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St. Lawrence, THE model for today’s deacon with Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts

Deacon James Keating, of the Institute for Priestly Formation, speaks about “The Role of Deacon” and St. Lawrence

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St. Lawrence of Rome was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258.

His story is so touching (click here for a thorough telling). He models the charism of diakonia…genuine “ministry” of the gospel in the heart of the Church. He witnessed to and lived out the command of Our Lord as found in Matthew 25. Oh…to truly know modern day deacons in the order of Lawrence…

Often we see holy cards that depict Lawrence fully vested and holding what looks like a rack from a Weber kettle. But his martyrdom was actually horrific and deserving of deeper reflection. He could have avoided it, given the Roman official what he desired and spared his own life…but he didn’t. The grace he received to bear witness lives for the centuries as a tremendous testimony of faith speaking out in truth and love…no matter what. The image below is by Titian, and is the one I hold in my heart for St. Lawrence.

On Edith Stein, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross – the brilliant radiance…In Conversation with Sr. Renee Mirkes

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We are joined by the incredible Sr. Renee Mirkes, a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity,

who is director of the Center for NaProEthics, the ethics division of the Pope Paul VI Institute. So many have already said so much about St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’ life, but to really honor her is to explore (the best we can)

her incredible work. Sr. Renee is someone who has. Sr. Renee offers to us just the tip of the iceberg of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross’ tremendous legacy. Edith…brilliant. Sr. Renee…brilliant.

A Prayer to St. Dominic – Mp3 Audio Download and Text – Discerning Hearts

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O Holy Priest of God
and glorious Patriarch, St. Dominic,
thou who wast the friend,
the well-beloved son
and confidant of the Queen of Heaven,
and didst work so many miracles
by the power of the Holy Rosary,
have regard for my intercessions.
On earth you opened your heart
to the miseries of your fellow man,
and your hands were strong to help them;
now in heaven your charity has not grown less
nor has your power waned.
Pray for me to the Mother of the Rosary
and to her Divine Son,
for I have great confidence
that through your assistance
I shall obtain the favor I so much desire:

(mention your intentions).

Amen.

Pope Paul VI – Christian Values and Virtues….In Conversation with Karl Schultz

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Bruce and I had a conversation with Karl Schultz, editor of “Christian Values and Virtues” comprised of Pope Paul VI’s teachings on peace, hope, humility, faith, suffering, love, and joy as comprised through his public audiences and his writings. Karl also shares little known things about Pope Paul VI. This book is a must read for those interested in understanding the impact of Pope Paul VI’s papacy on the modern Catholic Church.

You can find the book here

Pope-Paul-VI-1 — Ora pro nobis, Paulus Sextus. + August 6, 1978

“When was your day of Transfiguration?” with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the feast of the Transfiguration. He asks us to take time and prayerfully reflect and ask God to show you those moments of “transfiguration” in our lives.

Gospel LK 9:28B-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up a mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,

“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.

Faith Check 4 – Mary Our Mother

Mary Our Mother

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On this faith check let’s talk about why Catholics believe the Virgin Mary is not just Jesus’ mother, but our mother too.

It was during the crucifixion in St. John 19 that Our Lord looked down at Mary and the apostle John at the foot of the cross and said to Mary, “Woman behold your son,” and to John, “Behold your mother.” ¹

Bear in mind here that Jesus is suffering the pains of the cross—He must be doing something bigger than simply asking John to watch after his Mother. John here is a representative of all of Jesus’ followers, and Jesus is giving his mother to all of us.

In Revelation 12 John describes his vision of a “woman clothed with the sun,”² who brings forth a male child to rule the nations and defeat the ancient dragon who is the devil. Verse 17 says that the offspring of this woman are those who keep God’s commandments and bear testimony to Jesus.

Friends, God has given us Mary, the Woman chosen from all eternity,³ to be our spiritual mother and draw us closer to her son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 – Jn. 19:26-27

2 – Rev. 12:1

3 – cf. Gen. 3:15, Is. 7:14; Jer. 31:22, etc.

BKL#42 – The Blinding Danger of Greed – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

Show 42 ” Building a Kingdom of Love” – The Blinding Danger of Greed

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on the danger of greed:

Gospel LK 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”

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”

“St. John Vianney – The Grace of Ars” … In conversation with Fr. Fredrick Miller

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St. John Vianney is the subject of the a book by Fr. Frederick L. Miller, a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ, is

the Chairman of the Department of Systematic Theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. We had a chance to speak to him about the life and times and this holy priest.

You can find the book here

St. Peter Chrysologus (Peter of the Golden Words) with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

The ultimate homiliest… so much so that he is known forever after as St. Peter Chrysologus (Peter of the Golden Words). Born in 380 and died July 30 45o A.D. He was known for his short and inspired talks…make note: can be inspired AND short…wow! He spoke out against all those nasty heresies of the time (Aranism to name just one) and encouraged daily communion.

Take a listen to Mike Aquilina (speaking of Mr. Golden Words) talk to us about this time in history and all those “isms”, and how the Holy Spirit worked through the Church to battle those false teachings

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Favorite quotes:

“He is The Bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the Flesh, molded in His Passion, baked in the furnace of the Sepulchre, placed in the Churches, and set upon the Altars, which daily supplies Heavenly Food to the faithful.”

“Today Christ works the first of his signs from heaven by turning water into wine. But water [mixed with wine] has still to be changed into the sacrament of his blood, so that Christ may offer spiritual drink from the chalice of his body, to fulfill the psalmist’s prophecy: How excellent is my chalice, warming my spirit.”

Faith Check 3 – Praying to Saints

Praying to Saints

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On this faith check let’s answer the question, “why pray to a saint when you can pray straight to God?”

Of course, Catholics can and do pray straight to God. But we also pray to saints, not to worship them, but simply to ask for their prayers on our behalf, just like we ask our friends on earth to pray for us.

In the communion of saints we are spiritually connected to believers in the here and now and in the hereafter. For instance, Hebrews tells us we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses,”¹ who are aware of what’s going on here. We read in Revelation that the prayers of the elders and saints in heaven are ascending before the throne of God.²

The prayers of the saints are powerful because they have been perfected in God’s grace and as St. James says, “the fervent prayer of the righteous has great power.”³

Early Christian writings demonstrate that this practice was not a later corruption, but goes back to the very first centuries of Christianity. So let us join with Christians of all ages in saying “all you holy men and women, pray for us!”

1 – 12:1

2 – 5:8; 8:3; etc.

3 – 5:16