Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts Archives

Israel, His Servant – Mary’s Magnificat, Word by Word with Sonja Corbitt

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“[T]he Church of Christ discovers her ‘bond’ with Judaism by ‘searching into her own mystery.’ The Jewish religion is not ‘extrinsic’ to us, but in a certain way is ‘intrinsic’ to our own religion. With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion. You are our dearly beloved brothers and, in a certain way, it could be said that you are our elder brothers. (Pope John Paul II at the Great Synagogue of Rome, April 13, 1986).

For other episodes in this series, visit the Discerning Hearts Sonja Corbitt page

Scripture References for The Show

Luke 1:46-55, the words of the Magnificat

And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
⁵²he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”

The Three Israels

Israel #1 – Jacob

Genesis 32:22-32, The angel of the Lord changes Jacob’s name to Israel
Genesis 25-33, Jacob’s story, personification of the nation

Israel #2 – The Jewish Nation

Genesis 49, the twelve tribes of Israel
history of the nation
Matthew 24, the “end of the world” as they knew it at the destruction of the Jewish temple (the center and symbol of Jewish life) in 70 AD
Romans 11, restoration at the end

Israel #3 – The People of God

John 8: , Abraham’s children
Romans 2:28, 29, For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Revelation 19:8, 21:9-10, the Church, the “New Israel” and “New Jerusalem”
every author of every book of Scripture, except Luke, was Jewish

EPISODE RESOURCES

I Wrestled with God and Won article on Jacob’s confrontation with God at the Jabbok river

Discussion of the significance of Esau selling his birthright is located in chapter three of Unleashed.

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 63, Israel is the priestly people of God, “called by the name of the LORD”, and “the first to hear the word of God”, the people of “elder brethren” in the faith of Abraham.

CCC 877, In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as “the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy.”

LOVE the Word(TM) is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice. This week’s LOVE the Word(TM) exercise is based on a Franciscan* personality approach. Go on! Try it!

Listen (Receive the Word)

“Jesus said to her…’We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews’” (Joh 4:22).

Observe (Connect the passage to recent events.)

Find a local synagogue and attend a Sabbath (Shabbat) service, or watch this video. Observe the similarities and differences between what constitutes Sabbath practice for the Jewish people, and what your Sunday liturgy, worship and practice look like. Imagine Jesus observing Sabbath like this!

Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)

Remembering that Mary and Joseph, Jesus, and the apostles were all Jewish, pray for the Jewish people, your “elder brothers” in faith. Offer your thoughts and feelings to God.

Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)

Lord Jesus, let Your prayer of unity for Christians become a reality, in Your way. We pray and long for the day when we are one as You and the Father are one. Help us know when and how to cooperate in that unity. Amen
.

*LOVE the Word(TM) exercises, vary weekly according to the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Ignatian, Augustinian, Franciscan, and Thomistic.

BTP-WP4 A broad overview of first 18 chapters – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray w/Dr. Anthony Lilles

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Dr. Lilles reviews teachings on poverty, humility, and, in particular, friendship, which are all found in a broad overview of the first 18 chapters of “The Way of Perfection.” We also discuss the value of the virtues and the importance of the “good example” in St. Teresa’s writings. All of this will be essential to her foundational teachings on contemplative prayer.

Saint Teresa Painting Convento de Santa Teresa Avila Castile Spain.

For the audio recordings of St. Teresa’s “The Way of Perfection” you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics audio page

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection with Dr. Anthony Lilles”s

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.

FG#12 The Way of Trust and Love episode 1 – Fountains of Grace with Donna Garrett

FG#12 – The Way of Trust and Love Ep 1 – Fountains of Grace: Reflections on contemporary spiritual classics with Donna Garrett

Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. James Perez, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “The Way of Trust and Love: A Retreat Guided By St. Therese of Lisieux” by Fr. Jacques Philippe.

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Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “The Way of Trust and Love” page 9

This is what Thérèse said:

Fr. James Perez, LC, joins Donna for this series

You know, Mother, that I have always desired to be a saint, but alas, I have always realized, when I compared myself to the saints, that there is between them and me the same difference as exists between a mountain whose summit is lost in the skies, and the obscure grain of sand trodden underfoot by passers-by. Instead of getting discouraged, I said to myself: “God could not inspire us with desires that were unrealizable, so despite my littleness I can aspire to holiness. It is impossible for me to grow up, I must put up with myself as I am , with all my imperfections; but I want to find how to get to Heaven by a little way that is quite straight, quite short: a completely new little way. We are in an age of inventions; now one doesn’t have to make the effort to climb up a stairway in rich people’s houses, because an elevator does the work much better. I too would like to find an elevator to lift me up to Jesus, for I am too little to climb up the steep stairway of perfection.” Then I looked in the holy books for some sign of the elevator that I desired, and I read these words that had come forth from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: “Whoever is VERY LITTLE let him come to me” [Proverbs 9: 4]. So I came, guessing that I had found what I sought. Wishing to know, O my God, what you would do for a little child who answered your call, I continued my search and this is what I found: “As a mother caresses her baby, so I will comfort you; I will carry you at my breast and rock you in my lap” [Isaiah 66: 13, 12]. Ah! never had such tender, melodious words come to rejoice my soul; the elevator that would lift me up to Heaven is your arms, O Jesus! To reach perfection, I do not need to grow up. On the contrary, I need to stay little, to become more and more little. O my God, you have surpassed my expectations, and I wish to sing of your mercies.For other episodes in the this series click here “Fountains of Grace w/Donna Garrett“

