The Angelus – Discerning Hearts


The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:

And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. Hail Mary . . .

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28)

“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb”
(Lk 1:42).

 

“May Your Will Be Done” – Reflections on the 5th Sunday of Lent w/ Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

Msgr. Esseff reflects on the readings from the 5th Sunday of Lent.  Lord, create in me a new heart.  God wants to live in you.  How does that happen?  We must die.  What does that mean?  When we come to Jesus we must completely surrender.  Physically dying, in some ways, is easy. But surrendering to God, dying to ourselves, now that is hard.  If your Lenten journey has not lead you to  totally surrender, then you haven’t gotten it yet, but it’s not too late.  It’s ultimately about the choices we make.  What will your choice be?

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

ST15 – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – “Genesis” Opening Lecture and Explanation of Seeking Truth

Episode 15 – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran.    “Genesis” Opening Lecture and Explanation of Seeking Truth

Sharon Doran serves as the teaching director of “Seeking Truth.” An experienced Bible Study teacher, Sharon has a passion for scripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God’s Word and apply His message to your every day life.

This lecture is not only an overview of the book of Genesis, but also a sweeping view of the story of salvation. The “narratio”, or the narration, is the story of Christ, present from the very beginning of time to the very end yet to come. It is a powerful story that is present throughout the entire Bible.

“Seeking Truth” is an in depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to:www.seekingtruth.net

The 3 Levels of the Heart with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

Msgr. Esseff offers a teaching on the 3 levels of the heart.  He begins by looking at the Sacred Heart of Jesus, then moves to the examination of the layers of our hearts. In understanding of this is vitally important to appreciate how we make decisions and pray…if we are in our own will or God’s will.

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

IP#145 Bert Ghezzi – Discover Christ on Inside the Pages

It’s always a delight to talk with Bert Ghezzi, especially about Jesus.  In his new book, “Discover Christ: Developing a Personal Relationship with Christ” co authored with David Nodar, Bert tackles many of the big questions:

What is the meaning of life?
—Why do I need a savior?
—Why is the Resurrection important?
—What does it mean to believe and belong?
—Why does Jesus matter?

This is wonderful book to read if your are seeking a closer relationship with the Lord or to pass on to someone you know who is on that quest.

You can find the book here

 

 

The Darkness of Our Days vs. the Mercy and Love of God – Reflections on the 4th Sunday of Lent – Discerning Hearts

Msgr. Esseff reflects on the readings for the 4th Sunday of Lent. What are the darkness of our days? What is the message of this weekend’s liturgy? Mercy and Love! It’s not so much that God is so angry with mankind, but that He loves us so much that He would suffer and die for us, even when we are in sin. He did not come to condemn, but to save. What is required? Faith…faith in His infinite love. What is the sign of that love? Look at the crucifix.

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

IP#144 Amy Welborn – Wish You Were Here on Inside the Pages

Well, it would be difficult to write a book more poignant and compelling than this…obviously, it came straight from the heart.  Amy Welborn uses her incredible gift with words to paint an unforgettable picture of how grief and regret can be transformed, by grace, into hope.  It’s  a journey on a winding, sometimes bumpy road.  But what Amy has discovered through the help of her husband Mike, her kids, the land of Sicily, and ultimately, God, is that it is really true, there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.   As she says, “tragedy and joy, loss and understanding death and life are constantly mixed together…and the beauty of the Catholic faith is that it is all there….we have the whole picture.”  Its about faith, about hope, about love..and that is what is really eternal.

You can find the book here

“Amy Welborn’s latest book is a must-read spiritual treasure. It reveals not only the heart-wrenching dynamics of grief but also the odd and wonderful way grace illumines even the thickest darkness. Funny, engagingly written, spiritually profound, Wish You Were Here is a gem.”  –Fr. Robert Barron, author of Catholicism.

