Kris McGregor Archives

IP#341 Elizabeth Lev – How Catholic Art Saved the Faith on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

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What a delight to speak with Elizabeth Lev about her phenomenal book “How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art!” This book is a feast for your mind and heart. It is filled with Church history and illuminated by a cast of extraordinary characters and beautiful images. Professor Lev is a master storyteller who never disappoints! It will be difficult for anyone who begins to enter its pages to put this book down. This work reflects the best in Catholic cultural apologetics. Along with the podcast, check out the absorbing TED talk Liz gave on the story of Sistine Chapel embedded in this post! Give yourself treat, don’t wait, get a copy of the book for yourself and plan on gifting it to many of your friends!

You can find the book here

“In a series of finely crafted and absorbing essays, Elizabeth Lev actually demonstrates how, at a crucial moment in the Church’s history, artists used paintbrush and chisel to proclaim the Gospel. This book will be extremely helpful for catechists, teachers, preachers, and I daresay, for artists themselves. ”
Bishop Robert Barron

“Liz Lev so brilliantly connects art and faith that you will experience every painting, statue and church in a deeper, emotionally powerful and spiritually fulfilling way.”
Newt Gingrich

“A treat for the eye and the soul.”
Peggy Noonan
Wall Street Journal

IP#340 Dr. Timothy O’Malley – Off the Hook on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

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A great conversation with Dr. Timothy O’Malley, Director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy and author of “Off the Hook: God, Love, Dating and Marriage in a Hook-up World. ” He had me at “nuptial mystagogy.” I love a theologian who deeply appreciates the font of grace present in our liturgical expression and sacramental experience. From this point forward, this is THE book for practical, life-sustaining marriage formation. Outstanding!

You can. find the book here

From the book description:

Hookup culture is about much more than the quest for pleasure. It offers an easy way out of real communication and lasting relationships. It also teaches us to treat each other as objects for personal satisfaction. Even those who reject the hookup culture can still be negatively affected by it and develop poor habits of relating to others. In Off the Hook, Timothy P. O’Malley, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, shows how God’s plan for love serves to heal the wounds of hookup culture and is a medicine for what ails our understanding of sex, romance, love, and marriage.

In Off the Hook, O’Malley explains how the ethics of hooking up shape relationships between men and women and examines the considerable harm to individuals and society that results. By exploring the sacrament of marriage in its biblical, theological, and liturgical dimensions, he offers Catholic young adults and those charged with their formation and pastoral care a wealth of insight into God’s plan for love.

Young people will find help grappling with the Church’s countercultural understanding of sex, love, and marriage. Parents and pastoral workers will discover a refreshing presentation of the Catholic theology of marriage and wise counsel about forming young people in the Church’s vision. Newly married, and even long-married couples will find hope, courage, and the promise of sacramental love that can sustain them for a lifetime.

IP#339 Fr. George Rutler – Calm in Chaos on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor podcast

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What a delight to talk once again speak with Fr. George Rutler! This time we discuss his book “Calm in Chaos: Catholic Wisdom for Anxious Times.” “Timing is everything”, so it is said. There is no doubt that now is the time for Fr. Rutler’s particular wisdom, wit, and pastoral calm.

You can find the book here

From the book description:

In these brilliant essays the renowned writer and churchman Fr. George Rutler addresses our current causes of anxiety and our never-changing, ever-new reasons for hope. His writings on the issues of our day are neither pessimistic nor optimistic, because they are infused with the confidence that God grants us his peace and no earthly circumstance can take it away.

With insight and wit, with breadth and depth, Fr. Rutler comments on the confusion in the Church and the chaos in Western societies, which are not without precedent but are on a uniquely global scale. An underlying theme is his dismay at the lack of historical perspective. He says that the gremlin that haunts our times is ignorance and a failure to recall and to understand the trials of the past.

IP#337 Mark Joseph – Overwhelming Pursuit on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor podcast

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What a delight to talk with Mark Joseph about “Overwhelming Pursuit: Stop Chasing Your Life and Live.” He presents in this very compelling book a practical approach to transforming your life. I simply could not have put any better than Dr. Scott Hahn who said in his ringing endorsement of Mark’s work: “In these pages you’ll learn, step by step, how to do the hard stuff: forgive from the heart, apologize, open yourself to the healing power of God’s mercy. If these graces have seemed remote, theoretical, or elusive to you, seek here and find everything you need: a prescription for spiritual health and lifelong conversion.” Excellent! Get a copy for yourself and someone in your life who really needs this solid yet caring message. Mark’s website is: https://markjosephministries.com

You can by the book here

From the book description:

“Success lets me and everybody else know that I’m important – that I’m worth loving. Success is how I prove my worth in this world.”

That’s what Mark Joseph thought.

He was driven to achieve, and he did. Through his success, he felt loved and respected. He worked night and day to keep feeling important.

