Conference 3 – Discerning the Will of God with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.
Join Fr. Timothy Gallagher as he offers the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Discerning the Will of God. Conference 3 goes in depth about the disposition of heart needed in the discernment process.
You can find various handouts spoken of by Fr. Gallagher in the links below
Episode 30 Vatican II – Gaudium et Spes pt. 7 – Why it Matters: An Exploration of Faith with Archbishop George Lucas
In this episode with Archbishop Lucas, we continue our conversation on the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
Gaudium et spes (Ecclesiastical Latin: [ˈɡau̯di.um et ˈspes], “Joy and Hope”), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is one of the four constitutions resulting from the Second Vatican Council in 1965. It was the last and longest published document from the council and is the first constitution published by an ecumenical council to address the entire world.
Approved by a vote of 2,307 to 75 of the bishops assembled at the council, it was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 7 December 1965, the day the council ended.
73. In our day, profound changes are apparent also in the structure and institutions of peoples. These result from their cultural, economic and social evolution. Such changes have a great influence on the life of the political community, especially regarding the rights and duties of all in the exercise of civil freedom and in the attainment of the common good, and in organizing the relations of citizens among themselves and with respect to public authority.
The present keener sense of human dignity has given rise in many parts of the world to attempts to bring about a politico-juridical order which will give better protection to the rights of the person in public life. These include the right freely to meet and form associations, the right to express one’s own opinion and to profess one’s religion both publicly and privately. The protection of the rights of a person is indeed a necessary condition so that citizens, individually or collectively, can take an active part in the life and government of the state.
Along with cultural, economic and social development, there is a growing desire among many people to play a greater part in organizing the life of the political community. In the conscience of many arises an increasing concern that the rights of minorities be recognized, without any neglect for their duties toward the political community. In addition, there is a steadily growing respect for men of other opinions or other religions. At the same time, there is wider cooperation to guarantee the actual exercise of personal rights to all citizens, and not only to a few privileged individuals.
However, those political systems, prevailing in some parts of the world are to be reproved which hamper civic or religious freedom, victimize large numbers through avarice and political crimes, and divert the exercise of authority from the service of the common good to the interests of one or another faction or of the rulers themselves.
There is no better way to establish political life on a truly human basis than by fostering an inward sense of justice and kindliness, and of service to the common good, and by strengthening basic convictions as to the true nature of the political community and the aim, right exercise, and sphere of action of public authority.
Msgr. Esseff reflects on the Queenship of Mary, Queen of Heaven. He talks about the joys and peace of the heavenly encounter with our Blessed Mother and with the Holy Trinity. It is a very special reflection…not to be missed!
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to Saint Teresa of Calcutta. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. 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 Pope St. 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 .
Part 1 – Chapter 3 of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
PART I. COUNSELS AND PRACTICES SUITABLE FOR THE SOUL’S GUIDANCE FROM THE FIRST ASPIRATION AFTER A DEVOUT LIFE TO THE POINT WHEN IT ATTAINS A CONFIRMED RESOLUTION TO FOLLOW THE SAME.
DEVOTION IS SUITABLE TO EVERY VOCATION AND PROFESSION
WHEN God created the world He commanded each tree to bear fruit after its kind; and even so He bids Christians,—the living trees of His Church,—to bring forth fruits of devotion, each one according to his kind and vocation. A different exercise of devotion is required of each—the noble, the artisan, the servant, the prince, the maiden and the wife; and furthermore such practice must be modified according to the strength, the calling, and the duties of each individual. I ask you, my child, would it be fitting that a Bishop should seek to lead the solitary life of a Carthusian? And if the father of a family were as regardless in making provision for the future as a Capucin, if the artisan spent the day in church like a Religious, if the Religious involved himself in all manner of business on his neighbour’s behalf as a Bishop is called upon to do, would not such a devotion be ridiculous, ill-regulated, and intolerable? Nevertheless such a mistake is often made, and the world, which cannot or will not discriminate between real devotion and the indiscretion of those who fancy themselves devout, grumbles and finds fault with devotion, which is really nowise concerned in these errors. No indeed, my child, the devotion which is true hinders nothing, but on the contrary it perfects everything; and that which runs counter to the rightful vocation of any one is, you may be sure, a spurious devotion. Aristotle says that the bee sucks honey from flowers without damaging them, leaving them as whole and fresh as it found them;—but true devotion does better still, for it not only hinders no manner of vocation or duty, but, contrariwise, it adorns and beautifies all. Throw precious stones into honey, and each will grow more brilliant according to its several colour:—and in like manner everybody fulfills his special calling better when subject to the influence of devotion:—family duties are lighter, married love truer, service to our King more faithful, every kind of occupation more acceptable and better performed where that is the guide.
