Chapter 4 – Pray, do not babble – How to Pray with David Torkington – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Chapter 4 – Pray, do not babble

When you pray do not babble as pagans do, for they think by using many words they will make themselves heard. Matthew 6:7

One thing is absolutely necessary from the start, and that is to be completely honest with God. Nothing short of total frankness is called for when we start to pray. Do not forget that God knows us through and through even before we open our mouths.

You can find the book here.

This little book How to Pray – A Practical Guide to the Spiritual life by David Torkington, was published by Our Sunday Visitor. It was written for those prepared to restructure their daily lives to make time for the prayer where they can be transformed by the love that only God can give.

In the foreword to this new book from OSV, “How to Pray: A Practical Guide to the Spiritual Life,” Sister Wendy Beckett wrote,

“There are no hideaways here, no excuses, but no alarming demands, either. Instead, Torkington seeks only to show us the truth, that truth that sets us free and convinces us that the yoke of Jesus is easy and his burden light. All we need is to understand and to choose. This book offers us the help we need to understand, and then the choice is ours.”⁠

This is not your standard “prayer book” – it is not a compilation of Catholic prayers for you to just read. Rather, this is a series of 40 reflections on prayer intended to open you up to the transformation that is possible through prayer, through the love that God can give us through prayer.⁠

Endorsement

“From here to eternity! For those drawn to contemplative prayer, David Torkington offers compelling clarity and common sense. Gentle kindness guides his practical counsel, and he is careful to help us see the solid principles in which he roots his insights. An authentic and reliable guard against counterfeits, his wisdom points to the heights and grounded-ness of the Catholic mystical tradition at a time when it is most needed.”

Dr. Anthony Lilles, STD: Associate Professor and Academic Dean of St John’s Seminary in Camarillo, as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the diocese 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.

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.

ST-John Ep 37- John 18 – Christ’s Passion part 1 – The Gospel of St. John – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 37 – John 18 – Christ’s Passion part 1

The arrest and trial of Jesus marks the beginning of his “hour” of glorification. He was aware of the impending suffering, yet gave full consent to the Father’s plan. Sharon sets the stage for this dramatic event with a detailed description of the Kidron valley, the deep chasm dividing the Temple from the Mount of Olives.

Solomon’s portico was the highest point on the Temple mount and overlooked the Kidron valley, which contains to this day the pillar of Absalom. Sharon recalls the story of Absalom, son of King David, who was banished by David after killing his half-brother, Amnon, for raping his sister, Tamar. Absalom died a violent death in the Kidron valley: as he was riding a mule, his hair became entangled in a tree, allowing David’s soldiers to spear him to death.

Facing the Kidron valley, the eastern gate of the Temple was particularly significant. Jewish tradition held that the divine presence of God would appear at the eastern gate, and it was through this gate that Jesus entered Jerusalem as the passion unfolded. Returning to Chapter 18, Sharon focuses on the details of Jesus’ arrest. Judas arrived with a cohort of soldiers; these 500 or more men fell to the ground in response to Jesus’ declaration: “I am he”, the one they were looking to arrest. Betrayal never comes from an enemy; only from someone close. Yet on the very night of his betrayal, Jesus offered his own life in forgiveness for sin. Jesus was taken first to Annas, who was the rightful high priest, but had been replaced by Rome with his son-in-law Caiphas.

Next, Peter’s three-time denial fulfills Christ’s prediction. Finally, the chapter ends with Jesus before Pilate, who attempted to free Jesus through the Passover tradition of releasing one prisoner. However, the Jews picked Barabbas, which is translated “son of the father”, choosing an insurrectionist over Jesus, the true “Son of the Father.”

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

IP#478 Sr. Mary Ann Fatula, O.P. – Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

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What a delight to talk once again to Sr. Mary Ann Fatula O.P. this time about Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit: Keys to a Transformed Life and Joy Heart! She provides us with a road map for the spiritual journey that takes us to the heart of the Holy Trinity led by the person of Love, the Holy Spirit. Highly recommended!

You can find this book here

From the book description:

Regardless of our past, or the trials afflicting us now or those we may face in the future, when we draw near to the Holy Spirit, our lives change for the better. Closeness with the Holy Spirit is the “secret” of holiness and happiness.