But success came at a price.

If you’re overwhelmed, unfulfilled, and running in circles chasing happiness, this is the book for you.

You’ll learn, as Mark did, that the overwhelming pursuit of success stems from our underlying belief that we need to earn love, and that striving for it will somehow cure our lack of self-love. He’ll show you, through his experiences and those of others, that fulfillment has nothing to do with success. It comes from knowing that – despite success or failure you were created by God for greatness, for love and to be loved.

IP#336 Dr. Peter Kreeft – Doors in the Walls of the World on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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With Dr. Kreeft as a guide, we open the way to the everyday mysticism that awaits the faithful who respond to the knocking at the door of their hearts! “Doors in the Walls of the World: Signs of Transcendence in the Human Story” is wonderful. It’s always a blessing to have a conversation with the brilliant Dr. Peter Kreeft, philosopher, author, and magnificent door-keeper.

You can find the book here

“Tragically, one result of the dominant interpretation of reality today is that the world becomes extraordinarily boring. There’s no ultimate point to anything. But the Christian vision is entirely different! It tells us that history is in fact His-story, and His story is one that is dramatic, scary, and beautiful beyond imagination. With his characteristic wit and intellect, Peter Kreeft opens our minds and hearts to this exciting and life-changing drama, in which you and I play leading roles.”
— Fr. John Riccardo, Author, Heaven Starts Now

“Kreeft is ready always to give reasons for the wonder that is in him. The proper philosophy, the door-flinging-open philosophy, does not reduce my thoughts about God to atoms, but splits the atom and sees in it the fire of God’s power and love. Or, to put it in the words of the Psalmist, ‘I rejoiced when I heard them say, Let us go up to the house of the Lord.'”
— Anthony Esolen, Ph.D., Professor of English, Thomas More College

IP#254 David Scott – The Love That Made Mother Teresa on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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David Scott – The Love That Made Mother Teresa on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

David Scott is one of the finest Catholic authors of our time. He can catechize from the heart like few I have ever read and the case is no different in what he offers with “The Love That Made Mother Teresa“. More than just another biography on the life of this great woman, David offers insightful spiritual reflections on different events she encountered during her extraordinary life. If we are open to those lessons, her response to those moments can aid Christ in transforming our lives today. In his hands her story truly becomes a witness to “Love”. I’ve read many, many books on the life of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, this is my favorite.

You can find the book here.

About the Book

The countless sweet photos of her smiling at babies showed Mother Teresa to be a single-minded advocate for the poor. But she was a woman with a will whose strength has been matched by few souls in history. Mother Teresa broke death’s stranglehold on the poor of Calcutta, and she showed us how to conquer the sin and darkness in what she called the “slums of the hearts of modern man.”

Part biography and part spiritual reading, these pages bring to light little-known stories from Mother Teresa’s life that will help you to grow in your love of God. You will learn her approach to reading Scripture, what enabled her to persevere through agonizing nights, and the remarkable — some would say mystical — events that led her to start the Missionaries of Charity.

In considering Mother Teresa, her private visions, and her secret sufferings, David Scott has discovered scores of early episodes and chance encounters that point to later, larger meanings. These remarkable patterns, he suggests, show that Mother Teresa’s life was choreographed from above, as if a divine script had been written for her from before her birth.

In these pages, you will meet for the first time the Mother Teresa who challenged the ancient Goddess of Death and became the first saint of our global village. You will read her long-secret letters describing the dark nights of her soul. The woman you will meet is one that God Himself sent to you as a clear sign that despite pain and suffering in our lives and in our world, God’s good love will prevail . . . beginning in the slums of our hearts.

We are all called to holiness, and the saints are sent to us as “real life” examples of God’s love. With Mother Teresa as your guide, you’ll learn how to follow God’s call and find holiness in a world marked by the shadow of death and growing indifference to God. Indeed, you’ll learn how to be an everyday missionary of Christ’s love in the ordinary activities of your daily life.

About the Author

David Scott is the current Vice Chancellor of Communications in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and former Editor of Our Sunday Visitor. Scott has published several books, including studies of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and Dorothy Day. Hundreds of his essays and articles have appeared in journals and periodicals throughout the world, including the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, as well as National Review, Commonweal, Crisis, Inside the Vatican, National Catholic Register, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Beliefnet.com and elsewhere. Scott holds a master’s degree in religion and scripture from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

IP#335 Leah Libresco – Building the Benedict Option on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor podcast

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What a delight to speak with Leah Lebresco about her book “Building the Benedict Option: A Guide to Gathering Two or Three Together in His Name.” Practical and inspiring, Leah, along with with little help from her friends, helps us to see and experience the “communion” in community. A much needed work for today!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Building the Benedict Option is a combination spiritual memoir and practical handbook for Christians who want to build communities of prayer, socialization, and evangelization in the places where they live and work.

