Episode 29- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – We continue the study of the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church” Chapter 5 – What is marriage?
CHAPTER FIVE
THE FAMILY, THE VITAL CELL OF SOCIETY
In this episode, we discuss Day 9 and the journey to Jerusalem!
Make your way through the Holy Land to experience Him, follow in His footsteps, and see Him in the works He performed – your footsteps will become His. Celebrate votive Masses in the very places where these miraculous gifts became pages in the Gospel. See where He was back then, and feel how He is still there today!
Places we will visit:
Holy Land · The Negev · Ein Gedi · Jordan · Jericho · Nazareth · Mount Carmel · Stella Maris · Muhraka ·Carmelites · Tabor · Cana · Capharnahum · Mount of Beatitudes · Tabgha · Jerusalem · Bethlehem · Temple Mount · Mt. of Olives · Gallicantu · Via Dolorosa · Mt. Zion · Emmaus
In this episode:
Sunday, May 31 | Early Mass at the Holy Sepulcher or with the Greek Catholic Patricarcate – Temple Mount – Mt. of Olives – Gallicantu – Via Dolorosa
Start the day walking through the Old City, towards the Temple area, where Jesus used to preach (Jn7:15) and where many episodes from the Bible took place (Lk2:22). Visit the Temple Mount. Time of teaching with Father. The coach will pick us up at the Lion gate. We will drive to the Mount of Olives (Mt21). Visit the Dominus Flevit Church, where Christ wept over Jerusalem (Mt23:37). Onwards to Gethsemane reliving the descent of Mount of Olives of the Palm Sunday. We will view the ancient Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mt26:36) and visit the Church of All Nations which houses the Rock of the Agony of Christ on Holy Thursday. In this Church is a beautiful mosaic donated by the United States. The coach will drive above the Kidron Valley and bring us to the Zion Gate for Lunch in the Armenian Quarter. After lunch, we will head towards the house of the High Priest Caiaphas (Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu). This Church commemorates where Jesus was examined and eventually imprisoned before the Council in Jerusalem. It also commemorates Peter’s Denial of Christ (John 18:15 – 18). We will take a time of prayer in the cistern that served as prison. Late afternoon, the bus will drive us to the Lion Gate, for the Way of the Cross. Relive the way of the Cross. We will start at the site of the Antonia Fortress where Christ was tried and condemned to death. Proceed along the Via Dolorosa praying the Stations of the Cross – ending at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site of the Crucifixion and the Tomb of Our Lord. Return to our accommodations for dinner and then make our way to the private Garden of Gethsemane for a special Holy Hour of Adoration.
A few words:
Dear Pilgrim, I invite you prayerfully to discern joining me in undertaking a once in a lifetime journey with a remarkable woman of faith, Sr. Magdalit of the Community of the Beatitudes. Her years of lived experience in Israel and leading pilgrimages throughout the Holy Land will avail us of unique opportunities for prayer, spiritual teaching, and fellowship. Together, we hope to lead you into a new encounter with the great mysteries of our faith and a renewal of your devotion to the Lord. Our eyes will see and our hands will touch the great marvels that live among the people and in the sacred geography on which God was born, walked, died and rose. I hope that the Lord calls you to join us.
In Christ, Dr. Anthony Lilles
This year is the 16th centenary of St John Chrysostom’s death (407-2007). It can be said that John of Antioch, nicknamed “Chrysostom”, that is, “golden-mouthed”, because of his eloquence, is also still alive today because of his works. An anonymous copyist left in writing that “they cross the whole globe like flashes of lightening”.
Chrysostom’s writings also enable us, as they did the faithful of his time whom his frequent exiles deprived of his presence, to live with his books, despite his absence. This is what he himself suggested in a letter when he was in exile (To Olympias, Letter 8, 45).
He was born in about the year 349 A.D. in Antioch, Syria (today Antakya in Southern Turkey). He carried out his priestly ministry there for about 11 years, until 397, when, appointed Bishop of Constantinople, he exercised his episcopal ministry in the capital of the Empire prior to his two exiles, which succeeded one close upon the other – in 403 and 407. Let us limit ourselves today to examining the years Chrysostom spent in Antioch.
He lost his father at a tender age and lived with Anthusa, his mother, who instilled in him exquisite human sensitivity and a deep Christian faith.
