Christ, the True King of this World – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff
Msgr. John Esseff reflects on the kingship of Jesus Christ through heartfelt anecdotes and theological insights, and recounts a powerful encounter with a couple, Tom and Mary, whose lives were marked by profound challenges.
Mary, a devout Christian, resisted pressure to abort her child despite medical advice, trusting God’s will. Her faith was rewarded with the birth of a healthy son, now a firefighter. Later, the couple adopted a daughter, Kelsey, who endured a turbulent upbringing but ultimately found redemption through love, discipline, and faith. These stories illustrate the transformative power of God’s love and how recognizing Christ’s kingship brings healing and purpose amid trials.
Christ’s kingship is rooted in love, truth, and surrender to God’s will, as exemplified in Tom’s journey. Initially resistant to faith, Tom experienced a dramatic conversion, realizing God’s sovereignty during a moment of desperation. Through the challenges of parenting a wayward child, he grew in humility and reliance on God, recognizing his role as an instrument of divine love.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Faith in God’s Will Amid Trials
How does Mary’s unwavering trust in God’s plan challenge you to rely on His will, especially in moments of uncertainty?
Surrendering Control to Christ
In what areas of your life do you struggle to let go of control and allow Christ to guide your decisions?
The Power of Parental Love
How can Tom and Mary’s example of unconditional love for their children inspire your own approach to nurturing and guiding others?
Recognizing Christ’s Kingship
What does it mean for you personally to acknowledge Jesus as the King of your heart and daily life?
Learning from Conversion Stories
How does Tom’s journey of transformation encourage you to reflect on God’s patience and transformative love in your own life?
Living the Our Father Prayer
In what ways can you deepen your commitment to the phrase “Thy kingdom come” through acts of love and surrender?
Embracing God’s Timing
How can you cultivate patience and trust in God’s perfect timing when facing injustices or unanswered prayers?
Daily Renewal in Faith
What steps can you take each day to extend Christ’s kingship over your thoughts, actions, and choices?
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. 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 Pope St. 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.
Episode 6 – Holiness Through Sacrifice – St. Thérèse and Marie: The Story of Two Cousins with Fr. Timothy Gallagher
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor discuss St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s spiritual guidance and her role in her cousin Marie’s journey to Carmel. Marie’s long-awaited entrance into religious life in 1895 was marked by emotional struggles and familial sacrifices, but Thérèse’s compassionate yet firm support helped her embrace detachment and trust in God.
Through moments like humorously diffusing a tense exchange with Marie or encouraging her to surrender attachments, Thérèse exemplified her deep understanding of human nature and her ability to lead others closer to Christ. On Marie’s entrance day, Thérèse wrote her a heartfelt poem, Canticle of a Soul Having Found the Place of Its Rest, capturing Marie’s spiritual “homecoming” and longing for heaven, and adorned Marie’s room with flowers and a copy of her poem Living on Love to provide comfort and inspiration.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Understanding Detachment Through Love
How can you cultivate a spirit of detachment while deepening your love and service for others?
Sacrifice as a Path to Holiness
What areas of your life might God be inviting you to surrender for the sake of spiritual growth and the good of others?
The Role of Spiritual Companionship
How can you support others in their spiritual journey while remaining attentive to your own need for grace and balance?
Longing for Heaven in Daily Life
How does reflecting on heaven influence your choices and attitudes in your daily responsibilities and relationships?
Balancing Emotion and Trust in God
In what ways can you entrust your emotional struggles and attachments to God, as Thérèse encouraged Marie to do?
The Power of Small Gestures in Holiness
How can small, intentional acts of love bring comfort and reflect Christ to those around you?
Marie Guérin
About this Series
Fr. Timothy Gallagher reflects upon the enduring legacy of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, exploring how her life and spirituality, deeply influenced by her family and how it offers profound insights into everyday holiness. He examines the role of family and spiritual friendships in nurturing faith, the importance of compassionate care for others, and how Thérèse’s example can inspire listeners to seek sanctity in their daily lives. He also brings forth more details of the spiritual bond between the Martin and Guérin families, offering a model for fostering deeper connections within one’s own family and community.
