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An Advent On-Line Retreat – The First Sunday of Advent with Msgr. John Esseff

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This marks the start of a very special daily Advent retreat offered by Msgr. Esseff. He recommends to begin a journal and find a particular time of the day to reflect on the readings and reflections offered everyday prayerfully. He would also like to encourage comments and e-mails if you feel called to share and ask questions.

Reading 2 ROM 13:11-14

Brothers and sisters:
You know the time;
it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.
For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light;
let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day,
not in orgies and drunkenness,
not in promiscuity and lust,
not in rivalry and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

Gospel

Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

IP#196 Mark Brumley – “Knowing God” on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

It’s great to be joined once again by Mark Brumley, this time to discuss “Knowing God: God and the Human Condition” (previously titled God and the Human Mind) authored by the great Catholic writer, teacher, and publisher Frank Sheed. Written in 1966 during the time of the Second Vatican Council, Sheed addresses the most challenging questions the human mind can pose about God, without presenting answers in dry academic way. Instead, because of his gifted writing style, he engages the reader with a desire to discover “mystery” in all its forms.

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You can find the book here

“This book is vintage Sheed: clear, commonsensical, and convincing. This is the Sheed of the two masterpieces of apologetics Theology and Sanity and Society and Sanity. But this is also a new Sheed: older and wiser, more practical and human–the post-Vatican II Sheed. I mean this in all the good senses, the John Paul II senses: he is sensitive to the dangers of “the good old days”: verbalism, “dead orthodoxy,” rationalism, deism, what Sheed calls “theometry” instead of theology: an abstract, formal theological geometry that only wants to define terms and win debating points. Instead, this book is a kind of theological midrash, a deepening, a spelunking in the caves of the deepest mysteries with the clear light of honest words–honest with heart as well as head. It unites dogmatic theology with lived religion. It is precisely the breath of fresh air that Pope John XXIII opened the windows for, and in terms the layman can clearly grasp. —– Peter Kreeft, Author, Because God is Real

RC#6 Crusades Abroad and at Home – The Resilient Church /w Mike Aquilina

RC-V6 Crusades Abroad and at Home – The Resilient Church /w Mike Aquilina from Discerning Hearts on Vimeo.

Episode 6– Crusades Abroad and at Home

The Church in the West had survived the fall of Rome, and now it was the most powerful institution in Western Europe. But in the East, where the Church was born, the gradual erosion of the Byzantine Empire and the constant inroads of Islam threatened the very existence of Christianity.

Didn’t the Church in the West owe something to the Christians of the East? Wasn’t it the responsibility of all Christians to come to the aid of their brothers and sisters in distress?

That was the question that launched the crusades.

In the Middle East, whose history spans thousands of years, the crusades seem as fresh as yesterday’s headlines. And the same religious feelings that fueled both sides of the medieval wars are still with us today. Jerusalem—which has never been a very large city—is still, in world politics, probably the most important spot on the globe.

Today it’s easy to portray the crusades as a simple act of Christian aggression against the innocent and bewildered Muslims; or, alternatively, as a desperate last-ditch defense of Christianity against the relentless drive of the Islamic forces. Both portrayals are wrong. There was aggression on both sides, sincere religious zeal on both sides, and a surprising amount of respect for the other on both sides. There was also simple greed and avarice on both sides, and sometimes the greed managed to pervert the religious zeal.

Aquilina, Mike (2011-07-26). The Resilient Church (Kindle Locations 848-860). Mobile Merchandise Services, LLC. Kindle Edition.

For the audio podcast:

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Pick up a copy of Mike’s book.

Also visit Mike’s “Discerning Hearts” page for more audio downloads and information!

RC#5 Light in the Dark Ages – The Resilient Church /w Mike Aquilina

RC-V5 Light in the Dark Ages – The Resilient Church /w Mike Aquilina from Discerning Hearts on Vimeo.

Episode 5– Light in the Dark Ages

When so many Christians could only lament the ruins and fallen stones of Rome’s former glory, Gregory, Cassiodorus, Benedict, and Augustine had faith in the God who could “from these stones … raise up children to Abraham” (Luke 3:8). In a time of declining civic leadership and vanishing culture, God did indeed raise up Christians who could take those stones and build bridges so that Christians could carry the faith—and civilization—forward from one age to the next.

For the audio podcast:

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Pick up a copy of Mike’s book.

Also visit Mike’s “Discerning Hearts” page for more audio downloads and information!

IP#295 Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J. – God So Loved the World pt.1 on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

In our conversation with Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J., we enter into “God So Loved the World: Clues to Our Transcendent Destiny from the Revelation of Jesus“, which is the third installment of his “Happiness, Suffering, and Transcendence” series. Not only is Fr. Spitzer a brilliant theologian, but he has the heart of caring pastor who understands the needs of the questing minds of so many lost and wandering souls. With an extraordinary grasp of philosophy, theology and cosmology, he is able to take complicated concepts and mix them with joy, beauty, and a grace-filled enthusiasm without doing damage to the subject matter. In this volume, he addresses “What is LOVE”, “Who is LOVE”, and maybe in an even deeper way, “The why of LOVE”. Of course we know, “God is Love”, but God as a Father? God as a Son? God as Holy Spirit? How is the mind to grasp such penetrating Truth? And more importantly, how is the heart to perceive this eternal divine mystery?

We were able to meet with Fr. Spitzer for this discussion at his offices located at the Magis Center in Garden Grove, CA.

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You can find the book here

From the book description:

In this volume the brilliant Fr. Spitzer probes in detail the major question that if an intelligent Creator God – manifest in logical proofs, scientific evidence, and near death experiences – who is the source of our desire for the sacred, and the transcendental desires for truth, love, goodness, and beauty, would want to reveal himself to us personally and ultimately.

