Prayer is our outstanding supernatural resource for fighting the wiles of the enemy!

“Prayer is, beyond doubt, the most powerful weapon the Lord gives us to conquer evil … but we must really put ourselves into the prayer, it is not enough just to say the words, it must come from the heart. And also prayer needs to be continuous, we must pray no matter what kind of situation we find ourselves in: the warfare we are engaged in is ongoing, so our prayer must be on-going also.” – St. Alphonsus

You see? Whether it’s a Navy SEAL or a Saint, we admire those who put it all on the line — go “all in!” — those who are totally dedicated to the mission … and God admires them too. Throughout salvation history, we have seen how God responds to this resolute and determined kind of prayer, just as Jesus taught His disciples. It was in Nineveh that the entire city turned back to God and did all that they could, through prayer and fasting, to “demonstrate to” God that they were absolutely resolute in this “turning.” God saw how “serious” they were about this, and He was moved (Jonah 3:3-10). This is yet another story that demonstrates how God – a perfect Father – compels His children to be truly resolute and quite serious when calling out to Him.

The heroes of our faith are the warrior saints who have gone before us. God worked mightily and miraculously through them. Therefore, we must study their ways. How did they remain so well connected, in such strong friendship with God, so that His river of supernatural grace could flow so freely through them? What do these “SEALS for Christ” teach us about the ideal spiritual disciplines, the ultimate daily regimen of prayer?

The following are those top ten ideal and most rock-solid foundational practices of an authentically strong Catholic.

1. The Morning Offering
2. The Angelus (6 AM, noon, 6 PM)
3. Mental Prayer (at least 15 minutes)
4. Spiritual Reading (at least 15 minutes)
5. Frequent Confession (at least once a month)
6. Holy Mass and Communion
7. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (regularly)
8. Acts of Mortification (especially fasting)
9. The Holy Rosary
10. Brief Examination of Conscience (at night)

Our Daily Prayer for Liberty and for a Holy Spirit Revival 

“Free us from every force of oppression, both internally and externally. Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties; by your grace may we have the courage to defend them, for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land. Heavenly Father, grant a Holy Spirit Revival in our land!” (Based on a prayer by the USCCB)

GOD’S WORD

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

“For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

“But the Lord said: ‘If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you may say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted, and be transplanted into the sea.” And it would obey you.’” (Luke 17:6)

HEROES’ WORDS

“For faith is the beginning and the end is love, and God is the two of them brought into unity. After these comes whatever else makes up a Christian gentleman.” -St. Ignatius of Antioch

“Faith means battles; if there are no contests, it is because there are none who desire to contend.” -St. Ambrose “Faith does not quench desire, but inflames it.” -St. Thomas Aquinas

“A faint faith is better than a strong heresy.” -St. Thomas More

“It is not the actual physical exertion that counts toward a man’s progress, nor the nature of the task, but the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken.” -St. Francis Xavier

MEDITATION

“Fruit of Faithfulness: Our faith is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. We have faith only if we believe in Christ’s entire public revelation. The Catholic faith is faith that Christ instituted a divine institution, a Church blessed with authority to infallibly teach his public revelation. If we accept only doctrines consistent with our own experience we are not accepting them on faith but rather on human analysis.”

Fr Richard Heilman