St. Charbel Makhlouf and the Importance of Becoming a Saint with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast


Msgr. Esseff shares stories of his time in Lebanon and his experience surrounding the great St. Charbel Makhlouf.  He reflects on the importance of depending on God.St. Charbel Makhlouf... some call him the Padre Pio of Lebanon 1

You can pray the Chaplet of St. Charbel by visiting here:

The Chaplet of St. Charbel -Discerning Hearts podcast

 

 

To Listen to God – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Are you frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed?  Have you been trying to do “good things” but find yourself hitting a wall in your family, workplace, or ministry?  Msgr. Esseff counsels us when to say “yes” or to say “no,”  when to speak and when to be silent when to stay and when to go,  and so forth. Everything hinges on listening to God and discernment.  Are you operating in the “Light?”

Today, Msgr. Esseff asks that you take an hour to enter the inner self and listen to what God wants you to do.  Write down what you hear God say in Psalm 139

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!

2Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;

thou discernest my thoughts from afar.

3Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,

and art acquainted with all my ways.

4Even before a word is on my tongue,

lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

5Thou dost beset me behind and before,

and layest thy hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high, I cannot attain it.

7Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!

9If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10even there thy hand shall lead me,

and thy right hand shall hold me.

11If I say, “Let only darkness cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12even the darkness is not dark to thee,

the night is bright as the day;

for darkness is as light with thee.

13For thou didst form my inward parts,

thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.

Wonderful are thy works!

Thou knowest me right well;

15my frame was not hidden from thee,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

16Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;

in thy book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

When I awake, I am still with thee.

19O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God,

and that men of blood would depart from me,

20men who maliciously defy thee,

who lift themselves up against thee for evil!

21Do I not hate them that hate thee, O Lord?

And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?

22I hate them with perfect hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

24And see if there be any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

Sunday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

Sunday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 13:24-43

Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

He put another parable before them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’
In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy:

I will speak to you in parables and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.
Then, leaving the crowds, he went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

What word made this passage come alive for you?

What did you sense the Lord saying to you?

Once more give the Lord an opportunity to speak to you:

Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

He put another parable before them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’
In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy:

I will speak to you in parables and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.
Then, leaving the crowds, he went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

What did your heart feel as you listened?

What did you sense the Lord saying to you?

Once more, through Him, with Him and in Him listen to the Word:

Jesus put another parable before the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

He put another parable before them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’
He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’
In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy:

I will speak to you in parables and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.
Then, leaving the crowds, he went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

What touched your heart in this time of prayer?

What did your heart feel as you prayed?

What do you hope to carry with you from this time with the Lord?


Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

 but deliver us from evil.

Amen

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

IP#488 Anthony DeStefano – 30 Days to Your New Life on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor – Discerning Hearts podcast


Anthony DeStefano on  “30 Days to Your New Life: A Guide to Transforming Yourself from Head to Soul”

Join Kris McGregor as she discusses the book “30 Days to Your New Life: A Guide to Transforming Yourself from Head to Soul” with Anthony DeStefano.

You can find the book here.

From the book description:

“Happiness. Everyone wants it, but not everyone has it–or knows how to get it. According to a recent Harris poll, only 1 in 3 Americans describes himself as happy. Researchers have dubbed this the “most stressed” of all generations, despite its economic prosperity and technological advances. Anthony DeStefano, bestselling author of A Travel Guide to Heaven and Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To, addresses this problem head-on in his freshly rewritten book, 30 Days to Your New Life, by striving to bring the joy of Heaven down to Earth right now.

Many self-help books explore the subject of happiness, but one important ingredient always seems to be missing: God. In this no-nonsense, refreshingly direct book, DeStefano bridges the gap between personal development programs and Christian/Catholic spirituality. The result is a wake-up call to readers; an outcome-based motivational guide to living life to its fullest–and holiest. DeStefano’s practical, pull-no-punches, approach to popular theology has been described as “Tony Robbins meets Thomas Aquinas.”

With candor and simplicity, DeStefano presents an easy-to-follow framework for attaining lifelong peace and fulfillment, as well as (more importantly) eternal happiness in Heaven. The path proposed by DeStefano encourages consistent, purposeful and prayerful action on the part of the reader, and offers genuine hope to everyone, from ambivalent agnostics to engaged evangelicals to the most fervent of Catholics.

