The Basic Book of Catholic Prayer: How to Pray and Why

by Lawrence G. Lovasik

Whether you ve just begun to pray or have been faithfully praying for years, the wisdom in this book will help you pray better. It will rescue your prayers from distraction and superficiality and transform them into real occasions for communion with God. Fr. Lawrence Lovasik here clears away misunderstandings that many people have about prayer and shows you innumerable ways you can avoid common obstacles and deepen your prayer life, no matter how much or how little you may have prayed before. You ll learn what prayer is, why it s necessary, and how to practice the essential forms of Catholic prayer. You ll discover how the Church s sacraments fortify your prayer and how prayer, in turn, enhances your reception of the sacraments. You ll find out how to bring to your own prayers the qualities that make prayer effective. Your prayers will become more heartfelt, more focused, and more full of love for God. Soon your prayer will fill you with a divine peace and joy that no one will be able to take from you. You ll achieve the glorious aim of all union with God!

214 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, SVD attended primary school at Saint Clement School before continuing on to Divine Word minor seminary and college in Girard, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1931.

Father Lovasik then entered the Divine Word Major Seminary in Techny, Illinois, where he graduated in 1938. After completing his theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Father Lovasik was ordained a missionary priest of the Society of the Divine Word on August 14, 1938.

Father Lovasik spent several years as a teacher and Prefect of Seminarians for the Society of the Divine Word. For over forty years, he preached parish missions throughout the Eastern United States and conducted retreats throughout the world.

In 1954, Father Lovasik founded the Sisters of the Divine Spirit, a missionary congregation of women religious. In 1967, he founded the Family Service Corps, a secular institute devoted to charitable work for the sick, elderly and needy.

Father Lovasik said his life's ideal was to make God more known and loved through his writings. He published more than 30 books and over 75 pamphlets including prayer books, Bible stories for children, lives of the saints, and catechisms.

Father Lovasik retired from missionary work in 1982.