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Praying

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The Sin We Don't Like to Admit

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The Sin I Hate to Admit to is Envy A few years ago I was sitting in a conference hall awaiting the next speaker.  It was Jeff Cavins and he was coming up to speak about envy.  I actually contemplated going to do something else for that hour because although I knew I had an occasional issue with jealousy, I was all set in the envy arena. OH my, was I wrong!!  Probably why the Spirit sat me mid-row that day; and as I looked down the row and realized how many people I'd have to vault and navigate to leave, I decided to leave my bottom planted and listen.

5 Practical Ways to Pray When You Can't Focus

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I cannot think of anything more difficult for my ADHD brain then the sustained mental focus sometimes required to pray. The good news is prayer comes in many forms and these 5 strategies are sure to help you engage in meaningful prayer - whether you have an attention disorder or not!  Here are some of my tried and true methods for conversing with God even when I am completely out of focus. Walk and Talk Two Years ago I was struck with this crazy inspiration to get my butt outside to pray the Rosary.  Uncomfortable walking the streets alone, I decided to encircle my home. This was made easy, in my mind anyway, because I live on a fork-in-the-road and have a driveway that connects the two streets.  I am only on grass when I traverse my backyard.  Around and around I go,  praying the rosary , talking with God, the Blessed Mother, my Guardian Angel and whoever else in Heaven (or Purgatory) will listen. The practice has become so much more than I ever a...

3 Unexpected Uses for the Rosary

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Have you been praying for the Rosary for years or maybe like me you avoided it because the very idea just screamed tedium. Thanks to some major Holy Spirit moments - I've been able to add this powerful prayer to my spiritual repertoire.  Spiritual Abacus My mind likes to wander, keeping my thoughts on a subject for longer than 15 seconds can sometimes be a challenge. My short attention span wreaked havoc on my ability to complete a Rosary until the Holy Spirit inspired a perfect plan for my brain. The beads on one of my favorite rosaries just happen to slide. As I was fingered my way through the prayers, I thought how it sort of resembled a Chinese Abacus. Suddenly, I thought, “What if I use each bead to as a counter – creating a ‘spiritual abacus’?” Now as I pray my Hail Mary's, I recall a particular person or intention as I moved from bead to bead. BUT wait there is more.... All rights reserved, Allison Gingas 2017

WHY PRAY TO SAINTS AND FOR THE DEAD?

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WHY DO WE PRAY TO SAINTS? WHY PRAY FOR THE DEAD? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS

Prayers to Know as a Catholic Family

Recently, I have been compiling all of the prayers I want our kids to have committed to memory, that I believe we should know. I feel firmly that we would be in grievous error if our children were not baptized, attending Mass faithfully, and praying at mealtime.  But I don’t want to stop there. I don't want to do just the bare minimum when it comes to their rich faith. I want them to be hungry for knowledge and wisdom. I want to help them to come to a rich understanding of Catholicism. Thus, I have been compiling the things (besides the Catechism) that they are committing to memory. Here is the list. You can view and/or print  my Memory Work document here , on GoogleDocs. I included English and Latin versions for some of the prayers. {read the rest at pictureaskyline }

Praying with Music

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Come! Let us sing to the Lord and shout with joy to the rock who saves us. Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving and sing joyful songs to the Lord. Psalm 95:1-2 "Americans spend more money on music than on sex or prescription drugs." "There is no known culture now or anytime in the past that lacks [music], and some of the oldest human-made artifacts found at archaeological sites are musical instruments." Both of these provocative lines come from books written by Dr. Daniel J. Levitin. The first is from his 2006 best seller This Is Your Brain on Music: the Science of a Human Obsession , and the second is from his more recent book (2008), The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature . Once a professional musician, sound engineer, and record producer, Levitin is now a neuroscientist who runs the Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition and Expertise at McGill University. In The World in Six Songs, Levitin ...