Ep 10 – Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Hermit with David Torkington – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:42 — 19.7MB) | Embed

David Torkington, author and narrator of this work

Episode 10 – Learning How To Love

James has returned home and begins in earnest, practicing his newfound life of prayer. However, we find him writing to Peter when he feels his prayer is floundering. Peter explains through their correspondence, that James is now finding himself on the threshold of contemplative prayer, and he encourages James to persevere and describes how he should proceed. This episode finishes many years later when Peter meets James again, but this time in his home in the New Forest. Peter has been giving lectures in London and James expresses his gratitude for his mentor in prayer, who changed the direction of his life completely.

You can find more episodes of the series here: Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Hermit w/ David Torkington page.

You can find the book here.

David Torkington, the author of Wisdom from the Western Isles has re-edited and abridged the work for broadcast; he is also the narrator. The book was published originally as three separate spiritual novels: Peter Calvay – Hermit, Peter Calvay – Prophet and Peter Calvay – Mystic. We begin with the first part, The Hermit but including some passages from Peter Calvay – Mystic so as to give an overall view of the spiritual journey for listeners.

David Torkington is an English Spiritual Theologian, author, and speaker, specializing in Prayer, Christian Spirituality, and Mystical Theology. Educated at the Franciscan Study Centre, England, he served as Dean of Studies at the National Catholic Radio and Television Centre, London. He was an extra-mural lecturer in Mystical Theology at the Angelicum, the Dominican University in Rome, and has received invitations to speak to Religious, Monks, Diocesan Priests, and laypeople from all over the world, including Equatorial Africa, where he gave three prolonged lecture tours speaking on Christian prayer.

Visit his website: www.davidtorkington.com.

The author of the popular Peter Calvay series, his books include Wisdom from the Western Isles, Wisdom from Franciscan Italy, Wisdom from the Christian Mystics, Prayer Made Simple (CTS), and How to Pray by Our Sunday Visitor. His books have been translated into 13 different languages.

Conference 2: Holy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – That All May Be One: A Holy Week Retreat /w Msgr. John Esseff & Sr. Cor Immaculatum Heffernan

Conference 2: Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday – That All May Be One: A Holy Week Retreat /w Msgr. Esseff & Sr. Cor Immaculatum Heffernan – Discerning Hearts Online Retreat

Retreat Directors: Monsignor John A. Esseff and Sister Cor Immaculatum Heffernan, IHM

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:12 — 36.6MB) | Embed

The Paschal Mystery

Unbelief…Darkness…Betrayal…Abandonment…

Theme: The Coming of Jesus’ Hour John 12: 20-50

The Anointing at Bethany John 12: 1-8

Jesus knows He’s going to suffer and die although the

apostles and friends are unaware

Mary’s anointing, thought useless and extravagant by Judas, foretells the anointing for Jesus’ burial

Reflection: In my life, what are those events that have made me say: If only I had known, I would have………

Jesus’ Hour of Darkness John 12: 27-50

Jesus is troubled…it was for this purpose that He came to this hour

Judas betrays Jesus Luke 22: 1-6

Reflection: What is my darkness…sinfulness…sin? 1 John 1: 5-10

O Holy Spirit to reveal to me my sinfulness.

What is my hour of darkness…when have I turned away from the light? John 3: 16-21

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He 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. 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. He is a founding member of the Pope Leo XIII Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders.

Sister Cor Immaculatum Heffernan, IHM is a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton, PA. “ She holds several degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in English/Art and a Master of Science degree in Counseling, both from Marywood; a Master of Arts degree in Sculpture from the University of Notre Dame; and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Illustration from Syracuse University. Her multi-faceted life is in itself a masterpiece: she is a teacher, a mentor, and a consultant; she is a sculptor, a harpist, a calligrapher, and a creator of mosaics; she is a counselor, a spiritual director, and above all, she is a servant of God to others”.

Conference 1: Palm Sunday – That All May Be One: A Holy Week Retreat /w Msgr. John Esseff & Sr. Cor Immaculatum Heffernan

Conference 1: Palm Sunday – That All May Be One: A Holy Week Retreat /w Msgr. Esseff & Sr. Cor Immaculatum Heffernan – Discerning Hearts Online Retreat

Retreat Directors: Monsignor John A. Esseff and Sister Cor Immaculatum Heffernan, IHM

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:18 — 29.9MB) | Embed

Theme: KINGSHIP OF JESUS

Why does God, Who made all of creation, love US so much?

3 galaxies for every one person in the entire world…ex. keystone college telescope –

7 billion people in the world on planet earth… why is God so interested in humankind? This is a great mystery.

God leaves the 99… for example the angelic world, all creation, and comes to our human world…WHY? g. Adam and Eve – original sin

God the Father’s Plan – Ephesians 1: 3-6 – God wanted to save humans He made because He LOVES US.

