St. Padre Pio and the Theology of the Body – a reflection by Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

Msgr. Esseff shares some of his insights on an article he is preparing on St. St. Padre PioPadre Pio and the Theology of the Body. There’s a fascinating connection that can be made. He begins by offering a detailed sharing of his first encounters with St. Pio and then discusses how his stigmata and gifts relate to our understanding of our relationship with Christ.

BKL#18 – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Suffering, Dying, and Rising with Jesus

Msgr. Esseff remembers his encounters with St. Padre Pio.   He also reflects on the Gospel for this particular Msgr. John EsseffSunday, which places its focus on the suffering, death and rising of Jesus.  That this world is not our “forever” destiny.   We were created for Eternal Life.  Now will it forever in Heaven or will it forever separation from God in Hell.  The central act of Jesus Christ was to suffer, die and rise.  It takes the deepest wounds that we and redeems it.  In today’s world, we will suffer in the Paschal Mystery in order to witness the glory of God to the world.  He shares the compelling story of a boy named Eddie Walsh who is a tremendous witness of the Gospel Truth.

From the NAB  Mk 9:30-37

 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,Msgr. John Esseff
he began to ask them,
“What were you arguing about on the way?”
But they remained silent.
They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”
Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

 

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 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 Bl. 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.   

 

 

To obtain a copy of Msgr. Esseff’s book byvisiting here

 

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building a Kingdom of  Love

 

IP#173 Gregory Erlandson – Our Sunday Visitor and the Year of Faith on Inside the Pages

What a delight to have the chance once again to talk with Gregory Erlandson, president and publisher of  Our Sunday Visitor Gregory ErlandsonPublishing, one of the finest resources out there for nurturing our faith.   Greg has that wonderful “eagle-eye”  view of not only all things Catholic, but of the world as a whole and he uses it to help see how we can fit into our society and culture as faithful believers.

It was great to discuss not only current events affecting the Church today, but also the greater need for interior renewal which is the true “fuel” for the New Evangelization.  Faith is ultimately about a relationship with God.  He warns us that being lukewarm in our faith can be deadly for the Church.  That we can  become such weak witnesses that we bear only the name Catholic, which unfortunately can cause disillusionment or even scandal in the hearts and minds of those around us.   Therefore, the New Evangelization needs to begin with each of us personally.  When that renewal happens, we will then be a Church that can authentically and vibrantly witness our  life-giving  faith to world badly in need of the Gospel message.

Our Sunday Visitor has so many fantastic resources to nurture that relationship, whether your at home with the kids or working out in the world, a catechist/DRE or a pastor trying to reach out to your families through the internet, OSV can add in that “connection”.

Click here to find out more on their website osv.com

 

 

St. Robert Bellarmine and Galileo w/ Dr. Matthew Bunson (the other side of the story)

A Doctor of the Church, a distinguished Jesuit theologian, writer, and cardinal, born at Montepulciano, October 4, 1542; died 17September, 1621.

When you look up the word “prudence” in the dictionary, you may find his picture.  Why?  Does the name “Galileo” ring a bell.  Many think they know the story…but do you?  If you’ve never heard St. Robert Bellarmine’s role and thoughts on the matter, than you haven’t heard the whole story. Take a listen to Dr. Matthew Bunson break open the “Galileo issue” from a truly Catholic perspective.  Fascinating.

For more on this great saints life check out the article found on New Advent

St. Robert at the Church of St. Igantius in Rome

 

 

IP#172 Nigel Cliff – The Last Crusade on Inside the Pages

What a great read and so very timely! Author Nigel Cliff’s fantastic “The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama” is now available in QP.  Nigel chronicles the clash of the Islamic East and the Christian West in a way I that I had not experienced before. Tracing the roots of the Islamic experience and it’s occupation of the Iberian Peninsula helps with the needed background for this story.  Then he takes us on the thrilling adventures of the 28 year Portuguese explorer who set out for the elusive sea-based trade route to the east which would not only allow Christendom to penetrate into the heart of India, but would allow a Crusade to halt the economic grip of the East from crushing the West in Europe.  A contemporary of Christopher Columbus, it seems as though the tale and accomplishments of Vasco da Gama are mostly overshadowed today…but no longer thanks to the work of Nigel Cliff.  A terrific non-fiction historical read that illuminates the events of today.

You can find the book here

 

“A useful addition to a continuing lively discussion of Christianity and Islam, situated both in respect of religions and culture, as well as empires and trade.” (Kirkus )

Pope Benedict on Prayer – Prayer in the Book of Revelation: ” God is not indifferent to our prayers”

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 12, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today in Paul VI Hall at the general audience. The Holy Father today continued his reflection on prayer in the book of Revelation.

