Even the consideration of religious conversion can bring with it tremendous spiritual challenges. As you explore the Catholic Church, we want to help you stay steeped in prayer and growing in your spiritual walk with Christ.
“It was about a year and a half ago that we converted, and I feel that it’s all thanks to the great spiritual directors we had in our life.”
– Jenna Wilber, Wife, Mother, Former Evangelical Protestant
Start with prayer.
This is the heart of the spiritual life and this journey is an opportunity to grow in reliance on Our Lord through prayer.
But we also want to pray for you! Use our contact form to make an anonymous prayer request or — even better — join the Coming Home Network and let us know how we can be praying for you.
“You say that you don’t know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and once you have said, ‘Lord, I don’t know how to pray!’ rest assured that you have begun to do so.”
– St Josemaria Escriva
Why Develop a Catholic Devotional Life?
In making the journey to the Catholic Church, it’s easy to be confused or overwhelmed by the sheer number and variety of Catholic devotions. Have you ever wondered how many rosaries a day you need to recite to be a good Catholic? Or how many novenas you need to pray in order to be granted a petition? How do you pick and choose what devotions to “make your own”? We encourage you to prayerfully discern God’s leading in this area of your life and focus on devotions that are particularly meaningful to you and that you find yourself attracted towards.
On the page linked below we have collected some resources introducing you to five of the most common Catholic devotions: Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy, the Liturgy of the Hours, and the Novena. May the Lord lead as you move forward with developing a Catholic devotional life.
Attend a CHN Retreat.
Get together with the CHN staff, other converts, and those considering becoming Catholic for a few days of intense prayer, warm fellowship, and deep discussion. Visit our retreats page to learn more about available dates and locations.
Learn More
Discover the treasure.
Those on a journey to the Catholic Church often focus only on the doctrinal issues and miss entirely the vast treasure of Catholic spiritual teaching and practice. Begin to explore it!
Recommended Videos
Recommended Books
Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God
by Dan Burke and Fr. John Bartunek
What keeps me from all the spiritual riches Christ has for me? What are my “blind spots” in the life of virtue and how can I uncover them? This book will give you the tools you need to understand how and why we grow and die in the spiritual life and what we can do about it.
The Way
by St. Josemaria Escriva
Since this classic of Christian formation and direction was first published in 1939, more than four and a half million copies of The Way have been sold in forty-three different languages. In this book the reader essentially has one of the greatest saints of the 20th century as his or her own personal spiritual director, giving specific guidance in every area of life.
Seeking Spiritual Direction: How to Grow the Divine Life Within
by Thomas Dubay S.M.
Here is a sure guide for Christians who are considering spiritual direction or who are already engaged in the process. Fr. Dubay explains what spiritual direction is, the qualities to look for in a good spiritual director, the process of finding a director, ways to develop a deeper prayer life, and how to continue growing when your enthusiasm wears thin.
The Way of Perfection
by St Teresa of Avila
Of all of Teresa of Avila’s works, The Way of Perfection is the most easily understood. Written at the height of the controversy surrounding the reforms Teresa instituted in the Carmelite order, it instructed the nuns in the practice of prayer. Teresa discusses the three essentials of a prayer-filled life — fraternal love, detachment from material things, and true humility. Her counsels on these are the fruit of her practical experience.
Ascent to Mount Carmel
by St. John of the Cross
The Ascent of Mount Carmel is the third major work of St. John of the Cross, a Spanish mystic and major figure in the Catholic Reformation in the 16th century. This book is a systematic treatment of the ascetical life in pursuit of mystical union with Christ and is considered to be the introductory work on mystical theology.
Story of a Soul
by St. Therese of Lisieux
Two and a half years before her death in 1897 at the age of 24, as Thérèse Martin began writing down her childhood memories at the request of her blood sisters in the Lisieux Carmel, few could have guessed the eventual outcome. Yet this Story of my soul, first published in 1898 in a highly edited version, quickly became a modern spiritual classic, read by millions and translated into dozens of languages around the world.