Jesus – Only-begotten Son of God the Father – it is in and through HIM that we are saved.

Through the Holy Spirit, all mankind has become ONE – universality of all the living

- Jesus – the Way, the Truth, and the Life

“My kingdom is not of this world… John 18: 33-38

Scriptural References to Kingship

Isaiah 24: 23 – The Lord of hosts will reign on Mt. Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious in the sight of the elders…

Zechariah 14: 4. – Messiah would come to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

Matthew 21: 1-11 – All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet saying: Tell ye the daughters of Sion, behold the king comes to thee, meek and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. John 12: 12-16

John 18: 33-37. Jesus before Pilate – Are you a king?

Reflections:

What is it to belong to the universal Kingship of Jesus?

Is Jesus able to enter into my heart and my life?

Commandments – Love of God…love of neighbor

The Beatitudes: – Luke 6: 11-36. OR Matthew 5: 1-12 – Who is my neighbor today?

Excerpts from: Homily on the Feast of Our Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem

“The sole conqueror of the human heart is Christ the King…there was never any king simultaneously just, a redeemer, gentle and seated on a donkey, who came to Jerusalem, unless this is He who alone is King of kings, God the Redeemer, Jesus. He is kind, gentle, and abundant in mercy for all those who call upon Him, as it is written.”

Reflection:

Is Jesus, my Lord and King, able to enter into my heart for and my life… and remain as my King?

Ep 9 – Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Hermit with David Torkington – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:54 — 20.0MB) | Embed

Episode 9 – True Christian Contemplation

It is James’ last meeting with Peter before climbing aboard the island plane and returning to the mainland. Peter begins to advise James on what to expect when Christian meditation has led us into Contemplation, true Christian Contemplation. Peter draws on the writings of the two saints that the Church has canonized and made Doctors of the Church, St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila, to explain what the church teaches us about true Christian Contemplation and how to pray when your meditation has led you to the verge of contemplative prayer.

You can find more episodes of the series here: Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Hermit w/ David Torkington page.

You can find the book here.

Visit his website: www.davidtorkington.com.

SJ9 – A Brief Reflection on Prudence – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:59 — 21.3MB) | Embed

Episode 9 – A Brief Reflection on Prudence

In this final episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss St. Joseph and the virtue of prudence

An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:

The prudent way—the way of St. Joseph—begins with self-knowledge. People cannot see reality clearly as long as they have those planks in their eyes. They cannot have radical openness to reality if they harbor fears of the truth.

In his discussion of prudence, Pieper warns of something called falsification of memory. He sees this as the great destroyer of the sense of reality. People tend to mythologize their days. They make themselves out to be heroes. They make their adversaries and rivals out to be villains, just because they want the same things. It is hard not to see life in this way. But there is no doubt that it is a falsification of memory—and it is corrosive to our sense of reality.

The Christian tradition offers remedies for this. A good spiritual director will not permit his charges to hold on to this kind of thought. He will humanize the rivals they demonize.

Anyone can cultivate that attitude, too, by means of a daily examination of conscience and regular confession. Reality is something that must be faced squarely, deliberately, consciously, with the means God has provided—first, the inner reality of one’s self and then the reality of the world.

Joseph can be misunderstood, as prudence is misunderstood. His silence can be mistaken for passivity, but it is not.

Joseph is the prudent man whose thoughts correspond to reality, and whose actions flow from those thoughts. He is the image of God and yet a model for every Christian. He is the one who keeps the constant company of Jesus Christ.

Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (pp. 75-76). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page

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

Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:

Roots the Faith

The Resilient Church

Villains of the Early Church

BKL209 – The Fifth Sunday of Lent – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:30 — 19.7MB) | Embed

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, Msgr. Esseff discusses the need to believe in Holy Trinity: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Taken from Gospel of St. John Chapter 11

The Death of Lazarus

11 Now a certain man was ill, Laz′arus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Laz′arus was ill. ³So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it.”

⁵Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Laz′arus. ⁶So when he heard that he was ill, he stayed two days longer^[a] in the place where he was. ⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go into Judea again.” ⁸The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were but now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any one walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. ¹⁰But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” ¹¹Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, “Our friend Laz′arus has fallen asleep, but I go to awake him out of sleep.” ¹²The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” ¹³Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, “Laz′arus is dead; ¹⁵and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

¹⁷Now when Jesus came, he found that Laz′arus^[b] had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles^[c]off, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house. ²¹Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life;^[d] he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, ²⁶and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

²⁸When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying quietly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. ³¹When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³²Then Mary, when she came where Jesus was and saw him, fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled; ³⁴and he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵Jesus wept. ³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life

³⁸Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb; it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. ⁴²I knew that thou hearest me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thou didst send me.” ⁴³When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Laz′arus, come out.” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him;

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served 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 founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.

The Litany of St. Joseph – text and mp3 download

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:08 — 7.2MB) | Embed

The Litany of Saint Joseph

V/ Lord, have mercy.

