Episode 8 – Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – The “wellsprings” where Christ awaits us. Responding at the moment when the subtle interior movements of the Holy Spirit calls to us. The Word of God becomes a place of encounter. The danger of Scripture becoming all academic. People are converted when the Word approaches them as living. The liturgy is also a place of encounter. The heart is an “altar” in the liturgy.
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.
The book addresses their mutual dedication to remain with Christ in prayer even in the service of parishioners. Once prayer finds a place in the heart, compassion grows for those who look for God “like sheep without a shepherd.” Through interior prayerfulness, clerical unity in ministry can be better ensured Remain in Me is for priests and deacons to use as prayer, on retreat, or during the holy seasons of Lent and Advent.
Episode 5- Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – ” How did I ever live without prayer?” A sustained communion with Christ is the beginning of heaven. “Ask..seek…knock”. Are you knocking to receive a relationship or are you knocking to get more stuff? Are you seeking to surrender and entrust or are you seeking to satisfy more of a passing desire or mood? Even in our coming to prayer Jesus wants to purify our motive for doing so. The challenge of entering into deep prayer leads to the great maturity of prayer.
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.
The book addresses their mutual dedication to remain with Christ in prayer even in the service of parishioners. Once prayer finds a place in the heart, compassion grows for those who look for God “like sheep without a shepherd.” Through interior prayerfulness, clerical unity in ministry can be better ensured Remain in Me is for priests and deacons to use as prayer, on retreat, or during the holy seasons of Lent and Advent.
Episode 3- Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – Jesus is the primary teacher of prayer. How can we pray “always”? How do we become “prayer”? Jesus was conscious that all things flow from the Father. He teaches us how to pray to the Father. Deacon Keating speaks of praying in the name of Jesus and “receiving” God in our hearts.
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.
The book addresses their mutual dedication to remain with Christ in prayer even in the service of parishioners. Once prayer finds a place in the heart, compassion grows for those who look for God “like sheep without a shepherd.” Through interior prayerfulness, clerical unity in ministry can be better ensured Remain in Me is for priests and deacons to use as prayer, on retreat, or during the holy seasons of Lent and Advent.
St. Catherine of Siena, Part 1 – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson
Born: March 17, 1347, Siena, Italy
Died: April 29, 1380, Rome
Nationality: Italian
Dr. Matthew Bunson and Kris McGregor delve into the life of St. Catherine of Siena, a remarkable Doctor of the Church. They discuss the significance of understanding St. Catherine within the context of her upbringing in Tuscany, particularly in the vibrant city of Siena, where she was born in 1347. Growing up as the youngest of 25 children, St. Catherine was deeply influenced by her surroundings, including the prominent presence of the Dominicans in Siena. Despite her family’s expectations, she felt called to a life of prayer and contemplation from a young age, eventually joining the Dominican third order at 16.
Her spiritual journey was marked by profound mystical experiences, including a mystical marriage with Christ at age 21. Blessed Raymond of Capua, a prominent Dominican figure, became her confessor and spiritual director, validating the authenticity of her experiences and teachings. St. Catherine’s wisdom and spiritual insight attracted people from all walks of life, including kings and queens, who sought her counsel.
Throughout her life, St. Catherine remained faithful to the teachings and authority of the Church, debunking modern interpretations that paint her as a rebel against patriarchal structures. Instead, she embraced the Church’s authority and worked tirelessly for its well-being, leaving a legacy of love, service, and profound spiritual wisdom.
Understanding the Context: How does the setting of Tuscany and the city of Siena shape St. Catherine of Siena’s spirituality and mission?
Early Influences and Spiritual Formation: What were some significant events in St. Catherine’s early life that contributed to her decision to join the Dominican third order at a young age?
Mystical Experiences: Reflect on the significance of St. Catherine’s mystical marriage with Christ and its impact on her spiritual journey.
