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WOM#14 – The Eucharist summons us like a beacon – The Way of Mystery with Deacon James Keating episode 14 – Discerning Hearts

Episode 14 -The Way of Mystery: The Eucharist and Moral Living– The Eucharist summons us like a beacon. Even in the face of scandal, the moral authority of the Church shines through the Eucharist and challenges us to follow Christ in moving forward and allowing our hearts to be transformed. Mortal sin, what is it and how does it effect our relationship with the Eucharist…with Christ? Being present at mass even if you shouldn’t receive…not allowing yourself to be separated from worship.

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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 “The Way of Mystery”.

The Vatican II documents remind us that the spiritual journey is not made in a vacuum, that God has chosen to save us, not individually, but as The People of God. The Eucharist must help Christians to make their choices by discerning out of Christ’s paschal mystery. For this process to take place, however, Christians must first understand how the Eucharist puts them in touch with Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, and what concrete implications being in touch with this mystery has for their daily lives.

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

“To distinguish between good and evil” – Diadochus of Photice from the Office of Readings

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From the treatise On Spiritual Perfection by Diadochus of Photice
(Cap 6:26-27, 30: PG 65, 1169, 1175-1176)

The mind has a spiritual sense which teaches us
to distinguish between good and evil

The light of true knowledge makes it possible to discern without error the difference between good and evil. Then the path of justice, which leads to the sun of Justice, brings the mind into the limitless light of knowledge, since it never fails to seek the love of God with all confidence.

Therefore, we must maintain great stillness of mind, even in the midst of our struggles. We shall then be able to distinguish between the different types of thoughts that come to us: those that are good, those sent by God, we will treasure in our memory; those that are evil and inspired y the devil we will reject. A comparison with the sea may help us. A tranquil sea allows the fisherman to gaze right to its depths. No fish can hide there and escape his sight. The stormy sea, however, becomes murky when it is agitated by the winds. The very depths that it revealed in its placidness, the sea now hides. The skills of the fisherman are useless.

Only the Holy Spirit can purify the mind: unless the strong man enters and robs the thief, the booty will not be recovered. So by every means, but especially by peace of soul, we must try to provide the Holy Spirit with a resting place. Then we shall have the light of knowledge shining within us at all times, and it will show up for what they are, all the dark and hateful temptations that come from demons, and not only will it show them up: exposure to this holy and glorious light will also greatly diminish their power.

This is why the Apostle says: Do not stifle the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of goodness: do not grieve him by your evil actions and thought, and so deprive yourself of the defense his light affords you. In his own being, which is eternal and life-giving, he is not stifled, but when his is grieved he turns away and leaves the mind in darkness, deprived of the light of knowledge.

The mind is capable of tasting and distinguishing accurately whatever is presented to it. Just as when our health is good we can tell the difference between good and bad food by our bodily sense of taste and reach for what is wholesome, so when our mind is strong and free from all anxiety, it is able to taste the riches of diving consolation, and to preserve, through love, the memory of this taste. This teaches us what is best with absolute certainty. As Saint Paul says: My prayer is that your love may increase more and more in knowledge and insight, and so enable you to choose what is best.

Day 9 The Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots Novena – Discerning Hearts

Click here for the complete text and audio for the Mary, Untier of Knots Novena

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Ninth day:

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Bible reading:

« 14 All of these together gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers…» and »when the day of Pentecost arrived, all were filled with the Holy Spirit.» (Acts 1:14 and 2:1-4)

Brief Reflection:

Our Father sends the Holy Spirit on the feast of Pentecost , that will feed us in our faith. This is the same faith that with Mary’s maternal help, will remove the bonds that keep us prisoners. With the light of the Holy Spirit we see in meridian clarity which of our anguishes had our spirit trapped. The guidance of Saint Michael the Archangel has always been certain, Saint Gabriel the Archangel will announce my freedom and Saint Michael the Archangel, will protect me from any attack. The Evil one (the serpent), overpowered by the presence of Mary, lies at her feet, made into a useless knot, unable to touch us.

