The Discerning Hearts Blog Archives

TM8 – Walking the Little Way Together – St. Therese and Marie: The Story of Two Cousins with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 8 – Walking the Little Way Together – St. Thérèse and Marie: The Story of Two Cousins with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Fr. Timothy Gallagher continues his look at the lives of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her cousin, Marie Guérin, who joined the Carmel as Sister Marie of the Eucharist in 1895.

St.Thérèse, as assistant novice mistress, lovingly guided Marie during her formative years in religious life. Through letters, poetry, and spiritual counsel, Thérèse helped Marie navigate struggles with scrupulosity and emotional exuberance, fostering a deeper understanding of virtue and selflessness. Thérèse’s guidance combined firmness, tenderness, and profound spiritual wisdom, reflecting her personal sanctity and commitment to the “Little Way.” Her letters and poems, such as “Jesus Alone” and “My Weapons,” offer a glimpse into her profound love for Jesus and her deep reliance on divine grace.

This includes the spiritual milestones during these last two years of her life, including her discovery of the “Little Way,” her act of offering herself to God’s merciful love, and her experience of spiritual darkness amidst her illness. Despite her physical suffering, Thérèse remained fully devoted to uplifting and forming her novices, including her cousin Celine, and fostering joy and unity in the community.

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

Role of Spiritual Friendship: How can we cultivate spiritual friendships that guide others toward holiness while respecting their individuality and unique journey?
Guidance with Firmness and Tenderness: In what ways can we balance firmness and tenderness when offering guidance to those we mentor or love?
Finding Jesus in Daily Life: How can Thérèse’s “Little Way” inspire us to love God fully through the ordinary events of our daily lives?
Offering Our Suffering: How can we, like Thérèse, unite our personal suffering with Christ for the spiritual benefit of others?
Sacrifices for Vocations: What sacrifices are we willing to make, as individuals or families, to support vocations to religious life or priesthood?
Deepening Trust in God’s Love: How does reflecting on Jesus’ maternal and paternal love help us overcome fear and scruples in our relationship with Him?
Scripture as a Source of Strength: How can the example of Thérèse’s immersion in scripture inspire us to deepen our own prayer life and spiritual understanding?
Living Joyfully in Community: How can we contribute to a spirit of joy and virtue within our own families, parishes, or communities?
Embracing the Eternal Perspective: How does keeping heaven in mind shape the way we approach our struggles and relationships on earth?
Legacy of Holiness: In what ways can we leave a lasting spiritual impact on those we love, as St. Thérèse did for her novices and the Church?

About this Series

Fr. Timothy Gallagher reflects upon the enduring legacy of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, exploring how her life and spirituality, deeply influenced by her family and how it offers profound insights into everyday holiness. He examines the role of family and spiritual friendships in nurturing faith, the importance of compassionate care for others, and how Thérèse’s example can inspire listeners to seek sanctity in their daily lives. He also brings forth more details of the spiritual bond between the Martin and Guérin families, offering a model for fostering deeper connections within one’s own family and community.

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

Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 14 different podcast series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts?
Visit here to discover more!

O Adonai – O Antiphons Reflections with Sharon Doran – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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O Adonai

O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,

who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush

and gave him the law on Sinai:

Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.

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

“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

O Adonai – The O Antiphon Reflections from Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P. – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Second Antiphon –
December 18^th: O Adonai

O Sacred Lord of Ancient Israel[1] who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush,[2] who gave him the holy law on Sinai. Come stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.[3]

God gave his name Yahweh to Moses, and with that power over him; for to the Hebrew to use one’s name is to have intimacy with that person and thus to have power over him. Yet God cannot be like the gods of the pagans who are coerced by magical practices and so his name is not to be pronounced but instead “Adonai” or “Lord” is used. In the fulness of time, the Messiah will come and tell us to pray in his name of Jesus, with all the implications of that. We pray now that he come again with outstretched arm, that is with power to set us free. In the words of St. Justin, “He stretched out his arms on the cross,” and was rendered powerless and received from his Father the power of the Spirit to set us free from our sinful selves.