It is an error, nay more, a very heresy, to seek to banish the devout life from the soldier’s guardroom, the mechanic’s workshop, the prince’s court, or the domestic hearth. Of course a purely contemplative devotion, such as is specially proper to the religious and monastic life, cannot be practiced in these outer vocations, but there are various other kinds of devotion well-suited to lead those whose calling is secular, along the paths of perfection. The Old Testament furnishes us examples in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Job, Tobias, Sarah, Rebecca and Judith; and in the New Testament we read of St. Joseph, Lydia and Crispus, who led a perfectly devout life in their trades:—we have S. Anne, Martha, S. Monica, Aquila and Priscilla, as examples of household devotion, Cornelius, S. Sebastian, and S. Maurice among soldiers;—Constantine, S. Helena, S. Louis, the Blessed Amadaeus, and S. Edward on the throne. And we even find instances of some who fell away in solitude,—usually so helpful to perfection,—some who had led a higher life in the world, which seems so antagonistic to it. S. Gregory dwells on how Lot, who had kept himself pure in the city, fell in his mountain solitude. Be sure that wheresoever our lot is cast we may and must aim at the perfect life.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
SJC4 – Pure Faith in Contemplative Prayer – 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, they continue their conversation on that which 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
In this case, under the influence of deeper faith, the cooperation involves a mortification by the intellect: an emptying of the desire for spiritual gratifications that can be enjoyed by the intellect in the life of prayer. These can be sought in a way that becomes an impediment to the pure pursuit of God for himself alone. A “complete pacification of the spiritual house” (AMC 2.1.2) is required that will “quiet down” the impulse to pursue experiences of an intellectual or imaginative satisfaction in prayer. This “ascetical” task for the intellect in the interior life of prayer entails, in a telling phrase, “the negation through pure faith of all the spiritual faculties and gratifications and appetites” (AMC 2.1.2). What this “pure faith” will mean as a virtue of the intellect in contemplation needs to be explained with some care. For the intellect must cooperate in its own purification precisely through this exercise of pure faith. Taking us farther along in explanation, and referring to the stanza of his poem, Saint John of the Cross comments: “The soul, consequently, affirms that it departed ‘in darkness, and secure.’ For anyone fortunate enough to possess the ability to journey in the obscurity of faith, as do the blind with their guide, and depart from all natural phantasms [images] and intellectual reasonings, walks securely. . . . For the less a soul works with its own abilities, the more securely it proceeds, because its progress in faith is greater” (AMC 2.1.2, 3).
Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 67-68). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
HP4 – Prayer and Forgiveness – The Heart of Prayer with Fr. Éamonn Bourke
Fr. Éamonn Bourke and Kris McGregor explore the why, how, and what of “prayer”. In this episode, they explore the healing nature of prayer. They discuss how the role of forgiveness in our daily prayer.
Here is an excerpt from their conversation:
Fr. Éamonn Bourke:
Okay. One of the things that often kind of holds people back is their own sinfulness, and sinfulness can be quite embarrassing in life. You know where they say that things that happen in secret, in the dark places, we often don’t want to see in the light. You know? And our own broken sinfulness can make us blush at times and can cause us to step back from prayer and step back from God and say, “Well, God’s not interested in me.” I just want you to know that there is nothing that you can’t share with God. There is no weakness, brokenness, sinfulness that can’t be shared with him, because he is not going to judge us in prayer. He’s going to just love us in prayer.
So whatever is holding you back, whatever is causing you to step away from prayer, that’s what you need to bring to God in prayer. So don’t let there be any barriers between yourself and God or any secrets between yourself and God. And if you can share the secrets, the wounded, broken, embarrassing secrets of our life with God in prayer, then your life is at rights. You know? You have nothing to fear, so don’t hold back. Start today.
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.
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
PART I. COUNSELS AND PRACTICES SUITABLE FOR THE SOUL’S GUIDANCE FROM THE FIRST ASPIRATION AFTER A DEVOUT LIFE TO THE POINT WHEN IT ATTAINS A CONFIRMED RESOLUTION TO FOLLOW THE SAME.
THE NATURE AND EXCELLENCE OF DEVOTION
THOSE who sought to discourage the Israelites from going up to the Promised Land, told them that it was “a land which eateth up the inhabitants thereof;”7 that is, that the climate was so unhealthy that the inhabitants could not live long, and that the people thereof were “men of a great stature,” who looked upon the new-comers as mere locusts to be devoured. It is just so, my daughter, that the world runs down true devotion, painting devout people with gloomy, melancholy aspect, and affirming that religion makes them dismal and unpleasant. But even as Joshua and Caleb protested that not only was the Promised Land a fair and pleasant country, but that the Israelites would take an easy and peaceful possession thereof, so the Holy Spirit tells us through His Saints, and our Lord has told us with His Own Lips, that a devout life is very sweet, very happy and very loveable.