In this short yet penetrating work, Sr. Mary Ann Fatula reflects on how tenderly and powerfully the Holy Spirit offers us the precious gift of intimacy with Himself. Through the graces of our Baptism and Confirmation, the Holy Spirit― the Third Divine Person who is the Father’s and Son’s sublime Love for Each other ― gives Himself to us to be our “Beloved,” our mighty Healer, our intimate Friend and Consoler, our constant Companion and Strength, our gentle Teacher and Guide.

Every page of this exquisite book will speak to your heart. Using the Church’s hymns and prayers, you will learn to pray to the Holy Spirit with love and tenderness, entrusting Him with your every concern, and inviting Him to possess you and anoint your every breath and moment of your life.

The saints show us how the Holy Spirit truly is our fierce “Protector” who loves us and “fights” powerfully for us. When we are weighed down with problems and worries, when we long for more joy and serenity, the Holy Spirit invites us to draw close to Him and let Him do for us what we cannot do ourselves.

It is the Holy Spirit who lifts us up when we are discouraged and fills us with His comfort and peace when we are sad and lonely. The Holy Spirit is the One who deepens our intimacy with the Father and the Son, and who gives us a heart full of empathy for others.

Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit invites you to taste the sweetness of the Holy Spirit and savor in your own life the wonders He accomplishes in those who draw close to Him.

Also listen to Sr. Mary Ann Fatula discuss Heaven Splendor on this Inside the Pages Podcast with Kris McGregor

SP4 – The Church Making the World Endurable – In Search of the Still Point with Dr. Regis Martin – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 4 – The Church making the world endurable…

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.

Episode 6 – In Defense of Sanity – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce FBC Podcast

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Gargoyles, the grotesque, and burning pictures of the pope: G.K. Chesterton helps us interpret the dark side of the world, as we continue our discussion of In Defense of Sanity, a collection of Chesterton’s essays.

This discussion is part of the FORMED Book Club—an online community led by Fr. Joseph Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro that reads and discusses a different book each month.

You can find the book here

G.K. Chesterton was a master essayist. But reading his essays is not just an exercise in studying a literary form at its finest, it is an encounter with timeless truths that jump off the page as fresh and powerful as the day they were written. The only problem with Chesterton’s essays is that there are too many of them. Over five thousand!

For most GKC readers it is not even possible to know where to start or how to begin to approach them. So three of the world’s leading authorities on Chesterton – Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Aidan Mackey – have joined together to select the best Chesterton essays, a collection that will be appreciated by both the newcomer and the seasoned student of this great 20th-century man of letters.

The variety of topics are astounding: barbarians, architects, mystics, ghosts, fireworks, rain, juries, gargoyles, and much more. Plus a look at Shakespeare, Dickens, Jane Austen, George MacDonald, T.S. Eliot, and the Bible. All in that inimitable, formidable but always quotable style of GKC. Even more astounding than the variety is the continuity of Chesterton’s thought that ties everything together.

A veritable feast for the mind and heart. While some of the essays in this volume may be familiar, many of them are collected here for the first time, making their first appearance in over a century.

BTP-IC27 – Sixth Mansions Chapter 7 part 2 – The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles Podcast

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In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Sixth Mansions Chapter 7 part 2 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:

DESCRIBES THE GRIEF FELT ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR SINS BY SOULS ON WHOM GOD HAS BESTOWED THE BEFORE MENTIONED FAVOURS. SHOWS THAT HOWEVER SPIRITUAL A PERSON MAY BE, IT IS A GREAT ERROR NOT TO KEEP BEFORE OUR MIND THE HUMANITY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST AND HIS SACRED PASSION AND LIFE, AS ALSO THE GLORIOUS MOTHER OF GOD AND THE SAINTS. THE BENEFITS GAINED BY SUCH A MEDITATION. THIS CHAPTER IS MOST PROFITABLE.

1. Sorrow for sin felt by souls in the Sixth Mansion. 2. How this sorrow is felt. 3. St. Teresa’s grief for her past sins. 4. Such souls, centered in God, forget self-interest. 5. The remembrance of divine benefits increases contrition. 6. Meditation on our Lord’s Humanity. 7. Warning against discontinuing it. 8. Christ and the saints are models. 9. Meditation of contemplatives. 10. Meditation during aridity. 11. We must search for God when we do not feel His presence. 12. Reasoning and mental prayer. 13. A form of meditation on our Lord’s Life and Passion. 14. Simplicity of contemplatives’ meditation. 15. Souls in every state of prayer should think of the Passion. 16. Need of the example of Christ and the saints. 17. Faith shows us our Lord as both God and Man. 18. St. Teresa’s experience of meditation on the sacred Humanity. 19. Evil of giving up such meditation.

