The Discerning Hearts Blog Archives

IP#124 Marcello Pera – Why We Should Call Ourselves Christian on Inside the Pages

It was an honor to have a conversation with Marcello Pera, who served as president of the Italian Senate from 2001 to 2006 and who now teaches political philosophy at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. We discussed his book “Why We Should Call Ourselves Christians: The Religious Roots of Free Societies. He maintains “that the very ideas on which liberal societies are based and by which they can be justified—the dignity of the human person, the moral priority of the individual, the view that man is a “crooked timber” inclined to prevarication, the limited confidence in the power of the state to render him virtuous—are distinctively Christian or, more precisely, Judeo-Christian ideas. Take them away and the open society will collapse.” A fascinating insight from a European viewpoint why America has succeeded in the past and the danger it faces in the future.

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“The challenges of our particular historical moment”, as Pope Benedict XVI calls them in the Preface to the book, can be faced only if we stress the historical and conceptual link between Christianity and free society.

Who am I – The Identity of the Christian – talk 1 by Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

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Msgr. Esseff spoke at a recent conference which was held in PA. in November 2011. In talk #1, he speaks of the true identity of the Christian. The 3 levels of the person; how others see us, how we see ourselves, how God sees us. The pain and wounds caused by our acceptance of the false identity. The experience of aloneness and how Jesus redeems. We are being called to the depths in order to raise up the world in Christ Jesus.

Be sure to visit “Building a Kingdom of Love”

RC#1 – The Resilient Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

Episode 1 – History, with Arms Upraised

The Resilient Church with Mike Aquilina, offers a fascinating look at the trials and triumphs of the Catholic Church over the past two thousand years. Fast-paced sketches of critical periods in church history give readers perspective on the challenges faced by the church today. Mike Aquilina does not shrink from the realities of the past, including badly behaved leaders and those who betrayed the Lord. Yet he also leaves us all with well-founded hope for the future: God remains faithful in every circumstance and fulfills his promise to remain with his church always. Hosted by Kris McGregor

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Pick up a copy of Mke’s book. You’ll find so much more and invaluable references and resoources, as well

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

RC#2 – The Resilient Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

Episode 2 – The Martyr’s Cup

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Pick up a copy of Mke’s book. You’ll find so much more and invaluable references and resoources, as well

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

RC#3 – The Resilient Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

Episode 3 – The Case for Christianity

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Pick up a copy of Mke’s book. You’ll find so much more and invaluable references and resoources, as well

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

RC#4 – The Resilient Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

Episode 4 – Heresy and Orthodoxy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:00 — 25.6MB) | Embed

Pick up a copy of Mke’s book. You’ll find so much more and invaluable references and resoources, as well

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

RN7 – Regnum Novum – What is “The Common Good” w/Omar Guiterrez – Discerning Hearts

Episode 7 – Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Guiterrez – Value 5 The Common Good, Universal Destination of Goods, Subsidiarity, Participation, Solidarity part 1

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These are the five principles laid out in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. If we understand these principles, then the work of the Revolution can begin. We are made now for a New Kingdom with Christ as our King in all things. Let us discover this place together, and make the devil cringe and know the suffering of defeat. “Love”

Discerning Hearts is blessed to present Omar F. A. Guiterrez, M.A. , Special Assistant to Archbishop George Lucas of the Archdiocese of Omaha, in a groundbreaking series which breaks open the heart of Catholic Social Doctrine.

We encourage you to visit “Regnum Novum – A New Kingdom: A Revolution” Omar Guiterrez’s blog site

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. from Regnum Novum

From episode 7… Point 5: The Common Good, Universal Destination of Goods, Subsidiarity, Participation, Solidarity

In this episode we focus on “The Common Good”.

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

RC#5 – The Resilient Church with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

Episode 5– Light in the Dark Ages

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:02 — 64.2MB) | Embed

Pick up a copy of Mke’s book. You’ll find so much more and invaluable references and resoources, as well

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

YFFC Show 11 – The Truth About Abortion part 2 w/ Dr. Thomas Hilgers – Discerning Hearts

Show 11 – The Truth About Abortion part 2

This is a program which contains a very powerful description of what abortion really is, how it is done, and the effects on the woman and child. It’s important to speak out and describe this evil; “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Your Fertility Care Consult”
with Dr. Thomas Hilgers, founder of the Pope Paul VI Institute
for The Study of Human Reproduction
hosted by Kris McGregor

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listen to the entire series at Dr. Hilger’s Discerning Hearts Page

The Pope Paul VI Institute, founded in 1985 by Thomas W. Hilgers, MD, is internationally recognized for its outstanding achievements in the field of natural fertility regulation and reproductive medicine — 30 years of scientific research and educational program development; allied health professional education programs for couples and professionals; professional, caring, and morally acceptable patient services. The Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction is building a culture of life in women’s health care through its major developments — Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology.

http://www.popepaulvi.com/

Faith Check 28 – Supporting our Priests

Supporting our Priests

I once spoke with a priest of a large suburban parish with thousands of members, who told me that he could count the number of dinner invitations he had received over the past year from his parishioners on one hand. This shocked me as I knew he was very busy with his ministry, and I assumed that he was frequently invited to the homes and activities of his parishioners. Yet such was not the case.

It is easy to take our priests for granted. Our priests are men who have sacrificed everything—marriage, family, children—for the sake of the Gospel.¹ And yet they are but men who, like everyone, need to be encouraged, welcomed, and loved.

Let us find ways to involve them in the lives of our families. Let us pray for them that they will grow in the grace of God and be protected from the attacks of the enemy;

And let us pray the Lord to send more priestly laborers into the harvest fields, so that the People of God might be sanctified, supported, and led in our earthly pilgrimage toward our Father’s House.

1 – cf. Mt. 19:10-12; 1 Cor. 7:32-35