Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts Archives

Christian Meditation with Dr. Anthony Lilles pt. 3 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast

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Section 2 (continued) – “Making the Meditation” of Christian Meditation

With Dr. Anthony Lilles, we discuss section 2 (continued) of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Christian Mediation.

Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth is a series of conversations with noted theological scholars about the life and teachings of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar who is considered to be one of the most important Catholic intellectuals and writers of the twentieth century.

Find the paperback book here
Find the e-book here

From the book description:

While von Balthasar’s classic Prayer is unparalleled in its development of the Trinitarian, Christological, Mariological and ecclesiological dimensions of prayer, Christian Meditation is a short, readable and eminently practical guide to that form of prayer which God’s revelation in Jesus Christ has made indispensable: meditation on the word of God revealing the inner depths of God to man and–since it comes from God made man–the inner depths of man to himself.

In a treatment that is both fresh and profound, Balthasar describes the central elements of all Christian meditation, provides a guide for making the meditation and then points the way to the union that prayer achieves in the footsteps of Mary, within the Church and in and for the world.

“Consequently, Christian meditation is entirely trinitarian and at the same time entirely human. In order to find God, no one need reject being human personally or socially, but in order to find God all must see the world and themselves in the Holy Spirit as they are in God’s sight.”
– Hans Urs von Balthasar

For more podcast episodes with Dr. Anthony Lilles discussing Christian Meditation – Christian Meditation Podcasts

For Audio and Text Excerpts from Christian Meditation – Audio and Text Excerpts

HR#27 “To contemplate the Holy Eucharist ” – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

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Episode 27- The Holy Rule of St. Benedict: A Spiritual Path for Today’s World with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B.,
Ph.D.

“To contemplate the Holy Eucharist”

From the Holy Rule of St. Benedict:

PROLOGUE

Listen, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou mayest return to Him from whom by the sloth of disobedience thou hast gone away.

To thee, therefore, my speech is now directed, who, giving up thine own will, takest up the strong and most excellent arms of obedience, to do battle for Christ the Lord, the true King.

In the first place, beg of Him by most earnest prayer, that He perfect whatever good thou dost begin, in order that He who hath been pleased to count us in the number of His children, need never be grieved at our evil deeds. For we ought at all times so to serve Him with the good things which He hath given us, that He may not, like an angry father, disinherit his children, nor, like a dread lord, enraged at our evil deeds, hand us over to everlasting punishment as most wicked servants, who would not follow Him to glory.

Father Mauritius Wilde, OSB, Ph.D., did his philosophical, theological, and doctoral studies in Europe. He is the author of several books and directs retreats regularly. He serves as Prior at Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

For more, be sure to visit The Holy Rule of St. Benedict Rule with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B. Podcast Discerning Hearts page

LFT-5 The Reality of our Conscience – Listening For Truth w/ Deacon James Keating- Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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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.

“What was the wage earned? Heaven!” – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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“What was the wage earned? Heaven!”

Reading 2 PHIL 1:20C-24, 27A

Brothers and sisters:
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.
I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
Yet that I remain in the flesh
is more necessary for your benefit.

Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Gospel MT 20:1-16A

Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o’clock,
the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.’
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o’clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o’clock,
the landowner found others standing around, and said to them,
‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’
They answered, ‘Because no one has hired us.’
He said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard.’
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
‘Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.’
When those who had started about five o’clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
‘These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’
He said to one of them in reply,
‘My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?’
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

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 Blessed Mother Teresa. 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.

IP#347 Dr. Peter Kreeft on Symbol or Substance: A Dialogue on the Eucharist on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor podcast

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What an extraordinary conversation we are allowed to experience! Because of the pious imagination of master philosopher/apologist Dr. Peter Kreeft, we get to eavesdrop as three Christian spiritual masters ponder together the mysteries of the Christian faith. Anyone who picks up a copy of “Symbol or Substance: A Dialogue on the Eucharist with C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham and J. R. R. Tolkien” will indeed be in the “presence” of faith-filled transcendence.

You can find the book here

“We’ve all wished that we could be the proverbial fly on the wall. Peter Kreeft makes it possible in this wonderful book, which allows us to listen to an imaginary conversation between C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Billy Graham on the thorny topic of the Eucharist. Their imaginary presence enlightens our minds on the Real Presence.”
— Joseph Pearce, Author, Catholic Literary Giants

“For one riveting evening we are invited to eavesdrop on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Billy Graham. Rarely have I learned so much while being so entertained. Perhaps this book’s greatest achievements lie in Kreeft’s tender analysis of what unites the different churches, his gift of charitable listening, and his singular ability to illuminate.”
— Sally Read, Author, Night’s Bright Darkness: A Modern Conversion Story

Christian Meditation with Dr. Anthony Lilles pt. 2 – “Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth” Podcast

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Section 2 – “Making the Meditation” of Christian Meditation

With Dr. Anthony Lilles, we discuss section 2 of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s Christian Mediation.

Find the paperback book here
Find the e-book here

From the book description:

While von Balthasar’s classic Prayer is unparalleled in its development of the Trinitarian, Christological, Mariological and ecclesiological dimensions of prayer, Christian Meditation is a short, readable and eminently practical guide to that form of prayer which God’s revelation in Jesus Christ has made indispensable: meditation on the word of God revealing the inner depths of God to man and–since it comes from God made man–the inner depths of man to himself.

In a treatment that is both fresh and profound, Balthasar describes the central elements of all Christian meditation, provides a guide for making the meditation and then points the way to the union that prayer achieves in the footsteps of Mary, within the Church and in and for the world.

“Consequently, Christian meditation is entirely trinitarian and at the same time entirely human. In order to find God, no one need reject being human personally or socially, but in order to find God all must see the world and themselves in the Holy Spirit as they are in God’s sight.”
– Hans Urs von Balthasar

For more podcast episodes with Dr. Anthony Lilles discussing Christian Meditation – Christian Meditation Podcasts

For Audio and Text Excerpts from Christian Meditation – Audio and Text Excerpts

HR#26 “In place of serving self…the community meal ” – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

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“In place of serving self…the community meal” – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict: A Spiritual Path for Today’s World with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B., Ph.D.

From the Holy Rule of St. Benedict:

CHAPTER XXIV

The degree of excommunication or punishment ought to be meted out according to the gravity of the offense, and to determine that is left to the judgment of the Abbot. If, however, anyone of the brethren is detected in smaller faults, let him be debarred from eating at the common table. The following shall be the practice respecting one who is excluded from the common table: that he does not intone a psalm or an antiphon nor read a lesson in the oratory until he hath made satisfaction; let him take his meal alone, after the refection of the brethren; thus: if, for instance, the brethren take their meal at the sixth hour that brother will take his at the ninth, and if the brethren take theirs at the ninth, he will take his in the evening, until by due satisfaction he obtaineth pardon.

For more, be sure to visit The Holy Rule of St. Benedict Rule with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B. PodcastDiscerning Hearts page

LFT-4 Fear and the Virtue of Obedience – Listening For Truth w/ Deacon James Keating- Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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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.

“The Cross is the Sign of Love” – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

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Join Msgr. John Esseff as he reflects in this podcast on “The Cross is the Sign of Love” of the feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Reading 2 PHIL 2:6-11

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel JN 3:13-17

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30th, 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 Blessed Mother Teresa. 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.