DWG8 – Two Modes of Discernment – The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Two Modes of Discernment – “What am I to do?” The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor discuss the first two modes of discernment. The first mode involves receiving clarity beyond doubting, where individuals experience an unquestionable sense of God’s call. Examples include Anne and Gary, who had unshakeable clarity in their vocations. Seeking guidance from a spiritual director is encouraged in such discernment.

The second mode, discernment through the attraction of the heart, involves recognizing spiritual consolation and desolation. Spiritual consolation is marked by an uplifting sense of God’s presence, joy, and increased faith, hope, and charity. Examples from the lives of individuals like Raïssa Maritain and St. Thérèse of Lisieux illustrate this. On the other hand, spiritual desolation is characterized by heaviness, doubt, and a sense of separation from God.

Fr. Gallagher reminds us of the importance of recognizing and rejecting spiritual desolation’s discouraging tactics. St. Ignatius’s own experience regarding the vow of poverty illustrates discernment through attraction, where sustained experiences of spiritual consolation lead to clarity in discerning God’s will.


Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions:

  1. Discerning God’s Call: How can we discern God’s will in our lives amidst the various choices and decisions we face?
  2. Spiritual Consolation and Desolation: What are some ways we can differentiate between spiritual consolation and desolation in our own spiritual experiences?
  3. Seeking Guidance: Why is it important to seek guidance from a wise spiritual director or mentor, especially during significant discernments?
  4. Recognizing God’s Voice: In what ways can we become more attuned to God’s voice and guidance in our lives, particularly during times of discernment?
  5. Patterns in Spiritual Experience: How can we recognize patterns in our spiritual experiences, such as consistent inclinations towards certain choices during times of consolation?
  6. Revisiting Spiritual Teachings: Why is it beneficial to revisit and deepen our understanding of spiritual teachings, such as those outlined in St. Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises?

From The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions:

Three Times in which a Sound and Good Choice May Be Made

The first time is when God Our Lord so moves and attracts the will that, without doubting or being able to doubt, the devout soul follows what is shown to it, as St. Paul and St. Matthew did in following Christ our Lord.

The second time is when sufficient clarity and understanding is received through experience of consolations and desolations, and through experience of discernment of different spirits.

The third time is one of tranquility, when one considers first for what purpose man is born, that is, to praise God our Lord and save his soul, and, desiring this, chooses as a means to this end some life or state within the bounds of the Church, so that he may be helped in the service of his Lord and the salvation of his soul. I said a tranquil time, that is, when the soul is not agitated by different spirits, and uses its natural powers freely and tranquilly.

If the choice is not made in the first or second time, two ways of making it in this third time are given below.”


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

FG#1 Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacques Phillippe ep 1 – Fountains of Grace with Donna Garrett

FG#1 – Interior Freedom episode 1 – Fountains of Grace: reflections on contemporary spiritual classics with Donna Garrett

Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “Interior Freedom” by Fr.  Jacques Philippe  a priest of  Communaute des Beatitudes, an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right founded in France in 1973.  The members of the Community, which has a contemplative vocation based on Carmelite spirituality, are actively engaged in the service of the poor and the proclamation of the Gospel.

Discussed in this episode, among other topics,  from “Interior Freedom” page 12

Donna Garrett is joined in this particular series by Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC

“Human beings were not created for slavery but to be the lords of creation. This is explicitly stated in the Book of Genesis. We were not created to lead drab, narrow, or constricted lives, but to live in the wide-open spaces. We find confinement unbearable simply because we were created in the image of God, and we have within un an unquenchable need for the absolute and the infinitive. That is our greatness and sometimes our misfortune.

We have this great thirst for freedom because our most fundamental aspiration is for happiness; and we sense that there is no happiness without love, and no love without freedom. This is perfectly true. Human beings were created for love, and they can only find happiness in loving and being loved.”

For other episodes in this series click here “Fountains of Grace w/Donna Garrett

You can find “Interior Freedom” here

Fr. Jacques Philippe

“Teach Us How To Pray” – Lent and the Importance of Fasting and Almsgiving in our Prayer – A series on prayer with Msgr. John Esseff Episode 4

Msgr-Esseff-2
Msgr. Esseff teaches the importance of the Liturgical year and in particular the season of Lent.  He also shares his experience of fasting in a desert found in Peru. From this he learned the importance of FASTING and PRAYER.  Msgr. Esseff challenges us to discern what the Father in Heaven is asking us to do this Lent through fasting, so we can purely and perfectly follow His Holy Will.  And he describes ALMSGIVING, and story from an experience he had with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Sisters.

fasting-and-almsgiving-300x230The Church prepares a spiritual retreat for all of us during Lent.  The Holy Spirit is transforming you in a radical way so that you become more like Jesus Christ…the day by day exercise of Morning Prayer, the Eucharist and Evening Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, and the other moments of contemplative prayer aids in the transformation…our ego decreases and Jesus increases in our minds and in our hearts.

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

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning Prayer
Mid-morningPrayer
Mid-dayPrayer
Afternoon Prayer
Evening Prayer
Night Prayer
Office of Readings

IP#266 David Clayton – The Little Oratory on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

David-Clayton“The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home” by David Clayton and Leila M. Lawler is absolutely wonderful.  More than just a “prayer-how-to”, this book is about the beauty of God and embracing the relationship in all areas of our lives.  Clayton and Lawler help us to reverence the sacred found in our homes, in the rhythm of the day, the blessings we have been given, and the gift of the present moment.  This is for every home, whether one filled with children or a sanctuary for the single life, this is a must have for those who wish to be surrounded in prayer.

