The Discerning Hearts Blog Archives

Episode 7 – A Short Primer for the Unsettled Laymen – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce FBC Podcast

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On liturgy and Traditionalism: our final discussion of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s book A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen.

You can find the book here

Hans Urs von Balthasar addresses the critical issues that have been unsettling the Catholic laity since the Second Vatican Council. In a clear and readable manner, he focuses on the core elements of the faith: the Word of God; the life, death, and resurrection of Christ; the sacraments; the structure of the Church; and Mary.

Speaking plainly about the polarization within the Catholic Church, he also discusses the various ideological trends—such as liberalism, progressivism, and traditionalism—that have undermined the confidence and the unity of the faithful.

“In this Primer, Balthasar addresses today’s faithful laity who feel that [the] solidity of the Church is shifting beneath their feet. He speaks to those who fear that the Church has done what she ought not to do: that she is in fact relaxing her demands in order to win favor, not from God, but from man. Into this situation, Balthasar re-proposes the ‘form’ of Jesus Christ as revealed in his Church. This form is ‘only the whole’: the whole, concrete reality of Christ, conveyed within Catholic tradition. This form is ‘spun from three strands’ of Word, sacrament, and ecclesial authority. These three provide the Church with the ability to remain on course despite the winds blowing through history.”
— Angela Franks, Ph.D., From the Foreword

IP#281 Vivian Dudro - Meriol Trevor's "Shadows and Images" on Inside the Pages 1 — Vivian Dudro

VEC12 – Nestorius – Villains of the Early Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 12 – Nestorius – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“was

In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Nestorius, an archbishop of Constantinople who proclaimed that Mary could not be the “Theotokos”. Such statements brought about the Council of Ephesus and a declaration throughout the Christian Church that his thought was emphatically wrong. Mary was, and still is, the “Mother of God.”

An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:

We’ve been having an argument with these other people, the monks explained. We say that Mary is rightly called Mother of God—in Greek, Theotokos. But these other people say it’s not right to call her anything but Mother of the Man—Anthropotokos. Which of us is right?

Nestorius was delighted with the opportunity to show off his erudition. His answer probably struck him as very clever and evenhanded. In a way, he said, you’re both right. Each of those names can be used for Mary in a loose and imprecise way. But technically the proper term would be Mother of the Christ—Christotokos. If you want to be accurate, you’ll avoid calling her anything else.3

Thus, Constantinople was first introduced to that little word “technically”—in Greek, akribos—which the world would soon learn was one of Nestorius’ very favorite terms when he was arguing with people. It revealed a lot about the way he thought. The problem with most people, Nestorius seemed to believe, was that they didn’t choose their terms carefully enough. When you’re talking about important issues of theology, you need to be very precise in your language.

The problem with Nestorius, thought practically everybody else in Constantinople, was that he had just said Mary wasn’t Mother of God.

The people of the city instantly latched onto that little word “technically” as representing everything they hated about Nestorius. “If Mary is not technically the Mother of God,” they said, “then her Son is not technically God.”4 Mary had always been called Mother of God, as long as anybody could remember. The city—the whole Empire—was devoted to the Blessed Virgin. What was wrong with this new archbishop?

“He seemed afraid of the word Theotokos,” Socrates recalled, “as if it were some frightful ghost.”5 In the opinion of Socrates and many others, the problem wasn’t loose language on the part of the great majority of Christians. The problem was that Nestorius didn’t know what he was talking about. “The baseless fear he showed on this subject merely demonstrated how very ignorant he was. He was naturally a fluent speaker, so people thought he must be well educated. But actually he was disgracefully illiterate.” Socrates thought that Nestorius not only didn’t know what the great Christian writers before him had written on these subjects, but also didn’t care. He was smarter than they were. He could work things out for himself.6

Well, if Nestorius didn’t know what the great Christians of earlier generations had taught, it was about time somebody told him. Enter the Bishop of Alexandria.

Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians . Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here

Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.^[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.

Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com

BBFA2 – Baptismal Name and Godparents – Baptism: Born from Above with Deacon James Keating

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Episode 2 -Baptism: Born from Above– The importance of the name we are given at baptism. The role and significance of godparents.