Be sure to visit Amy’s blog’s Charlotte Was Both  http://amywelborn.wordpress.com

and “Booked” the travel blog – http://booked.amywelborn.com

Pope Benedict on Prayer 25 – Venerating the Mother of God Means Learning to Become a Community of Prayer


Vatican City, 14 March 2012 (VIS)– During his general audience this morning the Holy Father began a new cycle of catecheses, dedicated to the subject of prayer in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters of St. Paul. The Pope focused his remarks today on the figure of Mary as she appears in the Acts, when with the Apostles she awaits the coming of the Holy Spirit.Benedict XVI told the more than 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square that “it was with Mary that Jesus’ earthly life began, and it was with her that the Church took its first steps. … She discreetly followed her Son’s journey during His public life, even unto the foot of the cross. Then, with silent prayer, she continued to follow the progress of the Church”, he explained.The stages of Mary’s own journey from the house of Nazareth to the Upper Room of Jerusalem “were marked by her capacity to maintain an ongoing state of contemplation, meditating upon each event in the silence of her heart, before God. The Mother of God’s presence with the Eleven after the Ascension … has great significance because with them she shared the most precious of things: the living memory of Jesus in prayer”.After Jesus’ Ascension to heaven, the Apostles met with Mary to await the gift of the Holy Spirit, without which it is not possible to bear witness to Christ. “She, who had already received the Spirit in order to generate the incarnate Word, shared the entire Church’s expectation of the same gift. … If it is true that there could be no Church without Pentecost, it is also true that there could have been no Pentecost without the Mother of Jesus, because she had a unique knowledge of what the Church experiences every day by the action of the Holy Spirit”.

The Pope went on to recall how the Vatican Council II Dogmatic Constitution “Lumen gentium” had emphasised this special relationship between the Virgin and the Church. “We see the Apostles before the day of Pentecost ‘constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women including Mary the mother of Jesus'”, he said. “Mary’s place is in the Church, ‘wherefore she is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member, … and as its type and excellent exemplar in faith and charity’.

“Venerating the Mother of Jesus in the Church means, then, learning from her how to become a community of prayer“, the Holy Father added. “This is one of the essential aspects of the first description of the Christian community given in the Acts of the Apostles”.

Our prayers “are often dictated by difficult situations, by personal problems which cause us to turn to the Lord in search of light, comfort and aid. But Mary invites us to open prayer to other dimensions, to address God not only in moments of need and not only for ourselves, but unanimously, perseveringly, faithfully and with ‘one heart and soul'”.

Benedict XVI also pointed out that Mary “was placed by the Lord at decisive moments of the history of salvation, and she always responded with complete readiness as a result of her profound bond with God matured through assiduous and intense prayer. … Between the Ascension and Pentecost, she was ‘with’ and ‘in’ the Church, in prayer. Mother of God and Mother of the Church, Mary exercises her maternity until the end of history”.

The Pope concluded by saying that “Mary teaches us the need for prayer and shows us how only through a constant, intimate and complete bond of love with her Son can we courageously leave our homes … to announce the Lord Jesus, Saviour of the world”.

 

What is “Eternal Life”? How does this understanding affect our prayer? Reflections by Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

What is “Eternal Life” and why is it so important for us to understand and live it’s meaning? Msgr. Esseff breaks open the “magnificent” Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel. He helps us to understand the “eternal” prayer of the heart of Jesus. How does this affect our prayer, especially in our appreciation of “contemplative” prayer and contemplation? How does this affect our understanding of “time”? Msgr. Esseff discusses Purgatory in a way that takes this into account. What is death in this world? What is true life in this world?

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

ST14 – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – “Genesis” Opening Lecture and Explanation of Seeking Truth – Discerning Hearts

Episode 14 – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran.    “Genesis” Opening Lecture and Explanation of Seeking Truth

Sharon Doran serves as the teaching director of “Seeking Truth.” An experienced Bible Study teacher, Sharon has a passion forscripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God’s Word and apply His message to your every day life.

This lecture was given on the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows and in her opening lecture, Sharon gives honor to Mary, who always points us to her Son, Jesus. Sharon also highlights the importance of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and gives an engaging overview of its origin and authorship.

“Seeking Truth” is an in depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to:www.seekingtruth.net