Media Archives

“…and the virgin’s name was Mary”….The feast of the Holy Name of Mary

Ave Maria…the invocation of the name of Mary is a powerful prayer…Ave Maria…every time we say it we cry out to our Mother. What mother doesn’t rush to the aid of her child when he or she cries out her name? Hail Mary. Not just a name, but a supreme gift of grace to us all…the gift of a mother who loves unconditionally, who loves always, who loves each and every one of her children given to her by God. Hail Mary, when we say it we unlatch the door and allow our mother in, when we say it we pick up the phone and converse with the greatest of human counselors, when we say it we acknowledge the reality of the presence of the “Woman” clothed with the Sun, with the moon under her feet, crowned with the stars who labors to see all of her children “birthed” into heaven. Mary….Mary….Mary. The Holy Name of….Mary.

This has become for me a very precious feast day. Once, when I was traveling on a personal pilgrimage alone, I was feeling achingly isolated, rejected and lost, literally thousands of miles from home. A terrible darkness had shrouded over me emotionally and spiritually. In a very poignant and unexpected way, Our Lady made her presence known to me on this date. It would involve an encounter with a little woman from Africa who looked like my grandmother and spoke no English, and a long plane ride home..this coming together would grow into a gentle, loving exchange between strangers…I didn’t realize it, but it was what my broken “pierced” heart had been aching for. Without fanfare or expectation, out of nowhere came the name of Mary, literally…a moment which illuminated for me the bright light of the Blessed Mother’s presence, and not just at that particular moment in time. Like the brightest star in the night sky, it became clear to me that she had been there truly, truly guiding me all along, even in the darkest moments of doubt and pain. That she had not, and would never, “leave me alone”. That I was indeed responding to HER call and in turn she had responded to mine. Mary. It was she who traveled with me on that journey and who would continue to do so in the days and years ahead. Mary.

Well, the entirety of this story is really for another time, I just wanted to share with those who may read this, that I, unqualified and without hesitation, with my whole unworthy heart, love Our Blessed Mother…I love “Mary”. I hope and pray you do too. If not, listen today for her name…call out to the one who is waiting…she WILL race to your aid. Mary. She is your mother, a gift to us all from her Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. A precious, precious gift. Do not toss her aside. She will never, ever leave you alone.

Father, in the video below, talks about the orgin of this feast day… it’s really quite a lovely homily.

IP#113 Kate Wicker – Weightless on Inside the Pages

Kate Wicker is OUTSTANDING and her book “Weightless: Making Peace with Your Body” does so much more than it’s title offers…it reminds us how our faith can help us bring peace into our hearts!!!! I love it! The blessing of our femininity, a joy in the gift of the daughter of God we have been created to be, the peace that comes with a prayerful relationship with the Father…these are just some of the fruits that come from Kate Wicker’s work in “Weightless”. More than “self-help”, it’s really about letting the saints help, letting your faith help… ultimately, letting God help. Insights, quotes, guidance, reflections, this book is perfect for individual or group study …check it out!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:48 — 27.3MB) | Embed

What a fun and encouraging interview…it was one of those I just didn’t want to end. Take time to listen, then get a copy of the book for yourself and pass other copies to the women in your life.

There’s a wave of body dissatisfaction sweeping across society. While bookstore shelves are well-stocked with tomes on how to overcome body image problems, very few take a faith-based, much less Catholic, approach to self-healing. Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body speaks not only to those who may have faced an eating disorder, but also to anyone who wants to live an abundant life, unencumbered by our culture’s obsession with thinness, physical beauty, youth, or food.

Be sure to visit Kate’s website at katewicker.com

Get a copy of the book here (and get a copy for a friend…they’ll thank you for it!)

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Prayer of Pope Benedict XVI at Ground Zero

“We ask you, in your compassion to bring healing to those who, because of their presence here that day, suffer from injuries and illness. Heal, too, the pain of still-grieving families and all who lost loved ones in this tragedy. Give them strength to continue their lives with courage and hope.

“We are mindful as well of those who suffered death, injury, and loss on the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Our hearts are one with theirs as our prayer embraces their pain and suffering.

“God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the Earth. Turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.

