Articles and Guides
Plain explanations of Catholic spiritual life, from what spiritual direction is to how to examine your conscience. Everything is written from the Church’s own documents and cited, so you can check what you read.
Series
Spiritual direction, start to finish
What it is, how to find a director, what happens when you meet, and how it differs from therapy. Read in this order if you are new to it.
Topic
Type
13 articles and guides
- Start hereSpiritual Direction
What Is Spiritual Direction? A Catholic Explanation
What spiritual direction is, where the Catholic practice comes from, what the Church says about it today, who can give it, how confidential it is, and how to begin.
10 min readRead
- Spiritual Direction
How to Find a Spiritual Director
Where Catholics in the United States actually find spiritual directors, what to say when you ask, and what to do when the first person says no.
8 min readRead
- Spiritual Direction
What to Expect in Spiritual Direction
What a first meeting with a spiritual director is like, how sessions run, how often people meet, what it costs, and what to do if it is not working.
7 min readRead
- Spiritual Direction
Questions to Ask a Spiritual Director
The qualities the saints looked for in a director, the questions worth asking in a first meeting, and the warning signs that mean you should look elsewhere.
6 min readRead
- Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction vs. Therapy: How They Differ
What spiritual direction and therapy are each for, how they differ in training, confidentiality and cost, how both compare with pastoral counseling, confession and coaching, and when to see a therapist or doctor first.
8 min readRead
- DiscernmentSpiritual Direction
What Is Discernment? A Catholic Guide
What Catholics mean by discernment, from its roots in Scripture to Saint Ignatius’ rules for the discernment of spirits, how it relates to conscience and vocation, and practical steps for making a decision before God.
9 min readRead
- GuideSacramentsPrayer
Examination of Conscience: A Catholic Guide Based on the Ten Commandments
A complete examination of conscience for adults, arranged by the Ten Commandments and the precepts of the Church, with the Catechism’s teaching on mortal and venial sin.
16 min readRead
- GuidePrayer
Lectio Divina: How to Pray with Scripture
What lectio divina is, where it comes from, and how to pray with a passage of Scripture step by step, alone or in a group, with passages to start on.
9 min readRead
- GuidePrayerLiturgy and the Church Year
The Stations of the Cross: How to Pray Them
What the Stations of the Cross are, where the devotion came from, the fourteen traditional stations and the Scriptural Way of the Cross, and how to pray them in church or at home.
11 min readRead
- GuidePrayerLiturgy and the Church Year
The Liturgy of the Hours: A Beginner’s Guide
What the Liturgy of the Hours (the Divine Office) is, who prays it, how each hour is put together, which book to buy, and how to begin with a single hour.
11 min readRead
- Liturgy and the Church Year
The Rites of the Catholic Church: Latin and Eastern
What the Catholic rites are, how the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches fit together, which of them you can find in the United States, and what to expect at an Eastern Catholic liturgy.
10 min readRead
- GuideSacraments
Preparing for Confession
What happens in the sacrament of Penance, in the order it happens, for someone who has been away a while and is not sure how it goes any more.
7 min readRead
- GuideLiturgy and the Church YearSacraments
Understanding the Mass
A walk through the Mass in order: what each part is, why it is there, and when the congregation stands, sits and kneels.
11 min readRead
