Inside the Pages Archives

IP#338 – Julia Marie Hogan – It’s OK To Start With You on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:35 — 24.4MB) | Embed

I have already given several copies of this book to friends, that is how much I love this book! REMEMBER the airplane rule! You must put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you can help others. This principle is an essential guidepost for all of us. “It’s OK To Start With You” is steeped in Catholic wisdom. You are in good hands with Julia Marie Hogan as your guide through the process of entering into “authentic self-care.” No matter what your season in life, I HIGHLY recommend this book because it’s never too late to start. It will not disappoint!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Self-care is often misunderstood in our society. Far too many of us dismiss it as selfish pampering, and the results can be devastating for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Real self-care is anything but self-indulgent. It’s an essential discipline, rooted in the reality of who we are as God’s beloved children.

In It’s OK to Start with You, therapist Julia Marie Hogan, LCPC, makes the case for making self-care a priority beginning with reclaiming your own worth. Based on her practice as a therapist, she offers deep insights into the reasons why we neglect to take care of ourselves and provides needed tools to change our habits of thinking and acting so we can show up fully in our lives and relationships. With step-by-step instructions for building a tailored self-care plan, reflection questions, and note-taking space, this book is the ultimate guide to becoming the most authentic version of yourself.

IP#358 Fr. Donald Haggerty – Contemplative Engimas on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:49 — 30.1MB) | Embed

Fr. Donald Haggerty Contemplative Podcast

What a delight to be joined once again by Fr. Donald Haggerty! He has become one of our favorite spiritual writers of our present-day! In this episode, we discuss “Contemplative Engimas: Insights and Aid on the Path to Deeper Prayer.” We cannot more highly recommend this beautiful work. If all you do is read a couple of pages a day that would more then enough for you to feel like you’ve been sitting at the feet of a spiritual master for an entire day! Every page is a gem!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Despite signs in recent decades of a crisis in the Church, a countercurrent of intense interest in prayer and serious spiritual life is clearly at work today. A deeper esteem for a contemplative dimension of spiritual life has accompanied this turning to prayer, and many people have a need for some form of direction and guidance. Written by a recognized expert on contemplative spirituality, this book concentrates on the mystery of interior trial and difficulty in contemplative prayer. The hardships experienced in the interior life by souls who give themselves to God wholeheartedly are often little acknowledged; yet they are seen with some regularity in contemplative lives. This work offers more than a summary of the symptoms of trial in a contemplative spirituality. The poignant observations have a source in the author’s long years of experience in retreat work with souls of contemplative depth. Personal experience, not simply knowledge of the spiritual tradition, informs these insightful reflections. The concise, carefully crafted comments of this book delve into spiritual difficulties and conundrums in a uniquely personal and penetrating manner. Throughout the book, the writing invites the reader to ponder the subject of spiritual darkness and perplexity and simple struggle in the spiritual life always in the light of the loving hand of God drawing the soul into a greater surrender to himself. The work offers a unique aid and stimulus in the quest for a deeper spirituality.

Other conversations with Fr. Haggerty on Inside the Pages:

Fr. Donald Haggerty -Contemplative Hunger on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Fr. Donald Haggerty – Conversion on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

IP#330 Terrence Wright – “Dorothy Day” on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:53 — 19.8MB) | Embed

I really love this book! This is a must-have entry point for anyone wanting to learn more about an incredible 20th-century American woman who’s life continues to speak to us today! In “Dorothy Day: An Introduction to Her Life and Thought” by Terrence Wright we are shown what conversion looks like and what fruit can be nurtured by a life steeped in mercy, prayer, and care for those in need. Servant of God Dorothy Day, please pray for us!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

In this introduction to the life and thought of Dorothy Day, one of the most important lay Catholics of the twentieth century, Terrence Wright presents her radical response to God’s mercy. After a period of darkness and sin, which included an abortion and a suicide attempt, Day had a profound awakening to God’s unlimited love and mercy through the birth of her daughter.

After her conversion, Day answered the calling to bring God’s mercy to others. With Peter Maurin, she founded the Catholic Worker Movement in 1933. Dedicated to both the spiritual and the corporal works of mercy, they established Houses of Hospitality, Catholic Worker Farms, and the Catholic Worker newspaper.

Drawing heavily from Day’s own writings, this book reveals her love for Scripture, the sacraments, and the magisterial teaching of the Church. The author explores her philosophy and spirituality, including her devotion to Saints Francis, Benedict, and Thérèse. He also shows how her understanding of the Mystical Body of Christ led to some of her more controversial positions such as pacifism.

Since her death in 1980, Day continues to serve as a model of Christian love and commitment. She recognized Christ in the less fortunate and understood that to be a servant of these least among us is to be a servant of God.

