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

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Sunday of the Twentieth 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 Luke 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!
‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

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 said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!
‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

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 said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!
‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

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.

ST-Luke Ep 24- The Gospel of Luke – Chapter 11 Part 2 – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 24 – The Gospel of Luke – Chapter 11 Part 2

Luke 11: “Lord Teach Us To Pray”

In this lecture on Luke 11, we focus especially on the Lord’s Prayer. Seeing Jesus praying in a certain place, his disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.” They saw the Lord praying by himself, and they desired to have a similar union with the Father. As faithful Jews, the disciples knew how to pray, but they wanted to pray as Jesus prayed. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we learn that the first communities prayed the Lord’s Prayer three times a day, in place of the “Eighteen Benedictions” customary in Jewish piety (CCC 2767). The Eighteen Benedictions, also known as the Amidah, are the core of every Jewish worship service. Established by Ezra and recited while standing, the Amidah consists of prayers of praise, petitions and thanksgiving. The Amidah is accompanied by the Shema prayer which is said twice daily and comes from Deuteronomy 6: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” To the Jews, God was “one” but they had no understanding of the Trinity who is one God in three Persons.

The Lord’s Prayer is the perfect prayer, spoken at Mass, the highest prayer, just after the Eucharistic prayer and just before the reception of Holy Communion. The order of the Mass had its earliest beginnings just after the resurrection of Jesus when he appeared to the disciples at Emmaus: First, he opened the Scriptures(Liturgy of the Word) and then, “When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them (Luke 24:30 Liturgy of the Eucharist)” The 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension was a time of prayer and learning for the disciples, as Jesus appeared to them. After the ascension, the disciples prayed for nine days, which can be seen as the first novena. Then, on the 10^th day, the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection.

Catechism paragraph 1085 describes the glorious Paschal mystery. It is a beautiful reflection worth reading in its entirety:

“In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present. During his earthly life Jesus announced his Paschal mystery by his teaching and anticipated it by his actions. When his Hour comes, he lives out the unique event of history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father “once for all.” His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past. The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is – all that he did and suffered for all men – participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.”

The Lord’s Prayer has been described as the summary of the whole Gospel. As found in Luke 11 and Matthew 6, it is a series of seven petitions. Beginning with the words “Our Father,” the Lord’s Prayer immediately draws our hearts to the intimate relationship between a father and his children. This sense of God was new to the Jews, who experienced God as creator and ruler. We realize now that the first creation in Genesis makes sense in light of the new creation of Christ. On occasion, the Old Testament describes God as a father, both to the nation of Israel (see Hosea 11, Isaiah 64:8, Malachi 2:10 as examples) and to certain individuals such as King David (1 Chronicles 22:11). With Jesus, sonship takes on a whole new meaning. He is a “Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power (Heb 1:2-3).” Even more, we learn that not only is God the father of Jesus, He is also our Father: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God (John 20:17).”

The next petition in the Lord’s Prayer is “Hallowed be thy name.” It is a reminder that He is God and we are not. From the beginning with Adam and Eve until now, we are tempted to be our own God.

Next is “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.” We are reminded that we can only serve one king and we need to choose between the worldly kingdom of Satan, and the heavenly Kingdom of Jesus. Jesus established His kingdom when he walked the earth, and His kingdom continues forever both on earth and in heaven. He promised the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He appointed Peter and his successors as stewards of His kingdom, the Catholic Church (IS 22). At the center of the kingdom is the true presence of God in the Eucharist. In the Old Testament, the true presence of God was found in the Ark of the Covenant, but at the time of Jesus, the temple no longer held the Ark as it had been hidden

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

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

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

SJC3 – Contemplative Faith: Certitude in Darkness – St. John of the Cross with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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SJC3 – Contemplative Faith: Certitude in Darkness – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Podcast

In this series Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the depths of prayer as explored by St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church. In this episode, conversation leads to the experience of the Dark Nights often associated with St. John of the Cross

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

What can be the reason for this experience in prayer? Saint John of the Cross affirms that supernatural faith, inasmuch as it places us in an immediate contact with God, affects the intellect in a strangely painful way with the onset of contemplative graces. The truths of revelation that the intellect embraces in faith now seem to surpass comprehension in a manner unlike any previous experience in prayer. A deeper understanding of theological faith can explain why this occurs. It is inadequate to conceive of our faith as simply an assent by our mind to truths that are then held securely with personal conviction. This is not at all the full picture. On a very personal level, in our relations with God himself, faith is a kind of real conduit into the actual mystery of God. As a theological virtue, it unites the intellect quite directly and immediately to the mystery of God. The effect of this union, depending on a soul’s closeness to God, is to stretch the intellect beyond what it can assimilate in its natural capacity. The result in the time of interior prayer is a painful experience of obscurity within the intellect toward the God of ultimate mystery known personally in faith. This is not an experience of dark doubts about God. Rather, it is as though a light has begun to shine too brightly, preventing our eyes from seeing what is there in front of us. The closer we approach the light of God, the more his presence blinds us. The ordinary act of comprehension in regard to natural objects of knowledge does not function in this way. But when the knowledge is of God himself in his immediate personal presence to the soul, the consequence is vastly different.