He then shows this is reasonable not only in light of our interior experience of a transcendent Reality, but also that a completely intelligent Reality is completely positive–implying its possession of a completely positive virtue – namely “love”, defined as agape.

This leads to the question whether God might be unconditionally loving, and if he is, whether he would want to make a personal appearance to us in a perfect act of empathy – face to face. After examining the rational evidence for this, he reviews all world religions to see if there is one that reveals such a God – an unconditionally loving God who would want to be with us in perfect empathy. This leads us to the extraordinary claim of Jesus Christ who taught that God is “Abba”, the unconditionally loving Father.

Jesus’ claims go further, saying that He is also unconditional love, and that his mission is to give us that love through an act of complete self-sacrifice. He also claims to be the exclusive Son of the Father, sent by God to save the world, and the one who possesses divine power and authority. The rest of the book does an in-depth examination of the evidence for Jesus’ unconditional love of sinners, his teachings, his miracles, and his rising from the dead. As well as the evidence for Jesus’ gift of the Holy Spirit that enabled his disciples to perform miracles in his name, and evidence for the presence of the Holy Spirit today.

13-The Eleventh Rule – The Discernment of Spirits /w Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV – Video Podcasts

#13 The Eleventh Rule The Discernment of Spirits /w Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV from Discerning Hearts on Vimeo.

Episode 13-The Eleventh Rule:

Let him who is consoled see to humbling himself and lowering himself as much as he can, thinking how little he is able for in the time of desolation without such grace or consolation. On the contrary, let him who is in desolation think that he can do much with the grace sufficient to resist all his enemies, taking strength in his Creator and Lord.

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

You can obtain just the audio podcast, if you would prefer

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BTP#14 Heaven In Faith Day 7 Prayer 2 – St. Elizabeth of the Trinity w/Dr. Anthony Lilles

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From “Heaven in Faith: Day 7 Prayer 2” found in The Complete Works vol 1:

24…”When God sees that we are prepared to receive His grace, His generous goodness is ready to give us the gift that will give us His likeness. Our aptitude for receiving His grace depends on the inner integrity with which we move towards Him.” And then God, “bringing us His gifts,” can “give Himself, imprint on us His likeness, forgive, and free us.”

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles

We would like to offer heartfelt thanks to Miriam Gutierrez for providing for us “the voice” of Blessed Elizabeth for this series

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for 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 Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity.

RN30 – Regnum Novum – “The Dignity of Work” in the Compendium of Social Doctrine Chap 6

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Episode 30- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – We continue the study of the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church” Chapter 6 – Human Work
CHAPTER SIX
HUMAN WORK

I. BIBLICAL ASPECTS
a. The duty to cultivate and care for the earth
b. Jesus, a man of work
c. The duty to work

II. THE PROPHETIC VALUE OF “RERUM NOVARUM”

III. THE DIGNITY OF WORK
a. The subjective and objective dimensions of work
b. The relationship between labour and capital
c. Work, the right to participate
d. The relationship between labour and private property
e. Rest from work

We live at a very special time. The confluence of many things has brought forth the clear need to be able to articulate the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church in a way that is accessible and applicable. This is not to be an effort where high-minded theories are to be bandied about. Rather, this is a time of opportunity wherein we can apply the Social Doctrine to the concrete so as to bring about a New Kingdom, a Revolution. – Omar G.

Also visit Omar’s “Discerning Hearts” page Catholic Social Teaching 101

USCCA33 – The Third Commandment: Love the Lord’s Day – U. S. Catholic Catechism for Adults w/ Arch. George Lucas

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Archbishop Lucas offers insights on the US Catholic Catechism for Adults Chapter 27:

The Catechism starts its reflection on the Third Commandment with the scriptural meaning of the Sabbath. Exodus 20:8-11 states that the Sabbath was the seventh day on which the Lord rested after the work of the previous six days. Deuteronomy 5:12 adds that the Sabbath is a day of our renewing the covenant with God. The Sabbath is connected to creation and covenant.

God’s “rest” on the seventh day was his contemplative gaze enjoying the good of creation, especially its crown in man and woman. It was not a matter of divine inactivity, but rather the deeper “work” of contemplation and the restful act of loving us (cf. CCC, nos. 2184-2185). This is true also of ourselves. If we never stop working, when would we ever have time to contemplate and worship God and nourish a love relationship with him or with anyone else? Every human person, having been created by God, owes him worship and thanksgiving for what the Lord has done and continues to do.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)

The Most Reverend George J. Lucas leads the Archdiocese of Omaha.

For other episodes in the visit our Archbishop George Lucas page

This programs is based on:

More information can be found here.

We wish to thank the USCCB for the permissions granted for use of relevant material used in this series.
Also we wish to thank Bruce McGregor for his vocal talents in this episode.

IP#175 – Dr. Adrian Walker – “Jesus of Nazareth” and Pope Benedict on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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On October 11, 2012, I began recording a series for Discerning Hearts with Dr. Adrian Walker, which we recorded at “Casa Balthasar,” a house of discernment for men located in Rome, Italy, where he was offering instruction. Adrian served as the English translator of Pope Benedict XVI’s book “Jesus of Nazareth.” With the historic events occurring with the Synod on the New Evangelization and start of the Year of Faith, we took some time aside to discuss that work and the influence of our Holy Father.

You can find the book here

The Casa, located in Rome, was founded in 1990 by a group of friends and is directed by Rev. Jacques Servais, S.J.; Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) has been closely associated with the Casa Balthasar from the very beginning as its Cardinal Protector.