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Christ the King and the Victory of Jesus – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Christ the King and the Victory of Jesus – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

In this episode of Building a Kingdom of Love, Msgr. John Esseff reflects on the Solemnity of Christ the King. He turns to the Gospel of Luke to show how Jesus reigns from the cross, victorious in love. Msgr. Esseff explains that Christ conquers sin through his mercy, conquers the devil through his authority, and conquers death through the glory of his Resurrection. He shares personal experiences from mission work around the world and encourages listeners to trust in the power of Jesus rather than fear evil. With Kris McGregor, he discusses how Christ brings divine order to creation and how each baptized person has a distinct mission within the Body of Christ. The episode closes with hope in the eternal life promised to all who live in Christ.

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

Where do I need to invite Christ to bring his mercy into my life right now?
What fears about evil or darkness do I need to surrender to the authority of Jesus?
How is Christ asking me to participate in the life and mission of the Church today?
How does the kingship of Christ shape the way I view suffering, death, and eternal life?
What role has God entrusted to me within the Body of Christ at this moment of my life?

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 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.

St. Cyril of Alexandria – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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St. Cyril of Alexandria – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson

Born: 378 AD, Alexandria, Egypt
Died: June 27, 444 AD, Alexandria, Egypt

Dr. Matthew Bunson and Kris McGregor discuss St. Cyril of Alexandria, also known as the Doctor of the Incarnation. Cyril’s significant role in combating Christological heresies, particularly Nestorianism, which denied the unity of Christ’s divine and human natures. Cyril was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883, reflecting the church’s recognition of his importance in theological clarity, especially regarding the role of Mary as Theotokos, or God-bearer. St. Cyril’s life and work are explored in detail, highlighting his early education, the influence of his uncle Theophilus, and his fiery personality, which led to various controversies in Alexandria. The city itself was a cosmopolitan hub, rich in culture and conflict, where he had to navigate political and religious tensions.

A significant milestone in his life was the Council of Ephesus in 431, where he defended the title of Theotokos for Mary, countering Nestorianism. This council affirmed that Mary was indeed the mother of God, and also the unity of Christ’s divinity and humanity.

St. Cyril’s efforts to restore unity within the church and his contributions to theological writings, include commentaries on the Bible and defenses of the Trinity. The late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI praised him as a staunch witness of Jesus Christ and highlighted his role in establishing Christ’s unity as both divine and human.

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

How did St. Cyril of Alexandria’s defense against Nestorianism shape the Church’s understanding of Christ’s divine and human natures?
Why is the title “Theotokos” (God-bearer) for Mary so crucial to the Church’s Christological teachings?
What were the key outcomes of the Council of Ephesus in 431, and how did they strengthen the Church’s doctrine on the Incarnation?
How did St. Cyril’s leadership and actions in the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria demonstrate the challenges and responsibilities of a Church leader?
What can we learn from St. Cyril’s fiery personality and his eventual softening about the path to sainthood and effective leadership?
In what ways did St. Cyril work towards restoring unity within the Church, and why is this an essential aspect of his legacy?
How did St. Cyril’s early education and the influence of his uncle Theophilus prepare him for his role as a defender of the faith?
How does St. Cyril’s unwavering commitment to defending the truth serve as a model for contemporary Christians facing challenges to their faith?
Which of St. Cyril’s theological writings stand out, and what impact have they had on the development of Christian doctrine?
What insights does Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s reflection on St. Cyril provide about the eternal and historical presence of Jesus Christ in our lives?

From Vatican.va, an excerpt from the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI General Audience 2007

“Cyril’s writings – truly numerous and already widely disseminated in various Latin and Eastern translations in his own lifetime, attested to by their instant success – are of the utmost importance for the history of Christianity. His commentaries on many of the New and Old Testament Books are important, including those on the entire Pentateuch, Isaiah, the Psalms and the Gospels of John and Luke. Also important are his many doctrinal works, in which the defence of the Trinitarian faith against the Arian and Nestorian theses recurs. The basis of Cyril’s teaching is the ecclesiastical tradition and in particular, as I mentioned, the writings of Athanasius, his great Predecessor in the See of Alexandria. Among Cyril’s other writings, the books Against Julian deserve mention. They were the last great response to the anti-Christian controversies, probably dictated by the Bishop of Alexandria in the last years of his life to respond to the work Against the Galileans, composed many years earlier in 363 by the Emperor known as the “Apostate” for having abandoned the Christianity in which he was raised.