“Walk Humbly Before Your God” The Spiritual Journey – In Conversation with Fr. Andrew Apostoli – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:43 — 36.2MB) | Embed

“Walk Humbly Before Your God: Simple Steps to a Virtuous Life” is an all-time favorite. Fr. Andrew Apostoli, a founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and a frequent host on the Eternal Word Television Network, had a beautiful way of shining new light on fundamental truths. He graciously took time to teach us about the nature of prayer, how it develops in our lives and how we can nurture it. He spoke of Jesus and several aspects of his prayer: praise, thanksgiving, intercession, and how it aids in our suffering. Our traditional vocal prayers, as well as the depths of contemplation, were also discussed including how do we deal with distractions, Fr. Apostoli, a humble, holy priest, was a master spiritual catechist! He died on December 13, 2017, the morning after the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Contained in this 50-minute discussion, you’ll find guidance that can last a lifetime.

You can find Fr. Apostoli’s book here

From the book description:

Christians, if they are to have any impact in today s world, have something of the same code: we fight the good fight, side by side, ready to lay down our lives for one another. Such heroism doesn t come naturally. As Walk Humbly With Your God points out, it is in the day-to-day training, in taking the simple steps to holiness, that heroism becomes second nature.

Fr. Apostoli provides an inspirational guide to conquering our faults, growing in prayer and acquiring the virtues that enable us to walk with God and live for others.

In Conversation with Fr. Benedict Groeschel – The Virtue Driven Life – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:59 — 20.6MB) | Embed

Bruce and I were deeply blessed to have a conversation with the late Fr. Benedict Groeschel on “The Virtue Driven Life“. Engaging, humble, funny, and saintly, Fr. Groeschel has left us such a tremendous legacy of teaching on the spiritual life! In this conversation, we discuss the three theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity; as well as the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Fr. Groeschel, always practical, shares the wisdom of a spiritual father which illuminates more clearly the travails of the spiritual journey. How blessed were we to have such a spiritual master in our midst!

May eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May Fr. Benedict Groeschel, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen!

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Since when is being called “virtuous” an insult?

It’s a word that has gotten a bad rap, misused and misunderstood even by great thinkers, philosophers, and theologians, and mocked in the cynical sound bites of the media.

Rediscover virtue as it should be understood in our lives. With wit, warmth, and wisdom, Father Groeschel reintroduces the seven virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope, and charity. One by one he makes them meaningful for modern men and women, shaking off the dusty mantle of pretentiousness and demonstrating how each has a real role in a whole and holy life.

Father Groeschel’s charming conversational style entertains even as he educates and challenges us. History, politics, an advertisement, the neighbor down the street … all are reference points for Father Groeschel as he explores the meaning of each virtue for Christians today. By the end of the book, you will understand that being labeled virtuous is the ultimate compliment!

In Conversation with Fr. Thomas Dubay – Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:01 — 35.8MB) | Embed

It was with great joy we had the opportunity to talk with Fr. Thomas Dubay. His work on “Fire Within” and all the programs he gave us on EWTN was instrumental in my spiritual growth. In those early days, he was like having a distant spiritual director who guided me, as well as the rest of us, toward a deeper relationship with Christ.

He told me once, “Kris, the best theology books are the lives of the saints; you study them and you won’t be led astray.” Fr. Thomas Dubay, in a very real way, helped inspire the work of this blog and its mission.

Here is where you can find the book we discuss

From the book description

Fr. Thomas Dubay is one of the most popular and respected retreat masters and spiritual directors in the USA. He is the author of the perennial best-selling book on prayer and contemplation, Fire Within. In this book, he responds to the call to priests by both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI to help believers and all those interested in spirituality to develop a deeper prayer life and union with God.

As in his other popular writings, Dubay’s style is profound and meditative yet clear and readable. He gives an overview of the spiritual life and journey for anyone seeking to grow in the love of God and neighbor. An expert on the teachings and writings of the two great mystical doctors of prayer and the spiritual life, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, Dubay gives solid practical advice for a deepening moral and spiritual conversion, and a radical growth in holiness.

Topics covered in depth in this book include:

The Radical Conversion
Relevance and Motivation
Conversion and Genuine Love
Degrees of Depth
Remarkable Resistance
Called to the Heights
Sure-fire Program

IP#356 “What Really Happens After We Die” pt. 2 – James Papandrea on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:14 — 17.4MB) | Embed

What a delight to be joined once again by Dr. James Papndrea, especially to discuss his book “What Really Happens After We Die: There Will Be Hugs in Heaven.” In part 2 of this podcast, we discuss Heaven and the reality of Hell.

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Here professor of Church history Dr. James Papandrea gathers in one place all that is known about the afterlife — drawn from the teachings of Jesus, the Apostles, the Church Fathers, and the Church’s Magisterium — affording, for the first time ever, a complete, authoritative, detailed portrait of the state of souls after death and the realms we enter. The following are among the many questions he answers:

-If, as St. Paul says, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God,” how can our bodies enter Heaven?

