IP#235 Fr. R. Scott Hurd – When Faith Feels Fragile on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

It’s a rare believer that doesn’t feel challenged at times in the area of faith. For those occasions, Fr. R. Scott Hurd provides wise counsel and encouragement in “When Faith Feels Fragile: Help for the Wary, Weak, and Wandering.” Fr. Scott has an engaging and pastorally sensitive approach to many of the common issues that cause us to stumble on the journey of faith. A great book even if you feel your faith is strong, and to passed on to those you may know who are struggling.

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You can find the book here

“At some point in our life, our faith is tested. It can feel like God is hidden and out of reach. We wonder if we can we count on God’s presence. When Faith Feels Fragile teaches us how to recognize the many ways that God touches us in the course of our daily routine. Drawing on the practical wisdom of life’s experience, Father Scott Hurd explores the deeper spiritual meaning by finding parallels in Scripture and Christian spirituality. We learn how to “open ourselves up to the gift of faith and hold it close to our hearts.”

-His Eminence Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington

LFT-10 Living a Life of Virtue Prayer – Listening For Truth with Deacon James Keating episode 10 – Discerning Hearts

Episode 10-Listening For Truth– Practical ways of living a life of virtue prayer…one way to listen to friends and even enemies to hear the truth God may be wanting to reveal to us. The wounds that surface in the healing process. The interior healing that can occur and who should help with that process.

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Deacon James Keating, PhD., the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, is making available to ”Discerning Hearts” and all who listen, his series of programs entitled “Listening For Truth”.

Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.

For more information on the “Institute of Priestly Formation” and for oth er material available by Deacon Keating, just click here

Don’t forget to pickup a copy of “Communion with Christ” , it is on e of the best audio sets on prayer…ever!

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

Faith Check 10 – Reliability of Oral Tradition

Reliability of Oral Tradition

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In the modern world, oral means of communication are deemed inherently unreliable as we’ve all heard of the game of telephone where a phrase is whispered around a circle and it comes out nothing like the original.

But scholars have shown that in the ancient world, and to this day in some places, oral traditions were memorized and passed down to multiple generations without alteration.¹

When the apostles went out to teach the Faith, they did not whisper it in secret, but proclaimed it publicly to the multitudes. Oral tradition was the normative means of passing on the faith, as St. Paul’s says in 2 Timothy 2:2, “what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

There is no evidence that a widespread change in belief took place among the early Christians. Quite the opposite, at the end of the second century St. Irenaeus wrote that while the Church had spread over the entire known world, the Faith had been maintained in tact everywhere,² something only attributable to the Holy Spirit.

1 – e.g., . Kenneth Bailey, “Informal, Controlled, Oral Tradition and the Synoptic Gospels” Asia Journal of Theology, 5.1
(1991)

2 – Against Heresies 1:10:2 [ca. A.D. 180]

St. Teresa of Avila and the Power of Prayer – A Reflection with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

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Msgr. John Esseff

Msgr. Esseff reflects on the life and teachings of St. Teresa of Avila. He also reflects on the scriptures and the “Our Father”

Faith Check 9 – The Place of the Bible in the Church

The Place of the Bible in the Church

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You know, as Catholics we believe that the Bible is God’s Holy and Inspired Word.

However, we don’t hold that our Lord intended the Bible alone to be our sole teacher in the Christian faith.

Just think how easily the meaning of our e-mails can be misinterpreted, sometimes causing great strife between people. Then take the Bible, which is infinitely longer, more complex, and written over a millennia ago in a world very different from our own, and we can begin to see why Jesus wouldn’t leave His teaching to just a book.

The Church looks to what it calls Sacred Tradition—which is rooted in things like Church Councils, Creeds, and the early Fathers of the Church—to safeguard our interpretation of God’s Word. All of the Catholic Church’s beliefs can be traced back to the earliest Christians.

Our Lord also chose the twelve apostles to go out and make disciples of all nations¹ and promised them the assistance of the Holy Spirit.² The apostles ordained bishops who have succeeded them down to this present day.³ The Catholic Church is a living voice that rings out for all to hear, proclaiming and interpreting God’s Word to every generation.⁴

1 – Mt. 28:20

2 – Jn. 14:26

3 – cf. Acts 14:23; 1 Tim. 3:1-8; 2 Tim. 1:6; 2:2; Tit. 1:5; Js. 5:14; 1 Pt. 5:1; Jd. 8ff

4 – cf. 1 Tim. 3:15; Mt. 16:18

BKL#49 – To Have a Spirit of Gratitude and Faithfulness like Mary – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

Show 49 ” Building a Kingdom of Love” – To Have a Spirit of Gratitude and Faithfulness like Mary

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the teaching of the Sacred Scriptures and on the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

Reading 12 KGS 5:14-17

Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of Elisha, the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean of his leprosy.

Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.
Please accept a gift from your servant.”

Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;”
and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused.
Naaman said: “If you will not accept,
please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth,
for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD.”