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 14 different podcast series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts?
Visit here to discover more!
The Hiding Place of the Beloved – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty
In this introductory episode, Father Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the spiritual depth and teachings of St. John of the Cross and his role as a “Master of Contemplation.” St. John of the Cross is portrayed as a mystic and poet whose writings lead believers to a deeper union with God.
St. John’s insights, such as those in his poetry and writings like the Spiritual Canticle, were often birthed from profound suffering, including his imprisonment. This hiddenness of God—where He seems absent but is present in a concealed way—forms a central theme. The longing for God in prayer, even in silence and dryness, is a means of growing in spiritual depth, aligning with John’s teaching that God uses such longing to draw souls closer to Him.
His teachings on love and detachment resonate in the lives of saints like St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Teresa of Calcutta, who lived out his call to love in small, selfless acts. Contemplative prayer isn’t a technique but a relational journey toward God, requiring a stripping away of distractions and desires. St. John’s suffering in prison also became a crucible for spiritual beauty, producing poetry that communicates profound truths about God’s presence and longing for the soul.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
The Hiddenness of God in Prayer: How have you experienced God’s presence as both hidden and mysteriously near in your prayer life?
Longing for Union with God: In what ways can you embrace the longing for God as a central part of your spiritual journey?
Learning from Suffering: How can the trials in your life, like St. John of the Cross’s imprisonment, become opportunities for spiritual growth and deeper intimacy with God?
The Call to Contemplative Prayer: How can you move beyond methods and activities in prayer to focus on cultivating a quiet, loving presence with God?
Living Love in Small Acts: How can you demonstrate love for God and others in small, selfless ways in your daily life, inspired by saints like St. Thérèse and Mother Teresa?
Detachment and Freedom: What desires or distractions might you need to surrender to grow in deeper union with God?
Finding God in the Ordinary: How can you better recognize and serve Christ in the hidden and ordinary moments of your day?
Reflecting on St. John’s Writings: How can the poetry and teachings of St. John of the Cross inspire a new depth in your spiritual life?
Here is the excerpt from the Spiritual Canticle by St. John of the Cross that Fr. Haggerty references in the podcast:
SONG OF THE SOUL AND THE BRIDEGROOM
I
THE BRIDE
Where have You hidden Yourself,
And abandoned me in my groaning, O my Beloved? You have fled like the hart,
Having wounded me.
I ran after You, crying; but You were gone.
II
O shepherds, you who go
Through the sheepcots up the hill, If you shall see Him
Whom I love the most,
Tell Him I languish, suffer, and die.
St. John of the Cross
III
In search of my Love
I will go over mountains and strands;
I will gather no flowers,
I will fear no wild beasts;
And pass by the mighty and the frontiers.
IV
O groves and thickets
Planted by the hand of the Beloved; O verdant meads
Enameled with flowers,
Tell me, has He passed by you?
Where have you hidden,
Beloved, and left me moaning?
You fled like the stag
after wounding me;
I went out calling you, but you were gone. This initial stanza of “The Spiritual Canticle” unlocks the bolt of a door, allowing us a first glimpse at the soul of Saint John of the Cross and his intense love for God. In these opening lines of a lengthy poem, we hear the agonized voice of a lover tormented by her solitude, in a terrible suffering after the departure of her Beloved. The piercing lament of the bride, wounded in the depth of her soul, is an image of the lover of God who seeks for his return after earlier enjoying his close presence. The mood of loneliness in the poem will shift over the course of its forty stanzas to a recognition of the Beloved’s presence even in his concealment. But for now, as the poem commences, the pain is strong and irremediable. Many of the stanzas of this exquisite poem, full of lush natural images, were composed by Saint John of the Cross without pen or paper, the stanzas kept in his memory, while he was locked in a windowless, six-by-ten-foot converted closet, with only a thin slit of light high up in a wall. That room served as a makeshift prison cell in the Calced Carmelite Friars’ monastery in Toledo, Spain, for nine months of his life, from December 1577 until August 1578. Only in the very last period of the nine months did he receive pen and paper from a sympathetic friar serving as his jailer and write down verses. He later recounted to Carmelite nuns that another important poem, “The Dark Night”, was completed before he left that prison cell.
Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 18-19). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
Episode 4: Heaven – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First
Deacon James Keating explores the nature of heaven as a relationship with Christ rather than a physical place. Heaven begins now, insofar as we are “in Christ.” This communion, nurtured through prayer, sacraments, and repentance, is the essence of heaven. Sin disrupts this union, leading to unhappiness, but God works continuously through His grace, the Holy Spirit, and the sacraments to heal and restore us. Evangelization, therefore, is not about institutional growth but sharing God’s urgent desire for all to enter this eternal communion.
Each person will experience God’s particular love in a unique and fulfilling way, retaining their identity in the resurrection. Mystical experiences, accessible through deeper participation in the sacraments and prayer, provide a foretaste of heaven and shift our desires toward eternal values over earthly ones.
Trust in Jesus’ promises and attachment to Him through the Eucharist prepare us for the fulfillment of all desires in the eternal communion of love between God and His people. Heaven is not just a future hope but a present reality we are called to live now.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
What Is Heaven to You? Reflect on how you understand heaven as a relationship with Christ rather than a physical place.
Are You Living Heaven Now? Consider whether your current prayer and sacramental life reflect the call to begin living in communion with Christ today.
How Does Sin Affect Your Happiness? Examine how venial and mortal sins may disrupt your union with God and your pursuit of authentic happiness.
Do You Trust in God’s Promises? Reflect on your trust in Jesus’ promise of eternal life and how it inspires hope in your daily actions.
Are You Growing in Mysticism? Contemplate whether you are deepening your prayer life and sacramental participation to experience God more intimately.
How Do You Proclaim Heaven to Others? Evaluate how your life and actions evangelize the urgency of living in Christ to those around you.
Do You Recognize God’s Particular Love for You? Meditate on the personal and unique way God loves you, even now, as a foretaste of heaven.
What Earthly Attachments Do You Need to Relinquish? Identify areas of your life where earthly values may overshadow your desire for eternal communion with God.
How Do You Prepare for Heaven? Reflect on how your choices, virtues, and faith practices align with your journey toward full union with Christ.
What Does “Heaven Begins Now” Mean to You? Contemplate the ways you can live heaven today by embracing God’s love and sharing it with others.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1024 “This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity—this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed—is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.”
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
A Year of Daily Offerings by Fr. James Kubicki, S.J. on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor
In this episode of “Inside the Pages”, Fr. James Kubicki discusses his book, A Year of Daily Offerings: Giving Your Life to God One Day at a Time, which encourages believers to begin each day with a prayer of offering and reflect on how to live out the Eucharist in daily life.
Prayer is a response to God’s love and presence, which always comes first. Through brief reflections inspired by saints’ lives and writings, the book helps individuals integrate spiritual practices like discernment and examination, fostering a deeper relationship with Christ.
With challenges posed by modern distractions like technology, we must use discipline to prioritize spiritual growth, sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession, and the communal aspect of faith; rooted in the “communion of saints.”
This book provides practical, concise reflections to fit into busy schedules, serving as both a standalone spiritual tool and a complement to other devotions.
Daily Offering Practice
How can I incorporate a daily offering prayer into my routine to dedicate my actions to God?
Responding to God’s Love
In what ways can I better recognize and respond to God’s love in my life?
Learning from the Saints
What aspects of a particular saint’s life inspire me to deepen my relationship with God?
Evening Reflection
How can I review my day to see where I encountered God and how I responded to His presence?
Discerning God’s Presence
Am I attentive to the movements of the Holy Spirit and the challenges God places before me throughout the day?
