Lord, Teach Us To Pray: A Fulton Sheen Anthology

by Fulton J. Sheen, Allan Smith (Editor)

Over the course of Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s storied career, thousands approached him with a simple “Teach us to pray.” Now, for the first time ever, his wise teachings on prayer have been collected into a single volume to help you perfect your prayers and make them what they must a daily, holy habit. First come Bishop Sheen’s insightful reflections on the Our Father and its indispensable connection to the Seven Last Words of Christ. Then Bishop Sheen unveils smoldering, oft-overlooked riches in other everyday Catholic prayers, transforming them from rote recitations into powerful moments of communion with God. With his help, you’ll then journey through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, learning how to bring peace to your soul and grow more receptive to God’s grace. You’ll also discover how to make your Holy Hours more efficacious and master a variety of other techniques that Bishop Sheen employed in his own fruitful quest for holiness. Best of all, you’ll immerse yourself in an incomparable collection of Fulton Sheen’s reflections on the Mass, meditations for Holy Hours, and dozens of prayers he recommends for most occasions in the Christian life. Prayer, meditation, Holy Hours, the Mass, and even a bit of it’s all here in this delightful anthology of the works of the saintly archbishop Fulton J. Sheen!

Genres: Religion, Catholic, Faith

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 19, 2020

About the author

Fulton John Sheen was an American bishop of the Catholic Church known for his preaching and especially his work on television and radio. Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois, in 1919, Sheen quickly became a renowned theologian, earning the Cardinal Mercier Prize for International Philosophy in 1923. He went on to teach theology and philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and served as a parish priest before he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1951. He held this position until 1966 when he was made bishop of the Diocese of Rochester in New York. He resigned as bishop of Rochester in 1969 as his 75th birthday approached and was made archbishop of the titular see of Newport, Wales.
For 20 years as "Father Sheen", later monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930–1950) before he moved to television and presented Life Is Worth Living (1952–1957). Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968) with a format that was very similar to that of the earlier Life Is Worth Living show. For that work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality, and was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Starting in 2009, his shows were being re-broadcast on the EWTN and the Trinity Broadcasting Network's Church Channel cable networks. His contribution to televised preaching resulted in Sheen often being called one of the first televangelists.
The cause for his canonization was officially opened in 2002. In June 2012, Pope Benedict XVI officially recognized a decree from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints stating that he lived a life of "heroic virtues," a major step towards beatification, and he is now referred to as venerable. On July 5, 2019, Pope Francis approved a reputed miracle that occurred through the intercession of Sheen, clearing the way for his beatification. Sheen was scheduled to be beatified in Peoria on December 21, 2019, but his beatification was postponed after Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester expressed concern that Sheen's handling of a 1963 sexual misconduct case against a priest might be cited unfavorably in a forthcoming report from the New York Attorney General. The Diocese of Peoria countered that Sheen's handling of the case had already been "thoroughly examined" and "exonerated" and that Sheen had "never put children in harm's way".

Reviews

[Maxwell Thornton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wise words from a wise preacher.

I will admit before reading this, that I knew little of Archbishop Venerable Fulton Sheen. While reading this, I was impressed with his observations, teachings, and lessons on prayer, meditation, reflection, and the sacraments.

Further, 'Lord, Teach Us to Pray: An Anthology' largely accomplished this by looking at the Our Father, then a comparison between the Mass and the Seven Last Words of Christ. These were followed by prayers (e.g., Hail Mary and Prayer of St Ignatius Loyola), meditations like Stations of the Cross, and reflections on topics like prayer in general.

Sheen knew how to make one think about prayer and a Catholic's relationship with Christ and the Church. I heavily recommend this work to all Catholics.

[Richard Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Masterpieces

[Rose Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful meditations on the Blessed Sacrament and holy hours, and practical advice on prayer life.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of works I had already read. Only the first part was fully Fulton Sheen. The second half was actually mostly quotes from other author such as Thomas a kempis's Imitation of Christ.