The Christian faith is first and foremost the encounter with Jesus, “a Person, which gives life a new horizon” (Deus Caritas Est, n. 1). St Cyril of Alexandria was an unflagging, staunch witness of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, emphasizing above all his unity, as he repeats in 433 in his first letter (PG 77, 228-237) to Bishop Succensus: “Only one is the Son, only one the Lord Jesus Christ, both before the Incarnation and after the Incarnation. Indeed, the Logos born of God the Father was not one Son and the one born of the Blessed Virgin another; but we believe that the very One who was born before the ages was also born according to the flesh and of a woman”. Over and above its doctrinal meaning, this assertion shows that faith in Jesus the Logos born of the Father is firmly rooted in history because, as St Cyril affirms, this same Jesus came in time with his birth from Mary, the Theotò-kos, and in accordance with his promise will always be with us. And this is important: God is eternal, he is born of a woman, and he stays with us every day. In this trust we live, in this trust we find the way for our life.”

For more visit Vatican.va.

For more on St. Cyril of Alexandria and his teachings:

For more from Dr. Matthew Bunson, check out his Discerning Hearts page.

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.

Sacred Heart Novena – Day 9 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Sacred Heart of Jesus Novena - Text and Mp3 audio download 9

Sacred Heart Novena – Day 9

O adorable Savior, Jesus Christ, I believe what your holy Word teaches. I believe that you were made a priest forever by the solemn oath of your eternal Father and that you offer sacrifices forever. I believe that you offer the most sublime, holy and pure sacrifice most pleasing to God in the fire of your love, your Heart, your infinite merits, even your entire self. I believe that the most profound compassion of your priestly Heart impels you to carry on the function of your priesthood forever and ever in order to reconcile your Father with us and to offer him adoration, praise and thanksgiving for us as well to entreat him and grant us every needed grace.

Inspired by this faith I come to you, O loving Jesus. I place all my needs with great confidence in your priestly Heart and upon the altar of your Heart. The eternal Father cannot refuse anything to such a priest and his sacrifice. Remember me then in all the Masses in which you offer yourself today throughout the world. Let your petition ascend from your Sacred Heart that the eternal Father may decide, through your merits, to forgive me all my sins which I detest from the bottom of my heart and in his fatherly love to grant me the grace for which I have so ardently pleaded during this novena (mention your request). O Sacred Heart, if the heavenly Father grants this request for your sake it will redound to your own glory because it will be a testimony to your Father’s love for you. Procure this honor for yourself and from the sanctuary of heaven bring to me this desired grace so that my faith in you may be strengthened and my love of you may be more enkindled, O loving and priestly Heart of Jesus. Amen.
———————
O Divine Jesus who has said, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” behold me prostrate at your feet. Animated with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by your Sacred Heart and pronounced by your adorable lips. I come to ask your aid. (mention your request)

From whom shall I ask, O sweet Jesus, if not from you whose heart is an inexhaustible source of all graces and merits? Where shall I seek if not from the treasure which contains all the riches of your clemency and bounty? Where shall I knock if it be not at the door of your Sacred Heart through which God himself comes to us and through which we go to God?

To you then, O Heart of Jesus, I have recourse. In you I find consolation when afflicted, protection when persecuted, strength when overwhelmed with trials and light in doubt and darkness. I firmly believe you can bestow on me the grace I implore even though it should require a miracle. You have only to will it and my prayer will be granted. I know I am most unworthy of your favors, O Jesus, but this is not a reason for me to be discouraged. You are the God of mercies and you will not refuse a contrite and humble heart. Cast upon me a look of pity, I conjure you, and your compassionate Heart will find in my miseries and weakness a pressing motive for granting my petition.

But, O Sacred Heart, whatever may be your decision with regard to my request I will never cease to adore, love, praise and serve you. Deign, O Jesus, to accept my act of perfect submission to the decrees of your adorable Heart which I sincerely desire may be fulfilled in and by me and all your creatures forever and ever. Amen.

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race look down upon us humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be but to be more surely united with you behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known you, many too, despising your precepts have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your Sacred Heart.

Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you. Grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be you King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions or whom discord keeps aloof and call them back to the harbor of truth and the unity of faith so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd.

Grant O Lord, to your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm. Give peace and order to all nations and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever. Amen.

Completion of the novena requires recitation of: Litany of the Sacred Heart; Act of Reparation; Petition to the Sacred Heart; Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory.

Sacred Heart Novena – Day 8 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Sacred Heart Novena – Day 8

My God and my Savior, Jesus Christ, I believe it to be an undeniable truth. I believe it firmly, O Jesus, that you are my good shepherd. Even if you had not said it, I would believe it because I know that you have in my behalf always manifested the heart of a good shepherd. Would that I, during my entire life, had permitted the goodness and solicitude of your Heart to lead me; would that I had never departed from your side, for then I would not have suffered so much misery and tribulation. But alas, I was untrue to you so often that in consequence I fell into the abyss of sin and was mortally wounded. Now, however, your straying lamb calls to you from the depths of its misery.