Managing Modern Distractions
What steps can I take to reduce distractions from technology and create more space for prayer?
Living the Eucharist
How can I make my daily life a reflection of the love and sacrifice I celebrate in the Eucharist?
Sacramental Life
How do regular participation in the sacraments, especially Confession and the Eucharist, shape my spiritual journey?
Building Spiritual Discipline
What practical changes can I make to develop a more disciplined and consistent prayer life?
Communion and Community
How can I better embrace the communal aspect of my faith, both in the Church and in my personal relationships?
From the book’s description:
“A daily offering of one’s life to God is an indispensable practice for every serious Catholic. In this book, Fr. James Kubicki, S.J., a longtime spiritual guide on Relevant Radio, presents a 366-day experience of morning offerings for busy laypeople. This rich array of reflections, based on the liturgical calendar and inspired by Ignatian spirituality, will help you develop—or reinvigorate—the habit of beginning each day by sincerely offering it to Christ.
For each day of the year, Fr. Kubicki offers a meditation based on the saint of the day or liturgical calendar, an offering prayer, and a “Daily Word” to help you recall the offering throughout the day. Each day concludes with a review question, based on the daily theme, inviting you to make an Examen.
Making and living a daily offering, uniting our everyday experience with the life of Christ—in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary—can help strengthen each of us to take up his daily cross and live a Eucharistic life.”
About the Author
Fr. James Kubicki, S.J., was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1983. He was the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer from 2003 to 2017. He currently leads retreats and parish missions while serving as a spiritual director at St. Francis de Sales Seminary in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.
No One Knows The Day Or Hour – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff
Msgr. John Esseff reflects on the urgency of living a Christ-centered life as the liturgical year draws to a close. Drawing from the readings in Daniel and Hebrews, the inevitability of death and the hope of resurrection for those united with Christ. He contrasts the repeated sacrifices of the Old Covenant with the singular, perfect offering of Jesus, which provides eternal forgiveness and salvation. We ought to examine our lives for self-centeredness and idolatry, seeking repentance, trust in God’s providence, and reception of the sacraments.
The Gospel’s message that acts of love and service to others—feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, and caring for the vulnerable—are essential to living out faith authentically and preparing for eternal life.
Amid global unrest and personal trials, Christ’s constant presence and victory over fear and tribulation are a source of hope. Love is important as the essence of God and the key to heaven, transcending religious and cultural divides. By living with charity and selflessness, believers can find peace and unity with God.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Eternal Readiness: How am I preparing my soul to meet God and embrace the promise of eternal life?
Living Sacramentally: Do I fully appreciate the power of Christ’s one perfect sacrifice through the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist?
Acts of Love: How can I better serve Christ by loving and caring for the hungry, sick, and marginalized in my daily life?
Rejecting Fear: In what ways can I entrust my fears and anxieties to God amid personal and global challenges?
Authentic Faith: Am I living with self-centeredness or idolatry, and how can I redirect my heart toward God and others?
Universal Call to Love: How can I embody God’s love in my relationships, especially with those who are different from me?
Gratitude and Trust: How can I cultivate gratitude for God’s blessings and deepen my trust in His providence during uncertain times?
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
“And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in the clouds’
with great power and glory,
and then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds,
from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.
“Learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves,
you know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that he is near, at the gates.
Amen, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
“But of that day or hour, no one knows,
neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. Msgr. Esseff served as a retreat director and confessor to St. Teresa of Calcutta. 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 Pope St. 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.
St. Albert the Great – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson
Born: 1193, Lauingen, Germany
Died: November 15, 1280, Cologne, Germany
Education: University of Padua
Dr. Matthew Bunson and Kris McGregor take a look at the life and legacy of St. Albert the Great, a Dominican theologian, philosopher, scientist, and mentor to St. Thomas Aquinas. Known for harmonizing faith, reason, and science, Albert saw the study of nature as a way to deepen understanding of God. He was instrumental in reintroducing Aristotle’s philosophy to the West and demonstrated how pagan thought could be reconciled with Christian theology; the compatibility of reason and faith. His vast contributions to natural sciences, including botany, zoology, and mineralogy, reflected his belief that studying creation reveals the Creator’s glory.