“God of understanding, overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events. Grant that those whose lives were spared may live so that the lives lost here may not have been lost in vain. Comfort and console us, strengthen us in hope, and give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and in the hearts of all.” AMEN

Pope Benedict on Prayer 8 – Dialectic of Prayer: Human Cry and Divine Response

DIALECTIC OF PRAYER: HUMAN CRY AND DIVINE RESPONSE

VATICAN CITY, 7 SEP 2011 (VIS) – This morning Benedict XVI travelled by helicopter from the Apostolic Palace in Castelgandolfo to the Vatican for his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

Continuing a series of catecheses on the subject of “the school of prayer”, the Holy Father turned his attention to Psalm 3 which recounts David’s flight from Jerusalem when Absalom rose against him. “In the Psalmist’s lament”, the Pope said, “each of us may recognise those feelings of pain and bitterness, accompanied by faith in God, which, according the biblical narrative, David experienced as he fled from his city”.

In the Psalm, the king’s enemies are many and powerful, and the imbalance between David’s forces and those of his persecutors “justifies the urgency of his cry for help”. Nonetheless his adversaries “also seek to break his bond with God and to undermine the faith of their victim by insinuating that the Lord cannot intervene”.

Thus, the aggression “is not only physical, it also has a spiritual dimension” aimed at “the central core of the Psalmist’s being. This is the extreme temptation a believer suffers: the temptation of losing faith and trust in the closeness of God”, the Holy Father said.

Yet, as the Book of Wisdom says, the unrighteous are mistaken because “the Lord … is like a shield protecting those who entrust themselves to Him. He causes them to raise their heads in sign of victory. Man is no longer alone … because the Lord hears the cry of the oppressed. … This intertwining of human cry and divide response is the dialectic of prayer and the key to reading the entire history of salvation. A cry expresses a need for help and appeals to the faithfulness of the other. To cry out is an act of faith in God’s closeness and His willingness to listen. Prayer express the certainty of a divine presence which has already been experienced and believed, and which is fully manifested in the salvific response of God”.

Psalm 3 presents us “a supplication replete with faith and consolation. By praying this Psalm we share the sentiments of the Psalmist: a just but persecuted figure which would later be fulfilled in Jesus. In pain, danger and the bitterness of misunderstanding and offence, the words of this Psalm open our hearts to the comforting certainty of faith. God is always close, even in times of difficulty, problems and darkness. He listens, responds and saves.

“However”, the Pope added, “it is important to be able to recognise His presence and to accept His ways: like David during his humiliating flight from his son Absalom, like the persecuted righteous of the Book of Wisdom and, finally and fully, like the Lord Jesus on Golgotha. In the eyes of the unrighteous it appeared that God did not intervene and that His Son died, but for believers it was at that precise moment that true glory was manifested and definitive salvation achieved”.

The Pope concluded: “May the Lord give us faith, may He come in aid of our weakness and help us to pray in moments of anguish, in the painful nights of doubt and the long days of pain, abandoning ourselves trustingly to Him, our shield and our glory”.
AG/ VIS 20110907 (550)

PSALM 3 From the New Advent On-line Bible:

1 The psalm of David when he fled from the face of his sonAbsalom.

hy, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? many are they who rise up against me.
3 Many say to mysoul: There is no salvation for him in his God.
4 But you, O Lord, are my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.
5 I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and he has heard me from his holy hill.
6 I have slept and have taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord has protected me.
7 I will not fear thousands of the people surrounding me: arise, O Lord; save me, O my God.
8 For you have struck all them who are my adversaries without cause: you have broken the teeth of sinners.
9 Salvation is of the Lord: and your blessing is upon your people.

IP#112 Melanie Pritchard – The Day I Died on Inside the Pages

What a remarkable witness…Melanie Pritchard! “The Day I Died: Finding Hope in Suffering” is the story of a young mother’s incredible sudden death during childbirth and her miraculous recovery. I remember the days during which the events chronicled took place. Mark Hart had made known to us the harrowing situation Melanie and her child were suffering. Bruce and I, our radio listeners, and people around the globe (thanks to the internet) joined in a communion of prayer and the results were indeed awe-inspiring. What a joy to talk with Melanie almost a year later, and what a delight to be able to share with all of you this blessed book.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:23 — 26.9MB) | Embed

Be sure to visit Melanie’s blog at http://www.melaniepritchard.org/

You can also find Melanie’s book here

CA-11 Christian Apologetics with Dr. R. R. Reno episode 11 – Blessed John Newman part 2

Episode 11 – Blessed John Henry Newman – The University Sermons

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In this episode Dr. Reno examines Blessed John Henry Newman. We discuss the substance and influence of the “University Sermons” and in particular sermon #4 “The Usurpations of Reason”

Click here to view Sermon #4

“Christian Apologetics with Dr. R. R. Reno” explores numerous facets of faith and reason in the life of the Church and the world. Grounded on the work of giants, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, Blessed John Newman, Blessed John Paul II, G. K. Chesterton, Blaise Pascal and Stephen Barr, Dr. Reno helps us to open our minds to make the journey to our hearts.

