AR#1 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D.
One of God’s attributes is patience. He suffers His own creation, as it comes to fulfillment in His love. The God that we worship is a God who truly loves us. And in this great love, He waits. He waits for us to respond to all that He has given us. And He doesn’t simply wait in a passive way. He keeps loving us, keeps directing His love toward our hearts to awaken them with a response. This is near the very core of what Advent is about. God-loving us so deeply, directing His love toward us, and Him sharing His life with us so that we might respond in kind. So that we might wait and receive, and then respond to His great love
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
Episode 2: What is Death? – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First
Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore deep themes of Catholic theology around death, salvation, and the journey of purification, both in life and after death. Humanity’s fear of death often stems from the fear of isolation, as humans are created for communion with God and each other. Death brings an anxiety rooted in the dread of losing this communion. Purgatory is a continuation of this journey toward holiness. For those who die in God’s friendship but are still imperfect, purgatory allows for the purification needed to enter Heaven’s fullness—a process likened to a “fire” of love that cleanses and prepares the soul for eternal communion.
The Catholic belief that life on earth should be seen as an opportunity for ongoing repentance and purification, reducing the need for purgatory after death. Sin, especially mortal sin, can sever one’s connection to God, while venial sin does not fully break this bond, allowing hope of eventual communion. The Mass is the ultimate prayer of salvation, as it directly connects the faithful to Calvary and Christ’s redemptive love. The Mass is uniquely powerful for praying for deceased loved ones, as it is a touchpoint of divine grace where heaven meets earth. Catholics should continually pray for the deceased, highlighting the importance of love, community, and intercessory prayer in the Church’s understanding of salvation and eternal life.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Understanding Purgatory’s Purpose – How does viewing purgatory as a relational purification rather than a physical torment change your understanding of its purpose?
Contemplating the Impact of Sin – Reflect on how even “small” sins disrupt the harmony of the Body of Christ and affect your own spiritual health.
Identifying Relational Pain – In what ways have feelings of isolation or confusion about your identity impacted your relationship with God and others?
Embracing the Sacrament of Reconciliation – How might regularly participating in the sacrament of reconciliation deepen your experience of God’s mercy and freedom?
Confronting Fear of Truth – What specific fears or rationalizations have kept you from fully admitting your sins to God in the sacrament of confession?
Learning from the Saints – Who in your life exemplifies holiness, and how can you look to them as a guide toward surrender and abandonment to God?
Trusting in God Through Suffering – How can embracing Christ’s Sacred Heart help you surrender fears about suffering or death and experience God’s peace?
Striving for Earthly Holiness – What steps can you take to start your purification process on earth, inspired by the examples of saints like Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II?
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“1030 All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
Episode 1: Introduction – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First
Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore the Christian understanding of life, death, and the eternal destiny in light of Catholic teaching on the “last things” (heaven, hell, death, and the final judgment). Contemporary Catholics may struggle with these concepts, as the vocabulary and focus on eternal destiny have diminished, often overshadowed by preoccupations with everyday life.
It’s important for us to acknowledge death as a reality and mystery that ultimately gives meaning to life. Avoidance of death, often seen in euphemisms like “passing,” detracts from the full Christian understanding of life and resurrection. Keating highlights that clergy should guide people in facing death meaningfully, as this helps people better live in alignment with their faith.
A core element is the resurrection of the body, which Christianity views as essential to personal identity and continuity with life on earth. Contrasting this with Platonic ideas that view the soul as separate from the body, Dcn. Keating tells us that, in Christian teaching, body and soul are intertwined and will be united in the resurrection. The sacramental life, particularly the Eucharist, provides a connection to this eternal life, as Jesus himself says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Faith, hope, and love in Jesus draw Christians into eternal life, already beginning on earth.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Awareness of Eternal Destiny: How often do I contemplate my eternal destiny, and do I see its relevance in my daily life?
Understanding of Death and Resurrection: How comfortable am I with discussing death, and do I fully understand the hope that the resurrection of the body offers?
Connection to Heaven in Everyday Life: Do I recognize the continuity between my current life and eternal life, seeing hints of resurrection in moments of healing and reconciliation?
Respect for the Dignity of the Body: How do I value and care for my own body and those of others, especially the vulnerable, as a reflection of my belief in the resurrection?
Living the Sacramental Life: How am I staying connected to Jesus, especially through the Eucharist, as a way to experience and deepen my communion with eternal life?
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
994 “But there is more. Jesus links faith in the resurrection to his own person: “I am the Resurrection and the life.”544 It is Jesus himself who on the last day will raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood.545 Already now in this present life he gives a sign and pledge of this by restoring some of the dead to life,546 announcing thereby his own Resurrection, though it was to be of another order. He speaks of this unique event as the “sign of Jonah,”547 the sign of the temple: he announces that he will be put to death but rise thereafter on the third day.548”
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
Episode 10-Listening For Truth– Practical ways of living a life of virtue prayer…one way to listen to friends and even enemies to hear the truth God may be wanting to reveal to us. The wounds that surface in the healing process. The interior healing that can occur and who should help with that process.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Episode 9-Listening For Truth– The supernatural virtues provide for us the gifts to walk and respond to moral truths. We need to practice the virtues to receive the wisdom of God and to be more deliberate in the love of the good. The theological, contemplative language is foreign to many, unlike the political language in which the culture swims, and that can affect how we respond to moral questions. What can we do to listen and respond to Truth?
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Episode 8-Listening For Truth– When we come upon the Truth, we rest in it. Our journey is over. The Lord wants us to rest in Him. We rest when we receive the truth about what is good for us and what is ethical. Within us is the mind that can discern truth and receives it and then has that truth confirmed by the indwelling presence of God. It’s in the still small voice that will confirm; we have to learn how to go inward to hear it. To properly form a conscience, we have to 1. Know who we are, 2. Find where we learn about moral truth: 3. Discern who we go to with our questions. The fullness of Truth is taught in the Church.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Episode 7-Listening For Truth– We are resurrection people who live out of the power of the Resurrection. Theological virtues, faith, hope, and love, are given to us in the fullest sense through the sacraments and how we receive and open our hearts to that gift. Moving our affection from sin to truth. How do we prepare ourselves to receive moral truth?
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary, in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Episode 6-Listening For Truth– The difficult stage in moral conversion, not only leaving the sin behind, but also leaving the community of people who desire to hold on to that sin. It might mean separating from family members, friends, etc, but the hope is that that may possibly follow if we hang in there in that witness of Truth. Also, life doesn’t stop in our suffering. Many will come who are attracted to the change. How we love those in need will indicate growth even in the crucifixion. The negative…we reject something, the positive…we embrace something.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary, in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Episode 5 -Listening For Truth– The Reality of Our Conscience. What it is and what it isn’t. The importance of proper formation…through the sacramental life, the Catechism of the Church and Sacred Scripture. “Follow the Truth” is the beginning of the conversation, not “follow your conscience” in order to make the sacred decision. Not to be passive but teachable is the goal. The Marian deposition is the the model for moral formation. Conscience is the judgement of the mind as it listens to the voice of Christ through the lives of the saints, the sacraments, the Catechism and Scripture in prayer.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary, in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Episode 4 – Join Deacon Keating and Kris McGregor as they discuss encountering fear in prayer. The necessity for spiritual direction. Purification as part of the process for spiritual growth. The virtue of Obedience.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary, in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