Role of Authority and Discernment: How does Blessed Raymond of Capua’s role as St. Catherine’s confessor and spiritual director exemplify the importance of submitting to the authority of the Church in one’s spiritual life?
Legacy and Misconceptions: Discuss the misconception of St. Catherine as a rebel against patriarchal structures in the Church and reflect on her true legacy of faithfulness and service to the Church.
From Vatican.va, an excerpt from the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI
From the General Audience on St. Catherine of Siena
“Today I would like to talk to you about a woman who played an eminent role in the history of the Church: St Catherine of Siena. The century in which she lived — the 14th — was a troubled period in the life of the Church and throughout the social context of Italy and Europe. Yet, even in the most difficult times, the Lord does not cease to bless his People, bringing forth Saints who give a jolt to minds and hearts, provoking conversion and renewal.
Catherine is one of these and still today speaks to us and impels us to walk courageously toward holiness to be ever more fully disciples of the Lord.
Born in Siena in 1347, into a very large family, she died in Rome in 1380. When Catherine was 16 years old, motivated by a vision of St Dominic, she entered the Third Order of the Dominicans, the female branch known as the Mantellate. While living at home, she confirmed her vow of virginity made privately when she was still an adolescent and dedicated herself to prayer, penance and works of charity, especially for the benefit of the sick.
When the fame of her holiness spread, she became the protagonist of an intense activity of spiritual guidance for people from every walk of life: nobles and politicians, artists and ordinary people, consecrated men and women and religious, including Pope Gregory xi who was living at Avignon in that period and whom she energetically and effectively urged to return to Rome.
She travelled widely to press for the internal reform of the Church and to foster peace among the States. It was also for this reason that Venerable Pope John Paul ii chose to declare her Co-Patroness of Europe: may the Old Continent never forget the Christian roots that are at the origin of its progress and continue to draw from the Gospel the fundamental values that assure justice and harmony.
Like many of the Saints, Catherine knew great suffering. Some even thought that they should not trust her, to the point that in 1374, six years before her death, the General Chapter of the Dominicans summoned her to Florence to interrogate her. They appointed Raymund of Capua, a learned and humble Friar and a future Master General of the Order, as her spiritual guide. Having become her confessor and also her “spiritual son”, he wrote a first complete biography of the Saint. She was canonized in 1461.”
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 2-Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – We have lost are fear of going astray and being unfaithful within. We must be aware of the spirits, personal or impersonal, that can get into us. We can get tangled up in many different influences in prayer. That is why it so important to have a director, a guide, to help us navigate in this journey and to test those spirits. Jesus is the model of prayer. “He learns to pray from His mother”. (see below). The witness of the community. His prayer springs from a secret source and He wishes to share it with us. All prayer is foretaste 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.
The book addresses their mutual dedication to remain with Christ in prayer even in the service of parishioners. Once prayer finds a place in the heart, compassion grows for those who look for God “like sheep without a shepherd.” Through interior prayerfulness, clerical unity in ministry can be better ensured Remain in Me is for priests and deacons to use as prayer, on retreat, or during the holy seasons of Lent and Advent.
Episode 1 -Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer –The most powerful principle of prayer is that God desires us. Prayer is a response to a presence who has entered our reality. Distractions, an enemy of prayer. Recovering the prophetic consciousness. The highest fruit of prayer to be someone who is so transparent to God, that God reveals His acts in our lives…the person has become prayer.
God calls man first. Man may forget his Creator or hide far from his face; he may run after idols or accuse the deity of having abandoned him; yet the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer. In prayer, the faithful God’s initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response. As God gradually reveals himself and reveals man to himself, prayer appears as a reciprocal call, a covenant drama. Through words and actions, this drama engages the heart. It unfolds throughout the whole history of salvation.
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.
