Building and maintaining a daily habit of prayer is one of the most beautiful things you can do for your soul. And also one of the most challenging. Between the demands of a busy life and the uncertainty of where to start, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by prayer.
Alto, Ascension’s new monthly prayer periodical, is made for this. Each month, Alto gathers together everything you need into one place for daily prayer – daily Mass readings, Morning and Night Prayer, the saints, daily reflections, and more. Every day, the readings and prayers are fully laid out for you – just open Alto and pray.
Each month, a new edition explores a theme drawn from Scripture or Catholic Tradition, bringing the rhythm of the liturgical year into your home. Whether you love meditating with the daily Mass readings, praying a new novena, or are wondering about other ways to pray, Alto has what you need and draws you deeper with more prayers and reflections.
The periodical’s name points toward St. Pier Giorgio Frassati’s motto, verso l’alto or “to the heights.” An avid mountain climber, Pier Giorgio wrote these words on one of his last pictures, where he is climbing a mountain in Val di Lanzo. The phrase came to capture his spirituality, and it inspired many others to always strive toward the heights of heaven. Our hope is that Alto can help you reach the heights of holiness through prayer, one day at a time.
A Beautiful Daily Prayer Companion
The Catholic Church is steeped in a rich tradition of beauty that speaks to our hearts, from beautiful stained glass in our churches to the sacred art in our homes. Beauty lifts our hearts and minds, drawing our souls closer to the Creator of all beauty.
The tools we use for prayer should be reminiscent of the beauty of the One we’re praying to. That is why everything about Alto is designed with tradition in mind.
Crafted with premium materials, Alto is intentionally designed to make prayer an elevated and enjoyable experience. Without the distractions of screens or the interruptions of notifications, your prayer routine becomes a moment to fully enter into the Lord’s presence. Whether it's in your bag or on your nightstand, Alto is slim and quiet, designed to effortlessly fit into the rhythm of your day, no matter how busy it gets.
Open any edition and you can find artwork that breathes new life into sacred tradition. With a new, beautiful cover each month, Alto is a reminder of the truth and beauty of the Faith to the people and places in your life. Through thoughtfully curated imagery that is timeless yet speaks to our hearts today, Alto brings the ever ancient and ever new story of mercy, truth, and love into your daily prayer life.
Guided by custom icons marking each section and the new Ascension Serif Font designed for readability, Alto’s layout removes the clutter so you can easily read and navigate, naturally moving through your prayer with clarity.
All of it comes together in Alto to draw your heart beyond the page and deeper into the presence of God.
Universal Catholic Prayer
There is a certain peace in knowing you aren’t praying alone. At the heart of Alto is the invitation to join the whole Church in prayer, through the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. These prayers root us in the living Word and give a steady rhythm to our day, uniting your prayer with those in churches, monasteries, and homes around the world.
Alto is the only monthly periodical that brings together both the daily Mass readings and the official text of Morning Prayer and Night Prayer, making it easier than ever to join this rhythm.
The Liturgy of the Hours has long been prayed by clergy and religious, but it belongs to all of us. By providing Morning and Night Prayer, two of the most commonly prayed hours, Alto invites you to start and end your day in prayer.
Each day, Alto provides an easy introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours by removing all the guesswork of a Breviary. Instead of using ribbons or flipping pages, Alto lays the day out before you, from the Sign of the Cross to the concluding prayer, so you can simply open and pray.
Walking with the Church
Designed to be your daily companion, each day in Alto is designed to ground you in the life of the Church. Alongside a daily rhythm of prayer, you can find a Reflection of the Day, written by Ascension authors, saints, and other Catholic voices to help you meditate on that day’s Scripture.
You can also read the daily saint features of holy men and women who have climbed to the heights of holiness, inspiring our own lives in the everyday. Starting in December’s edition, Alto will begin following the Roman Martyrology, the Church’s official, daily calendar of saints and martyrs, helping readers come to know our heavenly companions each day and celebrate with the whole Church.
And for anyone who loves novenas, each month includes one, with each daily prayer placed directly within the appropriate day’s layout, so you’ll never miss a day again.
A Living Faith
Faith is a journey of constant discovery, and Alto invites you to go a little further each month. Each issue includes a monthly Bible mini-study that explores the wisdom of Scripture one manageable session at a time, bringing Ascension’s award-winning Bible studies into your home in miniature.
Alongside the mini-study, you’ll find articles and book excerpts from great Catholic thinkers, both past and present, that bring the Church’s enduring wisdom to life in a way that speaks toward your daily walk with God.
Liturgical Living All Year Long
Faith is not just something we read about. It is something we live. And it can be lived out in so many ways, as the lives of the Saints continue to show us.
Alto brings the life of the Church into your home through liturgical living inspiration from Kendra Tierney Norton, who is known for helping families embrace the liturgical calendar.
From recipes to activities, Kendra Tierney Norton provides simple, practical ways to celebrate feast days, seasons, and traditions each month – grounding you in the life of the Church no matter what season of life you are in.
Make Alto your own! You do not have to pray everything it offers. Some days, you might find yourself simply reflecting with the Mass readings. Other times, you may challenge yourself to build toward a habit of praying Morning Prayer for a week. For all stages and seasons, Alto is there.
Prayer is always an opportunity to enter into the Lord’s heart. There is no right or wrong way to use Alto, just the invitation to begin. Alto can help you climb the heights of holiness one day, one page, one prayer at a time.
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