoration when you go to meet Him, and keep it with you Spiritual Communions and other moments of spontaneous adoration throughout the day.

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The Resurrection In the Gospel

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What better Pearl to help you delve into the Resurrected Christ in Scripture than . . . well, Scripture? Each of the four gospel writers — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John — include reports of Christ appearing after his resurrection.

These instances are:

Matthew 28
Luke 24
John 20-21
and Mark 16

 

Related Resource: Lectio Divina – Praying with Scripture

The Name of God Is Mercy by Pope Francis

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In his first book published as Pope, and in conjunction with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis here invites all humanity to an intimate and personal dialogue on the subject closest to his heart—mercy—which has long been the cornerstone of his faith and is now the central teaching of his papacy.

In this conversation with Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli, Francis explains—through memories from his youth and moving anecdotes from his experiences as a pastor—why “mercy is the first attribute of God.” God “does not want anyone to be lost. His mercy is infinitely greater than our sins,” he writes. As well, the Church cannot close the door on anyone, Francis asserts—on the contrary, its duty is to go out into the world to find its way into the consciousness of people so that they can assume responsibility for, and move away from, the bad things they have done.

The first Jesuit and the first South American to be elected Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis has traveled around the world spreading God’s message of mercy to the largest crowds in papal history. Clear and profound, The Name of God Is Mercy resonates with this desire to reach all those who are looking for meaning in life, a road to peace and reconciliation, and the healing of physical and spiritual wounds. It is being published in more than eighty countries around the world.

“The name of God is mercy. There are no situations we cannot get out of, we are not condemned to sink into quicksand.”—Pope Francis

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On Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi) by Paul VI

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Pilgrim Center of Hope considers this document central to our work. Each of our staff members reads it!

Readers of Pope Francis’ writings have observed his frequent references to Evangelii Nuntiandi, Venerable Paul VI’s 1975 apostolic exhortation on evangelization. Pope Francis has cited it at least 31 times on at least 11 different occasions, including 13 times in his new apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. Evangelii Nuntiandi is an important part of the soil from which the teaching of Evangelii Gaudium has sprung; to use another image, they are akin to two plates of a diptych.

On May 17, Pope Francis said that Evangelii Nuntiandi included words that “are as timely as if they had been written yesterday”; on June 13, he called it “a very full text that has lost nothing of its timeliness”; and on July 27, as he spoke about evangelization, he called the document “that basic point of reference which remains relevant.” On June 22, he went so far as to describe it as “to my mind the greatest pastoral document that has ever been written to this day”.

Read - Evangelii Nuntiandi by Paul VI

While much has changed since 1975, several Catholics recognized for their expertise in evangelization agree wholeheartedly with Pope Francis’s assessment of the importance and continued relevance of Evangelii Nuntiandi.

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The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Liguori

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This classic devotional work testifies to St. Alphonsus Liguori’s love of Mary and is a treasury of Marian stories and teachings. In a fittingly scholastic style, he develops and extols the many virtues of devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

The Glories of Mary is divided into two parts. In Part I, Saint Alphonsus provides a phrase-by-phrase examination of the Marian hymn “Hail Holy Queen”. Part II contains meditations on various Marian themes, including her major feasts, her seven sorrows, her virtues, and practices of devotion in her honor.

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The Church of Mercy by Pope Francis

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In the year since he was elected, Pope Francis’s simple message of mercy, service, and renewal has spread to every corner of the world. Through his gentle demeanor, selfless actions, and welcoming call for service to others, Pope Francis has captured the attention of a world longing for an authentic message of hope—we want to hear what he has to say.

Collected from Pope Francis’s speeches, homilies, and papers presented during the first year of his papacy, The Church of Mercy is the first Vatican-authorized book detailing his vision for the Catholic Church. From how to be citizens of the world to answering God’s call for evangelization, Pope Francis’s deep wisdom reminds us that the Church must move beyond its own walls and joyfully bring God’s mercy wherever suffering, division, or injustice exists.

Named TIME Magazine’s 2013 “Person of the Year,” Pope Francis is helping the Church continue toward an authentic Christianity that is faithful to the Gospel and resonant with the world’s greatest needs. The Church of Mercy encourages each of us to ignite the flame within to help share the light of Christ and revitalize the Church.

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The Yes of Jesus Christ by Pope Benedict XVI

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A must-read to understand Pope Benedict XVI’s view of the relationship between Christianity and the world. Secular thought has failed to answer the great questions of human existence. Pope Benedict XVI invites us to rediscover the Christ-centered basis for hope.

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The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila

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Of all of Teresa of Avila’s works, The Way of Perfection is the most easily understood. Written at the height of the controversy surrounding the reforms Teresa instituted in the Carmelite order, it instructed the nuns in the practice of prayer. Teresa discusses the three essentials of a prayer-filled life — fraternal love, detachment from material things, and true humility. Her counsels on these are the fruit of her practical experience.

The book develops these ideas and takes up directly the matters of prayer and contemplation. Teresa gives various maxims for the practice of prayer and concludes the book with her masterful and impassioned version of the Lord’s Prayer. “How is it that Thou canst give us so much with Thy first word?” she says of the “Our” at the beginning of that prayer.

The simple and practical nature of this mystical classic will appeal to all who seek a life of wholeness.

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