On Prayer Archives

IP#152 Stephen Binz – Learning to Pray with Scripture on Inside the Pages

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:15 — 45.3MB) | Embed

Stephen J. Binz is a Catholic biblical scholar, psychotherapist, popular speaker, and award-winning author of more than thirty books on the Bible and biblical spirituality. “Learning to Pray with Scripture” is another volume in the excellent “Lectio Divina” series brought to us by Our Sunday Visitor. In it, Stephen uses the actual prayers of Sacred Scripture to help us enter a deeper relationship with God through our own prayer. This series is outstanding and an absolute MUST for those seeking a great guide to this ancient prayer form!

You can find this book here

This study shows the way that various characters in the Bible prayed and what they can teach you about prayer.

It also delves into various types of prayer and what you can learn from them.

Every chapter leads you forward through a sequence of:

Listening – Reading Scripture with expectancy, trusting that God will speak His Word to us through it
Understanding – Seeking to comprehend the meaning of the text, encountering God there and being changed by that encounter
Reflecting – Linking the truth of the Scriptures to the experience of faith in the world in which we live
Praying – A dialogue with God: we listen to God, then we respond in prayer
Acting – After prayerfully listening to God through a passage of Scripture, we should be inspired to make a difference in the way we live

IP#151 Joe Paprocki – The 7 Key to Spiritual Wellness on Inside the Pages

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:36 — 52.4MB) | Embed

In “7 Keys to Spiritual Wellness,” best-selling author Joe Paprocki provides a prescription for spiritual health based on the rich wisdom of Catholic Tradition.

The Saints have repeatedly taught us that our souls can get spiritually sick and die.

Joe’s new book focuses on the root causes of spiritual sickness. Each chapter identifies a specific threat to the health of our souls and offers strategies for beating that virus.

His keys to spiritual wellness are:

Seeing Yourself as You Really Are
Actively Seeking the Good of Others
Thinking Before Acting
Holding on Loosely
Recognizing and Setting Limits
Channeling, Not Repressing, Your Desires
Unleashing Your Imagination

You can find the book here

What is Prayer? – Discerning Hearts

This is excellent overview of Prayer as taught by the Catechism of the Catholic Church…check it out…then pray!

Prayer

What is Prayer?

This is excellent overview of Prayer as taught by the Catechism of the Catholic Church…check it out…then pray!

Prayer

The 3 Levels of the Heart with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:02:39 — 114.7MB) | Embed

Msgr. Esseff offers a teaching on the 3 levels of the heart. He begins by looking at the Sacred Heart of Jesus, then moves to

the examination of the layers of our hearts. In understanding of this is vitally important to appreciate how we make decisions and pray…if we are in our own will or God’s will.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website: Building a Kingdom of Love

IP#141 Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC – 33 Days to Morning Glory on Inside the Pages

What is Marian Consecration? What is the role the Blessed Virgin Mary in our lives? How can this bring us even more fully into the heart of Divine Mercy? What a joy to talk with Fr. Michael Gaitley, who serves as director of the Association of Marian Helpers, about “33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration”. He answers the above the questions above and so much more.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:01 — 31.1MB) | Embed

The goal of the retreat contained in the book is to learn how to ponder more deeply in our hearts what it means to enter into Marian consecration. With the help of not only St. Louis de Montfort, but also St. Maximilian Kolbe, Bl. John Paul II, and Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Fr. Gaitley reveals to us the great connection between the heart of Mary and beautiful depth of Divine Mercy…and the key to it all is…TRUST.

Find the book here

To learn more about the “All Hearts A Fire” parish programs that Fr. Michael spoke of click here

“Teach Us How To Pray” – A series on prayer with Msgr. John Esseff Episode 5 – A 90 Day Challenge – to grow in union with Jesus Christ. – Discerning Hearts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:57 — 52.8MB) | Embed

Msgr. Esseff offers a 90 day challenge! The object of Lent and the Easter season is to become more and more transformed into Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit we may glorify the Father through our honor

and praise and obeying his Divine will, through the intercession of Mary and all the Saints, for the salvation of the World. But instead of 40 days, but to set our sights on 90 days…all the way to Pentecost. To become a 90 Day Wonder!

Remember the object is union with Jesus Christ. It’s not about a 40 yard dash, but a 24/7 marathon. What are some of the challenges that might arise, what are the remedies?

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “B uilding A Kingdom of Love”

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of Readings

IP#139 Paula Huston – Simplifying Your Soul on Inside the Pages

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:41 — 44.3MB) | Embed

Here is the book for Lent (and any other time of the year for that matter), “Simplifying Your Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit” is “simply” wonderful! Paula Huston has such a gentle way of helping us to penetrate into what our hearts so we can draw closer to what we truly long for…a deeper relationship with God…the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A Benedictine oblate, Paula, draws from the best of the monastic traditions and helps us to apply those practices in our modern day circumstances. I have to believe that Sts. Benedict and Scholastic would be overjoyed how this 21-century daughter of the church has responded to their initial teachings offered so a long ago. NOT TO BE MISSED…HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

You can find it here

From the book description:

Our temptation in this era of self-fulfillment is to dismiss humility as a relic of the unsophisticated past. Yet for centuries, Christians have considered it a key component of a healthy spiritual life, and the journey toward humility to be one and the same as the journey toward Christlikeness.

The beauty of the Lenten season is that it encourages the development of a humble heart. Structured as an individual Lenten retreat, Simplifying the Soul presents daily readings from Jesus and the desert fathers and mothers, along with a meditation focused on a specific activity that can be carried out that day. Many of these activities come straight out of Catholic tradition, but others are adaptations of old wisdom woven into contemporary life (cleaning out a junk drawer, walking instead of driving, etc.) All are designed to lead to conversion of heart and a transformed life.

“Teach Us How To Pray” – A series on prayer with Msgr. John Esseff Episode 3 – Morning Prayer – Discerning Hearts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:57 — 56.0MB) | Embed

Msgr. Esseff teaches the importance of the Liturgy of Hours. He breaks open each portion of Morning Prayer. The Hymn, the psalm, the canticle, again the psalm … we sing praise to God with this section of Morning Prayer. Then God speaks to us in the reading. Then we respond to

with the a short psalm. Then he helps us to appreciate the power of the Benedictus. That is followed by the intentions of the Church. Concluding with the great Our Father. We then bless the Lord and give Him thanks. Jesus unites the world in our prayer of praise to the Father when we enter into the Divine Office.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “B uilding A Kingdom of Love”

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of Readings

“Teach Us How To Pray” – A series on prayer with Msgr. John Esseff Episode 2 – The Psalms and Prayer – Discerning Hearts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:13 — 86.9MB) | Embed

Msgr. Esseff offers his second lesson in “Teach Us How To Pray”.

He speaks of the importance of Morning and Evening prayers in our lives. The Holy Spirit inspires us to pray and the Church teaches prayer through the Liturgy of the Hours.

Msgr. Esseff goes on to teach on the Psalms. Those who pray the psalms offer powerful praise to the Father. Who actually praises? In the deepest level of our heart, it’s actually Jesus who praises the Father in us when we pray the Psalms and the Father loves us in return. What is essential is that we listen to what God says to us in prayer…Listen.

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of ReadingsBe sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website: Building a Kingdom of Love