The Essential Guide to Catholic Prayer and the Mass

Prayer is our direct line to God. It's our time to quietly contemplate our blessings, confess and seek forgiveness for our sins, and ask God to work his will through us. From a quick, silent prayer of thanksgiving, to the ultimate in Catholic prayer--the Mass--all prayers serve a similar purpose: to deepen our relationship with God.

The Essential Guide to Catholic Prayer and the Mass leads you through traditional Catholic devotions and introduces you to new approaches to prayer and spirituality. In these pages, you meet the Blessed Mother Mary and countless saints who have walked the road of faith you're on. You discover how these spiritual companions offer guidance on approaching God in prayer and provide an example of how to best live the Catholic faith.

And then there's the Mass. Through it, Catholics reconfirm their faith, find hope for the future, and gain a deeper understanding of God's word. This up-to-date guide covers the new translation of the Mass, approved by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

Whether you're new to Catholicism, a lifelong Catholic, or returning to the faith, this inspiring guide helps you develop or deepen a meaningful, fulfilling life of worship. For every season, for every day, for every person, there is a prayer or pathway to God. The Essential Guide to Catholic Prayer and the Mass provides both in abundance.

Covers the changes in the liturgy of the Mass, including new translations of greetings, prayers, responses, and even the creeds.

Mary DeTurris Poust is an author, columnist, and blogger who has focused on Catholic issues for more than 25 years. She is the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Catholic Catechism, as well as Parenting a Grieving Child, and the upcoming Walking Together: Discovering the Catholic Tradition of Spiritual Friendship. She blogs regularly at OSV Daily Take and at her own blog, Not Strictly Spiritual. Her monthly column, "Life Lines," has been published in Catholic New York since 2001, and her articles have appeared in dozens of national and regional publications.