Common to people of every time and place is a longing for the truth. We want to know! We want to know the purpose of our life, why we are here on earth, where we came from, whether there is a God, who this God is, whether there is an afterlife, and so much more!

These most basic and fundamental questions are hopefully in the forefront of our minds. And if they are not, it's never too late to start! This book offers some of the answers to these questions. It offers the answers found in our Creed. At first, the Creed can seem dry and unimpressive. It can even seem confusing and overly academic. But when properly understood, the Creed holds the answer to the questions we so deeply seek.

So dig into the faith we have been given and let God's revelation change your life!

About this Series:

The My Catholic Life! series is a three volume series written as a complete summary of our glorious Catholic faith!  The goal of these books is to answer the difficult and deep questions of life in a clear and understandable way.  We need to know who we are and what life is all about. And we need to know who God is and what He has spoke to us through the ages.

This volume: Volume One, My Catholic Faith! is a summary of the Apostles and Nicene Creed.  This volume looks at everything from the creation of the world to God’s eternal plan of salvation.  Other topics include: Afterlife, saints, God, faith, and the Church.  It is a summary of the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1-1065. 

Volume Two, My Catholic Worship! is a summary of the life of grace found in prayer and the Sacraments.  So often the Sacraments can be seen as dry and empty rituals.  But they are, in reality, the greatest treasures we have!  They are God’s true presence among us!  It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1066-1684 and #2558-2865.

Volume Three, My Catholic Morals! is a summary of the morality itself, knowing how we choose right from wrong, as well as a summary of all the moral teachings of our faith.  It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1691-2557.

Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur granted for three volume series.

The meditations in this book are presented from the perspective of the greatest disciple of our Lord: His own dear Mother.  Mother Mary was one who faced the Cross of her Son with perfect openness, faith, love and devotion.  Her fidelity to her Son throughout His life was unwavering.  As she stood before the Cross during those long three hours, that fidelity never ceased. 

This devotional attempts to ponder that which our Blessed Mother would have pondered during those three hours.  What was she thinking as she stood there gazing at her own Child dying?  What memories went through her mind?  What filled her heart, emotions and feelings as she watched this final act of love?

 The Scriptures do not reveal much about the interior ponderings of our Blessed Mother during those three hours, but the Scriptures do reveal to us many encounters between this Mother and Son.  Since the Cross was the culmination of the life of both Mother and Son, it’s beautiful to bring to this moment of the Cross all the many experiences that these two shared throughout their earthly lives.  It’s inspiring to unite all that they did and said to this moment, since all was a preparation for this moment.

This book is helpful any time of year, especially if you find yourself facing a difficult cross in your own life.  It is also perfect for Lent in that it offers 40 reflections as well as prayers that can be used throughout Lent and for Holy Week.

You are called to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is not an option if we want to be a Christian! It’s a command of love from God and is an invitation to share in His divine life. We should hear those words and soak them up desiring to fulfill them in our daily life. 

How do we do this? How do we love God with everything we are? To say with all your “heart, mind and soul” means everything! It means all that we are. Our whole being. So loving God in the way we are called to requires a very radical commitment on our part. It requires that we are “all in” so to speak. So, again, how do we do this? 

The key is worship! To worship God is to love God in the way we are called to love. To worship God means that He is indeed the God of our life and nothing else gets in the way. It means we allow our heart, soul and mind to become immersed in God and filled with His presence. This is worship. And it’s our calling in life. 

Worship is prayer. It’s true prayer. But it’s not only a prayer we offer at church or at a specific prayer time. Rather, we are called to worship God 24/7 in all that we do and all that we are. We cannot set specific times of worship and times when we do not worship. It’s a calling to constantly be in God’s presence surrendering all to Him. 

This book is about Worship of the Triune God! There is nothing more important in life than what is presented here in these pages. Not because of this book itself, but because of the truths this book shares. 