* * *

Dear brothers and sisters,

Last Wednesday I spoke about prayer in the first part of Revelation. Today we move on to the second part of the book; and whereas in the first part, prayer is oriented toward the Church’s inner life, in the second, attention is given to the entire world; the Church, in fact, journeys through history; she is part of it, in accordance with God’s plan.

The assembly that listened to John’s message presented by the reader rediscovered its duty to cooperate in the expansion of the Kingdom of God, as “priests of God and of Christ” (Revelation 20:6; cf. 1:5; 5:10) and it opens out to the world of men. And here, in the dialectical relationship that exists between them, two ways of living emerge: the first we may define as the “system of Christ,” to which the assembly is happy to belong; and the second, the “worldly systems opposed to the kingdom and the covenant and activated through the influence of the Evil One,” who by deceiving men wills to establish a world opposed to the one willed by Christ and by God (cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Bible and Morality, Biblical Roots of Christian Conduct, 70).

The assembly must therefore know how to interpret in depth the history it is living, by learning to discern events with faith in order to cooperate by its action in the growth of the Kingdom of God. And this work of interpretation and discernment, as well as action, is linked to prayer.

First, after the insistent appeal of Christ, who in the first part of Revelation said seven times: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Church” (cf. Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22), the assembly is invited to ascend to Heaven, to look upon reality through God’s eyes; and here we discover three symbols, reference points from which we may begin to interpret history: the throne of God, the Lamb and the book (cf. Revelation4:1 – 5:14).

The first symbol is the throne, upon which there is seated a person John does not describe, for he surpasses every human representation. He is only able to note the sense of beauty and joy he experiences in His presence. This mysterious figure is God, God Almighty who did not remain enclosed within His heaven but who drew close to man, entering into a covenant with him; God who makes his voice — symbolized by thunder and lightning — heard in history, in a mysterious but real way. There are various elements that appear around the throne of God, such as the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures that unceasingly render praise to the one Lord of history.

The first symbol, then, is the throne. The second symbol is the book, which contains the plan of God for events and for men. It is hermetically sealed with seven seals, and no one is able to read it. Faced with man’s inability to scrutinize the plan of God, John experiences a deep sadness, which causes him to weep. But there is a remedy for man’s dismay before the mystery of history: there is one who is able to open the book and shed light on it.

And here the third symbol appears: Christ, the Lamb immolated in the sacrifice of the Cross, but who stands as a sign of his Resurrection. And it is the Lamb, Christ who died and rose, who gradually opens the seals and unveils the plan of God, the deep meaning of history.

What do these symbols tell us? They remind us of the path to knowing how to interpret the facts of history and of our own lives. By raising our gaze to God’s heaven in a constant relationship with Christ, by opening our hearts and our minds to him in personal and communal prayer, we learn to see things in a new way and to grasp their truest meaning. Prayer is like an open window that allows us to keep our gaze turned toward God, not only for the purpose of reminding us of the goal toward which we are directed, but also to allow the will of God to illumine our earthly journey and to help us to live it with intensity and commitment.

How does the Lord guide the Christian community to a deeper reading of history? First and foremost, by inviting it to consider with realism the present moment we are living. Therefore, the Lamb opens the four first seals of the book, and the Church sees the world in which it is inserted, a world in which various negative elements exist. There the evils that man commits, such as violence, which comes from the desire to possess, to prevail against one another to the point of killing one another (second seal); or injustice, as men fail to respect the laws that are given them (third seal). To these are added the evils that man must undergo, such as death, hunger and sickness (fourth seal). Faced with these oftentimes dramatic realities, the ecclesial community is invited to never lose hope, to believe firmly that the apparent omnipotence of the Evil One collides with the true omnipotence, which is God’s.

And the first seal the Lamb opens contains precisely this message. John narrates: “And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). The power of God has entered into the history of man, [a power] which is not only capable of offsetting evil, but even of conquering it. The color white recalls the Resurrection: God drew so near to us that he descended into the darkness of death in order to illumine it with the splendor of his divine life: he took the world’s evil upon himself in order to purify it with the fire of his love.

How do we grow in this Christian understanding of reality? Revelation tells us that prayer nourishes this vision of light and profound hope in each one of us and in our communities: it invites us to not allow ourselves to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good, to look to the Crucified and Risen Christ, who associates us in his victory. The Church lives in history, she is not closed in on herself; but rather, she courageously faces her journey amid difficulties and suffering, by forcefully affirming that ultimately, evil does not conquer the good, darkness does not dim the splendor of God.

This is an important point for us; as Christians we can never be pessimists; we know well that along life’s journey we often encounter violence, falsehood, hate and persecution, but this does not discourage us. Above all, prayer teaches us to see the signs of God, of his presence and action; indeed, to be lights of goodness that spread hope and point out that the victory is God’s.