Beginning when the author was a new convert, she desired more communal prayer and fellowship than weekly Mass could provide. She surveyed her friends–busy, young, urban professionals like herself–and created enriching or supportive experiences that matched their desires and schedules. The result was a less lonely and more boisterous spiritual and social life.

No Catholic Martha Stewart, Libresco is frank about how she plans events that allow her to feed thirty people on a Friday night without feeling exhausted. She is honest about the obstacles to prayer and the challenge to make it inviting and unobtrusive. Above all, she communicates the joy she has experienced since discovering ways to open her home (even when it was only a small studio apartment).

The reader will close this book with four or five ideas for events to try over the next few weeks, along with the tools to make them fruitful. From film nights to picnics in the park to resume-writing evenings, there are plenty of ideas to choose from and loads of encouragement to make more room in one’s life for others.

You might also like:
IP#316 Rod Dreher – The Benedict Option on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

SJ1 – Holy Listening – The Spiritual Journey with Kris McGregor – A Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcast

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“Let’s start at the very beginning, because it’s the very best place to start…”

“Holy Listening” is the lead topic of this first episode of “The Spiritual Journey Podcast with Kris McGregor.” Appreciating the presence of God in the Word (capital W) and the challenge of truly listening to the voice of God are the primary topics for this podcast. Before we can really move forward in the spiritual journey, we need to learn to listen to God. How is that done?

The Gospel of John (RSVCE)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life,a and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Psalm 1 (Jerusalem Bible)

1 Happy the man who never follows the advice of the wicked, or loiters on the way that sinners take, or sits about with scoffers,

2 but finds his pleasure in the Law of Yahweh, and murmurs his law day and night.

3 He is like a tree that is planted by water streams, yielding its fruit in season, its leaves never fading;

4 It is nothing like this with the wicked, nothing like this! No, these are like chaff blown away by the wind.

5 The wicked will not stand firm when judgment comes, nor sinners when the virtuous assemble.

6 For Yahweh takes care of the way the virtuous go, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

From the Holy Rule of St. Benedict:

Prologue:
1. Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is the advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice.

Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts mentioned in the podcast:

LOH2-V2 Praying with the Psalms- Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

HR17 – The Value of Listening and Silence – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

HR37 – Listening to the Word of God – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

Other Links:

IP#221 Dr. Scott Hahn – Consuming the Word on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

IP#54 Dr. Scott Hahn – Verbum Domini part 1 on Inside the Pages

IP#57 Dr. Scott Hahn – Verbum Domini part 2 on Inside the Pages

IP#49 Dr. Matthew Bunson – Pope Benedict – Verbum Domini part 1 on Inside the Pages

IP#52 Dr. Matthew Bunson – Pope Benedict’s Verbum Domini part 2 on Inside the Pages

Resources:

For the Liturgy of the Hours: Universalis and iBrevary

From Vatican.va:

Dogmatic Constitution of Divine Revelation – DEI VERBUM

Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy – SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM

Kris McGregor Founder and editor/producer/executive director of “Discerning Hearts ®. To learn more about Kris visit here

IP#251 – Anne Costa – Embracing Edith Stein on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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What a joy to discover “Embracing Edith Stein: Wisdom for Women from St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross” by author Anne Costa. Far from a clinical dissertation on Edith Stein’s writings, Anne introduces us to a woman with whom she has shared a rich spiritual friendship. By learning from and then implementing her wealth of teaching, Anne gives a saint who can help us to grow in faith and wisdom . Highly recommended!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Embracing Edith Stein shows how the different aspects of the life and teachings of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross can serve as a guide for women and their unique vocation today. Written in a friendly, conversational style, this is one woman sharing the story of her friendship with this saint with her readers.

IP#283 Sr. Regina van den Berg – Communion with Christ according to St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross on Inside the Pages w/ Kris McGregor podcast

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In “Communion with Christ according to Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross” Sr. Regina van den Berg, F.S.G.M has authored a compelling exploration on the life and teachings of the extraordinary 20th century philosopher Edith Stein, who would convert from Judaism to the Christian faith and become religious sister in the Order of Carmel. This book is a diamond, with each chapter a shining facet which illuminates St. Teresa’s “spirituality of communion” and her quest for “Truth”. The whole section on Edith Stein’s theory of empathy and her understanding of community makes this a must have for those on the spiritual journey! Don’t miss.

You can find the book here
“Sister Regina unveils the depths of Edith Stein’s insights, revealing Stein’s nuanced account of community between women and men, human and angelic communities, membership in the Mystical Body, etc. An impressive achievement that teaches much about how to be more fully human.”
– Sarah Borden Sharkey, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Wheaton College”This book will help the reader deepen an appreciation for the significance of Teresa Benedicta/Edith Stein in contemporary debates.”
– Fr. John Sullivan, O.C.D., Institute of Carmelite Studies