-After death but before the final resurrection, are we simply unconscious?

-What is our resurrection like? (And does it differ from Jesus’ Resurrection?)

-Are ghosts real? (You’ll be surprised at what the Church Fathers have to say.)

-What is the difference between Heaven and Paradise?

-Which of our parts will accompany us to Heaven (and which must be left behind)?

-In Heaven, do we still eat and drink?

-If, as Jesus says, there’s no marrying in heaven, are we still male and female there?

-After our resurrection, will we, like Jesus, be able to pass through matter?

-And many more fascinating questions answered!

Other conversations with James Papandrea on Inside the Pages:

IP#355 What Really Happens After We Die” pt. 1 – James Papandrea on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

IP#327 Dr. James Papandrea – From Star Wars to Superman on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

IP#355 “What Really Happens After We Die” pt. 1 – James Papandrea on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:44 — 19.8MB) | Embed

What a delight to be joined once again by Dr. James Papndrea, especially to discuss his book “What Really Happens After We Die: There Will Be Hugs in Heaven.” In part 1 of this podcast, we discuss the relationship between body and soul, the nature of Purgatory, and the teachings of the Fathers (and Mothers) of the Church.

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Here professor of Church history Dr. James Papandrea gathers in one place all that is known about the afterlife — drawn from the teachings of Jesus, the Apostles, the Church Fathers, and the Church’s Magisterium — affording, for the first time ever, a complete, authoritative, detailed portrait of the state of souls after death and the realms we enter. The following are among the many questions he answers:

-If, as St. Paul says, “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God,” how can our bodies enter Heaven?

-After death but before the final resurrection, are we simply unconscious?

-What is our resurrection like? (And does it differ from Jesus’ Resurrection?)

-Are ghosts real? (You’ll be surprised at what the Church Fathers have to say.)

-What is the difference between Heaven and Paradise?

-Which of our parts will accompany us to Heaven (and which must be left behind)?

-In Heaven, do we still eat and drink?

-If, as Jesus says, there’s no marrying in heaven, are we still male and female there?

-After our resurrection, will we, like Jesus, be able to pass through matter?

-And many more fascinating questions answered!

Other conversations with James Papandrea on Inside the Pages:

IP#327 Dr. James Papandrea – From Star Wars to Superman on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Podcast

IP#44 Susan Tassone – Praying with the Saints for the Holy Souls in Purgatory on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:57 — 21.3MB) | Embed

No one I know has the passion, zeal and just sheer love for the Holy Souls in Purgatory like Susan Tassone! She has an incredible depth of knowledge on the subject. You will never feel you are without companions on the journey after you hear Susan plead the Holy Souls cause.

You can find the book here

Let the saints inspire you to intercede for the holy souls in purgatory!
Throughout the ages the devotions, prayers, and practices of the Communion of Saints have been offered up on behalf of souls in purgatory, the Church Suffering. The saints ardent desire to intercede for the holy souls impelled them to pray ceaselessly for their eternal rest.
This inspiring book shows how you can join the saints in this act of divine charity, thereby attaining spiritual gifts for acts done for the souls that cry out to us for relief.
–See the firsthand experiences that saints have had with the holy souls
–Learn the power of intercessory prayer on behalf of souls in purgatory
–Seasonal Devotions & Spiritual Aids prepare all members of the family to plead the cause of souls

Susan Tassone’s Official Website

IP#319 Joshua Hochschild – A Mind at Peace on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:19 — 20.8MB) | Embed

Dr. Joshua Hochschild, along with his co-author Christopher Blum, brings us “A Mind at Peace: Reclaiming an Ordered Soul in the Age of Distraction.” It is outstanding and truly needed by us all! More than a self-help book, this work is more about cultivating a virtue-driven life through a series of very practical spiritual exercises and reclaiming balance and order in our distraction driven world. An absolute must-have for all seeking peace and an ordered soul.

You can find the book here

From the Inside Flap:

These past two decades, modern technology has brought into being scores of powerful challenges to our interior peace and well-being. We’re experiencing a worldwide crisis of attention in which information overwhelms us, corrodes true communion with others, and leaves us anxious, unsettled, bored, isolated, and lonely.

These pages provide the time-tested antidote that enables you to regain an ordered and peaceful mind in a technologically advanced world. Drawing on the wisdom of the world’s greatest thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas, these pages help you identify and show you how to cultivate the qualities of character you need to survive in our media-saturated environment.

This book offers a calm, measured, yet forthright and effective approach to regaining interior peace. Here you’ll find no argument for retreat from the modern world; instead these pages provide you with a practical guide to recovering self-mastery and interior peace through wise choices and ordered activity in the midst of the world’s communication chaos.