Albert’s life was marked by both intellectual brilliance and profound spiritual devotion, rooted in a mystical encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Renouncing his noble background to join the Dominicans, he embraced poverty and the pursuit of knowledge in service to God. His influence shaped scholasticism, the integration of philosophy into theological studies, and the education of future Church leaders like Aquinas. A trusted advisor to popes and a mediator within the Church, Albert’s legacy is one of wisdom, joy, and the unyielding pursuit of truth, making him a timeless model of harmony between faith and reason.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
The Harmony of Faith and Reason: How can you apply St. Albert’s example of harmonizing faith and reason in your own pursuit of knowledge and daily life?
The Call to Radical Discipleship: What aspects of your life might you need to surrender, as Albert did, to follow God’s will more fully?
Awe in Creation: How do you cultivate a sense of wonder and gratitude for God’s presence in the natural world around you?
The Role of Philosophy in Faith: How does studying philosophy or other intellectual disciplines deepen your understanding and practice of the Catholic faith?
Mentorship and Influence: Who has played a role in mentoring your spiritual growth, and how can you mentor others in their journey of faith?
Prayer as the Foundation of Knowledge: In what ways can you strengthen your prayer life to ensure that your intellectual pursuits remain rooted in your relationship with God?
Faith and Science in Evangelization: How can Albert’s approach to integrating science with faith inspire you to share the Gospel in modern contexts?
Joy in the Pursuit of Truth: How can you reflect the joy and enthusiasm of St. Albert in your efforts to share and live out the truths of the Catholic faith?
“One of the great masters of medieval theology is St Albert the Great.
The title “Great”, (Magnus), with which he has passed into history indicates the vastness and depth of his teaching, which he combined with holiness of life. However, his contemporaries did not hesitate to attribute to him titles of excellence even then. One of his disciples, Ulric of Strasbourg, called him the “wonder and miracle of our epoch”.
He was born in Germany at the beginning of the 13th century. When he was still young he went to Italy, to Padua, the seat of one of the most famous medieval universities. He devoted himself to the study of the so-called “liberal arts”: grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music, that is, to culture in general, demonstrating that characteristic interest in the natural sciences which was soon to become the favourite field for his specialization. During his stay in Padua he attended the Church of the Dominicans, whom he then joined with the profession of the religious vows. Hagiographic sources suggest that Albert came to this decision gradually. His intense relationship with God, the Dominican Friars’ example of holiness, hearing the sermons of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, St Dominic’s successor at the Master General of the Order of Preachers, were the decisive factors that helped him to overcome every doubt and even to surmount his family’s resistence. God often speaks to us in the years of our youth and points out to us the project of our life. As it was for Albert, so also for all of us, personal prayer, nourished by the Lord’s word, frequent reception of the Sacraments and the spiritual guidance of enlightened people are the means to discover and follow God’s voice. He received the religious habit from Bl. Jordan of Saxony.
After his ordination to the priesthood, his superiors sent him to teach at various theological study centres annexed to the convents of the Dominican Fathers. His brilliant intellectual qualities enabled him to perfect his theological studies at the most famous university in that period, the University of Paris. From that time on St Albert began his extraordinary activity as a writer that he was to pursue throughout his life.
Prestigious tasks were assigned to him. In 1248 he was charged with opening a theological studium at Cologne, one of the most important regional capitals of Germany, where he lived at different times and which became his adopted city. He brought with him from Paris an exceptional student, Thomas Aquinas. The sole merit of having been St Thomas’ teacher would suffice to elicit profound admiration for St Albert. A relationship of mutual esteem and friendship developed between these two great theologians, human attitudes that were very helpful in the development of this branch of knowlege. In 1254, Albert was elected Provincial of the Dominican Fathers’ “Provincia Teutoniae” Teutonic Province which included communities scattered over a vast territory in Central and Northern Europe.
