My latest article on prayer, Prayer as Petition, is available at SimplyCatholic.com.
A few highlights:
Prayer of petition, quite simply, is asking for God’s help. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus encourages us to place our needs before God in prayer.
In all humility, we reach out to God, knowing that he is the source of all good things, including forgiveness.
Prayers of petition are often very spontaneous: “God, help me!” Even if we feel far from God, we are able, in our supplication, to turn to him for help.
My latest article on prayer, Prayer as Intercession, is available at SimplyCatholic.com.
A few highlights:
Intercessory prayer is a powerful way to support others spiritually.
We are always encouraged to pray for others, ultimately entrusting their needs to God’s will.
Just as we might pray for someone in need, whether a loved one, friend, or stranger, we can also call upon the saints in heaven to pray for them as well — or for our own needs.
The saints and Mary cannot answer our prayers; only God can do that. But they can, and we believe they do, hear our prayers and pray for us, acting as intercessors on our behalf with God.
Our holy helpers, the saints, are the “cloud of witnesses” mentioned in the Letter to the Hebrews who surround us, helping us “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith” (12:1-2).
By uniting our prayers with those of Mary and the saints and learning more about their lives and their example, we can draw closer to God.
My latest article on prayer, Devotional Prayer, is available at SimplyCatholic.com.
A few highlights:
Rosaries, chaplets, novenas, the Stations of the Cross, the Angelus, grace before meals, the veneration of relics, and sacramentals: all of these are related to devotional prayer.
Our physical human nature benefits from the use of objects and actions that increase our focus on prayer.
Through devotional prayer, Catholics sanctify time (time of day, days of the week, and months of the year) as well as observe holy days and liturgical seasons.
My latest article on prayer, Prayer as Thanksgiving, is available at SimplyCatholic.com.
A few highlights:
Expressing our gratitude to God reinforces our relationship to him, in the same way expressing our thanks to someone for giving us a gift or helping us can strengthen our friendship or family bond.
Prayer of thanksgiving can be a spontaneous “Thank God!” after hearing good news after a difficult time, or a formal prayer such as Grace before Meals.
We need to look for, and be grateful for, God’s gifts even in difficult times or when we’re dealing with something unexpected.
I have a new article up at Our Sunday Visitor’s SimplyCatholic.com: Prayer as Liturgy.
A few highlights:
Liturgy, which includes but is not limited to the Holy Mass, is considered “formal” prayer because it follows a certain pattern, or rubric. Liturgical prayer is also “common” prayer, meant to be prayed by the community as a group.
The liturgy of the Church includes the Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the celebrations of the sacraments.
Liturgical prayer invites us to engage in praise, blessing and adoration, thanksgiving, petition and intercession as a community.
Do you want to grow closer to the Blessed Mother, but find yourself intimidated by the lengthy devotions and lofty language of St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary? Fr. Edward Looney, a priest of the Diocese of Green Bay and vice president of the Mariological Society of America, has put together a new book to help you prepare for a 33-day consecration to Jesus through Mary.
God is at work through Marian consecration; it is powerful, and it changes lives. (xv)
Fr. Edward dedicates each of the ten days of the retreat to a different title of Mary, consolidating teachings from True Devotion to Mary to clarify the rich writings and deepen devotion to the Blessed Mother. His writing style is clear and approachable, and both his scholarship and dedication to Mary are evident throughout the book.
Each day’s chapter is 10 pages or less (in a small-format book; it measures just under 5×7 inches) and begins with a teaching on that day’s title of Mary, a prayer for the day, and a traditional Marian prayer or hymn. I was surprised to find that Serdeczna Matko (“Stainless the Maiden”), a traditional Polish Marian hymn I recently sang at a funeral at my parish, was one of the hymns included in the book. Its English translation, which I had never read, is beautiful. Other prayers and hymns include the Memorare, Regina Caeli, and “Ave Maris Stella.”
During this retreat, readers will learn about these Marian titles and devotions:
Queen of All Saints
Our Lady of the Holy Trinity
The New Eve
Mother of the Interior Life
Mother of Disciples
Star of the Sea
Queen of All Hearts
Mediatrix of Grace
The Mold of God
My Mother and My Queen
I recommend that you keep a pen and journal close at hand as you read Behold the Handmaid of the Lord. I was highlighting this book all over the place as I read!
Bonus material in this book includes a chart of dates to begin Marian consecrations to end on feasts of Mary. The next three start dates are November 5, November 9, and November 29. Another very useful section is a list of 17 devotional practices found in the writings of St. Louis de Montfort. Many of these are practices you can begin with your family, such as praying the Rosary, carrying a Rosary in your pocket, praying or singing prayers and hymns in Mary’s honor, and placing an image of Mary in a place of honor in your home.
Copyright 2021 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Image: Stencil This article contains Amazon affiliate links, which provide a small compensation to the author of this piece when purchases are made through the links, at no cost to you.
I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.
We celebrate the Feast of Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Rafael on September 29. This is the perfect time to begin a novena to the original prayer warrior, St. Michael the Archangel. Magnificat has just released Nine Days with Saint Michael, a beautiful novena of prayers for spiritual protection.
It takes a spiritual battle to be good, a battle we fight with Heaven’s help. (4)
The prayers and meditations for each of the nine days focus on one aspect of St. Michael the Archangel, from his name meaning “Who is like God?” to his dignity as an archangel and Prince of the Heavenly Host, to his rebuke of the devil and affirmation of his own promise to serve God always, to his heavenly worship and the battle against the dragon (as detailed in Revelation), to his service of God at the time of our judgment.
Each day’s novena entry is structured as follows:
Sacred art
Introduction
Hymn
Scripture (the reading is included in full, so you won’t need to juggle your prayer book and Bible)
Meditation
Intercession: entrust St. Michael to bring your special intention to God at this time
Our Father
Intercession of Mary, Queen of Angels
Closing Prayer
St. Michael Prayer
Bonus content in this book includes the Litany of St. Michael and the Chaplet of St. Michael, so this book will be handy to keep around long after you finish praying the novena.
The print edition of Nine Days with Saint Michael is a lovely little book, with heavy, glossy paper that complements the sacred art (a different artist’s depiction of St. Michael, in worship and in battle, accompanies the meditation for each day). It’s a good value for the $5.99 cover price. An interior view is pictured below.
Nine Days with Saint Michael is available at Magnificat.com. Bulk pricing is available. A Kindle version is available on Amazon.
Copyright 2021 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images: Canva; Magnificat.com, all rights reserved. This article contains Amazon affiliate links; your purchases through these links benefit the author.
