Series Archives

Episode 11 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast

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Comte builds a new religion—with him as pope and scientific experts as bishops. Part 2, chapter 3, sections 1 and 2 of “The Drama of Atheist Humanism” by Henri de Lubac.

You can find the book here

De Lubac traces the origin of 19th century attempts to construct a humanism apart from God, the sources of contemporary atheism which purports to have “moved beyond God.” The three persons he focuses on are Feuerbach, who greatly influenced Marx; Nietzsche, who represents nihilism; and Comte, who is the father of all forms of positivism.

He then shows that the only one who really responded to this ideology was Dostoevsky, a kind of prophet who criticizes in his novels this attempt to have a society without God. Despite their historical and scholarly appearance, de Lubac’s work clearly refers to the present.

As he investigates the sources of modern atheism, particularly in its claim to have definitely moved beyond the idea of God, he is thinking of an ideology prevalent today in East and West which regards the Christian faith as a completely outdated.

POA5 – Know your Commander and Comrades – Put On The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare w/Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D. – Discerning Hears Catholic Podcasts

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Put On The Armor - A Manual for Spiritual Warfare w/Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D.

Episode 5 – “Know your Commander and Comrades” – Put on The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare with Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D

Dr. Thigpen offers insights on the Manual for Spiritual Warfare Chapter 3:

How can we possibly defeat “that ancient Serpent who is called the Devil” (Rv 12:9)?

Our Commander, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of hell and death, calls us to battle alongside Him against the Enemy so that we can have a share in His victory. To fight the good fight, however, we must know not only our adversary and his strategies; we must also know the comrades that our great Commander has given to us.

The Book of Revelation describes Christ’s final return to earth in glory as a Warrior leading a charge in battle against Satan and his allies, with “the armies of heaven” accompanying Him (see Rv 19:11–14). In his two epistles to the Thessalonians, St. Paul specifies who is in those armies: When Christ comes in His final glorious triumph, He will come “with all his saints” (1 Thes 3:13) and “with the angels of His power, in flaming fire” (2 Thes 1:7–8). Even now, those hosts of saints and angels are our comrades in battle.

Visit here for other episodes in this series:

Put On The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare w/Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D.

The “Manual for Spiritu al Warfare” can be found here

Paul Thigpen, Ph.D., is the Editor of TAN Books in Charlotte, North Carolina. An internationally known speaker, best-selling author, and award-winning journalist, Paul has published forty-three books in a wide variety of genres and subjects: history and biography, spirituality and apologetics, anthologies and devotionals, family life and children’s books, study guides and reference works, fiction and collections of poetry and prayers.

Paul graduated from Yale University in 1977 summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with Distinction in the Major of Religious Studies. He was later awarded the George W. Woodruff Fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta, where he earned an M.A. (1993) and a Ph.D. (1995) in Historical Theology. In 1993 he was named as a Jacob K. Javits Fellow by the U.S. Department of Education. He has served on the faculty of several universities and colleges.

In 2008 Paul was appointed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to their National Advisory Council for a four-year term. He has served the Church as a theologian, historian, apologist, evangelist, and catechist in a number of settings, speaking frequently in Catholic and secular media broadcasts and at conferences, seminars, parish missions, and scholarly gatherings.

BKL17 – Our Lady of Sorrows – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

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Our Lady of Sorrows – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

Msgr. Esseff reflects on the meaning of Our Lady of Sorrows. How do we connect that with the suffering of Christ? All the suffering we endure is united with Jesus, and the Blessed Mother guides our way. She is our mother and the power of her love is incredible. Ask her to come to you in your suffering as she came to her Son. She is our Our Mother of Hope and Compassion. God conquers sorrow with hope!

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us;
and after this our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

℣ Pray for us O holy Mother of God,
℟ that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

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 a retreat director and confessor to St. 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. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.

BKL267 – “Exaltation of the Holy Cross” – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

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“Exaltation of the Holy Cross” – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

Msgr. Esseff reflects on the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. He describes in detail the true horror of this means of execution and what it meant to be crucified in the time of Jesus. But he also talks about the great love that God has for us in embracing the Cross for our sake and what it means for us today. A very powerful reflection.

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He 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 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.

BTP-WP8 Chapters 29 – 30 – Prayer of Recollection and Quiet – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray w/Dr. Anthony Lilles

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Chapters 29 – 30 – Prayer of Recollection and Quiet – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Dr. Lilles discusses the Prayer of Recollection and the Prayer of Quiet.

CHAPTER 29-

Continues to describe methods for achieving this Prayer of Recollection. Says what little account we should make of being favored by our superiors.

CHAPTER 30
Describes the importance of understanding what we ask for in prayer. The nature of Prayer of Quiet.

Saint Teresa Painting Convento de Santa Teresa Avila Castile Spain.

For the audio recordings of St. Teresa’s “The Way of Perfection” you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics audio page

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection 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.