The-Little-Oratory

You can find the book here

“This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. How I wish I had it when I first became a Catholic, not just for myself, as a husband and father, but for my family, too. If one book has the potential to transform the Catholic family (and society), this is it.” – Scott Hahn

“This book is a rare treasure.”  – Thomas Howard

“Wonderful, inspiring, and deeply practical.” – Joseph Pearce, Editor of The Saint Austin Review

“A great blessing to Catholic families.” – Stratford Caldecott, an editor of Magnificat UK

Day 2 Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel


Most Holy Mary, Our Mother, in your great love for usOur-Lady-of-Mount-Carmel-1
you gave us the Holy Scapular of Mount Carmel,
having heard the prayers
of your chosen son Saint Simon Stock.
Help us now to wear it faithfully and with devotion.
May it be a sign to us of our desire to grow in holiness.

(State your request here…)

Recite the following prayers…

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…

Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
pray for us.

Chap 1 & 2 – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Mp3 audio

THE WAY OF PERFECTIONSt.-Teresa-of-Avila-Way
By
St. Teresa of Avila

PROTESTATIONS – PROLOGUE – Chapter 1 – Chapter 2

For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

Chapter 1 – Of the reason which moved me to found this convent in such strict observance.

Chapter 2 – Treats of how the necessities of the body should be disregarded
and of the good that comes from poverty.

THE WAY OF PERFECTION
by
ST. TERESA OF AVILA
Translated & Edited by
E. ALLISON PEERS
from the Critical Editon of
P. SILVERIO DE SANTA TERESA, C.D.

On Retreat with Msgr. John Esseff Day 2 Talk 1 on “PRAYER” – Discerning Hearts

In January 2012, Msgr. Esseff conducted a weekend retreat for the Deacons and Deacon-Candidates and their wives of the Diocese of Fargo.

The subject is PRAYER.  From Luke Chap 11 v 1-13, Msgr. Esseff discusses how little we know how to pray and how to receive.  He reflects on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s teaching to St. Catherine Laboure about prayer.  Then he offers the proper movement of prayer:

1.  “Be there with Him and for Him”
2.  “You have to want Him”  Intensify the desire of relationship with God.
3.  “Listen to Him”

  • A – Acknowledge (What’s going on in your heart)
  • R – Relay that to God
    (Tell God – Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
    and the Blessed Virgin Mary – about that experience)
  • R – Receive (What is God going to tell me about what I told Him)
  • R – Respond

4.  “Let Him”  (Surrender to God)

What happens when we encounter the Holy Eucharist
What happens when we encounter the Living Word of God

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

 

On Retreat with Msgr. John Esseff Day 2 Talk 2 on “GRACE and the Life of Jesus We Receive in Baptism” – Discerning Hearts

In January 2012, Msgr. Esseff conducted a weekend retreat for the Deacons and Deacon-Candidates and their wives of the Diocese of Fargo.

The subject is GRACE and the life of Jesus we receive in Baptism.  From Ephesians Chap 4 v 7 -16, Msgr. Esseff discusses what he calls “that most magnificent passage” which transforms us.   What made the transformation occur?  What is Original Sin? He reflects on the fall of our first parents and the broken relationship with God, and God’s gift of the Son.  The importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary…the first person to receive the revelation of the Trinity.  The tremendous moment of PENTECOST.  What is Sanctifying Grace?  What does it mean to have Jesus within us and what are we called to do?  How can we forgive, especially the deepest wounds?  Being like Jesus, we depend completely on the Father.  The lie of the “I can do anything” attitude.  The beauty of Galatians 2:20.  Ask God to help you discover your true self in Him.

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

 

On Retreat with Msgr. John Esseff Day 3 Talk 4 on “The Wounds of Unforgiveness” – Discerning Hearts

Msgr. Esseff reflects on Matthew chap 18 v 21-35.  He shares the stories of a woman named Immaculee from Rwanda and young girl named Maria from Lebanon and the damage done by the hatred which is manifested in the world.  We have a capacity for communion…24 hours every day, 7 days a week.  How does that look in the relationship found in marriage?  From childhood, there are deep wounds we carry from our parents…from siblings…or from others. What can cause those wounds?  The bitterness and resentment that we carry…the damage it does to us.  What is the remedy?  The joy of forgiveness…and forgetting.  Msgr. Esseff shares a poignant story of a man named John, and how he came to forgive what many would find “unforgivable”.

This is the prayer mentioned by Msgr. Esseff in the talk...click here

 

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website….”Building A Kingdom of Love”

A Prayer to Take Authority – a prayer and teaching from Msgr. Esseff – Discerning Hearts

A Prayer to Take Authority

A Prayer to Take AuthorityMsgr. Esseff teaches about the need for healing, protection and deliverance. Msgr. Esseff discusses the importance of the “Our Father”. He then leads the following prayer:

In the name of Jesus, I take authority and I bind all the powers and forces in the air, in the ground, in the water, in the underground, in the netherworld, in nature and in fire.  You are the Lord over the entire universe and I give you the glory for your creation.  In your name, I bind all demonic forces that have come against us and our families and I seal all of us in the protection of your precious blood that was shed for us on the cross.

Mary Our Mother, we seek your protection and intercession, with the Sacred heart of Jesus, for us and our families and surround us with your mantle of love to discourage the enemy.

St. Michael and our Guardian Angels, come and defend us and our families in battle against all the evil ones that roam the earth.

In the name of Jesus, I bind and command all the powers and forces of evil to depart right now away from us, our families, our homes, and our lands and I cast you at the foot of the cross to remain there forever. And I thank you Lord Jesus for you are a faithful and compassionate God, Amen.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed be the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now
and at the hour of our death.  Amen.

visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building A Kingdom of Love”