Spiritual Resources
Christmas
- A Xaverian Prayer Service for the Household at Christmas: follow along guide for family Christmas prayer service
Online Resources for Independent Daily Prayer and Reflection:
- Sacred Space: offers daily guided prayer
- Daily Meditations with Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM: thematic reflections posted daily
- Think About God (TAG): provides simple, yet thought provoking daily message that inspires and motivates
- Ignatian Daily Examen for Life During COVID-19
- Honor your Inner Monk: Saint Meinrad Archabbey free prayer app you can use to say a short prayer twice a day
Prayer Requests
- Request Prayer: Submit a prayer request that will be shared with a prayer team
Fatih Development:
- Word on Fire: sermons, commentaries and video clip by Fr. Robert Barron.
- The Jesuit Post: This site is about Jesus, politics, and pop-culture, it’s about the Catholic Church, sports, and Socrates.
- Young Catholics, An Ancient Faith, A New Century: blog that provides world-class Catholic opinion and analysis on the most pressing issues of our times in politics, religion, and culture.
- Books to read and prayers in a time of quarantine
xaverian connections:
- Letter to the Xaverian Brothers: Write a letter or note of encouragement to the Xaverian Brothers at the Ryken House
- Xaverian Brothers Sponsored Schools: The XBSS Office provides services to the schools operating out of a sense of Gospel mission that is reflected in the mission of the Church and of the Xaverian Brothers.
- Xaverian Brothers: A site dedicated to the Spirituality and Mission of the Congregation of the Brothers of Saint Francis Xavier
Meditation Apps:
- Insight Timer
- Description: the number 1 free mediation app. Guided meditations and talks led by the world's top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more. Music tracks from world-renowned artists. Join millions learning to meditate on Insight Timer to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness.
- The Mindfulness App
- Description: meditation beginners and gurus alike will find lots of options with The Mindfulness App. A five-day guided practice and introduction to mindfulness help you get started, and timed guided or silent meditations from 3 to 30 minutes will suit your busy lifestyle. The app also offers personalized meditation options, reminders to keep you mindful throughout the day, and statistics to track in your meditation journal.
- Headspace
- Description: find calmness, wellness, and balance in your life with this app's guided meditation and mindfulness techniques for daytime use. Before bed, try any of its 10 new sleep music tracks or 16 nature soundscapes. The app builds personalized plans based on a little input from you, so you can learn the essentials of meditation and build from there.
- Calm
- Description: this award-winning app has calming exercises, breathing techniques to help you relax, and even a Calm Kids section with meditations for kids between 3-17. The new Sleep Stories section features a great mix of voice talent — you may recognize actors Matthew McConaughey or Jerome Flynn — to lull you to sleep. A recent update to the Calm app makes for a mindful experience through the Apple Watch, with three new breathing exercises, a mindful walking meditation, and calming exercises you can access right from your watch.
- Stop, Breathe, Think
- Description: Stop, Breathe, and Think is an award-winning meditation and mindfulness app that helps you find peace anywhere. It allows you to check-in with your emotions and recommends short guided meditations, yoga, and acupressure videos, tuned to how you feel. Also available in Spanish.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY:
- For Your Marriage: A website initiated by USCCB for strengthening Catholic marriage
- Marriage Unique for a Reason - offers resources to assist with the education and catechesis of Catholics on why marriage is unique and why it should be promoted and protected
prayer for a pandemic
May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when schools are closed remember those that have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips remember those who have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country, let us choose love during this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbor.
Amen.
- written by Cameron Wiggins Bellm