Deacon Keating takes a careful look at the Baptismal Rite and offers prayerful reflection and insight to help us live out the faith and nurture the domestic church.

From the Baptismal Rite for Children:

From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said:

‘Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’ The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not
be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimed for them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church
and the whole society of saints and believers: ‘The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.’

To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in
which they have been baptized. The foundation of this formation will be the sacrament
itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead
them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselves the faith in which they have been baptized

Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

More episodes of Baptism: Born from Above with Deacon James Keating Ph.D.

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Hearts” page

Deacon Keating is also the author of:

You can find the book here.
(A great gift for clergy)

From the book description:

Deacon James Keating’s book Abiding in Christ: Staying with God in a Busy World is a how-to-pray resource. This book helps readers to find a quiet space wherein they can be present to God and offers suggestions of how they can be more open to God s movement within them.

BTP-IC24 – Sixth Mansions Chapter 6 part 1 – The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles Podcast

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In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Sixth Mansions Chapter 6 part 1 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:

DESCRIBES AN EFFECT WHICH PROVES THE PRAYER SPOKEN OF IN THE LAST CHAPTER TO BE GENUINE AND NO DECEPTION, TREATS OF ANOTHER FAVOUR OUR LORD BESTOWS ON THE SOUL TO MAKE IT PRAISE HIM FERVENTLY.

1. The soul longs for death. 2. The soul cannot help desiring these favours. 3. St. Teresa bewails her inability to serve God. 3. Fervour resulting from ecstasies. 5. Excessive desires to see God should be restrained. 6. They endanger health. 7. Tears often come from Physical causes. 8. St. Teresa’s own experience. 9. Works, not tears, are asked by God. 10. Confide entirely in God. 11. The jubilee of the soul. 12. Impossibility of concealing this joy. 13. The world’s judgment of this jubilee. 14. Which is often felt by the nuns of St. Joseph’s. 15. The Saint’s delight in this jubilee.

For the Discerning Hearts audio recording of the “Interior Castle” by St. Teresa of Avila you can visit here

For other audio recordings of various spiritual classics you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics page

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Interior Castle with Dr. Anthony Lilles”

Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For over twenty years he served the Church in Northern Colorado where he joined and eventually served as dean of the founding faculty of Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Through the years, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful have benefited from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.

Episode 6 – A Short Primer for the Unsettled Laymen – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce FBC Podcast

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Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro discuss how Hans Urs von Balthasar explains what obedience means in the Church.

You can find the book here

BBFA1 – The significance of Jesus’ baptism – Baptism: Born from Above with Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 1 -Baptism: Born from Above– The significance of Jesus’ baptism. The ministry of parenthood. The role of the father.

Deacon Keating takes a careful look at the Baptismal Rite and offers prayerful reflection and insight to help us live out the faith and nurture the domestic church.

From the Baptismal Rite for Children:

From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said:

‘Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’ The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not
be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimed for them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church
and the whole society of saints and believers: ‘The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.’

To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in
which they have been baptized. The foundation of this formation will be the sacrament
itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead
them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselves the faith in which they have been baptized.

How can this be accomplished? What is the role of the parents, the godparents, the minister of baptism, the Church? These and other questions are reflected upon in “Baptism: Born from Above with Deacon James Keating”.

Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

More episodes of Baptism: Born from Above with Deacon James Keating Ph.D.

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Hearts” page

Deacon Keating is also the author of:

You can find the book here.
(A great gift for clergy)

From the book description:

Deacon James Keating’s book Abiding in Christ: Staying with God in a Busy World is a how-to-pray resource. This book helps readers to find a quiet space wherein they can be present to God and offers suggestions of how they can be more open to God s movement within them.

VEC11 – Julian the Apostate – Villains of the Early Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 11 – Julian the Apostate – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians“

In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Julian the Apostate, an emperor of Rome who was disillusioned by how his family who claimed to be Christians, yet acted counter to what they professed. He would embrace paganism and tried to eliminate Christian influence in the Roman Empire.

An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:

Christians remembered Julian as “the Apostate”—the one emperor who tried to turn back to paganism. There would be no others. From 363 to 1453, when Constantinople finally fell, the Roman Empire would be Christian.

