Why Do You Worry? – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

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Msgr. Esseff asks “Why do you worry? Are you a servant of God or mammon?”

Gospel MT 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

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

BTP-WP1 Introduction – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray w/Dr. Anthony Lilles

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This serves as an introduction to the life of Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada (28 March 1515 – 4 October 1582). In our opening conversation, we discuss 16th century Spain, events taking place in the world and the people associated with Teresa. Dr. Lilles also gives introductions to her various spiritual works and the importance of “The Way of Perfection”.

St. Teresa of Avila Way of Perfection Podcast — Saint Teresa Painting Convento de Santa Teresa Avila Castile Spain.

For the audio recordings of various spiritual classics you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics 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 7 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast

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August Comte: How ”science” took over EVERYTHING. Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro begin to read PART TWO 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.

Conference 1 – Discerning the Will of God with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

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Conference 1 – 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 1 offers an introduction to the life of St. Ignatius and establishes the challenges involved in everyday Christian decision-making.

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

For more episodes from Discerning The Will of God conference talks visit here

Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 13 different podcast series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts?

Visit here to discover more Fr. Gallagher podcasts!

St. Charbel Makhlouf and the Importance of Becoming a Saint with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Msgr. Esseff shares stories of his time in Lebanon and his experience surrounding the great St. Charbel Makhlouf. He reflects on the importance of depending on God.

You can pray the Chaplet of St. Charbel by visiting here:

The Chaplet of St. Charbel -Discerning Hearts podcast

To Listen to God – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Are you frustrated, angry, or overwhelmed? Have you been trying to do “good things” but find yourself hitting a wall in your family, workplace, or ministry? Msgr. Esseff counsels us when to say “yes” or to say “no,” when to speak and when to be silent when to stay and when to go, and so forth. Everything hinges on listening to God and discernment. Are you operating in the “Light?”

Today, Msgr. Esseff asks that you take an hour to enter the inner self and listen to what God wants you to do. Write down what you hear God say in Psalm 139

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, thou hast searched me and known me!

²Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up;

thou discernest my thoughts from afar.

³Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,

and art acquainted with all my ways.

⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,

lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.

⁵Thou dost beset me behind and before,

and layest thy hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high, I cannot attain it.

⁷Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?

Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!

⁹If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

¹⁰even there thy hand shall lead me,

and thy right hand shall hold me.

¹¹If I say, â€œLet only darkness cover me,

and the light about me be night,â€

¹²even the darkness is not dark to thee,

the night is bright as the day;

for darkness is as light with thee.

¹³For thou didst form my inward parts,

thou didst knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful.

Wonderful are thy works!

Thou knowest me right well;

¹⁵my frame was not hidden from thee,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance;

in thy book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

When I awake, I am still with thee.

¹⁹O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God,

and that men of blood would depart from me,

²⁰men who maliciously defy thee,

who lift themselves up against thee for evil!

²¹Do I not hate them that hate thee, OÂ Lord?

And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred;

I count them my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

²⁴And see if there be any wicked way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting!

Episode 6 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast

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Are CHRISTIANS responsible for God’s death? Nietzsche thought so. Fr. Fessio, Joseph Pearce, and Vivian Dudro finish their study of PART ONE of “The Drama of Atheist Humanism” by Henri de Lubac, S.J.

You can find the book here

BWPM 13 – Sent to the World – A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass w/ Fr. Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V. Podcast

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Episode 13 – Sent to the World – A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.

We continue our conversation with Fr. Gallagher discussing the encouragements given by Venerable Bruno Lanteri in regards to a biblical way of praying the Mass. In this episode, Fr. Gallagher reflects on the Sending.

Take a moment and pray:

Go forth, the Mass is ended: Go forth from this church now: the Mass is complete. You have been nourished at the table of the Word and of the Body of Christ. Now go forth and bring this richness to those you encounter.

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord: By the way you live, by the way you interact with others, by the holiness of your life, and by your words, announce the Gospel of Jesus. Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life: As you exit the church, let the peace of Jesus fill your heart. Seek now to give glory to God — that is, to make Jesus known and loved by the way you live.

Ask for the grace to leave Mass and return to your activity in this way.

Gallagher, Timothy M.. A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass: The Eucharistic Wisdom of Venerable Bruno Lanteri (p. 87). EWTN Publishing Inc.. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in the A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass with Fr. Timothy Gallagher podcast series, visit here

You can find A Biblical Way of Praying the Mass here

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola.” For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio, which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org

For other Discerning Hearts Fr. Timothy Gallagher Podcasts visit here

Episode 5 – The Drama of Atheist Humanism – Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J., Vivian Dudro, and Joseph Pearce – FBC Podcast

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“Be hard, be terrible, be pitiless!” The world in the wake of Nietzsche, as we study part 1, chapter 3, of Henri de Lubac’s “The Drama of Atheist Humanism.”

You can find the book here

SH7 – The Sacred Heart and Abandonment – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

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The Sacred Heart and Abandonment – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

Join Msgr. John Esseff as he continues his talk about the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart. In this episode, he discusses the importance of the Sacred Heart and how it helps feelings of abandonment.

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff 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. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and serves as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters, seminarians, and other religious leaders worldwide.