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
This was a wonderful series! I now know where to start to develop a prayer life that is unique, comfortable, and effective for me. While overwhelming at first to learn all the different ways to pray, I finally realized that I do not have to use all of the methods, just to find the right one for me. I thank the Holy Spirit for inspiring me to subscribe to the School of Prayer. I am a better person and a better Christian because of what I have learned. God bless those that developed the series, God bless Father Matlak, and God bless all my fellow group members.
Many thanks to the Good Catholic team for creating this 30 day series on prayer. There is much that I can return to and ponder as Mary often did in the Gospels. With so much hate spreading through the world right now I pray that our Lord uses each of our lives – our stories- as stained glass windows in which His Spirit and Love reach out to others. May our life as prayer be pleasing to Him and touch those who are hesitant to come to Him!
Thank you for this wonderful series. I loved and have gained so much from it. I also loved Father Matlak’s reflections and all the references to the eastern traditions, which although not entirely new to me, were presented in such a wonderful way. As others, I will be doing the series again. It was my first time doing a Good Catholic program and it was such a blessing.
I learned so much. My prayer life has changed forever.
Thank you…finished the series today. Loved it and will definitely enrich my prayer life. God Bless You!!!
There is so much to ponder!!! Beautiful journey.
Wow! I think today’s lesson – Practicing the Presence of God – is the lesson that has touched me most completely. It has brought all the other lessons together into what I feel is the most important lesson and with time and practice, could be the easiest and most effective way to bring prayer into my life. Amazing lesson!
Just got on this link, and want to say that I am loving this series. I want to deepen my prayer life, and this is really helping. We are all on a journey towards God, and what a wonderful journey it is. God is good! All the time.
I have been so blessed by the Holy Spirit praying in me, as I have gone through each day’s lesson on prayers. I have learned so much, as I find that He ??points? to just what I need for that day. I have also been saying the scriptural rosary at the end of each lesson, as the scripture helps to place me in contemplation of Mary and her beloved Son’s ultimate acts of love. Each mystery, has the scriptural passage, as well as a reflection on the mystery. Some of the reflections have truly resonated with me. I wrote down one from the Sorrowful mysteries, when Jesus Carries the Cross that beautifully captures what Mary was experiencing, and what we might say to Our Lady as we carry our own cross…
This is an excellent study…The information is deep giving lots of room for meditation. Glad I am doing this at this time.
Today’s material is very helpful and challenging! Thank you for all you do in making this a wonderful and meaningful series, I greatly appreciate it and am learning a lot.
This series has just enough overview to illustrate the richness of the day’s topic without being overwhelming as well as just enough history to show embeddedness in the Catholic tradition. I love that the material addresses both ??lungs? of the Church (East and West). That was unexpectedly goood gravy! Fr. Matlak is perfect for this, too.