After completing his elementary and advanced studies crowned by courses in philosophy and rhetoric, he had as his teacher, Libanius, a pagan and the most famous rhetorician of that time. At his school John became the greatest orator of late Greek antiquity.
He was baptized in 368 and trained for the ecclesiastical life by Bishop Meletius, who instituted him as lector in 371. This event marked Chrysostom’s official entry into the ecclesiastical cursus. From 367 to 372, he attended the Asceterius, a sort of seminary in Antioch, together with a group of young men, some of whom later became Bishops, under the guidance of the exegete Diodore of Tarsus, who initiated John into the literal and grammatical exegesis characteristic of Antiochean tradition.
He then withdrew for four years to the hermits on the neighbouring Mount Silpius. He extended his retreat for a further two years, living alone in a cave under the guidance of an “old hermit”. In that period, he dedicated himself unreservedly to meditating on “the laws of Christ”, the Gospels and especially the Letters of Paul. Having fallen ill, he found it impossible to care for himself unaided, and therefore had to return to the Christian community in Antioch (cf. Palladius, Dialogue on the Life of St John Chrysostom, 5).
Dr. Matthew Bunson, Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, is one of the United States’ leading authorities on the papacy and the Church.
His books include: The Encyclopedia of Catholic History; The Encyclopedia of Saints; Papal Wisdom; All Shall Be Well; Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire; and The Angelic Doctor: The Life and World of St. Thomas Aquinas; The Pope Encyclopedia; We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, the first Catholic biography of the Holy Father in the English language; the Encyclopedia of U.S. Catholic History; Pope Francis. His also the editor of OSV’s “The Catholic Answer” magazine.
What is your deepest identity? As we begin our study of John, Sharon poses this fundamental question: Who are you? What is your identity? The answer can be found in scripture: you are a beloved son or daughter of God. This powerful theme runs deep in this lecture. Beginning at the beginning, Sharon focuses on John 1 and Genesis 1, illuminating the nature of Jesus, the Word, who was with God, was in God and was God before the beginning of time. Central to the nature of Christ is his humanity, and specifically his identity as a man. Jesus’ maleness is inherent to his personhood. Sadly, Satan attempts to distort the reality of who we are as male or female, and our current culture has been bombarded with so-called “gender identity ideology”, which Pope Francis describes as a negative trend, a profound falsehood, ideological colonization by wealthy countries, and demonic. Gender used to be a binary choice: male or female. Now gender is used to describe social and cultural differences as opposed to biological. With the fall, confusion entered the world and we lost our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God and the fatal wound of sin entered the world. But, thanks be to God, with the Incarnation of Christ, we now have a way back to the Father. Jesus has given us the power to be children of God and reclaim our truest identity. Sharon then goes on to talk about John the Baptist, whose purpose was to bear witness to Christ. The Jewish leaders venture into the desert and question John about his identity: Are you Elijah? Are you the prophet? Are you the Messiah? John explains that he is the voice in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord as prophesied by Isaiah. While not Elijah returned, John indeed is the new Elijah as predicted by the prophet Malachi, who the Lord will send before the anointed one. Sharon focuses on typology: John, the new Elijah, and Jesus, the new Moses. She concludes her lecture with the first of several examples of bridegroom imagery found in John’s Gospel. John states he is unworthy to unfasten the ties of Jesus’ sandals. More than a statement of humility, John is reaffirming his role. He is not the bridegroom of redeemed Israel. He is the witness, the best man of the marriage between Jesus, the groom, and the Church, his bride.
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.
“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
In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Fifth Mansions Chapter 1 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:
1. Graces of the fifth mansions. 2. Contemplation to be striven for. 3. Physical effects of the Prayer of union. 4. Amazement of the intellect. 5. The Prayer of union and of quiet contrasted. 6. Divine and earthly union. 7. Competent directors in these matters. 8. Proof of union. 9. Assurance left in the soul. 10. Divine union beyond our Power to obtain.
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.
Saint Padre Pio or St. Pio of Pietrelcina (25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968) was a Capuchin priest from Italy and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. He was popularly known as Padre Pio after his ordination to the priesthood. He became famous after receiving the “Stigmata“. On 16 June 2002, he was canonized a saint by Pope John Paul II. Padre Pio is the Patron saint of Confessors, Catholic Adolescents, and Civil Defense Volunteers.