O my Good Shepherd, have mercy on me; give me proof again of your compassionate Heart. After all that you have thus far done for me, I cannot believe that your Heart will reject me. Consequently, I beseech this Heart, I embrace it with confidence; and conjure you by all your merits that you obtain for me from your heavenly Father the forgiveness of my sins and the grace for a complete conversion. And then I also pray for the grace of (mention your request) which I am so much in need and which I hope to receive as the fruit of this novena. O Heart of the Good Shepherd, have mercy on me. Amen
———————
O Divine Jesus who has said, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you,” behold me prostrate at your feet. Animated with a lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by your Sacred Heart and pronounced by your adorable lips. I come to ask your aid. (mention your request)

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

St. Joseph Novena – Day 8

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O glorious Saint Joseph,faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
to you we raise our hearts and hands
to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare,
particularly for the grace of a happy death
and the special favor we now request…

(State your request here.)

O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.

Amen.

DAY EIGHT

O blessed Joseph,
to whom it was given not only to see
and to hear that God whom many kings longed to see and saw not;
to hear and heard not;
but also to carry Him in your arms,
to embrace Him, to clothe Him,
and to guard and defend Him,
come to our assistance and intercede with Him
to look favorably on our present petition.

(State your request here…)

Amen.

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

St. Joseph Novena – Day 7

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(State your request here.)

O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.

Amen.

DAY SEVEN

O faithful and prudent Saint Joseph,
watch over our weakness
and our inexperience;
obtain for us that prudence which reminds us of our end,
which directs our paths and which protects us from every danger.
Pray for us, then, O great Saint,
and by your love for Jesus and Mary,
and by their love for you,
obtain for us the favor we ask in this novena…

(State your request here…)

Amen.

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

St. Joseph Novena – Day 6

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(State your request here.)

O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.

Amen.

DAY SIX

O glorious Saint Joseph,
appointed by the Eternal Father
as the guardian and protector of the life of Jesus Christ,
the comfort and support of His Holy Mother,
and the instrument in His great design
for the redemption of mankind;
you who had the happiness of living with Jesus and Mary,
and of dying in their arms,
be moved with confidence we place in you,
and procure for us from the Almighty,
the particular favor which
we humbly ask through your intercession…

(State your request here…)

Amen.

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

St. Joseph Novena – Day 5

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(State your request here.)

O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.

Amen.

DAY FIVE

O holy St. Joseph,
what a lesson your life is for us,
ever so eager to appear
so anxious to display before the eyes of men
the graces that we owe entirely to the liberality of God.
In addition to the special favor for which we plead in this novena…

(State your request here…)

grant that we may attribute to God the glory of all things,
that we may love the humble and hidden life,
that we may not desire any other position
than the one given us by Providence
and that we may always be a docile instrument in the hands of God.

Amen.

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

St. Joseph Novena – Day 4

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(State your request here.)

O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.

Amen.

DAY FOUR

Saint Joseph, pride of Heaven,
unfailing hope for our lives,
and support of those on earth,
graciously accept our prayer of praise.
You were appointed spouse of the chaste Virgin
by the Creator of the world.
He willed that you be called “father” of the Word
and serve as agent of our salvation.
May the triune God who bestowed upon you heavenly honors,
be praised forever.
And may He grant us through your merits
the joy of a blessed life
and a favorable answer to our petition.

(State your request here…)

Amen.

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

St. Joseph Novena – Day 3

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O glorious Saint Joseph,
faithful follower of Jesus Christ,
to you we raise our hearts and hands
to implore your powerful intercession
in obtaining from the benign heart of Jesus
all the helps and graces necessary
for our spiritual and temporal welfare,
particularly for the grace of a happy death
and the special favor we now request…

(State your request here.)

O guardian of the Word Incarnate,
we feel animated with confidence that your prayers
in our behalf will be graciously heard before the throne of God.

O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.

Amen.

DAY THREE

Blessed St. Joseph,
enkindle in our cold hearts a spark of your charity.
May God be always the first
and only object of our affections.
Keep our souls always in sanctifying grace and,
if we should be so unhappy as to lose it,
give us the strength to recover it immediately
by a sincere repentance.
Help us to such a love of our God
as will always keep us united to Him.

O glorious St. Joseph,
through the love you bear to Jesus Christ
and for the glory of His name,
hear our prayers
and obtain our petitions.

(State your request here…)

Amen.

Saint Joseph, pray for us!