For the Discerning Hearts audio recording of the “Interior Castle” by St. Teresa of Avila you can visit here

For other audio recordings of various spiritual classics you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics page

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Interior Castle with Dr. Anthony Lilles”

Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For over twenty years he served the Church in Northern Colorado where he joined and eventually served as dean of the founding faculty of Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Through the years, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful have benefited from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.

PS-1 What is Holiness? – A Personal Plan for Holiness – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

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Episode 1 – What is Holiness?

Join Teresa Monaghen, of Pro Sanctity, as she offers a “Personal Plan for Holiness”. Listen along with these short, but beautiful meditations which encourage us to continue on our journey as “saints in the making”!

Pro Sanctity Mission Statement

The Pro Sanctity Movement is a Catholic organization dedicated to promoting the universal call to holiness by seeking to address the needs of the mind with theology, the heart with spirituality, and the hands with ministry.

It is open to all, especially to those who wish to deepen their commitment to God and to share the message of holiness with others.

Learn more about Pro Sanctity at www.prosanctity.org

Also, you may wish to visit the Pro Sanctity Retreat Center in Fullerton, CA. Learn more at Pro Sanctity Movement West

Chapter 3 – The School of Love – How to Pray with David Torkington – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Chapter 3 – The School of Love

“Repent and be baptized every one of you, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Saint Peter (Acts 2:38)

Most people give up before they have started because they think that distractions make prayer impossible. The truth is we would never learn to pray without them. Each time we turn away from a distraction to turn back to God, we perform an act of selflessness and a habit of selflessness is gradually formed.

You can find the book here.

In the foreword to this new book from OSV, “How to Pray: A Practical Guide to the Spiritual Life,” Sister Wendy Beckett wrote,

Endorsement

Visit his website: www.davidtorkington.com.

What it means to “put on Christ” – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff Discerning Hearts podcast

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4 v. 20 -24:

22 Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. – RCVCE

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 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 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. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians, and other religious leaders around the world.

ST-John Ep 36 – John 17 – The High Priestly Prayer part 2 – The Gospel of St. John – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 36 – John 17 – The High Priestly Prayer part 2

The High Priestly Prayer of John 17 is the conclusion of the Farewell Discourse of Jesus. Sharon begins her lecture with some additional insights on the Trinity, whose image is reflected in the marriage between man and woman and between Christ in both his Church and priesthood. Because they image God and can bear eternal life, these spiritual marriages are targeted by Satan. Because of the fall, we lost our immortality, and death entered the world, but through Jesus, death is conquered, and the prospect of eternal life is restored, which John discussed at least 19 times in his gospel.

In Chapter 17, Jesus proclaims that his hour of glory has arrived. Yet, we also learn that the glory of Jesus was present before the creation of the world. What is this glory? John the Evangelist was an eyewitness to the glory of Jesus at the Transfiguration, yet he did not include this story in his Gospel. Sharon shows how Revelation 11 is perhaps the Evangelist’s Transfiguration account in the symbolic language of the apocalypse.

Two witnesses are mentioned in Revelation 11, but 4 entities are mentioned. Two olive trees and two lampstands have the power to shut the sky and the power to turn water into blood, which recalls the stories of Elijah (who foretold a drought to King Ahab) and Moses (who turned the waters of the Nile into blood). Elijah, the Old Testament olive tree, prefigures John the Baptist; Moses, the Old Testament lampstand, prefigures Jesus. These two witnesses experienced the glory of the Lord in their own lifetimes: Elijah, in the silence of the cave at Horeb, and Moses, in the flame of the burning bush. The synoptic gospels have them in glory with Jesus Christ as well.

Sharon goes on to focus on the priesthood. The Levitical priesthood, born out of violence, was a temporary solution to the permanent problem of sin. Jesus re-established a new priesthood in the order of Melchizedek. The priesthood is the first priesthood mentioned by name in the bible in Genesis chapter 14 when Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness, blessed Abram. The Levitical priests offered yearly sacrifice for the atonement for sin. Jesus, the eternal high priest and king, offers a once for all, perpetual sacrifice that is continually celebrated at mass on earth and in the heavenly wedding banquet of the New Jerusalem. After completing the hour of glory of his death and crucifixion, Jesus ascends to the Father and sits down at his right hand, taking his rightful position on the mercy seat of the Trinity.