No, I haven’t won the lotto—or not yet. But is it possible to really pray hard and manifest winning the lotto? How? My friend DM, almost 80, boasts that in his younger years he won five of the six-digit lotto combination at least thrice. He claims that he did it through the prayer and meditative...
Tag: prayer
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On a street in Brooklyn, prayer demonstrates power
NEW YORK CITY—It was May 11 and I had to be at the acupuncturist’s clinic by 2 p.m. I left Manhattan and headed to Brooklyn at 1:15 p.m. I was by myself. I usually travel with my friend but she ran into train delays from where she was coming, and we decided to meet at...
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It’s OK to lament, ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me!’
Minutes before he died on the cross, Jesus cried out in a loud voice: “Eli, Eli, la’ma sabach-tha’ni?”—“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me!” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34). This lament, considered Jesus’ fourth last word before he died, is one of the Seven Last Words, compiled from the passion and death narratives of...
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Holy Week is Prayer Week
‘Tis the season of prayer as we’re into the most hallowed part of the year, the Holy Week. There is no arguing it: We can never underestimate the immense power of prayer. Having spent a considerable number of years in a seminary and almost completing a priestly formation, I can only reminisce, with nostalgic yearning,...
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4 things to remember when depressed
Have you ever experienced “bottom-stuck” moments, or been pinned down by tragedy or misfortune, hopelessness and depression, pain and struggle? Here are some bottom-line truths to remember. 1. Nothing is permanent and there is no such thing as “bottomless” or “bottom-most.” Remember this: No matter how miserable or seemingly fateful your current situation, it is...
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Prayer is not asking or ‘controlling’ but ‘being’ with God
Back in my seminary days, I remember a phrase that captivated my imagination: “wasting time with God.” It was some kind of parody or radical criticism of the modern productivity-crazed world’s disavowal of the godly, spiritual or prayerful life as a waste of time. Hence, back then, we indubitably “enjoyed” wasting time with God in...