Roots of the Faith – From the Church Fathers to You with Mike Aquilina, makes clear that just as an acorn grows into a tree and yet remains the same plant, so the Catholic Church is a living organism that has grown from the faith of the earliest Christians into the body of Christ we know today. Hosted by Kris McGregor
Episode 3 The Mystery of Mercy with Sr. Gill Goulding C.J.
In this episode, Sr. Gill will explore the significant continuity of the centrality of mercy for Pope Francis and for his predecessors Pope Benedict XVI and Pope St John Paul II. The common resonance of their language and the scriptural depth each brings to their understanding of mercy is both illuminating and encouraging. It is also very moving to see how Pope Francis owns his indebtedness to his predecessor when he says in Evangelii Gaudium [7], “I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel: “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” Both Popes reference the writings of Pope John Paul II: The joy of mercy becomes ever more evident.
Sr Gill Goulding CJ is a member of the Congregatio Jesu an order founded by Mary Ward in 1609. The Congregation has the same constitutions as the Society of Jesus. Sr Gill is Professor of Systematic Theology at Regis College, the Jesuit Graduate School of Theology at the University of Toronto. She is a member of the Theological Commission of the Conference of Religious in Canada and was appointed by the Conference of Canadian Bishops as one of two RC members of the Council of Canadian Churches. In 2012 she was honored and humbled to be appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a theological expert to the 2012 Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization and the transmission of the Christian Faith. In 2017 Sr Gill was awarded a Henry Luce III Fellowship for a project looking at the dynamic impact of mercy on the mission of the Church. During this sabbatical year, she spent a number of months in Rome and was thrilled to meet Pope Frances and to present to him an outline of her project and to receive his blessing on her work.
Sr. Gill’s project was made possible by a grant from the Luce Foundation
To obtain a copy of the book on which this series is based visit here
“Gill Goulding, C.J. invites readers to move beyond a debilitating polarization in the Church and to adopt an ecclesiology of communion. She presents the ecclesial disposition of St Ignatius of Loyola, rooted in love for Christ, alive to the inseparable union between Christ and the Church, and aware that to love Christ is to love the Church – the real, concrete, hierarchical, “institutional” Church, the people of God, the spouse of Christ infused by His Spirit. Goulding’s love for the Church is evident in all she writes and suffuses the exposition with warmth. One cannot read this book without feeling the call to communion in the Church. A Church of Passion and Hope also serves to highlight an underemphasized part of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises – the Rules for Thinking (sentir) with the Church – a valuable contribution to Ignatian writing and practice.” ―Fr Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V., Saint Clement Eucharistic Shrine, USA
Join us May 24 -27, 2018 for a Heaven In Faith Seminar/Retreat with Dr. Anthony Lilles in Schuyler, NE at the St. Benedict Retreat Center!!!!
Technically, we met our goal and we are full, but we are opening a few more rooms and extending registration to our special “Heaven in Faith: A spiritual retreat with St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Seminar/Retreat! We felt there might be some others being called to this unique encounter with this special saint and her mission of prayer, so we are keeping the “doors open” a little longer for those discerning their participation. Registration will now close May 10.
Click on the blue button to be taken to the registration page!
Elizabeth of the Trinity understood her mission to be to help people enter into deep prayer. A Carmelite nun, she saw self-occupation as a considerable block to prayer and said that she would help lead souls out of themselves and into God. She was convinced that once we are free of our ego – God can transform us in love. She called this transforming encounter with the Lord “the divine impact.”
With her love for the Scriptures, her devotion to the Trinity, her captivation with Christ’s salvific work – her writings are filled with helpful insights. Not everyone finds her easy to read – her flow of thought follows a musical composition rather than the rules of logic – and she is dense with quotations from the mystical tradition of the Catholic Church. Although she only lived to the age of 26, from the beginning of the Twentieth Century to today, many contemplatives have found her solid teaching helpful.
Sessions :
The seminar is addressed to those who wish to live in an atmosphere of fraternity and evangelical simplicity for a time of study, prayer, and social interaction, learning how to integrate Christian spirituality with their engagement with the world.
The sessions comprise of an initial lecture, individual silent reading on selected texts, small-group discussion and big group sharing then synthesis. The directors of the seminar initially will present the texts, and the group coordinators will guide the discussions.
The celebration of the Holy Eucharist will be offered daily. Reconciliation will be available, as well as times of Eucharistic Adoration.
Seminar Director: Dr. Anthony Lilles, S.T.D.
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 St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.
Collaborators:
Fr. Marie-Robert Torczynski, a Carthusian monk featured in the movie “Into Great Silence.”
Kris McGregor, Executive Director/Founder of Discerning Hearts
Teresa Monaghen, A.O. Pro Sanctity Movement
Miriam Gutierrez
The Event officially begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 24.
It concludes on Sunday, May 27 at 2 p.m.
***IMPORTANT***
If you are flying in from another part of the country, please plan on arriving sometime on Wednesday, May 23, 2017.
We can help in making special arrangements for your accommodations and transportation to the Retreat Center due to your early arrival. Please arrange your flight to arrive by 6 p.m. Central time. Contact Patty at patty@discerninghearts.com for details.
“From Star Wars to Superman: Christ Figures in Science Fiction and Superhero Films” is outstanding! Dr. James Papandrea is an engaging writer, as well as a solid theologian, who brings the lens of faith to our viewing of the beloved genres of science fiction and superhero films. Perfect for the “discerning heart!” The book and our conversation was great fun and a fantastic thought provoker. We can’t wait for the sequel!