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 67-68). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here

You find the book on which this series is based here

St. Clare, pray for us – a model for the discerning heart…In Conversation with Sr. Joan Mueller

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Enter into the life story of St. Clare’s life by listening to one of the best storytellers we know…Sr. Joan Mueller. Both women are enthralling!!!

St. Clare of Assisi, the foundress of the Order of Poor Ladies, or Clares, was the first Abbess of San Damiano; born at Assisi, on 16 July 1194; died there on 11 August 1253.

One of the best DVDs we have seen on the life of Clare and Francis is distributed by Ignatius Press.

If you’d like to see her life summed up in a quick read, try here.
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A personal reflection on St. Clare by Kris McGregor:

In 2007, I had a chance to visit Assisi…I just wanted to be near St. Clare. I didn’t plan it, but my hotel ended up being right across the street from St. Clare’s Basilica (it seems wrong to call it a street, its width is so small). Early one morning, I got up and began walking outside of the Basilica. No one else was out; all the shops closed, and the sun was just coming up. On a whim, I thought I would see if the church’s doors were open (thinking to myself, of course, they wouldn’t be), but to my surprise, they were, so I entered. No one was around. I saw steps leading down to a lower level. I stepped over the rope blocking the entrance (boorish American that I am) and walked down. The path led down to an area with a display of relics, clothing, and other items (I assumed they were Clare’s), and then I turned and saw something incredible…the crypt of St. Clare. I quietly walked over to the enclosure grates. I knelt and unexpectedly started to weep…I just couldn’t help it. It was so quiet and peaceful; it was such a gift. I brought to St. Clare all the petitions I held deeply in my heart. And when that was done, silence once more filled the space. After about 10 minutes, I could hear the sound of the Poor Clare Sisters in the distance chanting their morning office. I knelt at that spot and listened with St. Clare. After about 30 minutes, I praised God for this special moment and left the basilica. St. Clare has been with me in a special way ever since a friendship I continue to cherish. Dear St. Clare, pray for us.

Day 9 – St. Jane de Chantal Novena – Discerning Hearts podcast

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A Novena to St. Jane de Chantal – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcast

Day 9

From the writings of St. Jane de Chantal

May we love everyone, even our dearest friends, only in God, for God, and according to God! To love people in God is the best way of preventing their human imperfections from tarnishing a friendship, even a spiritual one. Love is more perfect if we see and love God in our neighbor because in this way God will be loved above all else, and our neighbor as much as the love of God demands. We have nothing to fear in a love so selfless! How excellent it is to love our neighbor in God! We must guard against the guiles of self-love tempting us away from this total focus on Divine Love! For in loving God in our neighbor, we can never make a mistake!

O Glorious saint, blessed Jane Frances, who by your fervent prayer, attention to the Divine Presence, and purity of intention in your actions attained on earth an intimate union with God, be now our advocate, our mother, our guide in the path of virtue and perfection. Plead our cause near Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, to whom you were so tenderly devoted, and whose holy virtues you did so closely imitate. Obtain for us, O amiable and compassionate saint, the virtues you see most necessary for us; an ardent love of Jesus in the most holy Sacrament, a tender and filial confidence in His Blessed Mother, and, like you, a constant remembrance of His sacred Passion and death. Obtain also, we pray, that our particular intention in this Novena may be fulfilled.

V. Pray for us, O holy St. Jane Frances.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

O almighty and Merciful God, Who did grant blessed St. Jane Frances, so inflamed with the love of You, a wonderful degree of fortitude through all the paths of life, and was pleased through her to adorn Thy Church with a new religious Order, grant, by her merits and prayers, that we, who know our weakness while confident in Your Strength, may overcome all adversities with the help of Your heavenly Grace, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the complete novena visit A Novena to St. Jane Frances de Chantel – Discerning Hearts Podcast

HP3 – The Healing Nature of Prayer – The Heart of Prayer with Fr. Éamonn Bourke – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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HP3 – The Healing Nature of Prayer – The Heart of Prayer with Fr. Éamonn Bourke

Fr. Éamonn Bourke and Kris McGregor discuss the why, how, and what of “prayer”. In this episode, they explore the healing nature of prayer. They examine the many wounds we can bring to our prayer and the Father’s great desire to heal our pain.

