Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts Archives

LOH1 – Introduction – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

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Episode 1 – Introduction – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

From “Praying the Liturgy of the Hours,” Fr. Gallagher shares:

When we consider the potential of the Liturgy of the Hours for spiritual growth, that significance deepens beyond measure. The Liturgy of the Hours is a part of life, an experience of prayer that merits our explicit attention and reflection.

The Second Vatican Council taught with great emphasis that the Liturgy of the Hours is a prayer for the entire people of God.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Check out here to hear the podcast referenced here by Fr. Gallagher: IP#260 Daria Sockey – The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

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

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

LOH2 – Praying the Psalms – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

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Episode 2 – Praying the Psalms – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

From “Praying the Liturgy of the Hours,” Fr. Gallagher shares:

My psalter is my joy. —Saint Augustine

SINCE THE OLD TESTAMENT times when they were written, people of faith have loved the Psalms. Devout Jews turned to these one hundred fifty prayers in times of joy and sorrow, of peace and desperate need. Jesus knew, quoted, and prayed the Psalms; in him, the fullness of divine revelation, the Psalms acquired their deepest meaning. 1 The early Christians likewise prayed them and, when the persecutions of the first centuries ceased, gathered for this prayer in their churches.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Check out here to hear the podcast referenced here by Fr. Gallagher: IP#260 Daria Sockey – The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

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

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

LOH3 – The Theology of the Liturgy of the Hours – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

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Episode 3 – The Theology of the Liturgy of the Hours – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

From “CONSTITUTION ON THE SACRED LITURGY “, Fr. Gallagher discusses:

CHAPTER IV THE DIVINE OFFICE 83. Christ Jesus, high priest of the new and eternal covenant, taking human nature, introduced into this earthly exile that hymn which is sung throughout all ages in the halls of heaven. He joins the entire community of mankind to Himself, associating it with His own singing of this canticle of divine praise.

For he continues His priestly work through the agency of His Church, which is ceaselessly engaged in praising the Lord and interceding for the salvation of the whole world. She does this, not only by celebrating the eucharist, but also in other ways, especially by praying the divine office.

84. By tradition going back to early Christian times, the divine office is devised so that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praises of God. Therefore, when this wonderful song of praise is rightly performed by priests and others who are deputed for this purpose by the Church’s ordinance, or by the faithful praying together with the priest in the approved form, then it is truly the voice of the bride addressed to her bridegroom; It is the very prayer which Christ Himself, together with His body, addresses to the Father.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Check our here to hear the podcast referenced here by Fr. Gallagher: IP#260 Daria Sockey – The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

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

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

LOH4 – The Prayer of the Domestic Church – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

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Episode 4 – The Prayer of the Domestic Church – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

From “GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS “, Fr. Gallagher discusses:

Chapter I-IV. Participants in the Liturgy of the Hours27….Finally, it is of great advantage for the family, the domestic sanctuary of the Church, not only to pray together to God but also to celebrate some parts of the liturgy of the hours as occasion offers, in order to enter more deeply into the life of the Church. [106]

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Check our here to hear the podcast referenced here by Fr. Gallagher: IP#260 Daria Sockey – The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

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

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

LOH5 – How do I Pray the Liturgy of the Hours? – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

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Episode 5 – How do I Pray the Liturgy of the Hours? – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

From “Praying the Liturgy of the Hours “, Fr. Gallagher discusses:

The renewed Liturgy of the Hours offers five daily times of prayer: Morning Prayer, to be said as the day begins; Daytime Prayer, to be said in late morning, midday, or midafternoon; Evening Prayer, to be said in the evening; Night Prayer, to be said just before retiring; and the Office of Readings, a longer and more meditative prayer to be said at any convenient time during the day. Morning and Evening Prayer, depending on how they are prayed— alone or in a group, with or without singing, and so forth— may take ten to fifteen minutes. Daytime Prayer is shorter and Night Prayer shorter still. The Office of Readings may take twenty minutes, or more if one has time for further reflection on the readings.

The two “hinge” (principal) hours, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, follow essentially the same pattern. After an invocation of God’s help and a brief prayer of praise, the hour begins with a hymn. As a hymn, ideally this is sung, though in individual prayer it is often recited. Two psalms and a biblical canticle follow, each introduced and concluded by an antiphon. A short passage from Scripture is next read, together with a prayer of response to its message. A Gospel canticle— Zechariah’s Benedictus in the morning and Mary’s Magnificat in the evening— with its antiphon is then prayed. The hour concludes with intercessions for various needs, the Our Father, and a final prayer.

Daytime Prayer consists of a hymn, three psalms, a short scriptural reading, and a final prayer. Night Prayer follows a similar pattern, shortened, however, to one psalm and with prayers appropriate to the day’s end. The Office of Readings begins with a hymn and three psalms that prepare for two longer readings, one from the Bible and the other from a Church Father, a saint, or another classic spiritual writer. These readings offer daily nourishment for reflection and meditation.

The Liturgy of the Hours harmonizes with the Mass of the day. If, for example, the Mass is for the Second Sunday of Advent, then Morning Prayer, the Office of Readings, and the other hours will focus on the theme of Advent: preparing for the coming

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Check our here to hear the podcast referenced here by Fr. Gallagher: IP#260 Daria Sockey – The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

Fr. Gallagher mentions iBrevary as a resource that can aid in praying the liturgy of the hours

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

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

LOH7 – The Experience of the Liturgy of the Hours – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

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Episode 7 – The Experience of the Liturgy of the Hours – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Fr. Gallagher speaks of the Ignatian connection to the Liturgy of the Hours:

Ignatius expects— and experience confirms— that all who love and seek the Lord will undergo times of spiritual desolation: times when they do not sense God’s closeness and when they feel discouraged, without energy for prayer or service to others. Such desolation, he tells us, is a common tactic of our spiritual enemy. God in his love permits this, Ignatius says, because we grow through resisting such desolation. If we learn, therefore, to be aware of this discouraging tactic of the enemy, to understand it, and to reject it, we are set free to love and serve the Lord. The goal of Ignatius’s rules is to foster such freedom.