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Day 8 The Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots Novena – Discerning Hearts

Click here for the complete text and audio for the Mary, Untier of Knots Novena

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Eighth day:

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Bible reading:

« 26 When Jesus saw his Mother, and the disciple whom he loved, he said to his Mother, “Woman, there is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “There is your mother.” And from that moment the disciple took her to his own home. » (John 19, 26-27)

Brief Reflection:

At the moment Jesús went to the Father, he leaves us in the care of his Mother. It is the greatest legacy that Jesús left to Our Virgin Mary, and when he points out to the disciple he loves, he gives her custody of the whole humanity. She will be our Advocate, Helper, Benefac-tress, and Mediatrix. The handmaid of the Lord, will grant us freedom through her intercesión, she will untie the final knots that make us prisoners.

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

WOM#13 – The Purgative and Illuminative Way – The Way of Mystery with Deacon James Keating episode 13 – Discerning Hearts

Episode 13 -The Way of Mystery: The Eucharist and Moral Living– the spiritual life and moral living… understanding the journey through the Purgative and Illuminative Way and their role in the moral life.

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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

Day 7 The Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots Novena – Discerning Hearts

Click here for the complete text and audio for the Mary, Untier of Knots Novena

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Seventh day:

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Bible reading:

“ It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.”(Luke 23, 44)

Brief Reflection:

The Father’s will is about to be acomplished; Our Lord Jesus Christ will die on the cross for our salvation, in the promise of his Resurrection. From the darkness the light will shine to illumine us, freedom from darkness. We already see our problems with more clarity. Our ties loosen, in the measure in which they conform to the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. At this time we are closer to his Mother, the Virgin Mary.

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Day 6 The Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots Novena – Discerning Hearts

Click here for the complete text and audio for the Mary, Untier of Knots Novena

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Sixth day:

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Bible reading:

4 Jesus replied, “Woman, your thoughts are not mine! My hour has not yet come.” 5 However his mother said to the servants, “Do what-ever he tells you.” (John 2, 4-5)

Brief Reflection:

In the wedding feast of Cana , the patient Virgin Mary interce-des for the guest. With this act, she inaugurates her Mediation between the Son of God and men. The faithful servant of the Lord, is our most humble and maternal servant, in our afflictions, despairs, tribulations and wrongs doings. She is the Mediatrix of all graces, to which we commend ourselves in our intricate problems, that with her maternal hands, she will untie the knots that still imprison us.

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Day 5 The Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots Novena – Discerning Hearts

Click here for the complete text and audio for the Mary, Untier of Knots Novena

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Fifth day:

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Bible Reading:

« 7 Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. 8 For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks. » (Mathew 7, 7-8)

Brief Reflection:

The Heart of Mary is opened to us, like the door to heaven. We only need to ask for her help and her maternal arms will open for our tor-tured spirits. In her we will find the solution to our problems, balm for our pain, and answers to our doubts. Mary our help, intercede for us.

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Day 4 The Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots Novena – Discerning Hearts

Click here for the complete text and audio for the Mary, Untier of Knots Novena

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

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Fourth day:

Bible reading:

« 15 When the angels had left them and gone back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go as far as Bethlehem and see what the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came hurriedly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby lying in the manger. 17 On seeing this they related what they had been told about the child, 18 and all were astonished on hearing the shepherds.19 As for Mary, she treasured all these messages and continually pondered over them.» (Luke 2, 15-19)

Brief Reflection:

They went to Bethlehem, where they found the Child, “The word made flesh”, the only Truth. Let us walk through our desert, that with the guidence of the Archángel Raphael, that we may come closer to Mary Mother of the Church, and with her to Jesus. Little by little, the knots of error that make us prisoners will be untied. “The Truth shall set us free”. Let us walk in confidence towards our liberation.”

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton – a Eucharistic Saint!

(The following wonderful reflection on the life of St. Elzabeth Ann Seton is from Fr. Mark Kirby which can be found on his website Vultus Christi ….I highly encourage you to check it out!!!
Dom Mark Daniel Kirby is Prior of the Diocesan Benedictine Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle in Tulsa, Oklahoma.His Excellency Bishop Edward J. Slattery of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa established the monastery in 2009 with the distinctive mission of Eucharistic Adoration for the sanctification of priests.)