There are two main sections of this book. The first section is about prayer as it is lived in the Sacraments of our Church. The Sacraments can seem, at times, to be dry, dull and repetitive. They can, at times, feel like empty rituals that we are “obliged” to do out of obedience. But when understood and entered into correctly, the Sacraments become the greatest source of our intimacy with our God. They become personal. They become My Catholic Worship! 

The second section of this book deals with all other forms of prayer. It highlights various methods as well as the meaning of prayer. So jump into this book with an open heart and know that God wants to draw you more closely to Himself in all forms of worship. He wants you to know and love Him with your whole heart, soul and strength. And the way to do just that is prayer! 

About this Series:

The My Catholic Life! series is a three volume series written as a complete summary of our glorious Catholic faith! The goal of these books is to answer the difficult and deep questions of life in a clear and understandable way. We need to know who we are and what life is all about. And we need to know who God is and what He has spoke to us through the ages. 

Volume One, My Catholic Faith! is a summary of the Apostles and Nicene Creed. This volume looks at everything from the creation of the world to God’s eternal plan of salvation. Other topics include: Afterlife, saints, God, faith, and the Church. It is a summary of the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1-1065. 

Volume Two, My Catholic Worship! is a summary of the life of grace found in prayer and the Sacraments. So often the Sacraments can be seen as dry and empty rituals. But they are, in reality, the greatest treasures we have! They are God’s true presence among us! It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1066-1684 and #2558-2865. 

Volume Three, My Catholic Morals! is a summary of the morality itself, knowing how we choose right from wrong, as well as a summary of all the moral teachings of our faith. It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1691-2557

Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur granted for three volume series.

"Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska" is soon to become a classic spiritual book that everyone is encouraged to read in their lifetime.  However, many find this invitation intimidating, not just because of the width of her book, but because of the depth of its message on The Divine Mercy in each of Saint Faustina’s notebook entries.  This book, "Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy," was written with the hope of guiding you through Saint Faustina’s Diary and her six notebooks of reflections.  It can be used on its own to help you pause and reflect on the beauty of Jesus’ messages to her, or as a companion book, as you simultaneously read Saint Faustina’s Diary. 

"Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy" offers 365 daily teachings, reflections and prayers based upon the pages of Saint Faustina’s Diary.  The structured way to use this daily reflection book is to do just that…reflect upon one page each day. However, some may feel called to skip around a bit, read a few reflections at a time, or return to a particular reflection through which God spoke to you.  Therefore, though this book was written with the intent of providing one reflection for each day of the year, the best way to use it is any way you feel called and the way that benefits your relationship with God the most.

The first paragraph for each day offers this author’s insights to the words and teachings of Saint Faustina.  The section of her Diary used for the day’s teaching is marked so that the reader can also read her Diary first hand so as to see the primary source that the author of this book took inspiration from for that day’s reflection.  Though the primary text of the Diary is never quoted, nor are the reflections of this book exact representations of the Diary, they do provide the foundational basis for the spiritual message shared in each reflection. 

The second paragraph for each day offers a short reflection put more as a question to the reader.  It offers the same insight in a different format so as to enter more deeply into the message of the day.

Finally, each daily reflection ends with a prayer focused upon the message and reflection for that day.  The reader is encouraged to pray this prayer several times.  Ideally, it is prayed first thing in the morning, again during the day, and again at night as an examination on how well the daily message was received.

As you seek to survive the world we live in, allow these pages to be a font of Mercy for you from God.  Allow God’s Divine Mercy to penetrate your heart so that you will know the abundance of His love and be more prepared to share that love with others.

We are all called to be saints! This is what we are made for and this is the only way to happiness. Life in Christ, a life lived according to the will of God, is the only way to live out our dignity and to experience the freedom we so long for. This book helps to shed light on the glorious calling we have received to become saints. A life of sin leads to death and despair, a life of grace and moral uprightness leads to happiness. This is a simple truth that we must all discover and live.

