"Man is in search of God."  

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2566

"The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself.  
  Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for."  

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 27

"The living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer."  

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2567

Encounter is the second of several new video-based resources specifically aligned with 'The 5' - the Formation Life Cycle - that the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux has created for adults.  These new resources are designed to accompany us on the journey of Christian discipleship and help us grow in the art of living.  
Click Here to learn more about the Formation Life Cycle.

The first resource, Made for More, unpacked the subject of community, and more specifically, Christian community.  
This second resource, Encounter, is intended to help us better understand Christian prayer and give us practical tools to aid us in our practice of prayer.  

This resource was intentionally designed for the people of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.  This resource is free of charge for all people within the diocese.  If you are interested in making use of this particular resource and you are from another diocese, please check back with us in the future.  As we move forward with new resources for adult formation in our diocese, it is our hope to discern sharing these resources with the Universal Church. 
 

Encounter includes six 30-minute video sessions that cover different aspects of prayer.  The 6 weekly sessions are as follows below.  

Week 1:  Help Me Pray
Week 2:  What is Prayer?
Week 3:  The Secret is Silence
Week 4:  How to Pray with the Bible
Week 5 :  Imagination, Fantasy, & Prayer
Week 6:  Distractions, Dryness, & Next Steps

We have included audio-only versions of each of the six sessions for those that might find it helpful to have an audio-only option, as some may want to listen to it again while driving, exercising, cleaning the house, etc.   You can find the audio-only versions under each week's video.

A 2-page Session Guide for each session is provided.  Each guide contains quotes mentioned in the session, suggested small group questions, what to pray with for the next week, and some practical encouragements for your prayer.  You can find these guides under each session's video, as well as on the Facilitator Support page.  

There are Scripture passages provided to you to pray with every day following each week's session.  You can find these Scriptures on the Session Guide under each session's video.  Fr. Mark has also recorded a short meditation for each day’s Scripture.  These audio recordings are designed to aid the preparation of your prayer time.  You can find the recordings under the video for each week’s session.

 

The intended approach of using of this resource is within small group discussion.  We believe that meeting in small groups can facilitate more opportunity for everyone to share, more opportunity for deeper discussion, and more opportunity for people to get to know one another.

To learn more about this small-group approach or how to join a small group, click here.

Fr. Mark Toups
Born and raised in Houma, LA, Fr. Mark currently serves as pastor of Christ the Reedemer Church in Thibodaux.  

He is also Vicar General for Parish Life and acting Director of the Diocesan Office of Parish Support.