IP#368 – Fr. Quan Tran – The Imitation of Mary on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast


What a delight to have such a wonderful new book in the Church’s Marian spiritual library.  Fr. Quan Tran took time from his busy schedule of serving his parish in California and his “Fullness of Grace” ministry (www.fullnessofgrace.org) to discuss with us  his book The Imitation of Mary: Keys to Growth in Virtue and Grace. It is fantastic and highly recommended to all those who wish to learn not only more about the Blessed Virgin Mary, but how to live a life of true holiness.

You can find the book here

From the book description

In The Imitation of Mary, Fr. Quan Tran shows you how to imitate the twelve essential qualities of Mary in order to unleash a torrent of graces in your life. He explains that, like any gift, grace must be received, opened, and used. As you learn how, you’ll begin to acquire the temperaments, dispositions, and qualities that are most pleasing to God and you’ll serve as a channel of God s grace for others.

You’ll also learn:

The three major obstacles to living a life of faith

What to do if you experience a crisis of faith

The four levels of happiness and how to acquire them

How it’s possible for you to merit an increase in grace

Seven ways you can cultivate a rich devotion to Our Lady

The difference between sanctifying grace and actual grace

The four effects that grace will have on your soul

 

SBN #4 – Heaven – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First with Deacon James Keating

Episode 4 Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First –  Deacon Keating discusses Heaven.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1024    This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity—this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed—is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.

 

Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha.

 

 

For more information on the “Institute of Priestly Formation” and for other material available by Deacon Keating, just click here

Don’t forget to pickup a copy of “Communion with Christ”, it is one of the best audio sets on prayer…ever!

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Hearts” page

BKL#381 – “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!” – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

Msgr. Esseff asks are you crying out, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!” Do you believe that you have been transformed by your baptism?

Gospel MK 1: 1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah, the prophet:
Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;
he will prepare your way.
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.”

John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
People of the whole Judean countryside
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem
were going out to him
and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River
as they acknowledged their sins.
John was clothed in camel’s hair,
with a leather belt around his waist.
He fed on locusts and wild honey.
And this is what he proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

 

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton.  On May 30, 1953, he was ordained by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA.  Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta.    He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world.  Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio,  who would become a spiritual father to him.  He has lived in areas around the world,  serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II, to bring the Good News to the world, especially to the poor.  Msgr. Esseff assisted the Institute for Priestly Formation founders and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute.  He serves as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders worldwide.   

IP#354 Kathryn Jean Lopez – A Year with the Mystics on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor podcast


What a delight to have an extended conversation with the marvelous Kathryn Jean Lopez about her book “A Year with the Mystics: Visionary Wisdom for Daily Living.”  Among our topics, we discuss the life of prayer and the gift that we have in the holy witnesses found within the mystical tradition of the Church.  I love this book!  Kathryn tenderly and prayerfully chose each writing from a saint (or from those on their way) and she composed helpful meditations that complement their teachings. This is a must-have for those on the spiritual journey!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Mysticism is not some foreign and remote life of prayer for poets and saints in heaven; rather, it is the call for every Christian to draw more deeply and profoundly from the heart of Christ in prayer.

A Year with the Mystics is a tour, a retreat, and a love story in which God seeks you out. With the small commitment of a few minutes a day to prayer with mystic saints and other holy ones, you will be making time for communication and peace in the heart of the Trinity. Your faith will grow and you will see that the life of a contemplative in the world can be yours; it can become for you the air you breathe and a wellspring of renewal in your life as a Catholic, rooted in the sacraments.

This beautiful Premium UltraSoft gift edition features two-tone sewn binding, ribbon marker, gold edges, and designed interior pages.