William Magee Seton gave this lithograph of Christ the Redeemer to his beloved wife, Elizabeth Ann Seton, sometime between 1774 and 1803. Its Eucharistic theme prophetically reflected the profound devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist that would characterize her piety as a Catholic.

Below is a photograph of a copy of a variant of the Memorare handwritten by Elizabeth Ann Seton. At the end of text she added the touching plea, “Love me, my Mother.

The Italian Experience

The conversion of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton began in 1803 while she, a twenty-nine year old widow with one of her five children, were the guests of the Filicchi family in Livorno, or Leghorn, Italy. The Catholic Filicchis, Antonio and his wife Amabilia, offered her a gracious hospitality and unfailing emotional support in a time of crisis.

The Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin

In one of Signora Filicchi’s prayer books, Mrs. Seton came upon the text of Saint Bernard’s Memorare; she found in the Virgin Mary the tenderness and the pity of a mother. “That night,” she writes, “I cried myself to sleep in her heart.”

The Tabernacle

The Filicchi home contained a private chapel where the Blessed Sacrament was reserved. Elizabeth was drawn to the tabernacle. Even before her mind had been instructed in the mysteries of the Catholic faith, her heart recognized the living presence of the Lord in the Most Holy Eucharist. Her American Protestant sensibility was perplexed and, yet, she could not deny her heart’s fascination with the Lamb of God hidden beneath the sacramental veils.

Return to New York

Elizabeth’s long personal memoir, The Italian Journal, recounts the intimate details of her inner struggle and conversion to Catholicism. Elizabeth and her ten year old daughter, Anna Maria, returned to New York on June 3, 1804, accompanied by Antonio Filicchi — a man to whom Elizabeth had become deeply attached. He had become for her a friend and a spiritual counselor.

Read more

From the treatise On Spiritual Perfection by Diadochus of Photice (Cap 6:26-27, 30: PG 65, 1169, 1175-1176)

The mind has a spiritual sense which teaches us to distinguish between good and evil

Sign of the Cross Act of Contrition

Ninth day:

Bible reading:

« 14 All of these together gave themselves to constant prayer. With them were some women and also Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers…» and »when the day of Pentecost arrived, all were filled with the Holy Spirit.» (Acts 1:14 and 2:1-4)

Brief Reflection:

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Sign of the Cross Act of Contrition

Eighth day:

Bible reading:

« 26 When Jesus saw his Mother, and the disciple whom he loved, he said to his Mother, “Woman, there is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “There is your mother.” And from that moment the disciple took her to his own home. » (John 19, 26-27)

Brief Reflection:

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Sign of the Cross Act of Contrition

Seventh day:

Bible reading:

“ It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.”(Luke 23, 44)

Brief Reflection:

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Sign of the Cross Act of Contrition

Sixth day:

Bible reading:

4 Jesus replied, “Woman, your thoughts are not mine! My hour has not yet come.” 5 However his mother said to the servants, “Do what-ever he tells you.” (John 2, 4-5)

Brief Reflection:

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Sign of the Cross Act of Contrition

Fifth day:

Bible Reading:

« 7 Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened. 8 For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and the door will be opened to him who knocks. » (Mathew 7, 7-8)

Brief Reflection:

The Heart of Mary is opened to us, like the door to heaven. We only need to ask for her help and her maternal arms will open for our tor-tured spirits. In her we will find the solution to our problems, balm for our pain, and answers to our doubts. Mary our help, intercede for us.

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

Sign of the Cross Act of Contrition

Fourth day:

Bible reading:

Brief Reflection:

( Brief meditation: meditate with one decade of the Holy Rosary: One Our Father, 10 Hail Mary’s, One Glory be and the Prayer to “The Virgin Mary untier of Knots”)

From the treatise On Spiritual Perfection by Diadochus of Photice
(Cap 6:26-27, 30: PG 65, 1169, 1175-1176)

The mind has a spiritual sense which teaches us
to distinguish between good and evil

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition

Sign of the Cross
Act of Contrition