Gospel LK 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

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 Blessed 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 Bl. 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.

To obtain a copy of Msgr. Esseff’s book byvisiting here

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building a Kingdom of Love”

CW4 Our Lady of the Rosary – Praying with the Blessed Virgin Mary – The Great Cloud of Witnesses: Guides for Prayer with Fr. Mark Cyza – Discerning Hearts

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Fr. Mark Cyza discusses praying with Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. He speaks of the history of the devotion., as well as, the importance of spending time in contemplation of the saving mysteries of our salvation. Fr. Cyza explains why should welcome the opportunity to pray with Blessed Virgin Mary and how she walks with us in her great garden of prayer.

Resources: Visit the Discerning Hearts Holy Rosary Page here

BTP#32 St. Bernard, the 12 Steps to Humility and Pride, On Loving God – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

BTP#32 St. Bernard and the 12 Steps to Humility and Pride – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints. In this episode Dr. Lilles continues the discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux and his teachings found in “The 12 Steps to Humility and Pride” and “On Loving God”.

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Dr. Lilles offers 4 key points we should keep in mind as we move forward in this series

1. The Search for God
2. Listening to God – Lectio Divnia
3. Conversion to God – Conversatio Morum
4. Living with oneself and letting God fashion one into His image

Dr. Lilles’ continues his discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux, “The 12 Steps of Humility and Pride” and “On Loving God”:

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Hidden-Mountain — To obtain a copy of Dr. Lilles’ book click here

Dr.Anthony Lilles is a Catholic husband and father of three teaching Spiritual Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. He teaches spiritual theology and spiritual direction to transitional deacons, and the spiritual classics to the men who enter the Spirituality Year, a year of prayer in preparation for seminary formation. He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray” Catholic blog spot.

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles

Here is the bibliography that Dr. Lilles spoke of in this episode:

The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints

Saints, other figures, dates and bibliographic information

St. Benedict of Nursia – b. 480 – d. 547.

St. Benedict. The Rule. Edited by Timothy Fry, O.S.B. New York: Vintage Books, Random House, 1981, 1998.

IP#234 Mike Aquilina – Good Pope, Bad Pope on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

“Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lesson” is another terrific book by the prolific Mike Aquilina. This is a much needed resource for all Catholics. Those of us who love and appreciate the gift of the Papacy in the life of the Church, if we are honest with ourselves, cringe a bit inside when the facts of history uncover those Popes who were…well…bad. Leave it to Mike Aquilina to guide us through those notorious lives and times, while helping us to see the lesson we can learn from those particular experiences. Mike also lifts up those outstanding men who were more than just “good” Popes (which the overwhelming majority were), but reminds of popes like Bl. John Paul II, who could be called “great”. Be not afraid of history, especially when its in the hands of Mike Aquilina.

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You can find the book here

From the description:

Every pope is by definition a remarkable man. But the popes whose stories you’ll read here were chosen because they reveal how the papacy developed. They show us how Christ kept his promise to his bride, the Church, not only in her health but also in her sickness. The great popes advanced our understanding of Christian doctrine. But even more remarkable, the worst popes could do nothing to damage the teaching of the Church.

That’s why, even in its darkest moments, the story of the papacy is a story of triumph. And that’s why it’s worth knowing these twelve popes.

IP#233 Dr. Matthew Bunson – Pope Francis “the interviews” on Inside the Pages

It was great to discuss with Dr. Matthew Bunson the interviews given by Pope Francis to America Magazine and La Republicca . We discuss the poor translations, issues which have arisen from some of the “statements”, and the reaction of Catholics to this new “genre” of papal reporting. Dr. Bunson is a master of seeing through the fog to the heart of the matter. Great insights!!!

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You can find the book here

For the outstanding article from the OSV Newsweekly authored by Dr. Bunson:

Interview reveals discerning, transparent pontiff

Looking past sensational headlines, it gives insights into his ideas for governance, plans for reform

By Matthew Bunson – OSV Newsweekly, 10/6/2013

The interview was conducted by editor-in-chief of Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro. CNS photo

The flurry of misinterpretation in the secular media following the Sept. 19 publication of a 12,000-word interview with Pope Francis in America magazineand other Jesuit journals around the world was hardly surprising. Conducted over the course of three sessions in August with Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, editor-in-chief of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal, the interview sparked eye-grabbing headlines that painted a false narrative that the pope was somehow declaring the Church’s teachings on abortion, homosexuality and sexual ethics to be no longer relevant.

Incidentally, Pope Francis’ remarks the next day to a group of obstetricians and gynecologists, in which he strongly spoke out against an anti-life culture, threw the secular media for a loop.

A further effect of the brief sensation resulting from the interview, though, was the unfortunate overshadowing of the rest of the deeply personal, transparent and all-around remarkable conversation.

Ideas of government

The wide-ranging questions prompted some profound insights by the pope and also uncovered further aspects of his personality and his formation as a priest and one of the most intensely pastoral pontiffs in living memory.

Read more