[1] Exod. 6:2

[2] Exod. 3:2

[3] Exod. 6:6

For more visit here: O Antiphons Reflections from Fr. Giles Dimock O.P.

The O Antiphon reflections are from Musings: Liturgical and Charismatic authored by Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P. and published by Discerning Hearts®

You can find the book here

A Christmas Novena – Day 3 – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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A Christmas Novena – Day 3 – Faith

O Lord, infant Jesus, give us the gift of Faith! You, Lord, deserve our complete faith. We pray for deeper and more perfect faith in you this Christmas.

Divine Infant,
after the wonders of Your birth in Bethlehem,
You wished to extend Your infinite mercy to the whole world
by calling the Wise Men by heavenly inspiration to Your crib,
which was in this way changed into a royal throne.
You graciously received those holy men
who were obedient to the Divine call
and hastened to Your feet.
They recognized and worshipped You as Prince of Peace,
the Redeemer of mankind,
and the very Son of God.

Show us also Your goodness and almighty power.
Enlighten our minds,
strengthen our wills,
and inflame our hearts to know You,
to serve You,
and to love You in this life,
that we may merit to find our joy in You eternally in the life to come.

Jesus, most powerful Child,
We implore You again to help us
with the intentions we hold in the depths of our hearts.

Divine Child, great omnipotent God,
I implore through Your most Holy Mother’s most powerful intercession,
and through the boundless mercy of Your omnipotence as God,
for a favorable answer to my prayer during this Novena.
Grant us the grace of possessing You eternally
with Mary and Joseph
and of adoring You with Your holy angels and saints.
Amen.

Day 18: Seasons of Rest and Trust – From the writings of Caryll Houselander – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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Caryll Houselander from TRINITY ICONS https://trinity-icons.myshopify.com/products/caryll-houselander

Day 18: Seasons of Rest and Trust

If Christ is to come to flower and bear fruit in individual lives, there must be seasons of rest in which there is almost no activity but the giving wholly of self to nourish the supernatural life; just as the earth in which the seed is buried is given to nourish the bread. But, and this is even more important, there must be a permanent state of inward rest, founded in the peace of mind which comes from complete trust.

Commentary: Caryll Houselander emphasizes the importance of rest and trust as essential for spiritual growth. Just as a seed needs time in the earth to take root and grow, our souls need periods of stillness to allow Christ to take root within us. She encourages a state of “inward rest” based on complete trust in God, allowing us to nourish the supernatural life without constant activity or striving. For Catholics, this aligns with the value placed on contemplative prayer and the peace that flows from entrusting ourselves fully to God’s care, knowing that His work within us unfolds in His time.

Personal Reflection: Consider how you can create moments of stillness today to nourish Christ’s life within you. How can you cultivate a deeper sense of peace and trust, letting go of the need for constant activity and control?

Caryll Houselander “The Passion of the Infant Christ”

For more reflections visit:
Caryll Houselander – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

Image © Trinity Icons / Joseph M. Malham
Image used with permission
To purchase your own copy, visit Trinity Icons

O Sapientia – Come O Wisdom – O Antiphons Reflections with Sharon Doran – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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O Sapientia – Come O Wisdom

O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,

reaching from one end to the other,

mightily and sweetly ordering all things:

Come and teach us the way of prudence.

The Mystery of Our Reconciliation with God – Pope St. Leo the Great from the Office of Readings

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From a letter by Saint Leo the Great, pope

(Ep. 31, 2-3: PL 54, 791-793)

The mystery of our reconciliation with God

To speak of our Lord, the son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as true and perfect man is of no value to us if we do not believe that he is descended from the line of ancestors set out in the Gospel.

Matthew’s gospel begins by setting out the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham, and then traces his human descent by bringing his ancestral line down to his mother’s husband, Joseph. On the other hand, Luke traces his parentage backward step by step to the actual father of mankind, to show that both the first and the last Adam share the same nature.