He distinguished himself for the zeal with which he exercised this ministry, visiting the communities and constantly recalling his confreres to fidelity, to the teaching and example of St Dominic.
His gifts did not escape the attention of the Pope of that time, Alexander iv, who wanted Albert with him for a certain time at Anagni where the Popes went frequently in Rome itself and at Viterbo, in order to avail himself of Albert’s theological advice. The same Supreme Pontiff appointed Albert Bishop of Regensburg, a large and celebrated diocese, but which was going through a difficult period. From 1260 to 1262, Albert exercised this ministry with unflagging dedication, succeeding in restoring peace and harmony to the city, in reorganizing parishes and convents and in giving a new impetus to charitable activities.
In the year 1263-1264, Albert preached in Germany and in Bohemia, at the request of Pope Urban iv. He later returned to Cologne and took up his role as lecturer, scholar and writer. As a man of prayer, science and charity, his authoritative intervention in various events of the Church and of the society of the time were acclaimed: above all, he was a man of reconciliation and peace in Cologne, where the Archbishop had run seriously foul of the city’s institutions; he did his utmost during the Second Council of Lyons, in 1274, summoned by Pope Gregory X, to encourage union between the Latin and Greek Churches after the separation of the great schism with the East in 1054. He also explained the thought of Thomas Aquinas which had been the subject of objections and even quite unjustified condemnations.
He died in his cell at the convent of the Holy Cross, Cologne, in 1280, and was very soon venerated by his confreres. The Church proposed him for the worship of the faithful with his beatification in 1622 and with his canonization in 1931, when Pope Pius XI proclaimed him Doctor of the Church. This was certainly an appropriate recognition of this great man of God and outstanding scholar, not only of the truths of the faith but of a great many other branches of knowledge; indeed, with a glance at the titles of his very numerous works, we realize that there was something miraculous about his culture and that his encyclopedic interests led him not only to concern himself with philosophy and theology, like other contemporaries of his, but also with every other discipline then known, from physics to chemistry, from astronomy to minerology, from botany to zoology.
For this reason Pope Pius XII named him Patron of enthusiasts of the natural sciences and also called him “Doctor universalis” precisely because of the vastness of his interests and knowledge.”
Dr. Matthew E. Bunson is a Register senior editor and a senior contributor to EWTN News. For the past 20 years, he has been active in the area of Catholic social communications and education, including writing, editing, and teaching on a variety of topics related to Church history, the papacy, the saints and Catholic culture. He is faculty chair at Catholic Distance University, a senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and the author or co-author of over 50 books including The Encyclopedia of Catholic History, The Pope Encyclopedia, We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, The Saints Encyclopedia and best-selling biographies of St. Damien of Molokai and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
Episode 5 – Path of Grace and Weakness – St. Thérèse and Marie: The Story of Two Cousins with Fr. Timothy Gallagher
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor explore the depth of spiritual encouragement on the correspondence between St. Thérèse of Lisieux and her cousin Marie during the summer of 1890; during a period when Marie was grappling with spiritual desolation and doubt.
At the heart of the letters is St. Thérèse’s response to Marie’s feelings of inadequacy, spiritual dryness, and failure in her attempts to live a fervent religious life. Thérèse reassures Marie, reminding her that human weakness is not a barrier to God’s love. Instead, it is through recognizing our nothingness that we can abandon ourselves to the infinite love and grace of Jesus. Thérèse likens Marie’s situation to a poor country girl being courted by a king, where the girl’s weakness is not a deterrent because the king (Christ) already knows and accepts it.
While Marie feels she is not seeing any fruit from her spiritual efforts, God still treasures these “little nothings” that console His heart. This also touches on sacrificial love, where Thérèse encourages Marie to give her heart fully to Jesus, reminding her of Christ’s own humility in becoming “poor” to love and unite with humanity, particularly in the Eucharist.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Acknowledging God’s Grace in Our Lives
How often do I recognize and thank God for the graces He gives me, even amidst my struggles?
