In this final installment of our series on prayer, we look further at what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about overcoming distractions in prayer.

The proper response to the inevitable reality of distractions is summed up well in Paragraph 2729:

“To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart: for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified.”

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church identifies some of these: discouragement, dryness, hesitancy about what God may be calling us to do, and even the darkness within our own hearts.

However, it is by exposing these things to the light that we can seek healing and forgiveness. The Church reminds us that it is crucial to anticipate and meet these apparent “failures” in the journey of prayer with a right mind and heart, ready to turn these obstacles into greater victories of humility and faith.

The post The Journey of Prayer Part 6: Failure at Prayer – Episode 77 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

When you begin to make a more conscious and intentional commitment to the journey of prayer, you will become more aware of the spiritual battle that is always raging outside of you as well as inside.

The sections of the Catechism that we cover in this episode address some of the common “objections” that will spring up from time to time as temptations to give up in the battle of prayer; but it is a battle that we cannot afford to stop fighting.

The post The Journey of Prayer Part 5: The Battle of Prayer – Episode 76 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

On this episode, we continue our journey of prayer with an examination of the sections of the Catechism dedicated to contemplative prayer — the prayer of presence and friendship with God.

Contemplative prayer is in one sense the goal toward which we move on the journey of prayer. Through more active forms of prayer such as vocal or meditative we dispose our hearts to receive the gift of contemplative prayer and to bring this “prayer of presence” into all aspects of our lives.

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What does the Church mean by referring to meditation in this way? What are we called to discover in this process? And how should it spur us to live differently as Christians in our day to day walk with the Lord?

The post The Journey of Prayer, Part 3: Meditative Prayer – Episode 74 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

JonMarc reflects on how we can cultivate a life of prayer that goes beyond mere words into a fuller disposition toward the God to whom we pray.

The post The Journey of Prayer, Part 2: Vocal Prayer – Episode 73 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

JonMarc Grodi discusses how to better understand prayer as a journey of going deeper in our relationship with the Lord, and how becoming disciplined in prayer can help to grow that relationship over time.

The post The Journey of Prayer, Part I – Episode 72 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

JonMarc Grodi reflects on the nature of temptation and sin, and shares some thoughts from the wisdom of the Church on how to resist temptations when they arise.

The post How Can I Avoid Sin? – Episode 71 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

JonMarc Grodi reflects on what it means to invoke God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and how we can be more intentional about the way we participate in this simple but powerful prayer.

The post Why do Catholics Make the Sign of the Cross? – Episode 70 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.

What are we doing when we pray? Are we trying to control an outcome, or manipulate supernatural realities? Or is there something deeper that God is calling us to when He invites us to a life of prayer?

The post Prayer is Not Magic – Episode 69 appeared first on The Coming Home Network.