You can find “The Way of Trust and Love” here

He Fills the Hungry – Mary’s Magnificat, Word by Word with Sonja Corbitt

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If you’re not famished for spiritual things, chances are it’s not because you have feasted and are satisfied, but that you have snacked on junk food away from the true table. When your soul is stuffed with small things, there is no room for the great.

If you don’t have a hunger for God, perhaps it is because your god is your belly: “Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things” (Phil 3:19).

For other episodes in this series, visit the Discerning Hearts Sonja Corbitt page

Scripture References for The Show

Luke 1:46-55, the words of the Magnificat

And Mary said:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
⁵²he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”

LOVE the Word(TM) is a method of Bible study based on Mary’s own practice. This week’s LOVE the Word(TM) exercise is based on an Augustinian*personality approach. Go on! Try it!

Listen (Receive the Word)

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (John 6:35).

Observe (Connect the passage to recent events.)

On a daily basis, as you approach each next meal, do you allow yourself to get hungry or do you eat something as soon as you feel the early pangs?

Practice delaying your meals to allow yourself to get hungry before you eat. As you do so, and especially as you fast this next Friday for Lent, pay attention to your hunger pangs. Ask yourself, In my world, what am I most hungry for—right now, this year, for the rest of my life? Be specific. Perhaps just the question has every hunger you’ve ever experienced surfacing, leaping out of the water like spawning salmon. You may answer: “I want a bag of potato chips.” And maybe that’s true on the surface. But what’s under that desire? Are you actually hungry, or bored or sad instead? Can a bag of chips relieve any of those deeper longings? Why are you bored? Why are you sad?

Maybe the first question is, What am I really hungry for? But to get deeper and know what we yearn for, we have to keep asking why till we get all the way to the bottom of the desire. It’s very important to know what a true hunger is, because that may actually be what God wants to give me.

Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)

Talk to Him about your desires and longings until you get to the bottom of what you’re really hungry for. Ask God for that, because “He rewards those who diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6). What do you need to do to “diligently seek Him”?

Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)

Receive the Eucharist with the intention that God might satisfy your hunger. Pray for that intention, and thank Him for the answer to that prayer, before you see the answer, as you kneel in His presence after Communion.
.

BTP-WP3 Chaps 3 – 4: The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Beginning to Pray w/Dr. Anthony Lilles

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Dr. Lilles discusses Chapter 3 and 4 of St. Teresa of Avila’s “Way of Perfection”:

Chapter 3 – Continues the subject begun in the first chapter and persuades the sisters to busy themselves constantly in beseeching God to help those who work for the Church. Ends with an exclamatory prayer.

Chapter 4 – Exhorts the nuns to keep their Rule and names three things which are important for the spiritual life. Describes the first of these three things, which is love of one’s neighbor, and speaks of the harm which can be done by individual friendships.

For the audio recordings of St. Teresa’s “The Way of Perfection” you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics audio page

For other episodes in the series visit
The Discerning Hearts “The Way of Perfection with Dr. Anthony Lilles”s

CW3 St. Francis of Assisi – Conversion, Crisis, Relationship, and Prayer – The Great Cloud of Witnesses: Guides for Prayer with Fr. Mark Cyza

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Fr. Mark Cyza discusses the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. He speaks of the radical intimacy of St. Francis and Jesus Christ and how it was born from the saint’s continuing conversion and how it was fueled by his relationship with Christ in prayer. How can his prayer be a beacon for our own: the center of our spiritual life must be focused on Christ….if it gazes on anything else we fall off track.

Resources:

Fr. Paschal Robinson’s circa 1906 translations of The Writings of St. Francis, in pdf from Sister’s Bookshelf

Biographies of him were written soon after his death, by people who knew him and by people who interviewed those who knew him. We have many near contemporary sources, aside from Francis’ own writings, through which we can come to know Francis.

The Little Flowers of St. Francis is the only one of these source documents commonly available on the web for reading free. There are several sources, which we give here for you to read this work, or listen to it, if you download the MP3s from CCEL.