Catholic morality is often seen in a negative way. We often think morality is about “what I can’t do.” It’s true that Christ’s teachings on the moral life limit us from engaging in actions contrary to His will and contrary to our dignity. But morality is so much more than just a list of restrictions. Morality is also about living in freedom! It’s about living in the freedom that our Triune God has in store for us!

About this Series:

The My Catholic Life! series is a three volume series written as a complete summary of our glorious Catholic faith! The goal of these books is to answer the difficult and deep questions of life in a clear and understandable way. We need to know who we are and what life is all about. And we need to know who God is and what He has spoke to us through the ages. 

Volume One, My Catholic Faith! is a summary of the Apostles and Nicene Creed. This volume looks at everything from the creation of the world to God’s eternal plan of salvation. Other topics include: Afterlife, saints, God, faith, and the Church. It is a summary of the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1-1065. 

Volume Two, My Catholic Worship! is a summary of the life of grace found in prayer and the Sacraments. So often the Sacraments can be seen as dry and empty rituals. But they are, in reality, the greatest treasures we have! They are God’s true presence among us! It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1066-1684 and #2558-2865. 

Volume Three, My Catholic Morals! is a summary of the morality itself, knowing how we choose right from wrong, as well as a summary of all the moral teachings of our faith. It is a summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1691-2557.

Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur granted for three volume series.

This book offers 99 short lessons, reflections and prayers from the life of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.  The lessons are based upon Saint Thérèse’s own words as she shared her faith and her heart in the pages of the three manuscripts of her autobiography: "Story of a Soul."  Each subsequent reflection attempts to capture one of her countless virtues so as to savor the “fragrance” of this precious little flower of God and to apply it to the reader's daily life.  The prayer to conclude each lesson is not written only to be read, it is written to be prayed.  You may find it helpful to pray that prayer slowly and meditatively at the end of each lesson and return to that prayer at the end of each day, especially to the prayers that are most pertinent to your life.

The reader might wish to use this book as a daily reflection book, reading one lesson each day.  Doing so will allow you to ponder one lesson from her saintly life at a time, so as to absorb the sweetness of her love and the depth of her life.  However, you might find it just as beneficial to read several lessons at a time.

This book is not intended to be a “onetime read.”  Rather, the lessons we learn from Saint Thérèse’s life are worth absorbing many times over.  The reflection and prayer after each lesson make this book a helpful source of daily self-examination and prayer throughout life.  You who are parents might also find the lessons of St. Thérèse of benefit in the formation of your children.  Telling Little Thérèse’s stories will inspire and challenge your children as they grow and mature in their own lives of faith.

Living a life of ongoing sacrificial love requires you to become a beacon of mercy in this world.  Unfortunately, we live in a world that is in many ways void of mercy.  It is a world in which harshness and judgment are the norm.  However, one of the primary reasons so many people lack mercy in our day and age is because they lack humility and trust. 

We also live in a world filled with suffering.  But sadly, suffering is rarely understood as an opportunity to achieve the highest level of holiness.  Suffering is rarely transformed into sacrificial living.  Instead, it is often experienced only as a burden to be avoided.

The goal of this book is to offer you an invitation to look more deeply at the path to holiness and to discover the way in which you can travel it in your own life.  This invitation is not simply given to help you grasp the theology of holiness; rather, it is an invitation to live it.

These reflections are also a great resource for priests and deacons for their daily homily preparation.  

This Volume of the "Catholic Daily Reflection Series" offers daily reflections and prayers for the Advent and Christmas Season. 

All Volumes:

Volume One: Advent and Christmas

Volume Two: Lent and Easter

Volume Three: Ordinary Time: Weeks 1-17

Volume Four: Ordinary Time: Weeks 18-34

These reflections are also a great resource for priests and deacons for their daily homily preparations. 

This Volume offers daily reflections and prayers for Ordinary Time Weeks 1-17.