Episode 10 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast

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Comte, the father of “social science,” believes in a new god: MANKIND. Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro finish part 2, chapter 2, of Henri de Lubac’s “The Drama of Atheist Humanism.”

You can find the book here

DWGS8 – Conference 8 – Discerning the Will of God with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

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Conference 8 – 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 8 discusses the Third Mode of the discernment process.

You can find various handouts spoken of by Fr. Gallagher in the links below:

For the PDF document:

Handout 1
https://www.discerninghearts.com/PDF/Discerning_the_Will_of_God-DISCERNING_HEARTS.pdf

Handout 2
https://www.discerninghearts.com/PDF/Text-of-St-Ignatius-SpirEx,175-188.pdf

Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 13 different podcasts series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts? Visit here to discover more!

POA4 – Extraordinary Activity – Put On The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare with Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D. – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Put On The Armor - A Manual for Spiritual Warfare w/Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D. 2

Episode 4 – “Extraordinary Activity” – Put on The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare with Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D

Dr. Thigpen offers insights on the Manual for Spiritual Warfare Chapter 2:

Beyond the ordinary activity of demons through temptation is their extraordinary activity. This destructive work is more powerful and manifests itself, not only in thoughts, but also in the physical realm. Most observers of demonic tactics agree that the following activities occur, but they sometimes differ in how they categorize the various phenomena.

Here’s one common way of classifying them: Infestation…Oppression…Obsession…Possession

Visit here for other episodes in this series:

Put On The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare w/Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D.

The “Manual for Spiritu al Warfare” can be found here

BTP-WP7 Chapters 20 thru 26 – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

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Chapters 20 thru 26 – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Dr. Lilles talks about the nature of vocal prayer, the prayer of meditation, and the prayer of recollection.

CHAPTER 20 – Begins to treat of prayer. Addresses souls who cannot reason with the understanding.

CHAPTER 21 – Describes the great importance of setting out upon the practice of prayer with firm resolution and of heeding no difficulties put in the way by the devil

CHAPTER 22 – Explains the meaning of mental prayer

CHAPTER 23 – Describes the importance of not turning back when one has set out upon the way of prayer. Repeats how necessary it is to be resolute

CHAPTER 24 – Describes how vocal prayer may be practised with perfection and how closely allied it is to mental prayer

CHAPTER 25 – Describes the great gain which comes to a soul when it practises vocal prayer perfectly. Shows how God may raise it thence to things supernatural

CHAPTER 26 – Continues the description of a method for recollecting the thoughts. Describes means of doing this. This chapter is very profitable for those who are beginning prayer

For the audio recordings of St. Teresa’s “The Way of Perfection” you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics audio page

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Special Encore – The Canonization of St. Teresa of Calcutta – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

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SPECIAL ENCORE

Join Msgr. John Esseff as he reflects on his experiences with Mother Teresa on the eve of her canonization! Several of the stories he has not shared on any of his previous programs.

Rather than be “admirers” of Mother Teresa, Msgr. Esseff asks all of us to pray to become “imitators” of this little one of God’s children who has now become one of His great saints!

Carrier of God’s Tender Love and Mercy

Lord Jesus, merciful Face of the Father, you came to give us the Good News of the Father’s mercy and tenderness.

We thank you for the gift of our dearest Mother, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who will be canonized in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. You chose her to be your presence, your love and compassion to the brokenhearted, the unwanted, the abandoned and the dying. She responded wholeheartedly to your cry, ‘I Thirst,’ by the holiness of her life and humble works of love to the poorest of the poor.

We pray, through her intercession, for the grace to experience your merciful love and share it in our own families, communities and with all our suffering brothers and sisters. Help us to give our “hearts to love and hands to serve” after the example of Mother Teresa. Lord Jesus, bless every member of our family, our parish, our diocese, our country, especially those most in need, that we all may be transformed by your merciful love. Amen.

Text © Mother Teresa Center of the Missionaries of Charity

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.

Episode 5 – “Know your Commander and Comrades” – Put on The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare with Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D

Visit here for other episodes in this series:

The “Manual for Spiritual Warfare” can be found here

Our Lady of Sorrows – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

“Exaltation of the Holy Cross” – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

Chapters 29 – 30 – Prayer of Recollection and Quiet – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

For the audio recordings of St. Teresa’s “The Way of Perfection” you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics audio page

For other episodes in the series visit The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Conference 8 – Discerning the Will of God with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.

Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 13 different podcasts series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts? Visit here to discover more!

Episode 4 – “Extraordinary Activity” – Put on The Armor – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare with Dr. Paul Thigpen Ph.D

Visit here for other episodes in this series:

The “Manual for Spiritual Warfare” can be found here

Chapters 20 thru 26 – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

For the audio recordings of St. Teresa’s “The Way of Perfection” you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics audio page

For other episodes in the series visit The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection with Dr. Anthony Lilles

The “Manual for Spiritu al Warfare” can be found here

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection with Dr. Anthony Lilles

The “Manual for Spiritu al Warfare” can be found here

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection with Dr. Anthony Lilles