No doubt the Son of God in his omnipotence could have taught and sanctified men by appearing to them in a semblance of human form as he did to the patriarchs and prophets, when for instance he engaged in a wrestling contest or entered into conversation with them, or when he accepted their hospitality and even ate the food they set before him. But these appearances were only types, signs that mysteriously foretold the coming of one who would take a true human nature from the stock of the patriarchs who had gone before him. No mere figure, then, fulfilled the mystery of our reconciliation with God, ordained from all eternity. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon the Virgin nor had the power of the Most High overshadowed her, so that within her spotless womb Wisdom might build itself a house and the Word become flesh. The divine nature and the nature of a servant were to be united in one person so that the Creator of time might be born in time, and he through whom all things were made might be brought forth in their midst.

For unless the new man, by being made in the likeness of sinful flesh, had taken on himself the nature of our first parents, unless he had stooped to be one in substance with his mother while sharing the Father’s substance and, being alone free from sin, united our nature to his, the whole human race would still be held captive under the dominion of Satan. The Conqueror’s victory would have profited us nothing if the battle had been fought outside our human condition. But through this wonderful blending the mystery of new birth shone upon us, so that through the same Spirit by whom Christ was conceived and brought forth we too might be born again in a spiritual birth; and in consequence the evangelist declares the faithful to have been born not of blood, nor of the desire of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

SJC5 – Mystery of Believing – St. John of the Cross with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Mystery of Believing – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty

Using the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss how the goal of prayer is union with God, not the pursuit of mystical experiences. St. John cautions against seeking extraordinary spiritual phenomena, such as visions or locutions, as these can lead to spiritual pride or self-deception. True spiritual growth often occurs in dryness and trials, where one learns to surrender completely to God in faith and trust, mirroring the Marian disposition of “Let it be done unto me according to Your word.” Holiness lies in seeking God Himself and embracing His will, not in clinging to consolations or perceived gifts.

Discernment in prayer is necessary, as our imagination, desires, and emotions can cloud what we perceive as divine communication. We shouldn’t become attached to spiritual gifts rather than the Giver, a temptation that can stall one’s progress toward deeper union with God. According to St. John of the Cross, authentic prayer leads to humility, self-surrender, and greater love for God and others, whether in joy or aridity. True holiness is not measured by extraordinary experiences but by a life fully offered to God in trust and love.

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

Seeking Union with God: How can I focus on desiring God alone in my prayer life, rather than seeking spiritual consolations or extraordinary experiences?
Avoiding Spiritual Pride: Do I ever take pride in perceived spiritual gifts or experiences, and how can I cultivate humility in my relationship with God?
Persevering in Dryness: How do I respond when prayer feels dry or difficult, and can I trust that God is still working in those moments?
Discernment in Prayer: Am I carefully discerning my inspirations in prayer to ensure they align with God’s will and not my own desires or imagination?
Surrendering to God’s Will: How can I adopt a Marian disposition of surrender, echoing “Let it be done unto me according to Your word” in my daily life and prayer?
Embracing Trials as Gifts: Do I recognize that challenges and trials can be God’s way of leading me to greater spiritual maturity and trust in Him?
Loving the Giver, Not the Gifts: In what ways can I shift my focus from God’s gifts to loving and seeking the Giver Himself more deeply?