This is a book about getting results, about breaking out of self-delusion and taking small, practical steps to transform your life from head to soul. The author believes that as more and more people today struggle with depression and loneliness, self-help programs need to be less about “self-help” and more about “God’s help.” God, after all, is the Author of life. He knows what will make us happy–and what won’t.

DeStefano utilizes the best personal development tools available, but balances and corrects them with Bible-based, faith-filled, time-tested, sacramental, Catholic principles. No matter how terrible your circumstances may be or how many times you’ve failed to achieve your goals in the past, this book will work for you.”


About the Author: Anthony DeStefano is the bestselling author of over twenty-five Christian books for adults and children. His books have been published in eighteen different countries and twelve different languages and have been endorsed by The National Day of Prayer committee as well as many prominent religious leaders and mainstream celebrities. He has appeared on the 700 Club, Fox and Friends, CNN, Huckabee, and hundreds of other national and local media shows. He has also been the host of two television series on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), as well as a frequent guest on that network. A Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Anthony is an avid pilot and lives in New Jersey with his wife, Jordan.

Episode 6 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast


Are CHRISTIANS responsible for God’s death? Nietzsche thought so. Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro finish their study of PART ONE of “The Drama of Atheist Humanism” by Henri de Lubac, S.J.


You can find the book here

De Lubac traces the origin of 19th century attempts to construct a humanism apart from God, the sources of contemporary atheism which purports to have “moved beyond God.” The three persons he focuses on are Feuerbach, who greatly influenced Marx; Nietzsche, who represents nihilism; and Comte, who is the father of all forms of positivism.

He then shows that the only one who really responded to this ideology was Dostoevsky, a kind of prophet who criticizes in his novels this attempt to have a society without God. Despite their historical and scholarly appearance, de Lubac’s work clearly refers to the present.

As he investigates the sources of modern atheism, particularly in its claim to have definitely moved beyond the idea of God, he is thinking of an ideology prevalent today in East and West which regards the Christian faith as a completely outdated.


Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J.
Vivian Dudro
Joseph Pearce

 

IP#487 Stephen J. Binz – Saint Junipero Serra’s Camino on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor – Discerning Hearts podcast


Stephen J. Binz on  “Saint Junipero Serra’s Camino: A Pilgrimage Guide to the California Missions”

Join Kris McGregor as she discusses the book “Saint Junipero Serra’s Camino” with Stephen J. Binz.

You can find the book here.

From the book description:

“Travel Saint Junipero Serra’s Camino to the twenty-one California missions, stretching from San Diego to Sonoma, north of San Francisco Bay. This work presents the life and work of Saint Junipero Serra, and it challenges pilgrims to continue, in their own way, the forward journey that he began in the 1700s. This carefully researched narrative explores both the historical roots and the spiritual heritage of the missions and their inhabitants, creating an unforgettable and indispensable pilgrimage guide for those who want to experience the missions in person–or in an armchair at home. Each of the missions is a unique jewel and a spiritual oasis. Some are found wedged into cities; others are surrounded by mountains and valleys. They range from simple to ornate. The grounds are filled with bells, statues, fountains, and gardens, all symbols of life and feasts of color. Old Spanish mission art can be found next to Indian wall paintings. Symbols of piety from two centuries form a wonderful holy mix. Enhances with the author’s own photography, prayer experiences, and practical travel information for every missions station, this guidebook is a must-have for any pilgrim exploring America’s own pilgrim way, the Camino of St. Junipero Serra.”


About the Author: Stephen J. Binz is a biblical scholar and an award-winning author of over sixty books. His writing focuses on biblical commentary, biblical theology, and Christian spirituality. As founder and author of Threshold Bible Study, he has written and published thirty studies for personal and group Bible study. His books are published by Ave Maria Press, Franciscan Media, Twenty-Third Publications, Liturgical Press, The Word Among Us, OSV Publications, Brazos Press/Baker Publications, Little Rock Scripture Study, Loyola Press, and Marian Press. Since 2008, his books have earned nine awards from the “Excellence in Publishing Awards” of the Association of Catholic Publishers and five book awards from the Catholic Press Association.

BWPM 13 – Sent to the World – A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass w/ Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V. Podcast

Episode 13 – Sent to the World – A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.

BA6 - "Refuse to Accept Discouragement" - Begin Again: The Spiritual Legacy of Ven. Bruno Lanteri with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

We continue our conversation with Fr. Gallagher discussing the encouragements given by Venerable Bruno Lanteri in regards to a biblical way of praying the Mass.  In this episode, Fr. Gallagher reflects on the Sending.

