Resources to deepen your prayer life
In Bishop Bonnar’s First Pastoral Letter to the Diocese of Youngstown, Testify to the Light, he offers five priorities to help shape the future of a diocese rooted in the sacramental life. The first priority is prayer.  Continue reading for suggestions on how to enhance your prayer life, based on Bishop Bonnar’s letter.
The Importance of Silence
“Be still and know that I am God!" Psalm 46:11
"God speaks in the silence of the heart and we listen,"
Mother Teresa
"Silence prepares us and accompanies us."  Pope Francis
​The Value of Faith Sharing
The Sacredness of Parish Life

"The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God's word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship, and celebration." 
-Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel

Catholic News Service provides a brief summary of 
​The Joy of the Gospel in this video 
The Formation of Small Groups
Visit the North American Forum for Small Christian Communities to learn how small communities can renew and strengthen discipleship HERE. 
"The most important reason for gathering in small groups is to place God in a primary spot in their lives, make faith essential to their lives, hear the invitation of Jesus to change themselves, and transform the society around them. In other words to make disciples."
Get a pdf for "10 Guiding Principles of LRSS Small Group Discussion" from Little Rock Scripture Study HERE. 
Find LRSS "Tips for Online Bible Study" HERE.

Additional Prayer Resources

Learn about the origins and how to pray the Rosary.
CLICK HERE for "Praying the Rosary" ​activities and handouts from Loyola Press.
Plan a scripture-based retreat at home, online, or in the parish,
from Little Rock Scripture Study. 
CLICK HERE for "Prayer Puzzles," a memorable prayer-learning activity from Catechist magazine. 
Teach your children or grandchildren to pray beautiful Catholic prayers while coloring and connecting with our Catholic faith.
Download  from Catholic Relief Services a free Catholic prayer book "Children in Faith: Learning to Pray and Color with José".
CLICK HERE for Creating a Prayer Bottle - a great activity for any age level.
CLICK HERE for "Practicing Prayer Intergenerationally" ​from Building Faith. 
Click here for some tips for prayer from "Pop Up Catechesis" by Loyola Press. 
CLICK HERE  to download 52 Ways to Pray from Janet Schaeffler, OP
CLICK HERE for Prayers of Trust & Hope from Thomas Merton and others. 
CLICK HERE for "How to Build in Time to Pray," from Ignatian Spirituality. 
Click Here for "Prayer is Hard, and it's Something We Have to Learn
Guided Meditation is a wonderful form of prayer for all ages. 
All you need are some soft instrumental music, a quiet atmosphere, and one of these scripts below.  Here are a few samples:
Temptation in the Desert Meditation from Ave Maria Press
Walking on Water Meditation
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Mary & the Angel Gabriel Meditation

These Diocesan Library resources can help you
to prepare prayer for groups. 
We have lots more, but these will get you started: 

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE LIBRARY MATERIALS 
or call 330 744-8451 ext 297, or email library@youngstowndiocese.org.
For group prayer for CHILDREN, organized by the Church liturgical year: 
Prepare! Celebrate! Live!
by Mariette Martineau
For MIDDLE-GRADE CHILDREN, organized according to God's gifts of Joy, Love, Wisdom, Trust, Friends, Healing, Light, Perseverance, Animals, Talents, and 15 others:
25 Guided Prayer Services for Middle Graders
by Pat Egan Dexter
For group prayer for CHILDREN AND YOUTH, with "Traditional Prayers and Practices," "Prayers for the Liturgical Year," "Saints and Celebrations," and "Interactive Prayers for Daily Life":
365 Prayers for Catholic Schools and Parish Youth Groups : Interactive, Seasonal, Traditional
by Filomena Tassi and Peter Tassi
For TEEN groups, with prayers about prejudice, friendship, happiness, peace, sexuality, forgiveness, failure, hope, choices, suffering, and other themes. 
Teen Prayer Services : 20 Themes for Reflection
by S. Kevin Regan​
For INTER-GENERATIONAL groups, organized by "Prayer Services," "Morning Prayers," "Night Prayers," "Seasonal Prayers," "Prayers for Meetings," and "Prayers to Celebrate the Human Journey:" 
Together We Pray : Prayers and Services for Gatherings and Groups 
by Carmen L. Caltagirone
For INTER-GENERATIONAL groups, for select Sundays of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, plus Corpus Christi, Sts. Peter & Paul, Transfiguration, Assumption, Triumph of the Cross, All Saints, Christ the King, the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time C, and the 29th Sunday of A: 
24 Intergenerational Liturgies of the Word
​edited by Wanda Scheuermann
Over 1,200 prayers FOR ALL AGES from over 560 authors and sources, from every continent and every Christian century.  Arranged under subject headings with cross-referencing.  The introduction offers advice and encouragement by leading Christian authors on prayer.
The Complete Book of Christian Prayer
from the Continuum Publishing Company
THE go-to source for preparing prayer for all ages:​
Book of Blessings:   Approved for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and Confirmed by the Apostolic See
Prepared by International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
Opening and Closing Prayers for the Liturgical Year. 
Lorraine L. Kilmartin. 
​Saint Mary's Press, 2014.  A collection of 120 prayers that follow the liturgical calendar, highlighting major Catholic feasts, solemnities, and memorials, as well as secular holidays. Each liturgical season is celebrated with specific prayers ranging from traditional to contemporary, each dedicated to themes and images of the season.
eBook 
How to Pray the Dominican Way: Ten Postures, Prayers, and Practices that Lead us to God.  Stagnaro, Angelo.  Paraclete Press, 2012.
". . . unearths the teachings of St. Dominic on prayer . . . Dominic believed that the soul is moved by the body and then the body is able to respond back--the two work together in prayer. Each of the ten forms of prayer, here, is meant to be practiced for one week before moving onto the next"