The book addresses their mutual dedication to remain with Christ in prayer even in the service of parishioners. Once prayer finds a place in the heart, compassion grows for those who look for God “like sheep without a shepherd.” Through interior prayerfulness, clerical unity in ministry can be better ensured Remain in Me is for priests and deacons to use as prayer, on retreat, or during the holy seasons of Lent and Advent.
Episode 6 -Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion – “The Oasis of Lent”.
Moral conversion occurs in ordinary experience when we hit a wall or break through one. In other words, moral conversion can be ignited when we reach our limits and experience failure or finitude, or it can be ushered in when we transcend our limits and go beyond the self. We transcend the self by falling in love and/ or following the prompting of conscience at the cost of our own ego.
The traditional disciplines of Lent— prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, as well as communal worship— aim at fostering or preparing a person to welcome such limiting or breakthrough experiences. Most importantly, we are prepared to receive the truths known in these experiences, since we can rarely, if ever, orchestrate them. More than likely, we are taken up into such experiences, and our preparation beforehand can enhance our acceptance of the truths they carry.
(In regards to communal worship) …We usually imagine worship as a break in our secular lives, or sometimes even an obstacle to achieving other goals. With this attitude, worship is sometimes simply seen as “time out” from what is really important. Without denying the importance of secular realities for the laity, could we look at worship in another way? Worship is not an obstacle to daily living; it is not time off from more vital realities. Worship is, in fact, the great doorway into all that is both secular and holy. It is our way into real living. In worship, we find the great integration of the simple, ordinary, and plain (people, bread, wine, words) with the holy and transcendent (paschal mystery, incarnation, grace, transformation, salvation). The call of the laity is to carry into each day of work and domestic commitment the truth that the ordinary and the holy are not opposed. Only sin and the holy are opposed. Lenten worship services help us bring this truth to the world.
The more we come to see the presence of Christ in worship as a presence that permeates our being in the world, the more we will hunger to participate in worship as the source of our moral witness in everyday life. The Eucharist primarily is our participation in Christ’s Paschal Mystery, which is his self-offering to the Father, both in his life and upon the cross, and is also the Father’s response in raising him from the dead. Christ came to us; he came to dwell upon Earth and take on created goodness so that all in creation that is not good (sin) may be transformed by his presence, by grace. We too, in communion with him through the grace of the sacramental life, fill the ordinary world with his presence and become witnesses to this salvation through virtue and grace cooperating in moral activity.
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.
Leaving the Desert – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating
In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore Lent’s significance, urging introspection and acknowledgment of sin. Deacon Keating highlights society’s loss of this sense, attributing it partly to psychology’s influence.
This reminds us of personal responsibility and freedom in recognizing sin; especially cultural desensitization to sin, emphasizing intentional conscience formation through spiritually grounded fellowship. They advocate for gentle yet firm engagement on moral issues to foster genuine community within parishes.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Lenten Self-Reflection: How can you deepen your introspection during Lent to identify areas of sin in your life?
Responsibility and Freedom: Reflect on how you balance acknowledging external influences with taking personal responsibility for your actions.
Desensitization to Sin: How can you guard against societal desensitization to sin, especially in media and cultural norms?
Intentional Conscience Formation: In what ways can you intentionally cultivate a spiritually grounded fellowship to form your conscience?
Engaging on Moral Issues: How can you engage in conversations about moral issues with both gentleness and firmness, guided by love?
Fostering Community in Parishes: What steps can you take to foster genuine community within your parish, where faith is shared and nurtured collectively?
An excerpt from “Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion”:
“Celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation is, for many Catholics, a most daunting prospect. This sacrament has been the source of many jokes, composed perhaps by persons seeking to reduce the level of stress they feel regarding one of its main components: naming personal sin.
The naming of one’s own sin to oneself and to a priest is self-revelatory to the point of evoking anxiety. Initially, it can be true that some level of apprehension may accompany this sacrament, but over time with regular celebration of this form of worship, anxiety diminishes. Most positively the sacrament of reconciliation promotes truthful self-knowledge regarding sin in the context of Christ’s saving presence. Once someone experiences both the naming of sin and the reception of God’s mercy in this sacrament, he or she actually begins to celebrate this sacrament and see it as a great gift from Christ and his Church.”