Here is an excerpt from their conversation:

Kris McGregor

Prayer requires a soul to be vulnerable in order to ask the Lord to help enlighten you about areas that He sees that we’re kind of closing our eye. It’s not something that we’re maybe intentionally doing, but again, just asking the Lord, “Okay, help me. Help me to see what you see to help me to understand how you understand me.”

Fr. Éamonn Bourke:

Oh, I think so. I think even making that prayer your own. Like, “Lord, help me to see myself as you see me.” Because one thing we can become used to our sin and our brokenness that we don’t even notice that it’s having an effect in our lives and our sinfulness can really affect the way we live our life each and every day. We can sometimes get used to, I go out to meet my friends, I can be a bit ratty and a bit snappy or that kind sort of actually look, that’s me. Or I should be making a cup of tea for someone doing a job, but look, I’m used to my own kind of comfort and that kind of stuff. Or I really find it hard to stand up in front of people and talk and like that’s just me. I can’t do that because no one will want to hear me or whatever it is that we’re really grappling with.

Honesty around that helps us to recognize, “Well, actually, Lord, what’s stopping me from doing this? What’s the blockage that’s in my life that’s causing me to maybe think of myself or to wallow in self-pity or to think of myself before others. Like what’s broken and wounded in myself that’s causing me to act in this way? Because I really want to be a generous person. I want to be a loving person. I want to be a person of joy and hope in the world, but there’s something holding me back and I’m just not really sure what’s holding me back. So please enlighten me to the area of my life that’s causing me to be weighed down so that I can allow you in to heal.”

Father Éamonn Bourke is a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland and served as Vocations Director for the diocese, as well as Pastor in a number of its parishes. Trained as a spiritual director in the contemplative style, he now serves as Chaplain to University College, Dublin, the largest University in Ireland.

⇨For more episodes in the series visit : The Heart of Prayer with Fr. Éamonn Bourke – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

Day 8 – St. Jane de Chantal Novena – Discerning Hearts podcast

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A Novena to St. Jane de Chantal – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcast

Day 8

From the writings of St. Jane de Chantal

Cordial love of the neighbor does not consist in feelings. This love flows not from a heart of flesh but from the heart of our will. We must stop twisting and turning about to discover what we like or dislike. Whether we experience aversion or inclination for something really does not matter, provided only that in our wills, we remain firm and unswerving in pure love. Then we will give God proofs of love amidst the strongest distastes and aversions as well as during consolations and sensible love. Only if we proceed in this way will we improve!

V. Pray for us, O holy St. Jane Frances.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

For the complete novena visit A Novena to St. Jane Frances de Chantel – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

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Wednesday of the Nineteenth 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 John 12:24-26

Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.’

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 said to his disciples:
‘I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.’

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 said to his disciples:
‘I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.’

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.

SP 49 – Episode 49 – Lost at Sea, Is the Lord Sleeping? – In Search of the Still Point with Dr. Regis Martin – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 49 – Lost at Sea, Is the Lord Sleeping?

Discerning Hearts is honored to host the reflections of Dr. Regis Martin. Filled with profound insights, wisdom, and joy, he is one of the most trustworthy guides one can have on the spiritual journey.

For years Regis Martin, STD, has been regaling audiences about the mysteries of God and Church, most especially his students at Franciscan University of Steubenville where he teaches theology. Author of half-dozen or more books, including The Suffering of Love (Ignatius, 2006), The Last Things (Ignatius Press, 2011), Still Point (Ave Maria, 2012), The Beggar’s Banquet (Emmaus Road, 2012), Witness to Wonder (Emmaus Road, 2017) his work frequently appears in Crises and The Catholic Thing.

Day 7 – St. Jane de Chantal Novena – Discerning Hearts podcast

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A Novena to St. Jane de Chantal – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcast

Day 7

From the writings of St. Jane de Chantal

Loving affirmation consists in supporting our neighbors in whatever they say or do, even if we do not understand, even if their actions displease us. We are not astonished by their shortcomings and failings, nor do we harbor any ill feelings towards them. Rather, our attitudes must be transformed into tender and loving compassion for them. Francis de Sales says that love never searches for evil, and if she happens to stumble over it, even then she does not judge.

V. Pray for us, O holy St. Jane Frances.

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

For the complete novena visit A Novena to St. Jane Frances de Chantel – Discerning Hearts Podcast