Practice

Faith and Practice

Catholics believe we are saved by grace through faith. Salvation is God’s gift, not something we earn. St. Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). The Church teaches the same: “Our justification comes from the grace of God,” which the Catechism describes as “the free and undeserved help that God gives us” (CCC 1996). And because God always takes the first step, “no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification” (CCC 2010).

Grace opens the door, and Jesus doesn’t leave us standing at the threshold. Paul continues: “For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance” (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus calls us to follow him: to grow in love, to be changed, and to serve others. Even our response is his gift. The Catechism says that “the preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace” (CCC 2001), and that the good we do has merit only because God “has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace” (CCC 2008). Our good works don’t buy God’s love; they’re how his love takes root and bears fruit in us. Faith, as Paul puts it, works through love (Galatians 5:6).

That growth happens through practice. Faith isn’t only something we believe; it’s something we become, through habits repeated over years until they shape who we are.

My own practices didn’t arrive all at once. They came through people, places, and seasons of life, from a high school youth group to monks, retreats, men’s gatherings, and friends who showed me what they were doing. I share them here not as a program, but as an invitation. Don’t try them all. Start with one, stay with it, and see what grows.

The first Christians, Scripture tells us, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers (Acts 2:42). That’s still a good map.

The Sacraments: the center of it all

Learning to value the sacramental life of the Church has been a lifelong process for me. In the Eucharist, Christ gives himself to us, not as an idea, but as real food. In Reconciliation, we bring what we’ve done and who we’ve been, and we hear that we are forgiven. Everything else on this page grows from these encounters and leads back to them.

To begin: Go to Mass one weekday in addition to Sunday, or make a confession after a long time away. If it’s been years, just tell the priest so. He’ll help you.

The Prayers: many ways of being with God

The Liturgy of the Hours. I first learned of it through Benedictine monks, one who served in our parish and those at the abbey in Cañon City, where I worked at their summer camp. It is the Church’s daily prayer, the Psalms prayed morning and evening by monks, priests, and laypeople around the world. I’ve prayed it since with Franciscan friends and the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. When you pray it, you join a chorus that never stops.
To begin: Pray Morning or Evening Prayer with a free app such as iBreviary or Universalis.

Centering Prayer and contemplative silence. A Trappist monk taught me the value of simply resting in God’s presence without words. In a noisy world, silence can feel strange at first, then becomes a refuge.
To begin: Sit quietly for ten minutes. When thoughts come, let them go and gently return to a single sacred word.

Adoration. Committing to a weekly Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament taught me what to do with my wandering thoughts, and how to stop talking long enough to listen.
To begin: Find a parish with an adoration chapel and sign up for one hour a week. Others will be counting on you, and that commitment helps.

The Daily Examen. When prayer moved online, I found two gifts from the Jesuits: Sacred Space from the Irish Jesuits, and Pray As You Go from the British Jesuits. The Examen is a simple review of the day: where was God present, where did I fall short, and what do I need tomorrow?
To begin: Visit sacredspace.ie or pray-as-you-go.org for a guided ten-minute prayer.

The Apostles’ Teaching: Scripture, daily

Meeting with men at church who were reading the whole Bible, I decided to do the same, front to back. Setting aside dedicated time every day changed my relationship with Scripture. It stopped being a collection of familiar verses and became a story I was part of.
To begin: Choose a fixed time and place each day. Start with a Gospel, or follow a reading plan through the whole Bible.

Fellowship: faith is not meant to be lived alone

Some of my earliest experiences of faith came through a high school youth group, where we connected, studied, shared, and talked honestly about how to live what we were learning. Retreats with the Archdiocese of Denver’s Catholic Youth Services at Camp St. Malo in Allenspark (Search, Outreach, and parish weekends) showed me that faith could be alive and personal.

As an adult, I experienced two very different kinds of gathering. At Promise Keepers, which I attended first in 1995 at Mile High Stadium, I felt the power of tens of thousands of Christian men worshiping together. About the same time, I first attended the Gathering of Men retreat which showed me the opposite end: the power of small, intimate, honest sharing among men. Both matter. The big gathering reminds us we’re not alone. The small circle is where we’re truly known.
To begin: Join or start a small group at your parish: a men’s or women’s group, a couples group, or a Bible study. Attend a retreat. [Link: Gathering of Men / The Women’s Journey]

Healing: bringing our wounds to Christ

We all carry wounds, and many of us have learned to hide them, even from God. With Christian friends, I attended the ManKind Project’s training, and was with the founders who developed Marked Men for Christ, which grew as a Christ-centered way to dig deeper into our wounds and seek his healing. I’ve learned that healing isn’t a detour from the spiritual life. It’s part of it.
To begin: Consider a healing-focused retreat, or talk with a spiritual director or counselor about what you’re carrying.

Service: meeting Christ in the poor

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). I’ve experienced this through my work: as a case manager in community mental health, and later as a counselor, consultant, and supervisor at the St. Francis Center in Denver, an Episcopal agency serving people experiencing homelessness. Service keeps faith honest. It turns prayer outward.
To begin: Volunteer regularly at a shelter, food bank, or parish outreach ministry. Go weekly or monthly, not just once.

A companion for the journey

Practices are easier to begin, and to keep, with someone walking alongside you. If you’d like help discerning which practice fits your life right now, Beth and I would be glad to talk with you. [Link to Spiritual Direction page]