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.
The Desert of Sin – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating
In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss the concept of the “Desert of Sin”. They delve into the idea that sin, while providing some form of consolation, ultimately leads to spiritual emptiness and turmoil.
Dcn. Keating emphasizes the importance of patience in the process of personal and spiritual transformation, particularly in dealing with others who may not share the same level of spiritual fervor. He warns against the temptation to become impatient or frustrated when others do not respond as expected, stressing the need to trust in God’s timing for their conversion.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Reflection on the Desert of Sin: How do we recognize the mirage of sin in our lives and understand its inability to provide true fulfillment? How can we invite Jesus into our “desert” of sin to offer us real life?
Patience in Personal Growth: Reflect on the virtue of patience in your spiritual journey. How can impatience hinder our own progress and potentially lead to despair? How can we cultivate patience with ourselves and others as we strive for spiritual maturity?
Living Virtuously in Response to God’s Love: Consider the idea that receiving God’s love should naturally lead to loving God in return through virtuous living. How can we demonstrate our love for God through our actions and choices in daily life?
Role of Saints as Models of Holiness: Reflect on the lives of the saints as mirrors of hope. How can studying their examples help us understand the path to holiness and deepen our own relationship with God?
Embracing Joy through God’s Love: Explore the concept of joy as a result of receiving God’s love. How does this joy differ from superficial happiness, and how can we experience it more fully in our lives?
An excerpt from “Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion”:
“Any moral conversion, if it is to be real, must work its way into our minds and hearts. The conversion we undergo is one that transforms our entire person, and so our thought processes, habits, perceptions, and affections all become realigned to a new way of seeing good and evil Patience with ourselves, as well as with ohters who are also in the midst of conversion, becomes the key virtue to cultivate. God knows we are on the right track once we embrace such a conversion, and so being gentle on ourselves is not a sign of laxity or weakness of will, but a sign of wisdom.
Of course, the start of a moral conversion can be dramatic and jumpstart a change, but over the long haul of life, the heart of a person must be fully cooperative; otherwise, the person will not adhere to the moral truth for long.”
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.
Waiting in the Desert – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating
In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss Lent as a time of vulnerability to God’s mercy, emphasizing bringing sin into Christ’s light for liberation. They contrast morality’s true freedom with sin’s chains and highlight Christ’s presence in our struggles.
Deacon Keating gives us of a message of hope, reassuring listeners that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace and mercy.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Lenten Focus: How does Deacon Keating suggest shifting focus during Lent from a mere “to-do list” approach to one of vulnerability and openness to God’s mercy?
Recognizing Sin: According to the podcast, what is the significance of bringing hidden truths and sins into the light of Christ during Lent?
Morality and Freedom: Describe the relationship between morality and true freedom, as discussed in the episode.
Christ’s Presence: How does Deacon Keating emphasize Christ’s accompaniment through the Lenten journey, drawing parallels with Jesus’ experience in the desert?
Message of Hope: Summarize the final message of hope conveyed by Deacon Keating in the conclusion of the episode.
An excerpt from “Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion”:
“The ancient image of Lent as a time of withdrawal is relevant to the formation of conscience if we perceive that our consciences have been inordinately attached to anemic sources of influence. Christians are called to transform the world of culture, work, and politics according to the truths learned through Christ in the Church. It is a powerful and dignified calling. Lent affords us a good opportunity to repent of those habits, attitudes, or behaviors that reflect a preoccupation with the secular. Thus devoid of the religious, we are then called to eagerly respond to our faith and imbue the secular with religious and ethical meaning. To do less than this is to render our baptisms impotent and meaningless.”
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.
You can find the book here.
