What You Don’t Know About Prayer
Let’s be honest. You probably think you’re doing fine in your prayer life. And perhaps you are. But is your prayer life actually deepening and growing? St. Bernard famously said, “He who does not advance, falls back.” What if there’s more to prayer than what you experience now? God wants all of us to pray like saints. What’s holding you back from reaching the heights of prayer that God is calling you to?
Don’t Just Pray More, Pray Better.
Prayer is essential to our spiritual life, yet it is one of the hardest things for us to do. If you’ve ever tried to maintain a consistent and meaningful prayer life, you know how difficult it can be.
In order to pray well as faithful Catholics, we must draw from how the Holy Spirit has taught the Church to pray over the centuries.
School of Prayer is a 30-day devotional series to help you advance your prayer life farther than you ever realized you could. In this series you will study prayer in the universal Catholic Church as taught by scripture, papal encyclicals, catechisms, the saints and spiritual masters from the East and West, and more.
This includes:
- The two things necessary for true prayer
- The four different kinds of prayer
- The three levels of prayer
- How to identify and overcome the common obstacles to prayer growth
- Practical tips for developing better habits of prayer
- How to pray as a family
- …and much more!
Get practical instruction that will help you pray better—now and for the rest of your life.
How Does It Work?
For each of the 30 days of this series you will receive an email linking you to new daily content posted right here at GoodCatholic.com. You’ll also have access to all 30 sessions immediately, if you’d like to go at your own pace. You can repeat the series as often as you wish for one full year.
Don’t wait! Subscribe today.
Series Contributors
Father Joseph Matlak
Fr. Joseph Matlak serves as Administrator of St. Basil the Great Eastern Catholic Parish in Charlotte, North Carolina, and as Chaplain of Holy Trinity Catholic Middle School of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. He was born in Dunstable, England. His undergraduate studies in Ancient History at King’s College London led him to focus on the history and theology of Byzantium. He completed priestly formation for the Eparchy of St. Josaphat at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., and was ordained to the Holy Priesthood in 2015 at St. Josaphat Cathedral in Parma, Ohio. Fr. Matlak has a unique priesthood in that he has faculties to celebrate Holy Mass according to the Roman Rite, as well as the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. This has imbued him with a deep appreciation for the catholicity of the Church. Among other things, he enjoys traveling, film, theater, music, and history.
Gretchen Filz, O.P.
Gretchen Filz, O.P., is a Catholic content writer with an M.A. in Christian Apologetics. As a result of her studies in theology and philosophy at an Evangelical seminary, she discovered the truth of Catholicism and entered into full communion with the Catholic Church in 2011. A passionate convert and Lay Dominican, Gretchen lives out her vocation through prayer, study, teaching, writing, and engaging in a variety of apostolates. Her articles have provided catechesis and inspiration for Catholics around the world. She currently works in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Whitney Hetzel
Whitney Hetzel and her husband, James, have been married for thirty-three years. They have nine children ranging in age from twelve to thirty-two. Whitney, who has been homeschooling for twenty-seven years, is an exercise enthusiast who enjoys blogging about health and fitness over at 9 Kid Fitness. But her real passion is discussing faith, family, and the challenges of putting one foot in front of the other on a daily basis, all of which she writes about at Catholic Company Magazine and the Good Catholic blog. Whitney has a B.A. in English and Journalism from Indiana University and an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Saint Louis University.
51 Reviews
I love it! It’s making me rethink all the ways I already pray. It’s reaffirming so much for me. I always beat myself up because I don’t think I do enough but in reality I do a lot of this! With that said, there is always room for improvement!
I am really enjoying the series so far! I like how today Father Matlak talked about the distinction between the image and likeness of God. I think Eastern Christianity (Orthodox and Catholic) has a better understanding of this aspect of theological anthropology. That makes me more excited about this series, because as a Roman rite Catholic there is a lot that I can learn from the Eastern Catholic Churches!
This study is wonderful! Life changing!
I have learned so much in just these 4 days. I, too, enjoy learning about the other rites. Keep up the great work that you are doing!!!
Absolutely love the first week and enjoy reading all your comments. It’s so great to interact with people of faith, on social media. [about the FB group component]
I particularly like the references to the Eastern traditions. This is an area that most Roman Catholics are not very familiar with. I discovered that the Ukranian Catholic Church has its own catechism! Very interesting indeed! So much to learn about our wonderful Catholic Church!
I am pleased, amazed and strengthened by this series. I find that detail and insights are plentiful and it is almost (in my opinion) to much to ingest at one time. I know that this 30 days of prayer will be repeated many a time since it provides me with much to continue and still learn. So much to learn
I’m learning so much from these series; thank you Good Catholic!
Day 12 of the series was very enlightening. I never heard of acedia or the Noonday Devil until today. This series is very good for my spiritual journey. I am pleased it is available so I do it again. I may get more out of it if repeated.
I so needed today’s lesson. I have had consolations in the past, far and few in between. It never occurred to me that God would remove consolations so we don’t grow to love the consolations rather than God who provides them. I will continue to pray, for the love of God alone, and not for any consolations I may be blessed to receive.
I am convicted today of changing my posture while I pray..with great hope I know I am being transformed with this “school of prayer” series.. God bless you all
School of Prayer” is a great series. I had been having so much trouble a few years ago to find the time to pray. Little by little it started to increase, and this series brings a whole new perspective on prayer.