Embracing Weakness as a Path to Holiness
Am I willing to acknowledge my weakness and entrust it to God, believing that He can work through it for my sanctification?
Surrendering Self-Reliance for Divine Strength
Do I, like Thérèse, abandon my self-concerns and surrender fully to Jesus, trusting in His infinite strength to guide me?
Finding Consolation in Small Acts of Love
Am I aware that even my smallest efforts to love God and others bring joy to His heart, even when I don’t see immediate fruit?
Uniting in Prayer through the Eucharist
How can I deepen my love for Jesus in the Eucharist and let that love strengthen my union with Him and others in my life?
Fostering Joy and Lightheartedness Amidst Trials
Do I allow the joy of Christ to shine through me, even when I am burdened by personal struggles, to uplift those around me?
Trusting in God’s Plan Beyond Appearances
How can I deepen my trust in God’s plan, especially when my outward circumstances or inner struggles make it hard to see His work?
Marie Guérin
About this Series
Fr. Timothy Gallagher reflects upon the enduring legacy of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, exploring how her life and spirituality, deeply influenced by her family and how it offers profound insights into everyday holiness. He examines the role of family and spiritual friendships in nurturing faith, the importance of compassionate care for others, and how Thérèse’s example can inspire listeners to seek sanctity in their daily lives. He also brings forth more details of the spiritual bond between the Martin and Guérin families, offering a model for fostering deeper connections within one’s own family and community.
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”. For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org
Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 14 different podcast series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts?
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Episode 3: Purgatory – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First
Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss the nature of purgatory, referencing saints’ mystical experiences to explore purification, suffering, and holiness. Saints like St. Catherine of Genoa offer images of purgatory that allow us to meditate on sin’s disruptive nature to the Body of Christ. This purification isn’t bound by time as we know it; rather, it’s a timeless encounter with Jesus’ love that cleanses us from the effects of sin.
There are common misconceptions, such as contrasting physical suffering with the profound, and that relational pain causes isolation from God and others. This relational suffering, which stems from choices that cut us off from communion, parallels the purgatorial experience, calling us toward God for healing. Purgatory is less about physical torment and more about the agony of purification needed to restore our identity in God’s love.
The sacrament of reconciliation is a profound opportunity to undergo purification on earth, preparing us for communion with God. True confession requires courage, as it involves confronting our sins and vulnerabilities openly with God, who meets us with unconditional mercy.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Understanding Purgatory’s Purpose – How does viewing purgatory as a relational purification rather than a physical torment change your understanding of its purpose?
Contemplating the Impact of Sin – Reflect on how even “small” sins disrupt the harmony of the Body of Christ and affect your own spiritual health.
Identifying Relational Pain – In what ways have feelings of isolation or confusion about your identity impacted your relationship with God and others?
Embracing the Sacrament of Reconciliation – How might regularly participating in the sacrament of reconciliation deepen your experience of God’s mercy and freedom?
Confronting Fear of Truth – What specific fears or rationalizations have kept you from fully admitting your sins to God in the sacrament of confession?
Learning from the Saints – Who in your life exemplifies holiness, and how can you look to them as a guide toward surrender and abandonment to God?
Trusting in God Through Suffering – How can embracing Christ’s Sacred Heart help you surrender fears about suffering or death and experience God’s peace?
Striving for Earthly Holiness – What steps can you take to start your purification process on earth, inspired by the examples of saints like Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II?
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“1030 All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
I Feel Alone – Struggles in the Spiritual Life with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V.
Fr. Timothy Gallagher illustrates the struggles in the process of discernment with Kathy’s story, a woman who, after experiencing spiritual closeness with God, is confronted by a deeply buried pain triggered during prayer. Kathy feels abandoned by God, prompting her to stop praying and isolate herself emotionally. Guided by her spiritual director, Fr. Reed, Kathy learns that she can openly share her pain and anger with God, drawing on examples from the Psalms and the Book of Job, where people express their raw emotions before God.