Take a moment and pray:

Go forth, the Mass is ended: Go forth from this church now: the Mass is complete. You have been nourished at the table of the Word and of the Body of Christ. Now go forth and bring this richness to those you encounter.

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord: By the way you live, by the way you interact with others, by the holiness of your life, and by your words, announce the Gospel of Jesus. Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life: As you exit the church, let the peace of Jesus fill your heart. Seek now to give glory to God — that is, to make Jesus known and loved by the way you live.

Ask for the grace to leave Mass and return to your activity in this way.

Gallagher, Timothy M.. A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass: The Eucharistic Wisdom of Venerable Bruno Lanteri (p. 87). EWTN Publishing Inc.. Kindle Edition.


 

For more episodes in the A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass with Fr. Timothy Gallagher podcast series, visit here

 



You can find A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass here

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola.” For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio, which are available for purchase, please visit  his  website:   frtimothygallagher.org

For other Discerning Hearts Fr. Timothy Gallagher Podcasts visit here

Sunday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

Sunday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 13:1-23

Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.

He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
Then the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:

You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.

‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.

‘You, therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’

What word made this passage come alive for you?

What did you sense the Lord saying to you?

Once more give the Lord an opportunity to speak to you:

Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.

He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
Then the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:

You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.

‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.

‘You, therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’

What did your heart feel as you listened?

What did you sense the Lord saying to you?

Once more, through Him, with Him and in Him listen to the Word:

Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.

He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’
Then the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:

You will listen and listen again, but not understand,
see and see again, but not perceive.
For the heart of this nation has grown coarse,
their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes,
for fear they should see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted
and be healed by me.

‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.

‘You, therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’

What touched your heart in this time of prayer?

What did your heart feel as you prayed?

What do you hope to carry with you from this time with the Lord?


Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us,

and lead us not into temptation,

 but deliver us from evil.

Amen

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

Episode 5 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast

“Be hard, be terrible, be pitiless!” The world in the wake of Nietzsche, as we study part 1, chapter 3, of Henri de Lubac’s “The Drama of Atheist Humanism.”


You can find the book here

De Lubac traces the origin of 19th century attempts to construct a humanism apart from God, the sources of contemporary atheism which purports to have “moved beyond God.” The three persons he focuses on are Feuerbach, who greatly influenced Marx; Nietzsche, who represents nihilism; and Comte, who is the father of all forms of positivism.

He then shows that the only one who really responded to this ideology was Dostoevsky, a kind of prophet who criticizes in his novels this attempt to have a society without God. Despite their historical and scholarly appearance, de Lubac’s work clearly refers to the present.

As he investigates the sources of modern atheism, particularly in its claim to have definitely moved beyond the idea of God, he is thinking of an ideology prevalent today in East and West which regards the Christian faith as a completely outdated.


Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J.
Vivian Dudro
Joseph Pearce

 

My Dear Daughters – from a Letter by St. Louis Martin – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

My dear daughters, I’m hurrying to send you a few words today, the day when I’m least busy. I can’t wait to be with you again, so I hope that on Thursday we’ll have the happiness of being together, not to be parted from each other for a long time. My children, pay attention to all the recommendations of your uncle and your good aunt. You know the great sacrifices I had to make to obtain for you the help of their good advice, so don’t let a single opportunity to benefit from it pass you by.

You, my Marie, my big girl, my first, you know how much I love you. Well, continue to devote yourself more and more to your sisters. Try and make sure that in seeing you, they’ll have in front of them a good example to follow. Tell Léonie that if she continues to be a perfectly good girl, I’ll definitely give her something on New Year’s Day that will make her happy…. I press you all loving to my heart, and I entrust you to your holy mother….

Give a big hug from me to Pauline, my little “Pearl”, as well as Léonie, Celine, my courageous one, and Thérèse, the queen of my heart, and give my best wishes to the entire Guérin family.

Good-bye, my beloved. Say a Hail Mary for us.


Saint Louis († 1894) and his wife, Saint Zélie († 1877), were the parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux. Their feast day is 12 July. The cause for the canonisation of Léonie, another daughter, was opened in 2015. [From A Call to a Deeper Love: The Family Correspondence of the Parents of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, 1863-1885, Ann Connors Hess, Tr. © 2011, The Fathers and Brothers of the Society of St. Paul, ST PAULS/Alba House, Staten Island, New York. www.stpauls.us.]