Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help. – Hebrews 4:16
Each week I post a note on Facebook asking for prayer intentions of our readers. Last week I didn’t have any takers – this week we’ve got a few. I would ask that you consider taking these intentions to prayer and adding them to your list. Together let us seek the grace of God’s loving care for our needs.
Our first intention of course should be for those affected by the …

“Often we want to be able to see into the future. We say ‘how will next year be for me?’ ‘Where will I be five or ten years from now?’ There are no answers to these questions. Mostly we have just enough light to see the next step: what we have to do in the coming hour or the following day.” – Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey

How many times have you prayed these words? “Dear God, please give me a clear answer.” or “Jesus, I’m begging you to just …

This post was originally posted under the title “Waking Up to Our Need for God” a few months ago. I thought it a fitting post on the 8th Anniversary of 9/11 – the day our Nation was attacked and our feelings of security challenged. Today I pray for those who died and their families. I also pray that for the rest of us this be a day of reflection and a reminder that we need God more than ever.
Waking Up to Our Need for God
by Chris Faddis
I believe that if …

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
For my failure to trust in God – Lord have mercy.
For my failure to rely on God’s grace – Lord, have mercy.
For my failure to pray …

This is a guest post from Randy Hain, associate editor of The Integrated Life Channel on Catholic Exchange
by Randy Hain
I went to reconciliation a few days ago with a lot on my mind. I have been weighted down for the last few months with work stress, concerns about money and a myriad of other issues big and small. As I went through my examination of conscience, I couldn’t get past the sins listed on the Confession Guide under the First Commandment. I specifically focused on two of …

My wife and I live on a very meager budget. I’m a youth minister and she stays at home with our daughter. We know that she could work and we would have a lot more to go around – but we feel strongly that this is the life God is calling us to and that this is the type of lifestyle we want for our children. That being said – we live with less than most people and are fine living that way. Still, even living simply there isn’t much …

This is Part Five in my series on Trust – please read the rest of the posts here:
Part One – “Waking Up to our Need for God”
Part Two – “Lean Into God”
Part Three – “It is Well”
Part Four – “Understanding God’s Plan”
I Only Have Good in Mind for You
If there is any obstacle to our trust in God that is universal it is that we struggle with trusting in His love for us. For some this struggle comes from their own insecurities, for others this struggle comes from their life …

This is part four in my series on Trust. You can read the previous posts by clicking on their titles here:
Part One: Waking Up to our Need for God
Part Two: Wake Up and Lean Into God
Part Three: It is Well
Excerpt from Part 3:
“Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well, it is well,with my soul.”
This is the level of trust to which we are each called. It is a trust that brings great freedom in our lives. When we can truly give it …

This is part three in my series on Trust. You can read the first two articles here:
Part One: Waking Up to our Need for God
Part Two: Wake Up and Lean Into God
At the end of Part Two I posed this question for you to reflect on:

If you woke up tomorrow and everything you had was gone, everyone you loved was no longer in your life, every part of your life that put a smile on your face was no longer there, would you still have joy in your heart, would …

This is part two in my series on “Trust” You can read part one here “Waking Up to our Need for God”.
 

We have learned to accept exterior comfort in place of internal peace of heart and mind. I know it in myself. It seems I pray pretty darn well when I am in need of something. Boy I can pray when I’m trying to stretch that paycheck just a little further than it can go. But, when I have a little extra to throw around I find I don’t have …