^{Sermon On The
2nd Sunday after Pentecost 2026}
This period of the liturgical year is particularly focused on each individual soul’s growth in virtue and holiness.  Although God gives souls the grace to accept the Faith even without their asking for it, we cannot persevere without praying for the necessary assistance from God.  This is why the saints stress the necessity of mental prayer in every Catholic’s life.  If we wish to pray with our hearts and not merely with our lips, then it is vital for us to follow the method of prayer laid down for us by the saints.  To practice mental prayer, one should prepare oneself and select the correct material on which to meditate so he might stimulate a heart-to-heart conversation with Our Lord.  Prayer does not consist in thinking much, but in loving much.  Despite distraction effecting the mind or aridity effecting the heart, the only way in which we can fail in the practice of mental prayer is to give it up entirely.
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