Ten Ways to Pray: A Catholic Guide for Drawing Closer to God (Engaging Catholicism)

Whether you are just beginning to develop a consistent prayer practice or are looking for a new approach to spiritual growth, Ten Ways to Pray will explore a variety of traditional forms of Catholic prayer that enable you to draw closer to God and the communion of saints.

Winner of a third-place award for best new religious book from the Catholic Media Association.

This practical introduction to ten traditional forms of prayer from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame will help you develop a richer spiritual life that draws you closer to the triune God and the communion of saints. Carolyn Pirtle provides intriguing bits of history, engaging spiritual and theological commentary, and step-by-step guidance for trying ten distinct ways of praying that Catholics have utilized across the centuries and around the world in order to develop your own prayer practice.

These include praying:

• with scripture
• to consecrate time through the Liturgy of the Hours and the Angelus
• through experience in the Examen
• through action in the Works of Mercy
• through the beauty of nature, art, and music
• through silence

Carolyn Pirtle is program director at the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy in the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, where she also is the managing editor of and a frequent contributor to the McGrath Institute Blog. She earned her master's degrees in theology and sacred music at Notre Dame, and also a master's degree in music at Kansas State University, where she received a bachelor's degree in music.

Pirtle is an award-winning composer of liturgical and non-liturgical music, and has been commissioned by organizations including the South Bend Chamber Singers, Saint Mary's College, and the University of Notre Dame. Her music has been published by World Library Publications and earthsongs.

Pirtle previously served as director of music and elementary music instructor at St. John Berchmans Parish in Chicago. She also cofounded and served as the house director of the House of Brigid community in Ireland. Pirtle is the author of Praying the Rosary Together. She has been a guest on Redeemer Radio and Sacred Heart Radio.

She lives in South Bend, Indiana.

The McGrath Institute for Church Life was founded as the Center for Pastoral and Social Ministry by the late Notre Dame president Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, in 1976. The McGrath Institute partners with Catholic dioceses, parishes, and schools to provide theological education and formation to address pressing pastoral problems. The Institute connects the Catholic intellectual tradition to the pastoral life of the Church in forming faithful Catholic leaders for service to the Church and the world. The McGrath Institute strives to be the preeminent source of creative Catholic content and programming for the new evangelization in the United States.

John C. Cavadini is the McGrath-Cavadini Director of the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. A member of Notre Dame's department of theology, Cavadini served as chair of the department from 1997 to 2010, during which he led the department to a top-ten ranking in the National Research Council rankings of doctoral programs. He is an expert in patristic and early medieval theology, with a special focus on the theology of St. Augustine. In November 2009 he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to a five-year term on the International Theological Commission.