DC14 St. Peter Chrysologus – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson

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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Peter Chrysologus

Born: 406 AD, Imola, Italy

Died: July 31, 450 AD

For more on St. Peter Chrysologus and his teachings

From Wikipedia:

Peter was born in Imola, where Cornelius, bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Imola, baptized him, educated him, and ordained him a deacon. He was made an archdeacon through the influence of Emperor Valentinian III. Pope Sixtus III appointed Peter as Bishop of Ravenna (or perhaps archbishop) circa 433, apparently rejecting the candidate whom the people of the city ofRavenna elected. The traditional account, as recorded in the Roman Breviary, is that Sixtus had a vision of Pope Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Apollinaris of Ravenna, the first bishop of that see, who showed Sixtus a young man, the next Bishop of Ravenna. When a group from Ravenna arrived, including Cornelius and his archdeacon Peter from Imola, Sixtus recognized Peter as the young man in his vision and consecrated him as a bishop.

People knew Saint Peter Chrysologus, the Doctor of Homilies, for his short but inspired talks; he supposedly feared boring his audience. His piety and zeal won universal admiration. After hearing oratory of his first homily as bishop, Roman Empress Galla Placidia supposedly gave him the surname Chrysologus, meaning “golden-worded.” Empress Galla Placidia patronized many of projects of Bishop Saint Peter.

In his extant homilies, bishop Peter explained Biblical texts briefly and concisely. He also condemned Arianism and Monophysitism as heresies and explained beautifully the Apostles’ Creed, the mystery of the Incarnation, and other topics in simple and clear language. He dedicated a series of homilies to Saint John the Baptist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Peter advocated daily reception of Eucharist. He urged his listeners to confide in the forgiveness offered through Christ. He shared the confidence of Saint Pope Leo I the Great (440-461), another doctor of the Church.

A synod held in Constantinople in 448 condemned Eutyches for Monophysitism; Eutyches then appealed to Saint Peter Chrysologus but failed in his endeavour to win the support of the Bishop. The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon(451) preserves the text of letter of Saint Peter Chrysologus in response to Eutyches; Peter admonishes Eutyches to accept the ruling of the synod and to give obedience to the Bishop of Rome as the successor of Saint Peter.

Archbishop Felix of Ravenna in the early eighth century collected and preserved 176 of his homilies. Various authors edited and translated these works into numerous languages.

Death and veneration

St Peter died circa or after 450 during a visit to Imola, the town of his birth. Older reference books say he died on 2 December, but a more recent interpretation of the ninth-century “Liber Pontificalis Ecclesiae Ravennatis” indicated that he died on 31 July. When in 1729 he was declared a Doctor of the Church, his feast day, not already included in the Tridentine Calendar, was inserted in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints for celebration on 4 December. In 1969 his feast was moved to 30 July, as close as possible to the day of his death, 31 July, the feast day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.

Dr. Matthew E. Bunson is a Register senior editor and a senior contributor to EWTN News. For the past 20 years, he has been active in the area of Catholic social communications and education, including writing, editing, and teaching on a variety of topics related to Church history, the papacy, the saints and Catholic culture. He is faculty chair at Catholic Distance University, a senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and the author or co-author of over 50 books including The Encyclopedia of Catholic History, The Pope Encyclopedia, We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, The Saints Encyclopedia and best-selling biographies of St. Damien of Molokai and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

To Be Aware of Christ’s Presence – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff podcast

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the need to be aware of Christ’s “presence” through our prayer and actions.

Gospel LK 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”

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 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 around the world.

SJC1 – The Hiding Place of the Beloved – St. John of the Cross with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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SJC1 – The Hiding Place of the Beloved – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Podcast

In this introductory episode, 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. Fr. Haggerty helps the listener understand the nature of mystical contemplation and more specifically “What or who is a mystic?” He also helps us understand the dwelling of God in our souls and how can we enter into contemplative prayer.

Here is the excerpt from the Spiritual Canticle by St. John of the Cross that Fr. Haggerty references in the podcast:

SONG OF THE SOUL AND THE BRIDEGROOM

I
THE BRIDE

Where have You hidden Yourself,
And abandoned me in my groaning, O my Beloved? You have fled like the hart,
Having wounded me.
I ran after You, crying; but You were gone.

O shepherds, you who go
Through the sheepcots up the hill, If you shall see Him
Whom I love the most,
Tell Him I languish, suffer, and die.

III

In search of my Love
I will go over mountains and strands;
I will gather no flowers,
I will fear no wild beasts;
And pass by the mighty and the frontiers.

O groves and thickets
Planted by the hand of the Beloved; O verdant meads
Enameled with flowers,
Tell me, has He passed by you?