 

Episode 3 – A Short Primer for the Unsettled Laymen – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce FBC Podcast

 

Contradictions in the Bible? Contradictions in the Christian faith? More heavy-hitting discussion as we continue to move through Hans Urs von Balthasar’s “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


Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J.
IP#281 Vivian Dudro - Meriol Trevor's "Shadows and Images" on Inside the Pages 1
Vivian Dudro
Joseph Pearce

 

An Advent Special – The Gospel of St. Luke – An Overview – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – Discerning Hearts Podcast

An Advent Special – The Gospel of Luke – An Overview

“We begin our study of the Gospel of Luke with an overview lecture, beginning with what we know about the author himself.  From the historian, Eusebius, we learn that Luke was a physician from Antioch, an ancient Greek city located in Asia Minor.  Antioch was the center of the early Church, and it was here that the followers of Jesus came to be known as “Christians.”  Luke, a companion of St. Paul, is responsible for the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, which comprise the greatest percentage of the New Testament.

The word “Gospel” means “Good News” and comes from the Greek word, “euangelion.”   During the first century, the fastest growing religion was the imperial cult of Roman emperor worship. The word “euangelion” took on religious significance with the announcement of the “good news” of a new emperor, a new “god.”  For Christians, however, the “euangelion” meant the “good news” of the new King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

As a physician, Luke wrote his Gospel to bring the medicine needed for our wounded souls.  The new medicine came from the new tree of life, the cross, and the medicine of immortality is the Eucharist.  “Every time this mystery is celebrated, “the work of our redemption is carried on” and we “break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live forever in Jesus Christ (CCC 1405).”

Through the incarnation, Christ joined in our humanity and introduced His kingdom to the world.  As the final High Priest, Jesus completes the perfect sacrifice on the cross.  God desires that we cooperate with His plan of salvation, joining in His suffering, to complete “what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church (Col 1:24).”  “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Eph 5:25-27).”

Christ has cleansed the Church, making her holy, yet we know that the Church is made up of sinners in need of healing.  Jesus, the divine physician, has left us with the healing sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick.  What is hidden in shame and secrecy needs to be brought to the light so that healing can take place:  “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God (John 3:20-21).”
Further details about St. Luke come from the Church Father St. Hippolytus, a disciple of Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp who followed St. John the Evangelist. Hippolytus tells us that Luke was one of the 70 disciples mentioned in Luke 10 who were sent out to spread the Good News to the surrounding countries.  These 70 were also the same disciples who walked away from Jesus when they could not understand Jesus’ command to eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6: 66).  Later, St. Mark was persuaded back to the fold by St. Peter and it was St. Paul who encouraged Luke to return as a follower of Jesus, and the two became great friends.
As we will learn this year, despite being one of the Synoptics that “see together”, the Gospel of Luke has many unique stories not found in the other Gospels.  Luke likely personally interviewed Mary, bringing us the beautiful infancy narratives.  The stories behind the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary, can all be found in the first two chapters of Luke.  From Luke, we receive the Canticles of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon.  Only in Luke are found the stories of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.  The Gospel of Luke is the Gospel of joy, mercy and the Holy Spirit.

Sharon Doran serves as the teaching director of “Seeking Truth.” An experienced Bible Study teacher, Sharon has a passion for scripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God’s Word and apply His message to your everyday life.

For more in this series visit the Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran Discerning Hearts page

“Seeking Truth” is an in-depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to www.seekingtruth.net

Dec. 3 St. Francis Xavier – “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” from the Office of Readings

A letter from St Francis Xavier to St Ignatius
Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel

We have visited the villages of the new converts who accepted the Christian religion a few years ago. No Portuguese live here, the country is so utterly barren and poor. The native Christians have no priests. They know only that they are Christians. There is nobody to say Mass for them; nobody to teach them the Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Commandments of God’s Law.

I have not stopped since the day I arrived. I conscientiously made the rounds of the villages. I bathed in the sacred waters all the children who had not yet been baptized. This means that I have purified a very large number of children so young that, as the saying goes, they could not tell their right hand from their left. The older children would not let me say my Office or eat or sleep until I taught them one prayer or another. Then I began to understand: “The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

I could not refuse so devout a request without failing in devotion myself. I taught them, first the confession of faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, then the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Father and Hail Mary. I noticed among them persons of great intelligence. If only someone could educate them in the Christian way of life, I have no doubt that they would make excellent Christians.

Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians. Again and again I have thought of going round the universities of Europe, especially Paris, and everywhere crying out like a madman, riveting the attention of those with more learning than charity: “What a tragedy: how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!”

I wish they would work as hard at this as they do at their books, and so settle their account with God for their learning and the talents entrusted to them.

This thought would certainly stir most of them to meditate on spiritual realities, to listen actively to what God is saying to them. They would forget their own desires, their human affairs, and give themselves over entirely to God’s will and his choice. They would cry out with all their heart: Lord, I am here! What do you want me to do? Send me anywhere you like – even to India.

Excerpts from the English translation of The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1974, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

 

VEC10 – Arius – Villains of the Early Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Mike Aquilina Discerning Hearts podcast Villains of the Early Church. MarcionEpisode 10 – Arius – “Villains of the Early Church: And How They Made Us Better Christians

In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss Arius and the threat of the Arian heresy.  Mike makes suggestions on what the Christian can do to stay true to the faith in times and recognize the Arian tendencies we continue to see today.

An excerpt from Villains of the Early Church:

ARIUS WAS an obscure Egyptian priest who probably had more influence on the history of Christian theology than any Christian thinker since St. Paul. It was all negative influence, but no one can deny the influence. Because of Arius, the Catholic Church had to define the relationship of the Son to the Father in clear and unambiguous terms. Because of Arius, we ended up with the Nicene Creed.

But no one would have guessed for most of his life that this Arius was going to set the world on fire.

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

 

 

SBN #3 – Purgatory part 2 – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First with Deacon James Keating

Episode 3 Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First –  Deacon Keating continues reflecting on the reality of Purgatory.  He discusses the teachings of the saints.  What do our current sufferings on earth compare to purgatory?  What does the sacrament of reconciliation offer us in this understanding?

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1030 All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven

 

Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha.

 

 

For more information on the “Institute of Priestly Formation” and for other material available by Deacon Keating, just click here

Don’t forget to pickup a copy of “Communion with Christ” , it is one of the best audio sets on prayer…ever!

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

HR31 The Life of St. Benedict – “Easter Day” – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict w/ Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

“The Life of St. Benedict pt 2”

We continue our conversation on the life of St. Benedict by using the biography penned by St. Gregory the Great. In this episode, St. Benedict is visited by a priest on Easter Sunday morning in the cave and is called from his seclusion.

From the Life of Our Most Holy Father St. Benedict by St. Gregory the Great:

Catholic Devotional Prayers and Novenas - Mp3 Audio Downloads and Text 1
Now when it pleased Almighty God that Romanus should rest from his labors and that the life of Benedict should be manifest to the world for an example to all men, that the candle set upon a candlestick might shine and give light to the whole Church of God, our Lord vouchsafed to appear to a certain Priest living far off, who had to make ready his dinner for Easter Day, saying to him: “Thou hast prepared good cheer for thyself, and My servant in such a place is famished for hunger.” Who presently rose, and on the solemn day of Easter went towards the place with such meat as he had provided for himself, were seeking the man of God, amongst craggy rocks, winding valleys and hollow pits he found him hid in a cave. Then after prayers, and blessing the Almighty Lord, they sat down, and after some spiritual discourse, the Priest said: “Rise, and let us take our refection, for this is Easter Day.” To whom the man of God answered: “I know it is Easter because I have found so much favor as to see thee.” (For not having a long time conversed with men, he did not know it was Easter Day.) The good Priest did therefore again affirm it, saying: “Truly this is the day of our Lord’s Resurrection, and therefore it is not fit that you should keep abstinence, and for this cause I am sent that we may eat together that which Almighty God hath bestowed on us.” Whereupon blessing God, they fell to their meat. Their discourse and dinner ended; the Priest returned to his Church.

Father Mauritius Wilde, OSB, Ph.D., did his philosophical, theological, and doctoral studies in Europe. He is the author of several books and directs retreats regularly. He serves as Prior at Sant’Anselmo in Rome. For more information about the ministry of the Missionary Benedictines of Christ the King Priory in Schuyler, Ne