5 In his sixth rule, Ignatius counsels the person in desolation to “insist more upon prayer and meditation.” 6 In the discouragement of desolation, we feel a disinclination to pray. Not only, Ignatius says, should we resist the temptation to abandon prayer, but we must “insist” upon prayer and meditation even more in times of desolation. Gradually, I discovered that the Liturgy of the Hours helped me do this.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Check our here to hear the podcast referenced here by Fr. Gallagher: IP#260 Daria Sockey – The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

Fr. Gallagher mentions iBrevary as a resource that can aid in praying the liturgy of the hours

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

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

LOH8 – A Prayer of Praise – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

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Episode 8 – A Prayer of Praise – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Fr. Gallagher:

THE INSTRUCTION TOLD ME that the Liturgy of the Hours is primarily a prayer of praise. As mentioned, this was new for me. I had seldom thought of praising God and did not understand why this was so important, even the central focus of the Hours. Praise, I thought, was a form of prayer privileged by some and associated with expressive gestures and gospel music. Charismatics praised God. Praise and worship music praised God. In Hispanic ministry, I had encountered warm and compelling prayers of praise. I respected and liked such prayer; but it was not my habitual form of prayer. As I reflected, I realized that I had always centered my prayer of the Hours on two things: meditation on the content of the psalms and readings and petition for various needs. I had never thought of the Liturgy of the Hours as a prayer of praise.

Now I saw that praise situates us in our truth as creatures before our Creator and as those redeemed before our Redeemer. I never doubted that I was God’s creature and that Christ had redeemed me. My awareness of this, however, would often fade in the busyness of the day. I could easily lose sight of God and of who I am before him.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Check our here to hear the podcast referenced here by Fr. Gallagher: IP#260 Daria Sockey – The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

Fr. Gallagher mentions iBrevary as a resource that can aid in praying the liturgy of the hours

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

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

The Fourth Meditation – Introduction to the Devout Life: Chapter 12 by St. Francis de Sales audio mp3 edition

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Catholic Devotional Prayers and Novenas - Mp3 Audio Downloads and Text 10

Introduction to the Devout Life
By
St. Francis de Sales

read by Omar F. A. Guiterrez

Chapter 11 – The Fourth Meditation:

For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

Other audio meditations from the Introduction to the Devout Life

On Sin

Preparation.
1. PLACE yourself in the Presence of God.
2. Ask Him to inspire your heart.

Considerations.
1. Consider how long it is since you first began to commit sin, and how since that first beginning sin has multiplied in your heart; how every day has added to the number of your sins against God, against yourself and against your neighbour, by deed, word, thought and desire.
2. Consider your evil tendencies, and how far you have followed them. These two points will show you that your sins are more in number than the hairs of your head, or the sand on the seashore.
3. Apart from sin, consider your ingratitude towards God, which is in itself a sin enfolding all the others, and adding to their enormity: consider the gifts which God has given you, and which you have turned against the Giver; especially the inspirations you have neglected, and the promptings to good which you have frustrated. Review the many Sacraments you have received, and see where are their fruits. Where are the precious jewels wherewith your Heavenly Bridegroom decked you? With what preparation have you received them? Reflect upon the ingratitude with which, while God sought to save you, you have fled from Him and rushed upon destruction.

Read more

How do you respond to the Father? Building a Kingdom Love with Msgr. John Esseff

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the importance of the family in our lives. He shares two very personal stories to offer insight on the role of fathers in the heart of each family.

Reading 2 Col 3:12-21

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,
as is proper in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives,
and avoid any bitterness toward them.
Children, obey your parents in everything,
for this is pleasing to the Lord.
Fathers, do not provoke your children,
so they may not become discouraged.

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 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. 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 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.

Chap 31 The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus Mp3 audio

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The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus,
of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel

Chapter 31

Of certain outward Temptations and Appearances of Satan—Of the Sufferings thereby occasioned—Counsels for those who go on unto Perfection

For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

For other chapters of the audio book visit: The Life of Teresa of Avila (autobiography) audio page

The Life
St. Teresa of Jesus,
of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel.
Written by Herself.
Translated from the Spanish by
David Lewis.
Third Edition Enlarged

Episode 1 – Introduction – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

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

Episode 2 – Praying the Psalms – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

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

Episode 3 – The Theology of the Liturgy of the Hours – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

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

Episode 4 – The Prayer of the Domestic Church – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

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

Episode 5 – How do I Pray the Liturgy of the Hours? – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Fr. Gallagher mentions iBrevary as a resource that can aid in praying the liturgy of the hours

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

Episode 7 – The Experience of the Liturgy of the Hours – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Fr. Gallagher mentions iBrevary as a resource that can aid in praying the liturgy of the hours

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

Episode 8 – A Prayer of Praise – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours with Fr. Timothy Gallagher

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Praying the Liturgy of the Hours

Fr. Gallagher mentions iBrevary as a resource that can aid in praying the liturgy of the hours

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

Introduction to the Devout Life By St. Francis de Sales

Reading 2 Col 3:12-21

Chapter 31

Introduction to the Devout Life
By
St. Francis de Sales