Catholic Daily Reflections Series:

Volume One: Advent and Christmas

Volume Two: Lent and Easter

Volume Three: Ordinary Time: Weeks 1-17

Volume Four: Ordinary Time: Weeks 18-34

These reflections are also a great resource for priests and deacons for their daily homily preparations. 

This Volume offers daily reflections and prayers for Ordinary Time Weeks 18-34.

Catholic Daily Reflections Series:

Volume One: Advent and Christmas

Volume Two: Lent and Easter

Volume Three: Ordinary Time: Weeks 1-17

Volume Four: Ordinary Time: Weeks 18-34 

Catholic Daily Reflections: Ordinary Time September 1–November 27, 2021 is available in a variety of forms. See our website for electronic or audio/video versions or to sign up for our free daily email at: www.mycatholic.life. The paperback and eBook versions here offer an easy way for you to daily ponder the holy Gospel during Ordinary Time.

Below is a sample reflection to give you a preview of our approach. May God bless you on your journey of personal conversion!

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Be Opened!

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!”  Mark 7:34b

These are powerful words.  Why are they powerful?  They are powerful because they are more than words.  They are words that actually accomplish what they say.  These words are spoken by Jesus after the deaf man is brought to Him with the request for healing.  By saying the command “Be opened!”, the deaf man’s ears are opened and his speech impediment is removed.  

When Jesus speaks, His word changes things.  This is true in this story, but it is also true in our lives.  We all are deaf and struggle with a speech impediment in the sense that we do not always hear the voice of God and we do not always speak His word and words of charity.  For that reason, these words of Jesus must be spoken to us.  We must let Him take us off to a quiet place alone and speak to us.  We must let Him say those words to us: “Ephphatha!–Be opened!”  

What is it that you are not hearing properly?  What is it God has been saying to you for a long time that you refuse to hear?  What is it you have allowed yourself to become deaf to?  Let our Lord open the “ears” of your heart so that you can hear all that He wishes to say to you.  Once that happens, Jesus will also help you speak His words of truth and love.  

Reflect, today, upon how open you are to hearing the voice of God.  We all struggle at times with listening, and we especially may struggle listening to God.  Spend some time alone with our Lord and let Him heal you, so that you can hear and understand all that He is saying to you.

Lord, I do not always listen to You.  Please speak Your words of healing to me so that I can hear You more clearly. In hearing You, may I listen to all that You have to say.  Jesus, I trust in You.

This book attempts to present the profound theology of Saint John of the Cross found in these four great works in a way that is understandable and accessible to most readers.  The reader will find an overview and summary of the most essential lessons of the spiritual life as well as practical advice for growing in holiness.

May Saint John, master of the spiritual life, pray for you on your journey toward the glory of Divine Union.

Between the years of 1522–1541, Saint Ignatius of Loyola completed what has come to be known as one of the greatest spiritual masterpieces of all time: The Spiritual Exercises. This relatively short book is packed with deep insights and guidelines for one who wants to grow in holiness by encountering God on a 30-day retreat. In a sense, this retreat is the “mother of all retreats” on account of its length, method and depth.

In our day and age, within our fast-paced society, few people are able to go off and enter into silence and solitude for 30 days and to thus benefit from the fruitfulness of the full experience of Saint Ignatius’ retreat format. However, many people today are searching for ways to deepen their relationship with our divine Lord.

The goal of this current three-part book, Probing the Depths, is to present the wisdom and spiritual lessons set forth by Saint Ignatius in The Spiritual Exercises in a format you can incorporate into your daily life throughout the Liturgical Year. A summary of the three parts of this book is as follows:

Part One presents a brief introduction to the life of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, offers an introduction to his masterpiece The Spiritual Exercises, and gives an overview of ten lessons taught by Saint Ignatius in The Spiritual Exercises. These lessons provide a basis for his unique spiritual approach and will be exceptionally useful in a practical way, especially as it pertains to daily discernment and fulfillment of the will of God. These chapters should be read and re-read so that they become practiced in your daily life.