Where have you hidden,
Beloved, and left me moaning?
You fled like the stag
after wounding me;

I went out calling you, but you were gone. This initial stanza of “The Spiritual Canticle” unlocks the bolt of a door, allowing us a first glimpse at the soul of Saint John of the Cross and his intense love for God. In these opening lines of a lengthy poem, we hear the agonized voice of a lover tormented by her solitude, in a terrible suffering after the departure of her Beloved. The piercing lament of the bride, wounded in the depth of her soul, is an image of the lover of God who seeks for his return after earlier enjoying his close presence. The mood of loneliness in the poem will shift over the course of its forty stanzas to a recognition of the Beloved’s presence even in his concealment. But for now, as the poem commences, the pain is strong and irremediable. Many of the stanzas of this exquisite poem, full of lush natural images, were composed by Saint John of the Cross without pen or paper, the stanzas kept in his memory, while he was locked in a windowless, six-by-ten-foot converted closet, with only a thin slit of light high up in a wall. That room served as a makeshift prison cell in the Calced Carmelite Friars’ monastery in Toledo, Spain, for nine months of his life, from December 1577 until August 1578. Only in the very last period of the nine months did he receive pen and paper from a sympathetic friar serving as his jailer and write down verses. He later recounted to Carmelite nuns that another important poem, “The Dark Night”, was completed before he left that prison cell.

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 18-19). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here

You find the book on which this series is based here

SP 47 – Episode 47 – On Being a Castaway – In Search of the Still Point with Dr. Regis Martin – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 47 – On Being a Castaway

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.

HP1 – What is Prayer? – The Heart of Prayer with Fr. Éamonn Bourke – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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HP1 – What is Prayer? – The Heart of Prayer with Fr. Éamonn Bourke

Fr. Éamonn Bourke and Kris McGregor discuss the why, how, and what of “prayer.” In this episode, they explore the nature of prayer and responding to the call of relationship with God.

Here is an excerpt from their conversation:

Fr. Éamonn Bourke:

We pick up messages from our upbringing, from our surroundings, from the people around us that robs of our peace and developers of that dignity. No human person is perfect. And the way they relate to us will always be imperfect. And the way we relate to other people will be imperfect. But the beautiful thing is that we have a Father who is perfect and who relates to us in a most perfect and beautiful way, and that who we can relate to. And I suppose the beginning point for me in prayer is really recognizing that which we’re carrying, which is vulnerable and weak, and which is weighing us down. And that’d be the beginning point of our prayer. We often think when we go to pray after like put on a smiling face and my life have to be perfect. And I have to say nice words.

Some of the greatest prayers, the prayer that comes from the heart, and, and even to say to God, look, Lord, I’m a frail and vulnerable person. I I’ve picked up a message in my life that I’m overweight and that, that there’s something wrong with me or I’m too shy or I I’m, I’m no good as a person. This is what I’ve picked up from the world. And I’m, I’m just really sharing that with you this morning and the pain that that brings me and the energy it saps for my life. And it, it makes me look at myself and, um, that’s my gift to you this morning, my frail broken, vulnerable weakness. And I’m offering to you as a gift. And I know you as a perfect loving father can transform this broken, frail, weak part of myself, into something beautiful that handing this gift over to God, God can bring something incredibly beautiful from even the most broken wounded state in life. I’ve complete confidence in this. So in some ways we don’t have to put a perfect face on before God when we pray, because he wants to see us and hear his words and all he wants to, in some ways, the broken, weak, vulnerable, embarrassed parts of our life, the stuff that we’re embarrassed to share with anyone else God has already in there. And he’s literally inviting us in to, to open it up, to share it with him so that he can pour his grace into or hurts.

Kris McGregor:

Another important aspect of the why we should pray to him is that sometimes we carry an anger. There may be something that has made us so darkened, anger that even though it’s red hot, sometimes it’s like red, and yet it may be at a person or at parents or something. But oftentimes when you go even deeper, you’re angry with God. Why should I pray to him? And I’ve prayed and he hasn’t answered me. Or why should I do that? Because he’s only going to punish me if I open myself up to him, that can be a real concern for some can’t it Father.

Fr. Éamonn Bourke:

Absolutely. It can be a very deep concern for people because as I said, human life is not easy. And we have, uh, problems and trials. We have times of illness, we have times of bereavement and that can affect us on the physical level, on the emotional level. And most importantly, on the spiritual level. And it can create can anger in our hearts. Remember, my, my own mother died this time last year. And even just coming to terms with the grief for loss, I began to realize myself that there was an anger myself towards God,, that he’d taken her and she’d suffered quite a lot in her life. And just realizing that that anger was there was in a self, a beautiful gift that God enlightened me to see that, okay, I am. So what do I do with this anger? I tell God, I’m angry. I can bring this to the God who loves me and I can share it with him. And I can tell God I’m angry with you, or I’m disappointed with you, or I feel, I feel abandoned by you at times, you know, so we can be completely honest with him in this, whatever is really holding us back and that deep anger within ourselves. Often when we’re upset or anxious, we can bury things down and we can, we can try and cover it up and we can try to force it down, but it doesn’t go away. The wound is still there and unless we can really bring it into our, into light and bring it out to God and share it with them, it’s going to become like a festering wound within our hearts. It’s always going to rob of our peace. You know, they always say to error is human and to forgive divine. So the forgiveness is really a gift from God and a grace from God. And if we pray for that gift of being free, to be able to forgive and to allow anger to go, from his heart flows, that beautiful gift of the energy and the grace.

