Category Archives: Spiritual Practices

Spiritual Practices

The Rosary: The Ark of Encounter

The Rosary: The Ark of Encounter

In the Church’s extensive offering of private devotions, none claims more miraculous events or has amassed a more devoted following than the Holy Rosary. From healings to conversions to deliverance from addiction, there is a good reason that saints, popes, and laity all turn to and recommend the Rosary for spiritual struggles and challenging times. I have prayed thousands of Rosaries and can attest to its power over sin and its ability to communicate grace and truth in a way I have not found in other devotions, pious as they certainly are.

Yet my mind is restless, and like my 4-year-old son, I constantly ask, “Why does this happen?” and “How does it work?” I believe the answer lies not in form, but in content, and that content begins with understanding Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of Encounter . WEB

Healing through the ROSARY . WEB

St John of Capistrano

Light of the World

Those who are called to the table of the Lord must glow with the brightness that comes from the good example of a praiseworthy and blameless life. They must learn from the eminent teacher, Jesus Christ who said ‘You are the light of the world’ (see Matthew 5:14). Now a light does not illumine itself, but instead it diffuses its rays and shines all around upon everything that comes into its view. So it must be with the glowing lives of upright and holy clerics. By the brightness of their holiness they must bring light and serenity to all who gaze upon them. They have been placed here to care for others. Their own lives should be an example to others, showing how they must live in the house of the Lord.

St John of Capistrano

St Paul of the Cross

Holy Communion is the most efficacious means of uniting the soul to God. The best preparation for the divine banquet is to keep ourselves well purified.

Let everything in creation draw you to God. Refresh your mind with some innocent recreation and needful rest, if it were only to saunter through the garden or the fields, listening to the sermon preached by the flowers, the trees, the meadows, the sun, the sky, and the whole universe. You will find that they exhort you to love and praise God; that they excite you to extol the greatness of the Sovereign Architect Who has given them their being.

Believe me, afflictions, fears, desolations, dryness, abandonment, temptations, and other persecutions make an excellent broom, which sweeps from your soul all the dust of hidden imperfections.

St Paul of the Cross