Prayer for Healing
Beloved Padre Pio,
Today I come to add my prayer to the thousands of prayers offered to thee every day by those who love and venerate thee. They ask for cures and healings, earthly and spiritual blessings, and peace for body and mind. And because of thy friendship with the Lord, He heals those thou doth ask to be healed, and forgives those thou forgiveth.
Through thy visible wounds of the Cross, which thou didst bear for fifty years, thou wert chosen in our time to glorify the crucified Jesus. Because the Cross has been replaced by other symbols, please help us to bring it back in our midst, for we acknowledge it is the only true sign of salvation. As we lovingly recall the wounds that pierced thy hands, feet and side, we not only remember the blood thou didst shed in pain, but thy smile, and the invisible halo of sweet-smelling flowers that surrounded thee, the perfume of sanctity.
In thy kindness, please help me with my own special request:
[mention here your petition, making the Sign of the Cross]
Bless me and my loved ones. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer to Saint Pio
O God, Thou didst give Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, Capuchin priest, the great privilege of participating in a unique way in the Passion of Thy Son, grant me through his intercession the grace of . . . [name your request] which I ardently desire; and above all grant me the grace of living in conformity with the death of Jesus, to arrive at the glory of the resurrection.
Glory be to the Father . . . [three times].
Other Prayers –
Stay With Me, Lord Prayer
by Padre Pio
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have Thee present so that I do not forget Thee. Thou knowest how easily I abandon Thee.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need Thy strength that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for Thou art my light, and without Thee I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Thy will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Thy voice and follow Thee.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love Thee very much and to be in Thy company always.
Stay with me, Lord, if Thou wisheth me to be faithful to Thee.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is I want it to be a place of consolation for Thee, a nest of love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength, so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need Thee. It is getting late and death approaches, I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows. O how I need Thee, my Jesus, in this night of exile!
Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all it’s dangers. I need Thee.
Let me recognize Thee as Thy disciples did at the breaking of the bread, so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness, the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.
Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to Thee, if not by communion, at least by grace and love.
Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for Divine consolation, because I do not merit it, but the gift of Thy Presence, oh yes, I ask this of Thee!
Stay with me, Lord, for it is Thou alone I look for, Thy Love, Thy Grace, Thy Will, Thy Heart, Thy Spirit because I love Thee and ask no other reward but to love Thee more and more.
With a firm love, I will love Thee with all my heart while on earth and continue to love Thee perfectly during all eternity. Amen
Chaplet of St. Padre Pio
(contains medal, Crucifix, and 3 sets of 3 brown beads)]
Oh Jesus, full of grace and charity, victim for sinners, so impelled by Thy love of us that Thou didst will to die on the Cross, I humbly entreat Thee to glorify in Heaven and on earth, the servant of God, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, who generously participated in Thy sufferings, who loved Thee so much and laboured so faithfully for the glory of Thy heavenly Father and for the good of souls. With confidence, I beseech Thee to grant me, through his intercession, the grace of (mention your intentions) which I ardently desire.
Episode 28- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – We continue the study of the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church” Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
THE FAMILY, THE VITAL CELL OF SOCIETY
What is your deepest identity? As we begin our study of John, Sharon poses this fundamental question: Who are you? What is your identity? The answer can be found in scripture: you are a beloved son or daughter of God. This powerful theme runs deep in this lecture. Beginning at the beginning, Sharon focuses on John 1 and Genesis 1, illuminating the nature of Jesus, the Word, who was with God, was in God, and was God before the beginning of time. Central to the nature of Christ is his humanity, and specifically his identity as a man. Jesus’ maleness is inherent to his personhood. Sadly, Satan attempts to distort the reality of who we are as male or female, and our current culture has been bombarded with so-called “gender identity ideology”, which Pope Francis describes as a negative trend, a profound falsehood, ideological colonization by wealthy countries, and demonic. Gender used to be a binary choice: male or female. Now gender is used to describe social and cultural differences as opposed to biological. With the fall, confusion entered the world and we lost our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God and the fatal wound of sin entered the world. But, thanks be to God, with the Incarnation of Christ, we now have a way back to the Father. Jesus has given us the power to be children of God and reclaim our truest identity. Sharon then goes on to talk about John the Baptist, whose purpose was to bear witness to Christ. The Jewish leaders venture into the desert and question John about his identity: Are you Elijah? Are you the prophet? Are you the Messiah? John explains that he is the voice in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord as prophesied by Isaiah. While not Elijah returned, John indeed is the new Elijah as predicted by the prophet Malachi, who the Lord will send before the anointed one. Sharon focuses on typology: John, the new Elijah and Jesus, the new Moses. She concludes her lecture with the first of several examples of bridegroom imagery found in John’s Gospel. John states he is unworthy to unfasten the ties of Jesus’ sandals. More than a statement of humility, John is reaffirming his role. He is not the bridegroom of redeemed Israel. He is the witness, the best man of the marriage between Jesus, the groom, and the Church, his bride.