But what can we say about Julian the man? He might have been a very good emperor if he had had better relatives. In spite of his retrograde religious views, he was personally moral—in fact, puritanical—and a competent administrator when the problem was limited and solvable. Perhaps the best tribute to him comes from the Christian poet Prudentius, who neatly summed up Julian in one line:

Faithless he was to God, though not to Rome.7

Aquilina, Mike. Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians . Emmaus Road Publishing. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in the Villains of the Early Church podcast visit here – Villains of the Early Church – Discerning Hearts Podcast

You can find the book on which this series is based here

Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com

Episode 5 – A Short Primer for the Unsettled Laymen – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce FBC Podcast

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Does Catholicism oppress women? Or is it the opposite? More tough questions as we move through Hans Urs von Balthasar’s “A Short Primer for Unsettled Laymen”.

You can find the book here

IP#373 Dr. Scott Hahn – It Is Right And Just on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

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Once again, we are blessed by a conversation with Dr. Scott Hahn! It is Right and Just: Why the Future of Civilization Depends on True Religion is an important book that provides incredible insight on the importance of true religion in the life of society and culture. He provides the grand vision of salvation history and how religion is what is truly “right,” and why true “justice” is vitally needed in our world today.

You can find the book here

From the book description

Is religion a right given to us by the state? Is it an opium for the masses? Is it private opinion with no role in the public sphere?

In It Is Right and Just, bestselling author Scott Hahn and Brandon McGinley challenge our idea of religion and its role in society. Hahn and McGinley argue that to answer questions over religious liberty, justice, and peace, we must first reject the insidious lie perpetuated by secular-liberal culture: that religion is a private matter.

Contrary to what political commentators and activists say, religion is not only relevant to justice and law, but is necessary for civilization to thrive. Recover the public nature of true religion, It Is Right and Justargues, and watch as a revolution unfolds.

For more with Dr. Scott Hahn visit:

IP#359 Dr. Scott Hahn – Hope to Die on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

IP#256 Dr. Scott Hahn – Evangelizing Catholics on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

IP#221 Dr. Scott Hahn – Consuming the Word on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

And for even more:

The Dr. Scott Hahn and Associates – Discerning Hearts Page

IP#372 – Kathleen Beckman – “The Holy Family” part 2 – A Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare on Inside the Pages w/ Kris McGregor Podcast

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Part 2

Kathleen Beckman returns to discuss the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph as found in her book, A Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare: Strategies for Deliverance and Healing! In our first conversation with Kathleen (see the link below), we discussed the reality of spiritual warfare and the damage it does to individuals and families. In this episode, we asked Kathleen to join us once again in order to discuss the role of the Holy Family in our response to the enemy’s attacks. She shines an important light on the role of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary as true companions in our spiritual journey as well as allies in our spiritual battle!

You can find the book here:

From the book description

In A Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare, Kathleen Beckman offers you potent advice from her 12 years of active participation on an exorcist’s team. She shows you how to clean up your household by cultivating in your family a civilization of love and how to withstand the spiritual attacks that inevitably come to destroy the harmonious family life you create.

Beckman reveals how you can recognize diabolical disguises in your home and offers proven means of protection found only in the Church’s arsenal of spiritual weapons.

You’ll also learn the devil’s strategies how he does not necessarily seek to possess but simply to seed your family with the venom of hatred, desolation, envy, and vice. This, she explains, is why it s so important for spouses and children to become schooled in the art of spiritual combat. It’s the only way you can destroy the works of the devil and unmask the hidden evil that weaves in and out of your daily family life.

Along with more than two dozen effective prayers for family healing and deliverance, you’ll also learn:

How to understand the spirits working for and against your family, and what to do in response to them

What specific actions to take if you believe your family has come under the influence of demonic activity

How to use your baptismal, spousal, and parental authority in spiritual warfare

How curses can become effective and what can be done to counteract them

The difference between diabolical temptation, oppression, obsession, and possession

The seven ways your family can wear the full armor of God

The diabolical counterparts to each of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes

The 13 weapons you can use to defend yourself and your family against evil spirits