Pocket Guide to Prayer
Teave selle e-raamatu kohta
This short but complete guide helps Catholics enter into prayer with more consistency and devotion. It empowers anyone on their faith journey to prioritize daily conversation with God.
Filled with insight on many facets of prayer, Edward and Beth with Fr. Mark-Mary show Catholics how to:
Get started with prayer
Understand vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplation
Learn how to respond to distractions, dryness, and other common struggles experienced in prayer without being discouraged
Shape their lives around a habit of prayer
Build a life of prayer in the family and the home
Understand popular devotions
And more!
Through practical tips and personal stories, Pocket Guide to Prayer empowers Catholics to approach the Lord in their daily life through prayer each and every day.
“Pocket Guide to Prayer is an easy to read introduction to the spiritual life. This informative and practical resource will both inspire and encourage the reader to cultivate a deeper relationship with God through daily prayer.”
–Fr. Josh Johnson
Director of Vocations, Pastor, Author & Host of the Ask Fr. Josh Podcast
“A lot of believers worry that we're missing out on something essential to spiritual growth. Whether it's a teaching we haven't heard of or a practice we haven't incorporated, many of us suspect that we don't know what we don't know and that our life is somehow less holy than it could be. If you've thought along these lines at any point, this book is for you. The Pocket Guide to Prayer is a beautiful introduction to the Church's life of prayer. It provides that reader with the basics of Catholic teaching and the range of Catholic practices. It's a must read for anyone wanting to lay a firm foundation.”
–Fr. Gregory Pine, O.P.
Speaker and Co-host of Catholic Classics Podcast
“Prayer is communication with God, a communication that arises from within the depths of our hearts. While we are created with a desire for God, we stumble when it comes to how we should pray. Even the disciples who were walking with Jesus, the Word made flesh, had to ask Jesus how to go about praying. The Lord taught them how to pray, and still today we need to be taught how to pray. Edward and Beth Sri, along with Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, are wonderful teachers who demonstrate proper prayer in their daily lives. This Pocket Guide to Prayer will be of great value to you as you, like the disciples, ask Jesus how to pray!”
–Jeff and Emily Cavins
Catholic Authors and Speakers
“This beautiful resource reminds us that prayer is not a task or chore, but an encounter between God's infinite desire for us and our desire for him. Readable and filled with practical tips for individuals and families, this book is a gift from Beth and Dr. Ed Sri, and Fr. Mark-Mary.”
–Jackie and Bobby Angel
Catholic Authors, Speakers, and Ascension Presenters
“The Sris have long been sharing the Gospel with people and leading them into the heart of Christ. But one of the most crucial aspects of conversion and lifelong discipleship is entering deeply into the habit and mystery of prayer—without which our apostolic efforts quickly dry up. This book answers that challenge, drawing the reader into the gift and practice of prayer, offering tools to overcome dryness and the most common obstacles to prayer, such as our apparent lack of time. Read this book and take your prayer to a new level!”
–Andrew and Sarah Swafford
National speakers and authors of Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships
Teave autori kohta
Dr. Edward Sri is a theologian, well-known Catholic speaker, and author of several best-selling books. His work with Ascension includes his latest book, Pocket Guide to Prayer, which he co-wrote with his wife, Beth, and Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR. Dr. Sri’s study programs with Ascension include A Biblical Walk Through the Mass, No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion and When You Pray: A Clear Path to a Deeper Relationship with God. Several of Dr. Sri’s programs were filmed on-site in the Holy Land, and feature immersive video explorations of the sacred sites where Jesus, Mary, and the Apostles lived and died.
Dr. Sri is the host of the acclaimed Ascension podcast All Things Catholic with Dr. Edward Sri. Together with Curtis Martin, Dr. Sri is a founding leader of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), of which he serves as senior vice president of Apostolic Outreach.
Dr. Sri lives with his wife Beth and their children in Colorado.
Books and Digital Media from Dr. Sri:
Behold the Lamb of God: 60 Questions and Answers on the Mystery of the Eucharist
The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life
Pocket Guide to Prayer
Pocket Guide to the Stations of the Cross
All Things Catholic (Ascension podcast)
The Bible Compass
Men, Women, and the Mystery of Love
Small Group Studies from Dr. Sri:
A Biblical Walk Through the Mass (includes accompanying book)
Follow Me: Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John
Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Mary: A Biblical Walk with the Blessed Mother
No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Through Christ’s Passion (includes accompanying book)
Beth Sri is a graduate of Benedictine College and was among the first FOCUS missionaries.
Married to Dr. Edward Sri and the mother of eight children, Beth has a heart for those around her, encouraging young adult women as well as fellow wives and mothers to meet Jesus in their call to marriage and motherhood through mentorship, small group gatherings, and connecting one-on-one.
Beth and Dr. Sri have authored two Ascension books together: The Good, the Messy and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life as well Pocket Guide to Prayer, both published by Ascension. Beth is also a contributor to the Ascension Planner 2025: A Tool for Daily Catholic Living.
Beth helps lead retreats in Denver for Life-Giving Wounds, a ministry for adult children of divorce for which she also serves on the national board of directors.
Though not Italian, Beth relishes cooking up autentico Italian pastas for her growing family. When she is not in the kitchen making a quadruple batch of something or chauffeuring children somewhere, she can be found on a long run in the Colorado sunshine, curled up with an annotated Jane Austen novel, or boisterously cheering for her kids at their soccer games.
Beth and her husband, Edward, live in Colorado with their 8 children.
See more from Beth:
Ascension Planner 2025: A Tool for Daily Catholic Living
The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful: The Joys and Struggles of Real Married Life
Pocket Guide to Prayer
Fr. Mark-Mary Ames is the Director of Communications and the Director of Priestly Studies of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR). The primary mission of the CFR community is a wholehearted embracing of Jesus Christ and their Holy Father, St. Francis of Assisi. Through their commitment to prayer and contemplation, the study of Sacred Scripture, fidelity to the Church and the sacraments, their fraternal life, and their generous service to others especially the poor, the CFRs receive the nourishment necessary to live out their lives as sons of St. Francis in the Capuchin tradition.
Fr. Mark-Mary is the host of the Ascension Presents video series The CFRs. He was also the executive producer of the Poco a Poco music album featuring Br. Isaiah, CFR, and is the author of both Habits for Holiness: Small Steps for Making Big Spiritual Progress and The Father: 30 Meditations to Draw You Into the Heart of God.
His favorite work, however, is not nearly as public. Near and dear to Fr. Mark-Mary’s heart is his work walking one-on-one with the suffering, hearing confessions, and offering service as a regular chaplain to the Sisters of Life formation convents.
See more from Fr. Mark-Mary:
Ascension Presents: The CFRs (YouTube)
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
Habits for Holiness: Small Steps for Making Big Spiritual Progress
The Father: 30 Meditations to Draw You Into the Heart of God
Poco a Poco CD