Read more

IP#171 Fr. Michael Gaitley – Consoling the Heart of Jesus on Inside the Pages

What a joy to have the opportunity to talk once again with Fr. Michael Gaitley at the 2012 CMN Trade Show in Dallas, TX.  We discuss the Year of Faith, “Consoling the Heart of Jesus” and his new book coming soon…”The One Thing is Three”.  We talk about how the New Evangelization and the role model that Bl. John Paul II was to all of us.  We all discuss “All Hearts a Fire” the new parish based program which is absolutely FANTASTIC!  Be sure to check it out and pass it on!

You can find the book here

Michael Gaitley, MIC’s book is a form of a weekend retreat accessible to those at the beginning stages of a simple way to holiness. While reading this book, I wished I could have had it in conversing with people of little or practically no faith who yet had a longing for the faith that lies at the core of human existence. These hearts are restless until they rest in Thee, Lord and this book guides them on a journey to resting in God. –Fr. Mitch Pacwa

The Truth About Trouble…. In Conversation with Fr. Michael Scanlan

 A few years ago, Bruce and I had the blessing of having a very special conversation with Fr. Michael Scanlan about “The Truth About Trouble: How Hard Times Can Draw You Closer To God”.  Fr. Scanlan’s wisdom is extraordinary…he knows how to pastor us through hard times, because he has suffered it, but he also knows that it is through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus that in the end all will be well.  He talks about the cancer of discontent, which is so dangerous to our spiritual lives.  Fr. Scanlan also describes how the devil desires to use trouble to turn us away from God.  We should realize that when that is happening and recognize, believe or not, that trouble isn’t the worst thing that could happen to us…it is actually a pathway to purification…be not afraid!  What a gift Fr. Scanlan is to us all!

 

 

You can find it here

ST17 – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – Mary, Ark of the Covenant

Episode 17 – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran, hosted by Bruce McGregor on his KVSS  program “The Ninth Hour”.    Mary, Ark of the Covenant

Sharon Doran serves as the teaching director of “Seeking Truth.” An experienced Bible Study teacher, Sharon has a passion forscripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God’s Word and apply His message to your every day life.

Episode 17 – Sharon and Bruce discuss Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant.  What does this mean?  Where do we find that in the Old and New Testament? How has that been reflected in our Sacred Tradition?

 

“Seeking Truth” is an in depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to:www.seekingtruth.net

Pope Benedict on Prayer – Prayer in the Book of Revelation: “prayer is, above all, a listening to God Who speaks.

Vatican City, 5 September 2012 (VIS)

 – Benedict XVI today resumed his general audiences in the Vatican, having held them at Castelgandolfo during the month of August. Meeting with faithful in the Paul VI Hall he turned his attention to prayer in the Book of Revelation which, he explained, “presents us with the living breathing prayer of the Christian assembly, gathered together ‘on the Lord’s day'”.
Revelation, Pope Benedict went on, “is a difficult book, but one of great richness. … In it a reader presents the assembly with a message entrusted by God to John the Evangelist. … From the dialogue between them a symphony of prayer arises which is then developed in many different forms up until the conclusion”.
The first part of Revelation presents us with the assembly in prayer in three successive phases. The first of these highlights how “prayer is, above all, a listening to God Who speaks. Engulfed as we are by so many words we are little used to listening, and especially to adopting an interior and exterior attitude of silence so as to attend to what the Lord wishes to say to us. These verses also teach us that our prayers, often merely prayers of request, must in fact be first and foremost prayers of praise to God for His love, for the gift of Jesus Christ which brought us strength, hope and salvation. … God, Who reveals Himself as the beginning and the end of the story, welcomes and takes to heart the assembly’s request”.
This first phase also includes another important element. “Constant prayer revives in us a sense of the Lord’s presence in our life and history. His presence supports us, guides us and gives us great hope. … Prayer, even that pronounced in the most extreme solitude, is never a form of isolation and it is never sterile, it is a vital lymph which nourishes an increasingly committed and coherent Christian existence”.
In the second phase of the prayer of the assembly “the relationship with Jesus Christ is developed further. The Lord makes Himself visible, He speaks and acts, and the community, increasingly close to Him, listens, reacts and accepts”.
In the third phase “the Church in prayer, accepting the word of the Lord, is transformed. … The assembly listens to the message, and receives a stimulus for repentance, conversion, perseverance, growth in love and guidance for the journey”.

“The Revelation”, Benedict XVI concluded, “presents us with a community gathered in prayer, because it is in prayer that we gain an increasing awareness of Jesus’ presence with us and within us. The more and the better we prayer with constancy and intensity, the more we are assimilated to Him, and the more He enters into our lives to guide them and give them joy and peace. And the more we know, love and follow Jesus, the more we feel the need to dwell in prayer with Him, receiving serenity, hope and strength for our lives”.