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.

⇨For more episodes in the series visit : The Heart of Prayer with Fr. Éamonn Bourke – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

DC13 St. Leo the Great – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson

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Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses the life, times and teachings of St. Leo the Great

Born: Tuscany, Italy

Died: November 10, 461 AD, Rome, Italy

For more on St. Leo the Great and his teachings

Leo the Great, Pope (c. 395-461)
– Sermons
– Letters

From Vatican.va, an excerpt from the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI General Audience 2008

Aware of the historical period in which he lived and of the change that was taking place – from pagan Rome to Christian Rome – in a period of profound crisis, Leo the Great knew how to make himself close to the people and the faithful with his pastoral action and his preaching. He enlivened charity in a Rome tried by famines, an influx of refugees, injustice and poverty. He opposed pagan superstitions and the actions of Manichaean groups. He associated the liturgy with the daily life of Christians: for example, by combining the practice of fasting with charity and almsgiving above all on the occasion of the Quattro tempora, which in the course of the year marked the change of seasons. In particular, Leo the Great taught his faithful – and his words still apply for us today – that the Christian liturgy is not the memory of past events, but the actualization of invisible realities which act in the lives of each one of us. This is what he stressed in a sermon (cf. 64, 1-2) on Easter, to be celebrated in every season of the year “not so much as something of the past as rather an event of the present”. All this fits into a precise project, the Holy Pontiff insisted: just as, in fact, the Creator enlivened with the breath of rational life man formed from the dust of the ground, after the original sin he sent his Son into the world to restore to man his lost dignity and to destroy the dominion of the devil through the new life of grace.

This is the Christological mystery to which St Leo the Great, with his Letter to the Council of Ephesus, made an effective and essential contribution, confirming for all time – through this Council – what St Peter said at Caesarea Philippi. With Peter and as Peter, he professed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. And so it is that God and man together “are not foreign to the human race but alien to sin” (cf. Serm. 64). Through the force of this Christological faith he was a great messenger of peace and love. He thus shows us the way: in faith we learn charity. Let us therefore learn with St Leo the Great to believe in Christ, true God and true Man, and to implement this faith every day in action for peace and love of neighbour.

For more visit Vatican.va

SP 46 – Episode 46 – What Makes for a Good Man? – In Search of the Still Point with Dr. Regis Martin – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 46 – What Makes for a Good Man?

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

The Heart in Relation to the Spiritual Life – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts podcast

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Msgr. Esseff gives us a teaching on the 3 levels of the heart and its effect on our prayer life and relationship with God.

Level 1 – Surface: Psychological thoughts, feelings, and desires

Level 2 – Pleasure and Pain driven- deeper psychological thoughts, feelings, and desires

Level 3 – Indwelling of the Trinity – Spiritual thoughts, feelings and desires

HR12 In place of relativism…healing consequences – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

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In place of relativism…healing consequences

From the Holy Rule of St. Benedict:

CHAPTER XXVII

How Concerned the Abbot Should Be about the Excommunicated

Let the Abbot show all care and concern towards offending brethren because “they that are in health need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Mt 9:12). Therefore, like a prudent physician he ought to use every opportunity to send consolers, namely, discreet elderly brethren, to console the wavering brother, as it were, in secret, and induce him to make humble satisfaction; and let them cheer him up “lest he be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow” (2 Cor 2:7); but, as the same Apostle saith, “confirm your charity towards him” (2 Cor 2:8); and let prayer be said for him by all.

The Abbot must take the utmost pains, and strive with all prudence and zeal, that none of the flock entrusted to him perish. For the Abbot must know that he has taken upon himself the care of infirm souls, not a despotism over the strong; and let him fear the threat of the Prophet wherein the Lord saith: “What ye saw to be fat, that ye took to yourselves, and what was diseased you threw away” (Ezek 34:3-4). And let him follow the loving example of the Good Shepherd, who, leaving the ninety-nine sheep on the mountains, went to seek the one that had gone astray, on whose weakness He had such pity, that He was pleased to lay it on His sacred shoulders and thus carry it back to the fold (cf Lk 15:5).

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 information about the ministry of the the Missionary Benedictines of Christ the King Priory in Schuyler, Nebraska