R. R. Reno is the editor at First Things: A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life, and Professor of Theology, currently on leave from Creighton University. His theological work has been published in many academic journals. Essays and opinion pieces on religion, public life, contemporary culture, and current events have appeared in Commentary, and the Washington Post. In Fighting the Noonday Devil Reno suggests that putting ourselves at the disposal of what is real is what trains us for true piety. His other recent books include Genesis: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible and Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible.

BBFA1 – Deacon James Keating – Baptism: Born from Above Episode 1

Episode 1 -Baptism: Born from Above– The significance of Jesus’ baptism. The ministry of parenthood. The role of the father.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:00 — 25.6MB) | Embed

Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Deacon Keating takes a careful look at the Baptismal Rite and offers prayerful reflection and insight to help us live out the faith and nurture the domestic church.

From the Baptismal Rite for Children:

From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said:

‘Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’ The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not
be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimedfor them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church
and the whole society of saints and believers: ‘The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.’

To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in
which they have been baptized. The foundation of this formation will be the sacrament
itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead
them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselvesthe faith in which they have been baptized.

How can this be accomplished? What is the role of the parents, the godparents, the minister of baptism, the Church? These and other questions are reflected upon in “Baptism: Born from Above with Deacon James Keating”.

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

BBFA2 – Deacon James Keating – Baptism: Born from Above Episode 2

Episode 2 -Baptism: Born from Above– The importance of the name we are given at baptism. The role and significance of godparents.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:41 — 21.2MB) | Embed

Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Deacon Keating takes a careful look at the Baptismal Rite and offers prayerful reflection and insight to help us live out the faith and nurture the domestic church.

From the Baptismal Rite for Children:

From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said:

‘Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’ The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not
be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimedfor them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church and the whole society of saints and believers: ‘The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.’

To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in
which they have been baptized. The foundation of this formation will be the sacrament
itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselvesthe faith in which they have been baptized.

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 Hearts” page

BBFA3 – Deacon James Keating – Baptism: Born from Above Episode 3

Episode 3 -Baptism: Born from Above– The importance of the community of faith. Also the relevance and effect of the prayers of exorcism and anointing.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:41 — 21.2MB) | Embed

Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Deacon Keating takes a careful look at the Baptismal Rite and offers prayerful reflection and insight to help us live out the faith and nurture the domestic church.

From the Baptismal Rite for Children:

From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said:

‘Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’ The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not
be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimed for them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church and the whole society of saints and believers: ‘The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.’

To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in
which they have been baptized. The foundation of this formation will be the sacrament
itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselves the faith in which they have been baptized.

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 Hearts” page

BBFA4 – Deacon James Keating – Baptism: Born from Above Episode 4

Episode 4 -Baptism: Born from Above– The adopted child reality and the Sonship of Jesus Christ. The symbol of water and it’s importance in the rite and in our spiritual lives. The solemn prayer of the celebrant, which, by invoking God and recalling his plan of salvation, blesses the water of baptism or makes reference to its earlier blessing.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:38 — 43.8MB) | Embed

Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, Nebraska.

Deacon Keating takes a careful look at the Baptismal Rite and offers prayerful reflection and insight to help us live out the faith and nurture the domestic church.

From the Baptismal Rite for Children:

From the earliest times, the Church, to which the mission of preaching the Gospel and of baptizing was entrusted, has baptized not only adults but children as well. Our Lord said:

‘Unless a man is reborn in water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.’ The Church has always understood these words to mean that children should not
be deprived of baptism, because they are baptized in the faith of the Church, a faith proclaimedfor them by their parents and godparents, who represent both the local Church and the whole society of saints and believers: ‘The whole Church is the mother of all and the mother of each.’

To fulfill the true meaning of the sacrament, children must later be formed in the faith in
which they have been baptized. The foundation of this formation will be the sacrament
itself that they have already received. Christian formation, which is their due, seeks to lead them gradually to learn God’s plan in Christ, so that they may ultimately accept for themselvesthe faith in which they have been baptized.