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.
“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
In this episode, we discuss Day 7 – 8 and the significance of the Sea of Galilee and the Mount of the Beatitudes. Then we are on the beauty of Bethlehem.
Make your way through the Holy Land to experience Him, follow in His footsteps, and see Him in the works He performed – your footsteps will become His. Celebrate votive Masses in the very places where these miraculous gifts became pages in the Gospel. See where He was back then, and feel how He is still there today!
Places we will visit:
Holy Land · The Negev · Ein Gedi · Jordan · Jericho · Nazareth · Mount Carmel · Stella Maris · Muhraka ·Carmelites · Tabor · Cana · Capharnahum · Mount of Beatitudes · Tabgha · Jerusalem · Bethlehem · Temple Mount · Mt. of Olives · Gallicantu · Via Dolorosa · Mt. Zion · Emmaus
In this episode:
Friday, May 29 | Boat ride – Capharnahum – Mount of Beatitudes – Tabgha
After breakfast, we will embark for a Boat ride to Capernaum. Capernaum is now in ruins but was once a thriving town where Peter lived and hosted Jesus (Mt 4:13). In this Synagogue Jesus gave the discourse on the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35-70). Drive to the Mount of the Beatitudes. Visit the Church that commemorates where Christ taught the Eight Beatitudes to his Disciples (Mt 5). Walk down the Mount to the altar of the Beatitude grotto. Celebrate Mass in open air. Go to lunch. After lunch, the bus will drive us to the Primacy of Peter and after to Tabgha the site of the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish (Mt14). Visit the Church and its famous mosaics. Afterward, we will have a time of adoration on the seashore (called Dalmanoutha). Back to the Hotel. Dinner. Free evening.
Day8
Saturday, May 30 | Ascent to Jerusalem – Panorama – Bethlehem
After breakfast, we depart from Tiberias directly to Jerusalem. While ascending the mountains, we will shift from ‘the Son to the Holy Spirit’ in our Trinitarian journey. Make the ascent to Jerusalem while reading the Psalms of Ascent. Enter in Jerusalem and drive directly to Bethlehem. Visit the Basilica of the Nativity, built over the site of the birthplace of Jesus, born amongst the Jewish people. Visit the Cave where Christ was born and the cave of St. Jerome, who lived here for many years translating the Bible into Latin. Celebrate Mass Go to Bet Sahour for lunch. at the Shepherds field, recalling the “great throng of the heavenly hosts” that appeared to the Shepherds announcing to them of the birth of the Savior (Lk2:8). After lunch, we will have time for shopping. While driving home if time permits, stop at the panorama view of the Tayelet above the Gehenna and Kidron Valleys. Dinner and overnight at our hotel. Teaching on the Holy Sepulcher in the evening.
A few words:
Dear Pilgrim, I invite you prayerfully to discern joining me in undertaking a once in a lifetime journey with a remarkable woman of faith, Sr. Magdalit of the Community of the Beatitudes. Her years of lived experience in Israel and leading pilgrimages throughout the Holy Land will avail us of unique opportunities for prayer, spiritual teaching, and fellowship. Together, we hope to lead you into a new encounter with the great mysteries of our faith and a renewal of your devotion to the Lord. Our eyes will see and our hands will touch the great marvels that live among the people and in the sacred geography on which God was born, walked, died and rose. I hope that the Lord calls you to join us.
In Christ, Dr. Anthony Lilles
Episode 27– Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – We continue the study of the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church” Chapter 4 Section 4 -6
In this episode, we discuss Day 9 and the journey to Jerusalem!
In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Fifth Mansions Chapter 1 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:
For other audio recordings of various spiritual classics you can visit the 