The world, looking on, sees that devout persons fast, watch and pray, endure injury patiently, minister to the sick and poor, restrain their temper, check and subdue their passions, deny themselves in all sensual indulgence, and do many other things which in themselves are hard and difficult. But the world sees nothing of that inward, heartfelt devotion which makes all these actions pleasant and easy. Watch a bee hovering over the mountain thyme;—the juices it gathers are bitter, but the bee turns them all to honey,—and so tells the worldling, that though the devout soul finds bitter herbs along its path of devotion, they are all turned to sweetness and pleasantness as it treads;—and the martyrs have counted fire, sword, and rack but as perfumed flowers by reason of their devotion. And if devotion can sweeten such cruel torments, and even death itself, how much more will it give a charm to ordinary good deeds? We sweeten unripe fruit with sugar, and it is useful in correcting the crudity even of that which is good. So devotion is the real spiritual sweetness which takes away all bitterness from mortifications; and prevents consolations from disagreeing with the soul: it cures the poor of sadness, and the rich of presumption; it keeps the oppressed from feeling desolate, and the prosperous from insolence; it averts sadness from the lonely, and dissipation from social life; it is as warmth in winter and refreshing dew in summer; it knows how to abound and how to suffer want; how to profit alike by honour and contempt; it accepts gladness and sadness with an even mind, and fills men’s hearts with a wondrous sweetness.
Ponder Jacob’s ladder:—it is a true picture of the devout life; the two poles which support the steps are types of prayer which seeks the love of God, and the Sacraments which confer that love; while the steps themselves are simply the degrees of love by which we go on from virtue to virtue, either descending by good deeds on behalf of our neighbour or ascending by contemplation to a loving union with God. Consider, too, who they are who trod this ladder; men with angels’ hearts, or angels with human forms. They are not youthful, but they seem to be so by reason of their vigour and spiritual activity. They have wings wherewith to fly, and attain to God in holy prayer, but they have likewise feet wherewith to tread in human paths by a holy gracious intercourse with men; their faces are bright and beautiful, inasmuch as they accept all things gently and sweetly; their heads and limbs are uncovered, because their thoughts, affections and actions have no motive or object save that of pleasing God; the rest of their bodies is covered with a light shining garment, because while they use the world and the things of this life, they use all such purely and honestly, and no further than is needful for their condition—such are the truly devout. Believe me, dear child, devotion is the sweetest of sweets, the queen of virtues, the perfection of love. If love is the milk of life, devotion is the cream thereof; if it is a fruitful plant, devotion is the blossom; if it is a precious stone, devotion is its brightness; if it is a precious balm, devotion is its perfume, even that sweet odour which delights men and causes the angels to rejoice.
For other chapters of the Introduction to the Devout Life audiobook visit here –
Episode 50 – Be Worthy of the Flame Consuming You!
Dr. Regis Martin
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.
This is a Discerning Hearts recording read by Correy Webb
PART I. COUNSELS AND PRACTICES SUITABLE FOR THE SOUL’S GUIDANCE FROM THE FIRST ASPIRATION AFTER A DEVOUT LIFE TO THE POINT WHEN IT ATTAINS A CONFIRMED RESOLUTION TO FOLLOW THE SAME.
WHAT TRUE DEVOTION IS
YOU aim at a devout life, dear child, because as a Christian you know that such devotion is most acceptable to God’s Divine Majesty. But seeing that the small errors people are wont to commit in the beginning of any under taking are apt to wax greater as they advance, and to become irreparable at last, it is most important that you should thoroughly understand wherein lies the grace of true devotion;—and that because while there undoubtedly is such a true devotion, there are also many spurious and idle semblances thereof; and unless you know which is real, you may mistake, and waste your energy in pursuing an empty, profitless shadow. Arelius was wont to paint all his pictures with the features and expression of the women he loved, and even so we all colour devotion according to our own likings and dispositions. One man sets great value on fasting, and believes himself to be leading a very devout life, so long as he fasts rigorously, although the while his heart is full of bitterness; —and while he will not moisten his lips with wine, perhaps not even with water, in his great abstinence, he does not scruple to steep them in his neighbor’s blood, through slander and detraction. Another man reckons himself as devout because he repeats many prayers daily, although at the same time he does not refrain from all manner of angry, irritating, conceited or insulting speeches among his family and neighbors. This man freely opens his purse in almsgiving but closes his heart to all gentle and forgiving feelings towards those who are opposed to him; while that one is ready enough to forgive his enemies but will never pay his rightful debts save under pressure. Meanwhile all these people are conventionally called religious, but nevertheless they are in no true sense really devout. When Saul’s servants sought to take David, Michal induced them to suppose that the lifeless figure lying in his bed, and covered with his garments, was the man they sought; and in like manner many people dress up an exterior with the visible acts expressive of earnest devotion, and the world supposes them to be really devout and spiritual-minded, while all the time they are mere lay figures, mere phantasms of devotion.
Conference 2 – Discerning the Will of God with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.
Join Fr. Timothy Gallagher as he offers the teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Discerning the Will of God. Conference 2 introduces us to the foundations of the discernment process and ways to utilize it when making significant choices.
You can find various handouts spoken of by Fr. Gallagher in the links below