Batman * Captain * America * Doctor Who * The Fifth Element * I, Robot * Iron Man * LOST * The Matrix * Planet of the Apes * Pleasantville * Spider-Man * Star Trek * Star Wars * Superman * The Terminator * The Time Machine * Tron * Wonder Woman
Here you’ll read about:
The pervasive Christian imagery in Doctor Who
Star Trek s predicted “death of God”
Free-will: the stumbling block in the first Matrix
The crucifixion of Spider-Man
Why Wonder Woman is an image of a gnostic savior
The meaning of salvation in Star Wars (It masquerades as Christian)
How Superman’s life begins as a parallel of Moses.
I, Robot: the religious reason why the robot is called “Sonny”
Whether, in any Christian sense, Neo is The One?
Captain American and Iron-Man: one defends the innocent, the other brings justice to the guilty
The tomb scene in the Fifth Element: it s not the resurrection we need
Matter vs. Spirit in Tron: gnostic to the core
The anti-Christian bias of Planet of the Apes
Why the Force in Star Wars is no analogy to Grace or the Holy Spirit
The Star Wars Christ figure: Obi-Wan? Luke? Or even, ultimately, Darth Vader
What Heaven is understood to be in the LOST universe
Time travel as incarnation in The Terminator: a compelling analogy
Regeneration as resurrection in Doctor Who: Is it Christ-like?
How Pleasantville reverses the dynamism of the Fall
The baptismal significance of the plane crash in LOST
Pleasantville: a twisted version of Eden
The incarnation of the Christ-figure in Planet of the Apes
Tron’s parallels between Christianity and the Roman Empire
. . . and much more about other science fiction and superhero shows!
Episode 7 “GAUDETE ET EXSULTATE” by Pope Francis pt.1 – Why it Matters: An Exploration of Faith with Archbishop George Lucas
In this episode, Archbishop Lucas reflects on the April 2018 Apostolic Exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be glad)” given to the faithful by Pope Francis. We discuss Chapter 1, entitled “The Call to Holiness” which brings us the example of the saints as role models in holiness and how we too are called this type of sanctity while responding to God’s “personal mission” for us. We also begin the conversation on Chapter 2, “The Two Subtle Enemies of Holiness,” in which his Excellency helps us to understand “contemporary Gnosticism.”
32. Do not be afraid of holiness. It will take away none of your energy, vitality or joy. On the contrary, you will become what the Father had in mind when he created you, and you will be faithful to your deepest self.To depend on God sets us free from every form of enslavement and leads us to recognize our great dignity. We see this in Saint Josephine Bakhita: “Abducted and sold into slavery at the tender age of seven, she suffered much at the hands of cruel masters. But she came to understand the profound truth that God, and not man, is the true Master of every human being, of every human life. This experience became a source of great wisdom for this humble daughter of Africa”.[30]
33. To the extent that each Christian grows in holiness, he or she will bear greater fruit for our world. The bishops of West Africa have observed that “we are being called in the spirit of the New Evangelization to be evangelized and to evangelize through the empowering of all you, the baptized, to take up your roles as salt of the earth and light of the world wherever you find yourselves”.[31]
34. Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace. For in the words of León Bloy, when all is said and done, “the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint”.[32]
Episode 6 “Baptism: Liberation and Communion” – Why it Matters: An Exploration of Faith with Archbishop George Lucas
In this episode, we continue our conversation on why baptism matters. We will discuss, among other things, the experience of exorcism contained within the rite, the blessing of the water, and the action of baptism with the invocation of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and that Trinitarian formula is matters.
1271 Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: “For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.”81 “Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.”82
1. “REJOICE AND BE GLAD” (Mt 5:12), Jesus tells those persecuted or humiliated for his sake. The Lord asks everything of us, and in return he offers us true life, the happiness for which we were created. He wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence. The call to holiness is present in various ways from the very first pages of the Bible. We see it expressed in the Lord’s words to Abraham: “Walk before me, and be blameless” (Gen 17:1).
2. What follows is not meant to be a treatise on holiness, containing definitions and distinctions helpful for understanding this important subject, or a discussion of the various means of sanctification. My modest goal is to repropose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time, with all its risks, challenges and opportunities. For the Lord has chosen each one of us “to be holy and blameless before him in love” (Eph 1:4).
Dr. Matthew E. Bunson is a Register senior editor and 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.
Which treats of the purgation of the active night of the memory and will. Gives instruction how the soul is to behave with respect to the apprehensions of these two faculties, that it may come to union with God, according to the two faculties aforementioned, in perfect hope and charity.
Chapter 26
The fourth kind of goods: Moral Goods. How the will may lawfully rejoice in them.
Chapter 27
Seven Evils to which men are liable if the Will rejoices in Moral Goods.
Chapter 28
The benefits of repressing all Joy in Moral Goods.
Which treats of the purgation of the active night of the memory and will. Gives instruction how the soul is to behave with respect to the apprehensions of these two faculties, that it may come to union with God, according to the two faculties aforementioned, in perfect hope and charity.
Chapter 23
Of the third kind, Sensible Goods. Their nature and varieties. The regulation of the Will with respect to them.
Chapter 24
The Evils which befall the soul when the will has joy in Sensible Goods.
Chapter 25
The spiritual and temporal benefits of self-denial in the Joy of Sensible things.
Which treats of the purgation of the active night of the memory and will. Gives instruction how the soul is to behave with respect to the apprehensions of these two faculties, that it may come to union with God, according to the two faculties aforementioned, in perfect hope and charity.
Chapter 20
The Joy of the Will in Natural Goods is Vanity. How to direct the Will to God therein.
Chapter 21
The evils of the Will’s rejoicing in Natural Goods.
With Dr. Matthew Bunson, Ph.D., we discuss the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis entitled 