R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Christ, have mercy.

R/ Christ, have mercy.

V/ Lord, have mercy.

R/ Lord, have mercy.

V/ Jesus, hear us.

R/ Jesus, graciously hear us.

V/ God, the Father of Heaven,

R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Son, Redeemer of the world,

R/ have mercy on us.

V/ God, the Holy Spirit,

R/ have mercy on us.

V/ Holy Trinity, One God,

R/ have mercy on us.

R/for ff: pray for us.

Holy Mary,

St. Joseph, Renowned offspring of David,

Light of Patriarchs,

Spouse of the Mother of God,

Chaste guardian of the Virgin,

Foster father of the Son of God,

Diligent protector of Christ,

Head of the Holy Family,

Joseph most just,

Joseph most chaste,

Joseph most prudent,

Joseph most strong,

Joseph most obedient,

Joseph most faithful,

Mirror of patience,

Lover of poverty,

Model of artisans,

Glory of home life,

Guardian of virgins,

Pillar of families,

Solace of the wretched,

Hope of the sick,

Patron of the dying,

Terror of demons,

Protector of Holy Church,

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

R/ spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,

R/ graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

R/ have mercy on us.

He made him the lord of his household.

R/ And prince over all his possessions.

Let us pray. O God, in your ineffable providence you were pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most holy Mother; grant, we beg you, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: You who live and reign forever and ever. R/ Amen.

IP#245 Fr. Gary Caster – Joseph – The Man Who Raised Jesus on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:03 — 20.7MB) | Embed

With Fr. Gary Caster, we discuss “Joseph – The Man Who Raised Jesus”. Thanks to his mother’s encouragement, Fr. Gary received a rich devotion to the “silent” man who witnessed to the faith in an extraordinary way. He shares personal stories, passages from Scripture, and teachings from the Catechism of the Catholic Church to demonstrate what a model of virtue and a protector of the Church and family, St. Joseph is in our lives today. Another wonderful work by Fr. Gary Caster. Good St. Joseph, pray for us!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Who was St. Joseph? Was he just a passive, incidental figure in the drama of salvation? On the contrary, in every way that Jesus needed a father, St. Joseph was that for him. And how overwhelming it must have been for Joseph to be asked to stand in the Father s place! No man has ever been asked to do so in such an unthinkable way. Every priest, and certainly every man who is a father (biologically or otherwise), should take this to heart.

Caster s book will provide a unique, in-depth presentation of Joseph from the perspective of the evangelical counsels and the theological and cardinal virtues. Each section will begin with an explanation of what each counsel or virtue means and then show how Joseph models it for us.

The descriptions of St. Joseph s life and character found in this book, while rooted in the Scripture passages that mention him, are chiefly inspired by Jesus, who spent the majority of his life at home with Joseph and Mary. For years, the three of them lived, prayed, celebrated, studied, and shared, all the while uniting their lives more intimately with God s own. Those years in Nazareth were a real preparation for the foundation upon which Jesus would build his saving ministry. And as much as Joseph and Mary offered Jesus, he offered them an ever-expanding awareness of the God that had changed both their lives. The reciprocity of love that perfectly defines the home in Nazareth is the very pattern for all family life—and therefore of the Church itself.

Ep 8 – Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Hermit with David Torkington – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:00 — 20.0MB) | Embed

Episode 8 – True Christian Meditation

Peter was surprised to hear that James had been introduced to the practice of Indian meditation and had been unsuccessfully trying to adapt it to Christian prayer. He explained to James that his experience will help him to understand the meaning of true Christian meditation. The new form of meditation that Christianity introduced, grew out of reflecting and ruminating on the life and teaching of Jesus, which depicted the most loving and loveable person, who has ever lived. Peter explained that this is why all authentic Christian prayer begins, not by flinging oneself into obscure transcendental states of awareness, but by trying to get to know and love Jesus Christ.

You can find more episodes of the series here: Wisdom from the Western Isles: The Hermit w/ David Torkington page.

You can find the book here.

Visit his website: www.davidtorkington.com.

SJ8 – Handing on the Passover – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:17 — 20.9MB) | Embed

Episode 8 – Handing on the Passover

In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss St. Joseph and the role he had in Jesus’ religious formation. Also, Mike offers a deeper insight on the scene popularly known as “the finding in the Temple.”

An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:

A father has no idea what his son will make of the lessons of boyhood—the small and large skills passed from one generation to the next. It was Joseph who taught Jesus how to conduct the Passover seder. It was Joseph who showed him how to bless the bread and break it—how to bless the cup and share it. It was Joseph who taught him to make thanksgiving by means of the Haggadah, the ancient story of salvation. It was Joseph who read the poem that predicted the night of the messiah.

It was Joseph who gave Jesus the fundamental form that would later come to be filled by the Eucharist.

Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 70). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.