Attributed to Br. Ugolino, The Little Flowers of St. Francis from Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Another copy of The Little Flowers, this one from EWTN

“Trusting God in the Darkness” a reflection and teaching by Msgr. Esseff

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on trusting God in the darkness, the tragedy in Las Vegas 2017, and the need for our understanding of the angels.

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30th 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Mother Teresa. 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 St. Pope 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.

CW2 Praying with the Angels – The Great Cloud of Witnesses: Guides for Prayer with Fr. Mark Cyza

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Fr. Mark Cyza discusses the Angels. Guardian Angels and their purpose, as well as, how to pray with our Guardian Angel is part of the teaching he touches upon. He also touches upon the difference between the Holy Angels and the Fallen Angels, what is the proper understanding we should have concerning them.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

THE ANGELS

The existence of angels – a truth of faith

328 The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls “angels” is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition.

Who are they?

329 St. Augustine says: “‘Angel’ is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office, it is ‘angel’: from what they are, ‘spirit’, from what they do, ‘angel.'”¹⁸⁸ With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they “always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” they are the “mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word”.¹⁸⁹

330 As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness.¹⁹⁰

Christ “with all his angels”

331 Christ is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him. . “¹⁹¹ They belong to him because they were created through and for him: “for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.”¹⁹² They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?”¹⁹³

332 Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham’s hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples.¹⁹⁴ Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself.¹⁹⁵

IP#1 Kimberly Hahn – “Beloved and Blessed” on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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What a blessing to have my first “Inside the Pages” show be with Kimberly Hahn! She is an inspiration on

so many levels. The entire “Life-Nurturing Love” series is wonderful (book and DVD). When you read Kimberly Hahn, you can’t help but feel you are receiving the best advice from a wise and cherished friend. With good humor and joy, Kimberly offers Christ-centered teaching from the heart of the Church in her unique maternal-nurturing way. Beloved and Blessed is one of the most important witnesses in recent times on how to truly live out God’s design for marriage.

Click here to purchase Kimberly’s book online at www.servantbooks.org

The third in a series of Bible studies based on Proverbs 31, Beloved and Blessed offers tools to help you strengthen your marriage and raise your children, creating a civilization of love in your home. Applying Sacred Scripture, Church teaching, and pastoral wisdom, Kimberly Hahn helps you explore:

Marital intimacy
Responsible parenthood
Facing the financial future without fear
Strategies for disciplining and instructing children
Trusting God when parenting hurts

Discussion questions help you apply the material to your own life and make the book a valuable resource for small group discussion.

“His mother stood by the cross ” – Saint Bernard from the Office of Readings

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From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot

(Sermo in dom. infra oct. Assumptionis, 14-15: Opera omnia, Edit. Cisterc. [1968], 273-274)

His mother stood by the cross

The martyrdom of the Virgin is set forth both in the prophecy of Simeon and in the actual story of our Lord’s passion. The holy old man said of the infant Jesus: He has been established as a sign which will be contradicted. He went on to say to Mary: And your own heart will be pierced by a sword.

Truly, O blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart. For only by passing through your heart could the sword enter the flesh of your Son. Indeed, after your Jesus – who belongs to everyone, but is especially yours – gave up his life, the cruel spear, which was not withheld from his lifeless body, tore open his side. Clearly it did not touch his soul and could not harm him, but it did pierce your heart. For surely his soul was no longer there, but yours could not be torn away. Thus the violence of sorrow has cut through your heart, and we rightly call you more than martyr, since the effect of compassion in you has gone beyond the endurance of physical suffering.

Or were those words, Woman, behold your Son, not more than a word to you, truly piercing your heart, cutting through to the division between soul and spirit? What an exchange! John is given to you in place of Jesus, the servant in place of the Lord, the disciple in place of the master; the son of Zebedee replaces the Son of God, a mere man replaces God himself. How could these words not pierce your most loving heart, when the mere remembrance of them breaks ours, hearts of iron and stone though they are!

Do not be surprised, brothers, that Mary is said to be a martyr in spirit. Let him be surprised who does not remember the words of Paul, that one of the greatest crimes of the Gentiles was that they were without love. That was far from the heart of Mary; let it be far from her servants.

Perhaps someone will say: “Had she not known before that he would not die?” Undoubtedly. “Did she not expect him to rise again at once?” Surely. “And still she grieved over her crucified Son?” Intensely. Who are you and what is the source of your wisdom that you are more surprised at the compassion of Mary than at the passion of Mary’s Son? For if he could die in body, could she not die with him in spirit? He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since his.

COLLECT
O God, who willed
that, when your Son was lifted high on the Cross,
his Mother should stand close by and share his suffering,
grant that your Church,
participating with the Virgin Mary in the Passion of Christ,
may merit a share in his Resurrection.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.