These Diocesan Library resources
can help individuals to pray. 
​We have a few hundred books about prayer;
​these are good beginnings:​

CLICK HERE to reserve materials or to browse the catalog 
for the many more prayer reflections and helps,
or call 330 744-8451 ext. 297, or email library@youngstowndiocese.org.
In a series of brief reflections, Fr. Rolheiser clears common misconceptions about prayer and offers both consolation and challenge.  The Library has both the print and audio versions, and a study guide that would help a group seeking a deeper prayer life. 
Essential Celtic Prayers.
by Thomas McPherson,
Paraclete Press, 2017.
The early Celts lived in a time and place where nature was ever-present — in the seasonal harvest and disruptions of it, in the sometimes brutal climate, and in all the gifts from the earth. In their simple rural life, they were surrounded by the cycles of nature: the seasons, lunar months, tides, dawn and dusk. This book is a collection of some of the most beautiful prayers of the Celtic tradition that speak to us across the centuries.
These guides for groups or individuals do not require an expert on prayer or scripture, because everyone journeys together in scriptural discovery. 
101 Place to Pray Before You Die: A Roamin' Catholic's Guide. 
​by Thomas J. Craughwell,
Franciscan Media, 2017.  
Explores holy sites for Catholic travelers, including unique shrines, retreat houses, and other significant holy places.
Both a collection of prayers and a guide to the many approaches to prayer, this book can benefit the hesitant newcomer and the lifelong daily prayer who longs for greater intimacy with God:  
Picture
Brian Doyle's characteristic humor and sincerity combine to make this collection a delight to read. From his conviction that miracles breed ripples that do not cease, to his lack of faith about the life of an elderberry bush,  Doyle's lean stories of spiritual substance inspire, entertain, and captivate.
A clear, concise, and simple guide to “praying always,” as Paul instructs us. Designed to make our random moments (driving, walking, doing dishes) times of prayer. 26 weekly themes offer reflections, Scripture, and a weekly action that will deepen prayer life. 
 Praying on Empty: A Guide to Rediscovering Your Prayerful Self. 
by Mary Kathleen Glavich,
Twenty Third Publications, 2017.
You used to like to pray and all of a sudden your prayer dried up! You lost the sense of God's presence, could hardly wait until prayer was finished, and maybe stopped praying entirely. Dryness in prayer might actually be a grace in disguise. Popular author Kathleen Glavich you will help you explore possible reasons for experiencing aridity in prayer and acquire ways to cope with it. Includes questions for reflection.

The Diocesan Library has children's books
that can help introduce prayer: 

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE LIBRARY MATERIALS 
or call 330 744-8451 ext 297, or email library@youngstowndiocese.org.
Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise
Tomie dePaola
Folk-art-style illustrations and text inspired by scriptures from the Holy Bible offer praise to everything on the land and in the sea and sky.
Praying with My Fingers: An Easy Way to Talk with God
A board book, beginning, "I count with my fingers, and learn how to pray.  I look at each finger and know what to say." 
Sleeptime Prayers for Children: Good Night, God
Geared for the last moments of the day, when children are being tucked into bed. 

These videos can help children to pray the basic memorized prayers: 

These 2-minute animations go phrase by phrase through the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be with illustrations.  Prayed in children's voices. 

These videos can kick-start adult prayer life:

This 2-minute intro by Fr. Jim Martin can give a starting place and confidence to someone uncertain about praying. 
From Franciscan Media, a 1-minute assurance that our prayer should arise from who we are: 
From the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, a down-to-earth 3 minutes on the ease and importance of prayer: 

These videos can deepen an existing prayer life: 

Online Resources for Spiritual Help

CLICK HERE for a brief online article by Sr. Janet Schaeffler, OP,  in  Catechist magazine on "Ways a Catechist Might Pray"
CLICK HERE for prayers from the National Catholic Partnership on Disability to increase the sense of belonging for every one of God's children.
CLICK HERE to go on an online Ignatian Prayer Adventure from IgnatianSpirituality.com. 
CLICK HERE for Orientations for Spiritual Growth, for "points of departure ... suggestions ... hints ... landmarks ... maps ... etc., to be used or not used in as much as they are helpful for the landscape of the spirit."

​From Jesuit fathers in Canada. 
CLICK HERE for Minute Meditations, from Franciscan Media, a ministry of the Franciscan Friars.  

Find "The Other Person is Not Your Problem," "God Makes Grace Out of Grit," "What Can We Do with Our Fear," and much more. 
CLICK HERE for a variety of simple yet powerful Ignatian Prayers, plus short bits of spiritual advice from Jesuits throughout history.  From Xavier University. 

Consider this advice: 
THE SLOW WORK OF GOD
​Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end
Without delay.
We should like to skip
The intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on
The way to something unknown,
Something new,
And yet it is the law of all progress
That it is made by passing through
Some stages of instability ---
And that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you.
Your ideas mature gradually ---
Let them grow,
Let them shape themselves,
Without undue haste.
Don't try to force them on,
As though you could be today
What time will make you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spirit
Gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
That his hand is leading you,
And accept the anxiety of
Feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J..