Resources for Spiritual Life Via the Internet
Computers and the internet are used today for all kinds of purposes: for research, recreation, and staying in touch with friends - just to name a few. Unfortunately, some have also found it an all too easy way to access pornography and other things that are not healthful for our soul's well-being. Below are three web resources that many have found to be helpful for strengthening one's spiritual life.
Spiritual Practice 1: Praying the Daily Office
The Daily Office is the part of our Episcopal/Anglican heritage that most deeply resembles the prayer life of those who live in monastic communities. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) offers liturgies for ordinary people to set their daily clocks to a rhythm of prayer. The Offices are Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer and Compline or (Nighttime Prayer). Many choose to follow the Daily Office using an online resource. One such website is Mission St. Clare. This site also has downloadable apps for Androids, iPhones, iPads and Kindles.
The web address is http://www.missionstclare.com/
The folks who put this together have a monthly calendar with full morning and evening prayer services (including music) along with notes on Church feasts and fasts.
Spiritual Practice 2: Daily Devotional Reading
A wealth of these can be found online. Bible Gateway is just one of many. It is a ministry of Zondervan Bookstores and Harper Collins Publisher. Check out Bible Gateway Devotionals at https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/
I have been especially encouraged by meditations from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and CS Lewis.
Spiritual Practice 3: Gratitude
An attitude of gratitude is transformative - both personally and situationally. One of my favorite "guides" is the work of Brother David Stendhal-Rast, OSB. Brother David is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk, and his website is a treasure trove of resources to encourage us to live more gratefully. (Esp. check out his video - A Good Day) It can be found here http://www.gratefulness.org/
Other ideas:
The Thought for the Day from BBC Radio 4 is a collection of reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news. Each segment is usually no more than three minutes in length, it is very worth your while. Also check out , near the bottom of the page, the Prayer for the Day and the Service of the Day, The link is here...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szxv6
Computers and the internet are used today for all kinds of purposes: for research, recreation, and staying in touch with friends - just to name a few. Unfortunately, some have also found it an all too easy way to access pornography and other things that are not healthful for our soul's well-being. Below are three web resources that many have found to be helpful for strengthening one's spiritual life.
Spiritual Practice 1: Praying the Daily Office
The Daily Office is the part of our Episcopal/Anglican heritage that most deeply resembles the prayer life of those who live in monastic communities. The Book of Common Prayer (1979) offers liturgies for ordinary people to set their daily clocks to a rhythm of prayer. The Offices are Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer and Compline or (Nighttime Prayer). Many choose to follow the Daily Office using an online resource. One such website is Mission St. Clare. This site also has downloadable apps for Androids, iPhones, iPads and Kindles.
The web address is http://www.missionstclare.com/
The folks who put this together have a monthly calendar with full morning and evening prayer services (including music) along with notes on Church feasts and fasts.
Spiritual Practice 2: Daily Devotional Reading
A wealth of these can be found online. Bible Gateway is just one of many. It is a ministry of Zondervan Bookstores and Harper Collins Publisher. Check out Bible Gateway Devotionals at https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/
I have been especially encouraged by meditations from Dietrich Bonhoeffer and CS Lewis.
Spiritual Practice 3: Gratitude
An attitude of gratitude is transformative - both personally and situationally. One of my favorite "guides" is the work of Brother David Stendhal-Rast, OSB. Brother David is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monk, and his website is a treasure trove of resources to encourage us to live more gratefully. (Esp. check out his video - A Good Day) It can be found here http://www.gratefulness.org/
Other ideas:
The Thought for the Day from BBC Radio 4 is a collection of reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news. Each segment is usually no more than three minutes in length, it is very worth your while. Also check out , near the bottom of the page, the Prayer for the Day and the Service of the Day, The link is here...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szxv6