BKL268 – “When did you encounter Lazarus”? – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts podcast

Msgr. Esseff reflects on his experience with St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and his experience of “the poorest of the poor”.  He asks the question, “When have you encountered Lazarus?”.

Gospel Lk 16:19-31
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
Abraham replied, ‘My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said,
‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.’”

BTP- L6 – Letter 169 pt. 1 – The Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray w/Dr. Anthony Lilles podcast

Dr. Lilles continues the spiritual explorations of the Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. In this episode, we discuss letter 169, with a special focus on Heaven as a spiritual reality.:

L 169
To Canon Angles
[ July 15, 1903]
Dijon Carmel,

J. M. + J. T.

Monsieur le Chanoine,

My dear Mama, whom I saw last week, brought me your good letter, and I assure you that I can indeed sympathize with the suffering your eyes are causing you, and I am praying fervently for you. I was wondering a little what had become of you, but you find your little Carmelite close to God, don’t you? And that is where she finds you too; then no more distance, no more separation, but already, as in Heaven, the fusion of hearts and souls! . . . How many things have happened since my last letter! I heard the Church say “Veni sponsa Christi” [Come, bride of Christ]; she consecrated me, and now all is “consummated.” Rather, everything is beginning, for profession is only a dawn; and each day my “life as a bride”3 seems to me more beautiful, more luminous, more enveloped in peace and love. During the night that preceded the great day, while I was in choir awaiting the Bridegroom, I understood that my Heaven was beginning on earth; Heaven in faith, with suffering and immolation for Him whom I love! . . . I so wish to love Him, to love Him as my seraphic Mother did, even to dying of it. We sing “O charitatis Victima” on her feast day, and that is my whole ambition: to be the prey of love! I think that in Carmel it is so simple to live by love; from morning to evening the Rule is there to express the will of God, moment by moment. If you knew how I love this Rule, which is the way He wants me to become holy. I do not know if I will have the happiness of giving my Bridegroom the witness of my blood [by martyrdom], but at least, if I fully live my Carmelite life, I have the consolation of wearing myself out for Him, for Him alone. Then what difference does the work He wills for me make? Since He is always with me, prayer, the heart-to-heart, must never end! I feel Him so alive in my soul. I have only to recollect myself to find Him within me, and that is my whole happiness. He has placed in my heart a thirst for the infinite and such a great need for love that He alone can satisfy it. I go to Him like a little child to its mother so He may fill, invade, everything, and then take me and carry me away in His arms. I think we must be so simple with God!

I am longing to send you my good Mama; you will see how God is working in this beloved soul. Sometimes I cry for happiness and gratitude; it is so good to be devoted to your mother, to feel that she, too, is completely His, to be able to tell her about your soul and to be completely understood! . . . You really are the great attraction of the trip, I assure you; I love to remember those vacations at Saint-Hilaire, then at Carcassonne and Labastide, they were the best ones I had. With what fatherly goodness you received the confidences I so loved to make to you; I would be happy if one day they could be made once again through my dear grilles. Won’t you come to bless your little Carmelite and, quite close to her, thank Him who “has loved her exceedingly,” for, you see, my happiness can no longer be expressed. Listen to what is being sung in my soul and all that is rising from the heart of the bride to the Heart of the Bridegroom for you whose little child she will always be. Send her your best blessing; at Holy Mass, bathe her in the Blood of the Bridegroom; it is the purity of the bride, and she is so thirsting for it! A Dieu, monsieur le Chanoine, affectionately and respectfully yours,

Sr. Elizabeth of the Trinity r.c.i.

Catez, Elizabeth of the Trinity. The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel (pp. 110-111). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.

 

Special thanks to Miriam Gutierrez for her readings of St. Elizabeth’s letters

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Letters of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity” 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.
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RN-9– Value #5- part 3 – Subsidiarity – Regnum Novum w/ Omar Gutierrez – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Value 5 – The Common Good, Universal Destination of Goods, Subsidiarity, Participation, Solidarity part 3

Subsidiarity

These are the five principles laid out in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. If we understand these principles, then the work of the Revolution can begin. We are made now for a New Kingdom with Christ as our King in all things. Let us discover this place together, and make the devil cringe and know the suffering of defeat.

Urging of Christ's LoveDeacon Omar F.A. Gutierrez is an Instructor for the Holy Family School of Faith Institute and Director of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith for the Archdiocese of Omaha. He’s also the author of “The Urging of Christ’s Love: The Saints and The Social Teaching of the Catholic”

RN-8 – Value #5 part 2 – The Universal Destination of Goods – Regnum Novum w/ Omar Gutierrez podcast

Value 5 – The Common Good, Universal Destination of Goods, Subsidiarity, Participation, Solidarity part 2

The Universal Destination of Goods

These are the five principles laid out in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. If we understand these principles, then the work of the Revolution can begin. We are made now for a New Kingdom with Christ as our King in all things. Let us discover this place together, and make the devil cringe and know the suffering of defeat.

Urging of Christ's LoveDeacon Omar F.A. Gutierrez is an Instructor for the Holy Family School of Faith Institute and Director of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith for the Archdiocese of Omaha. He’s also the author of “The Urging of Christ’s Love: The Saints and The Social Teaching of the Catholic”

IJCY4- Your Peace is Found in Jesus – Is Jesus Calling You w/ Fr. Paul Hoesing ep 4 – Discerning Hearts

 Fr. Paul Hoesing - Is Jesus Calling You? Discerning Your Vocational Call 3

The Fourth Spiritual Lesson: It Takes Time. “The Father simply wants you to trust him enough to take the next step, not the 10th or 20th step.  He wants you to focus on going from A to B, not ongoing from A to Z.  When you take that step, Jesus will reveal the next one.”