Through this honest dialogue, Kathy finds a path back to a real and growing relationship with God, learning that spiritual desolation can sometimes serve as a gateway to greater intimacy with Him. Fr. Gallagher emphasizes that while desolation may make us feel distant from God, the experience can deepen our relationship with Him if we remain faithful, seek guidance, and avoid making drastic changes to our spiritual practices.
Understanding Spiritual Desolation: How have you experienced feelings of isolation or distance from God, and how did you respond?
Seeking Guidance: Who are the trusted individuals in your life whom you could approach for spiritual guidance during times of struggle?
Expressing Raw Emotions to God: In what ways could you bring your true feelings of pain or anger to God in prayer, as Kathy learned to do?
Reflection on Consolation and Desolation: How can you recognize moments of consolation in your spiritual life, and how might they prepare you for future struggles?
Role of Patience and Perseverance: What small steps or practices could help you stand firm in faith during times of spiritual desolation?
Recognizing God’s Presence: How might you grow in awareness of God’s closeness, even when feelings of distance prevail?
Application of Ignatian Tools: Which of the Ignatian tools for resisting spiritual desolation resonates most with you, and how can you integrate it into your daily spiritual life?
Encountering Jesus in Your Pain: Reflect on a past pain or loss; how does the image of Jesus weeping with Lazarus’s sisters offer comfort in your own grief?
Freedom from Stagnation in Spiritual Life: Are there areas in your spiritual journey where you feel “stuck,” and how could sharing with someone help you move forward?
Embracing Growth Through Struggle: How can you view spiritual desolation as an invitation to deeper intimacy with God rather than as a setback?
An excerpt from the chapter, “I Feel Alone “:
“In a final form of spiritual desolation, Ignatius tells us, a person feels “as if separated from his Creator and Lord.” Cathy experiences this strongly in the weeks described: “All that closeness and warmth of God’s love? It’s gone like smoke. . . . I’m sitting in the kitchen as I write, and I feel like I’m here, and God is a million miles away.” I’m here, and God is a million miles away. I’m here, sitting in my kitchen, alone in my apartment, commuting to work, driving to pick up the children, sitting at my computer . . . and you are a million miles away, distant, remote.
Have you ever felt that? Yes, certainly, you have, and I have. Once more: no shame, no surprise; be aware, identify, reject.”
Gallagher O.M.V, Fr. Timothy ; Gallagher O.M.V, Fr. Timothy. Struggles in the Spiritual Life: Their Nature and Their Remedies (p. 89). Sophia Institute Press. Kindle Edition.
“Here is a powerful, life-changing book that will help you understand and conquer the struggles you face in your spiritual life. It’s a book for those who love the Lord and desire holiness yet often feel adrift or stagnant in their search for spiritual growth.
All of us encounter valleys on our journey with the Lord — those periods of spiritual desolation that are a painful yet unavoidable feature of our prayer life. Spiritual desolation is as complex as we are, so understanding what is happening and responding to it properly are critical to reaching the heights of holiness.
With warmth and understanding, Fr. Gallagher carefully identifies in this book the various forms of spiritual and nonspiritual desolation and supplies the remedy for each. You’ll learn how to discern whether your struggles derive from medical or psychological conditions or whether those struggles are spiritual and permitted by the Lord for reasons of growth. In each case, you’ll be given the remedy for the struggle. You’ll also learn the forms of spiritual dryness and of the Dark Night — and how to respond to them.
In chapter after chapter, Fr. Gallagher presents a particular struggle as experienced by fictional characters and then provides the advice he gives to those who come to him for spiritual direction about that struggle. You’ll gain confidence as you journey through desolation, and you’ll learn to reject the enemy’s ploys to infect you with a sense of hopelessness.“
Did you know that Fr. Timothy Gallagher has 14 different podcast series on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts?
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From the book’s description:
From the General Audience on St. Albert the Great