Part Two of this book contains sixty-nine guided meditations on the topics Saint Ignatius recommends for his 30-day retreat. These meditations were written using the methods of meditation, contemplation and application of the senses that are taught by Saint Ignatius. These meditations are arranged according to the Liturgical Year of the Church, which makes it possible to incorporate them into the daily rhythm of your life. A more detailed explanation of this arrangement of the meditations is found in the Introduction to Part Two.

Part Three of this book provides some additional prayer material that can be used throughout the year. Specifically, it provides three forms of examination of conscience, a daily and weekly examen format based on the five points of Saint Ignatius’ Daily General Examen, and some morning, afternoon and evening prayers.

In his initial instructions for the retreat, in the 18th and 19th Annotations, Saint Ignatius acknowledges that some people will need to adapt these exercises to their state in life. Thus, for those who live a busy life in the world, the Exercises may need to be extended over many weeks rather than completed within 30 days. Therefore, these meditations have been adapted to meet this need. 

If you do not make a weekly holy hour of adoration, the meditations and prayers in this book can also be used on a regular basis during your daily and/or weekly prayer time in any quiet place. However, the meditations are written specifically with a holy hour of adoration in mind.

Catholic Daily Reflections: Ordinary Time May 24–August 31, 2021 is available in a variety of forms. See our website for electronic or audio/video versions or to sign up for our free daily email at: www.mycatholic.life. The paperback and eBook versions here offer an easy way for you to daily ponder the holy Gospel during Ordinary Time.

Below is a sample reflection for Easter Sunday to give you a preview of our approach. May God bless you on your journey of personal conversion!

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

An Exchange of Gifts

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more…” Mark 10:29–30

Jesus’ statement above is in response to Peter who said to Him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” It was as if Peter were patting himself on the back, attempting to highlight just how much he and the other disciples had sacrificed to follow Jesus. And it was true, they did give up everything of their former life. They left home, their occupation, their relationships and everything that had been part of their daily established life in response to the call of Jesus. They were truly all in.

In hearing this statement from Peter, Jesus does not give the expected response. He doesn’t say to Peter, “Yes, you have, that’s very impressive Peter. Good job and thank you!” Instead, Jesus immediately explains to Peter that the sacrifice he and the others have made is worth it. Their unwavering commitment to follow Jesus would be repaid with gifts beyond their imagination. Thus, Jesus was saying that the gifts that He would bestow upon them would be exponentially greater than every sacrifice they made.

This was not a belittling of Peter’s self-sacrifice; rather, it was a form of encouragement by Jesus. He was encouraging Peter, and the other disciples, to have full confidence in their decision to follow Him. Their sacrifice would yield a hundred fold return. That is truly a good investment.

It can be tempting for us all, at times, to feel as though God asks too much of us. It’s true that God asks much of us. He asks everything from us. He asks for the complete and total gift of our lives to Him. He calls us to abandon all selfishness and to dedicate ourselves to His holy will without exception. But if we understand the reward of our self-giving, then the sacrifices we make will pale in comparison to the reward.

Reflect, today, upon whether or not you can say those words of the Apostle, Saint Peter: “Lord, I have given up everything to follow You.” Have you truly given your life completely to Christ Jesus? Are there things that you still hold back, not wanting to “sacrifice” for our Lord? Ponder those words of Peter and allow yourself to see the areas of your life you still need to surrender over to Jesus. And as you do so, allow the reward promised by our Lord to motivate you to the point that you truly hold nothing back and truly have given up everything to follow His holy will.

My generous Lord, You ask everything of me. You ask me to abandon everything in my pursuit of Your perfect will. Give me the grace I need to answer Your call and to live sacrificially for You without counting the cost. You are generous beyond description, dear Lord, and I trust that following You will produce an abundance of good fruit. Jesus, I trust in You.