Questions: What is the next step God is asking of you?  Are you afraid to take it? If you are, ask him into the situation or reality that causes you fear.  Are you focusing too far down the road?

The Fifth Spiritual Lesson: Your Peace is Found in Jesus. “Christ’s presence is enjoyable; it gives us peace, stillness, clarity, and gratitude.  Our job is to desire it.”

Questions: Where do you experience peace, stillness, clarity or gratitude in God?  Wherever that is happening in your life, you need to do two things: (1) realize that this is the presence of Christ and ; (2) desire it throughout your day…above all thins.  Relish his presence, enjoy his presence, long for his presence, keep coming back to his presence, adore his presence and express gratitude for his presence.

 

Based on “Is Jesus Calling You To Be A Catholic Priest: A helpful guide”, published by National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Director.

Fr. Paul Hoesing serves at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary as Dean of Seminarians & Director of Human Formation

GWML#16 Charles Dickens and “A Tale of Two Cities” – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce – Discerning Hearts podcast


In this exciting novel set during the French Revolution, Charles Dickens expresses sympathy for the downtrodden poor and their outrage at the self-indulgent aristocracy. But Dickens is no friend of the vengeful mob that storms the Bastille and cheers the guillotine. As with all of his stories, his passion is for the unforgettable and unrepeatable individuals he creates.

Dickens1The sorrows of the suffering masses, their demands for justice, and the indiscriminate fury they unleash take flesh in Madame Defarge, while the self-sacrifice that is the truest means of atonement and rebirth manifests in the unlikely hero Sydney Carton. In A Tale of Two Cities, humanity does not show its best side in the mean streets of Paris or even London, but in the intimate circle of loyal friends that gathers around the honorable Doctor Manette and his lovely daughter, Lucie.

tale-of-two-cities-2Based on the Ignatius Critical Edition, this series examines, from the Judeo-Christian perspective, the life, the times, and influence of authors of great works in literature.


Joseph Pearce is currently the Writer-in-Residence and Visiting Fellow at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, New Hampshire. He is also Visiting Scholar at Mount Royal Academy in Sunapee, New Hampshire. He is also Visiting Scholar at Mount Royal Academy in Sunapee, New Hampshire. He is co-editor of the Saint Austin Review (or StAR), an international review of Christian culture, literature, and ideas published in England (Family Publications) and the United States (Sapientia Press). He is also the author of many books, including literary biographies of Solzhenitsyn, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and Oscar Wilde.

To learn more about the authors and titles available in the Ignatius Critical Editions

IP#337 Mark Joseph – Overwhelming Pursuit on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor podcast

What a delight to talk with Mark Joseph about “Overwhelming Pursuit: Stop Chasing Your Life and Live.”  He presents in this very compelling book a practical approach to transforming your life.  I simply could not have put any better than Dr. Scott Hahn who said in his ringing endorsement of Mark’s work: “In these pages you’ll learn, step by step, how to do the hard stuff: forgive from the heart, apologize, open yourself to the healing power of God’s mercy. If these graces have seemed remote, theoretical, or elusive to you, seek here and find everything you need: a prescription for spiritual health and lifelong conversion.”  Excellent!  Get a copy for yourself and someone in your life who really needs this solid yet caring message.  Mark’s website is: https://markjosephministries.com

You can by the book here

From the book description:

“Success lets me and everybody else know that I’m important – that I’m worth loving. Success is how I prove my worth in this world.”

That’s what Mark Joseph thought.

He was driven to achieve, and he did. Through his success, he felt loved and respected. He worked night and day to keep feeling important.

But success came at a price.

If you’re overwhelmed, unfulfilled, and running in circles chasing happiness, this is the book for you.

You’ll learn, as Mark did, that the overwhelming pursuit of success stems from our underlying belief that we need to earn love, and that striving for it will somehow cure our lack of self-love. He’ll show you, through his experiences and those of others, that fulfillment has nothing to do with success. It comes from knowing that – despite success or failure you were created by God for greatness, for love and to be loved.

RN-7 – Value #5 part 1 – The Common Good – Regnum Novum w/ Omar Gutierrez podcast

Value 5 – The Common Good, Universal Destination of Goods, Subsidiarity, Participation, Solidarity part 1

The Common Good

These are the five principles laid out in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. If we understand these principles, then the work of the Revolution can begin. We are made now for a New Kingdom with Christ as our King in all things. Let us discover this place together, and make the devil cringe and know the suffering of defeat.

Urging of Christ's LoveOmar F. A. Guiterrez, M.A. , Special Assistant to Archbishop George Lucas of the Archdiocese of Omaha. He’s also the author of “The Urging of Christ’s Love: The Saints and The Social Teaching of the Catholic”

St. Hildegard and “Conversatio Morum – the Conversion of Life and the Iron Mountain” – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints with Dr. Anthony Lilles

 

St. Hildegard and  “Conversatio Morum – the Conversion of Life” – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints

St. Hildegard of Bingen

Benedictine Spirituality and Lectio Divina…a “way of being”.  In part one of this particular teaching, Dr. Lilles discusses the life St. Hildegard of Bingen and her expression of Benedictine teaching, in particular her vision of the “Iron Mountain.”

 

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.

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles

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BTP-SP2-St. Hildegard and “The Creation and The Fall” and the Battle of Prayer – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints – Dr. Anthony Lilles

Dr. Lilles’ teaches that prayer is a battle between the Truth and the lie, and how our understanding affects how we are going to live.  We need to be aware that there is a liar who is trying to drag us down. We need to understand creation and fall, which is brought forward by a particular vision given to, doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard of Bingen.  She helps us appreciate the “stench” of evil. Evil is the absence of something good in us, it is darkness.  Christ is the Light which illuminates our hearts and the world.

Museum – Hildegard von Bingen

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.

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles