As the United States enters into a period of hyper-accountability for sins of the past and present, it is becoming nearly impossible to watch the nightly news without encountering a story about either a virtual mob threatening the jobs of the living with whom they morally disagree or a literal mob toppling the statues of the dead from whom they ideologically depart. Read more from Ryan Bilodeau >
Prompt Me to Pray ~by Monica McConkey
I have realized that despite good intentions to practice the Presence of God, surrender to divine Providence and pray without ceasing, my human weakness gets in the way and sometimes I simply forget to pray. I struggle on my own, mistakenly thinking I can somehow keep control on my own strength, forgetting that I need to faithfully rely on Him, seek His Will and trust in Him to work through me.
I wrote Prompt Me to Pray, as I began to discover a practical plan for more consistent heartfelt prayer. By relying on visual cues, daily tasks, habits, and frequent events as prompts to pray, I can build a stronger habit of prayer. I can even use my littleness, my struggles and my sin as prompts to pray when I most need to!
By reflecting on the teaching of theology masters like Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade, Brother Lawrence, Fr. Jacques Philippe, Fr. Jean d’Elbee, Fr. Michael Gaitley and St. Therese, I think I have found some ways to pursue more consistent prayer from the heart.
The book features different approaches to heartfelt prayer including journaling and praying out loud, both spontaneous and classic prayers. It also includes journaling pages with specific writing prompts and prayers to customize your own personal plan for prayer. It includes a prayer vault of classic prayers and templates of full color pocket prayer prompts.
The book presents the Practice of the Presence of God, Surrender to Divine Providence and the Sacrament of the Present Moment. It underlines the need for surrendering our concerns and truly trusting in God and pursuing His Will. It also addresses our human frailty and suggests ways to use even our human weakness to draw us closer to Jesus and prompt us to pray more consistently.
What’s Your Favorite Prompt to Pray?
Favorite Prompts to Pray
My favorite prompt to pray is the Rosary my son made for me that I keep in my pocket. Each time I search for spare change, my keys or a pen, my fingers touch the Rosary beads and I’m reminded of Christ’s Love for us, as well as of my son. ~Robert
I always make it a point to pray while I am pumping gas. ~AM
When I started your book, I didn’t think that I had a favorite prompt to pray but that afternoon when I got in my car, I automatically started to pray my rosary. I do love to pray my rosary in the car! ~Mary
Check out these Favorite Prompts to Pray by our Readers! over at Equipping Catholic Families
Have a LOOK INSIDE Prompt Me to Pray HERE
Purchase Prompt Me to Pray at Arma Dei:
What They’re Saying about Prompt Me to Pray
It is an irrefutable truth that the new evangelization in our time “depends in great part on the Church of the home.”
(St. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 52).
Monica McConkey has been equipping Catholic families with creativity, fidelity, and fun for decades.
This little book is another gem in that arsenal! It is both simple in presentation and profound in content.
But be forewarned … it could change your life,
and the life of your domestic Church, in powerful and beautiful ways!
~Bishop Scott McCaig, C.C.
Military Ordinariate of Canada
This is a wonderful and practical book on how to practice the presence of God throughout the day. It is one thing to know that personal prayer is important and another thing to be given tools and tips on how to maintain our prayer life on a daily basis and especially throughout the busyness of our daily schedules.
Monica McConkey, a mother of five, has learned and developed these tools over many years of striving to be faithful to her relationship with the Lord throughout the day.
~Fr. Roger Vandenakker,
General Superior of the Companions of the Cross
If you long for a deeper spiritual life and a more vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ, Monica McConkey’s wonderful work Prompt Me to Pray is the perfect companion for your journey.
By presenting practical prompts to pray, Monica provides a framework to help us encounter God’s presence not only in special moments of formal prayer but in the tiny tasks that fill our busy lives. Phenomenal!
~Lisa Hendey, Founder of CatholicMom.com
and author of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms, The Handbook for Catholic Moms and The Grace of Yes
A Theology of Suffering: The Coronavirus
The coronavirus causes us to confront, yet again, the problem of evil, and to ask why God permits such suffering. Read more of Ryan Bilodeau’s Catholic thoughts here …
The Coronavirus and a Sacramental Recession
These days it seems like we are undergoing as much of a sacramental recession as we are an economic one. At a time when COVID-19 has rendered our priests’ public appearances relegated mostly to television, debates about how to deal with this crisis are being waged among Catholic bloggers and Bishops alike. Has COVID-19 resulted in a sacramental as well as economic recession? What is the relationship between the sacraments and our salvation?
To Have and to … Quarantine? Getting Married During a Pandemic
Letting friends and family know our wedding ceremony this June will now have to be private in light of the coronavirus has been a sad and disappointing undertaking. But it has also put for us the sacrament of marriage in perspective. The reality is that matrimony isn’t ultimately about the pomp and circumstance humans create, but what God divinely creates in us as a couple. Read more from Ryan Bilodeau here
The Eucharist as the Real Presence of Jesus
The Eucharist as the real presence of Jesus Christ body and blood, and not just a representative thereof, is an issue debated since the beginning of the Church. For Catholics this debate is not one from which we should run. Without a proper understanding of the Eucharist, after all, one cannot properly understand the liturgy. Continue reading on Prayer to Pen Catholic Blog
I’m Back!
Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve shared here. I never meant to NOT blog for so long but life took some very unexpected twists and turns. My husband has been very sick, and other things have happened. Therefore, there were things that had to be pushed to the back burner and sharing here was one of those things. (…Continue Reading…)
Blessed John Duns Scotus – A Theology of Love
My school report was so bad that my eldest brother was commissioned with the task of teaching me to read. But when he could not even manage to teach me how to read the Beano, he resigned his commission and commended me to St Jude of hopeless cases. But even St Jude failed. It seems that in those days it was not only in school, but in heaven too, that dyslexia was unheard of. St Anthony was the only real friend that I had. Most people who now know about dyslexia still do not realise how it affects your short term memory. That is where St Anthony came in. He might not have known much about dyslexia, but he was able to find the things that I was always losing. It was through him that I found St Francis of Assisi who may not have been dyslexic, but on his own admission he had little more than an elementary school education. read on…..
Creating My Own Saint’s Quotes With Images
I grew frustrated with traditional quotes from the saints paired with pictures of gloomy people with their eyes rolled back in their heads. Even worse, are insipid flowers surrounding profound spiritual insights. So, using the free site PixTeller, I searched for great Catholic art, sharp, colourful, graphics and paired them with some of my favourite saint’s quotes.
I started with St. Augustine and St. Teresa of Avila because both saints are insightful about the spiritual life and combine a wonderful sense of humour with wit.
You can see all the memes I have created so far on one of my Pinterest Boards called WOW- Words of Wisdom as well as some of my favourite memes in my post.
Who Is REALLY The Centre of My Universe?
If we are brutally honest, most Catholics must concede we view the world as if we stood at the centre of the universe with everyone and everything else revolving around us.
This egocentric stance affects how we think, feel, act, and pray. Even though many committed disciples have renounced a ruthless pursuit of power and money to serve God and His people, most still function more conscious of self than God, living daily life in a state of interior isolation, not in communion with the Holy Spirit.
What this self-centred viewpoint meant in my own life was I only appeared saintly on the surface as I mothered nine little people. Despite the fact I honestly longed to live in constant communion with the Holy Spirit, I was focused more on myself than on Christ.
The truth is, even when we are praying, we can still remain anchored in our egos. There is a profound difference between a person who is self-conscious, self-aware, sitting on a hilltop praising God for a gorgeous sunset, and someone who is so lost in the splendour of the moment that they become one with God whom they adore.