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

The urgent need of the soul in prayer must be, as such, to adopt a radical exercise of pure faith in its approach to God. At the point in the spiritual life when contemplative graces are beginning to stir, it is time to lift anchor, as it were, and plunge into deeper waters of faith: “Those who want to reach union with God should advance neither by understanding, nor by the support of their own experience, nor by feeling or imagination, but by belief in God’s being” (AMC 2.4.4). The last phrase “belief in God’s being” may seem ordinary enough. Is that not simply what faith is—to believe in God? But quickly we should recall the real demand in the deeper act of faith—a pure faith—that must take place in contemplative prayer. We must believe in God precisely as One who is beyond our measure or grasp or comprehension. We must adhere to him, search and seek for him, as infinite mystery and as a personal presence of love immediately engaged with us in the current hour of silent prayer. In short, we must enter into faith itself, into the mystery of believing, to approach the personal mystery of God. We believe in him in the prayer of contemplation as we surrender our being into him. We give way to him and allow him to abide in us: “For God’s being cannot be grasped by the intellect, appetite, imagination, or any other sense; nor can it be known in this life. The most that can be felt and tasted of God in this life is infinitely distant from God and the pure possession of him” (AMC 2.4.4).

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (p. 76). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here

You find the book on which this series is based here.

O Sapientia – The O Antiphon Reflections from Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P. – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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First Antiphon –
December 17^th: O Sapientia

O, Wisdom, O holy Word of God,[1] you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care.[2] Come and show your people the way to salvation.[3]

In this ancient antiphon the Church cries out to Christ, as the Wisdom of the Father, the eternal Word proclaimed by John in his prologue,[4] who was with the Father in the beginning of the creation of the world which he continues to govern. We, the Church cry “Come,” the most primordial of all prayers, because we know we’ve “messed up” the wonderful order of creation with human sin and manipulation and need God’s Wisdom, whose “thoughts are not our thoughts.”[5] Only he can show us his Son who is the way to Salvation; to saving us from ourselves and leading us to righteousness in thought and action, which the term salvation implies.

[1] Sir. 24:3

[2] Wis. 8:1

[3] Is. 40:3-5

[4] John 1

[5] Is. 55: 8-9

For more visit: O Antiphons Reflections from Fr. Giles Dimock O.P.

The O Antiphon reflections are from Musings: Liturgical and Charismatic authored by Fr. Giles Dimock, O.P. and published by Discerning Hearts®

You can find the book here

Day 17: Welcoming Christ in Others – From the writings of Caryll Houselander – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

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Day 17: Welcoming Christ in Others

It is part of God’s plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we must learn to know him. He may come as a little child, making enormous demands, giving enormous consolation. He may come as a stranger, so that we must give the hospitality to a stranger that we should like to give to Christ.

Commentary: Caryll Houselander beautifully reminds us that Christ often comes to us through other people, inviting us to recognize His presence in each person’s unique role. He may appear in the form of a child who requires our patience and love, or a stranger who calls us to show hospitality and generosity. This teaching echoes Christ’s words in the Gospels, where He says that whatever we do for the least of His brothers, we do for Him. For Catholics, this perspective challenges us to approach each encounter with the reverence we would give to Christ Himself, recognizing His face in those around us.

Personal Reflection: Today, be mindful of seeing Christ in each person you meet. How can you respond to others—as children, strangers, or friends—with the same love and attention you would offer to Christ Himself?

“A Child in Winter: Advent, Christmas and Epiphany with Caryll Houselander”.

Episode 8 – Walking the Little Way Together – St. Thérèse and Marie: The Story of Two Cousins with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

About this Series

Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 14 different podcast series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts? Visit here to discover more!

O Adonai

Second Antiphon – December 18th: O Adonai

For more visit here: O Antiphons Reflections from Fr. Giles Dimock O.P.

A Christmas Novena – Day 3 – Faith

For more reflections visit: Caryll Houselander – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

O Sapientia – Come O Wisdom

From a letter by Saint Leo the Great, pope

The mystery of our reconciliation with God

Mystery of Believing – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty

Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here

You find the book on which this series is based here.

First Antiphon – December 17th: O Sapientia

For more visit: O Antiphons Reflections from Fr. Giles Dimock O.P.

For more reflections visit: Caryll Houselander – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 14 different podcast series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts?
Visit here to discover more!

Second Antiphon –
December 18^th: O Adonai

For more reflections visit:
Caryll Houselander – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

First Antiphon –
December 17^th: O Sapientia

For more reflections visit:
Caryll Houselander – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts