Spiritual Formation Library Archives

Tracy Wilkinson – The Vatican Exorcist – Discerning Hearts

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Matt Baglio – The Rite – Discerning Hearts

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Fr. Fortea – Inteview with an Exorcist – Discerning Hearts

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“A message of Hope” – Reflections from Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

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Msgr. Esseff reflects on Mary’s “yes” to the Archangel Gabriel. He also talks about the violent events in Egypt, Syria and other parts of the Middle East, as well as the tragedy of

the typhoon in the Philippines. He shares his personal experience of being in Peru during the May 1970 earthquake, and how God taught him a very important lesson about how God brings about a greater good.

Msgr. Esseff also talks about the importance of doing God’s will…to love in Truth. How do we know what is authentic love? And he offers a teaching on the angels, in particular, the Guardian Angels.

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

IP#117 Fr. Scott Hurd – Forgiveness on Inside the Pages

“Forgiveness: A Catholic Approach” is exceptional! Fr. Scott Hurd has penned the book that should be in every Catholic home. To forgive, without exception, is the hallmark of the Christian life and one of the hardest things to do. Every single chapter in “Forgivness” is a gem. Whether it’s is the challenge of “not becoming a doormat”, dealing with our anger over hurts, or reconciling the fact that life isn’t necessarily fair, Fr. Hurd offers timely wisdom from the heart of the Church to the experiences of everyday life in order for us to follow the way of Jesus Christ…and to forgive. I love this book!

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“All of us know that there is more to forgiveness than simply saying “I’m sorry.” In the section entitled, “Hallmarks of Forgiveness,” Father Hurd deftly outlines seven such marks of forgiveness that reflect the teaching and example of Our Lord. In Jesus, we learn how to forgive others as God has forgiven us. Forgiveness is a decision, a process, and a gift.

“Equally challenging today is the question of how to forgive. In Forgiveness: A Catholic Approach we find an entire section on this topic. With priestly wisdom, Father Hurd examines a wide variety of experiences of forgiveness and reconciliation. With examples from Scripture, Church tradition, literature, and his own ministry, he offers a useful ten-step process to aid people ready to make the decision to forgive.”
–Cardinal Donald Wuerl, from the Introduction

You can find “Forgiveness” here

Visit Pauline.org for more information

The Clash of the Two Kingdoms w/Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts

Msgr. Esseff continues his reflections in the Chapel of the Apparitions in Paray le Monial, France.

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Msgr. Esseff discusses the clash of the two kingdoms….salvation history in light of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In every heart there is a collision between the force of light and the force of darkness, between the force of lies and the force of truth. It’s a collision that is occurring throughout the world.

The Sacred Heart calls us to love to win the battle.

for more visit Msgr. Esseff’s website : Building A Kingdom of Love

The Feast of the Guardian Angels – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

Angel of God,
My Guardian Dear,
to whom His love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and to guard,
to rule and guide.
Amen.

For they are ministering spirits, sent for service, for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Heb 1:14)

O holy Guardian Angel, my dear friend and solicitous guide on the dangerous way of life, to thee be heartfelt thanks for the numberless benefits which have been granted me through thy love and goodness and for the powerful help by which thou hast preserved me from so many dangers and temptations. I beg of thee, let me further experience thy love and thy care. Avert from me all danger, increase in me horror for sin and love for all that is good. Be a counselor and consoler to me in all the affairs of my life, and when my life draws to a close, conduct my soul through the valley of death into the kingdom of eternal peace, so that in eternity we may together praise God and rejoice in His glory. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.
Amen.
O Angel of God, make me worthy of thy tender love, thy celestial companionship and thy never-failing protection!

For He will give His angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Ps 91)

The Holy Angels, and in particular our Guardian Angels, are such a wonderful gift to us from the Father! Let us give thanks to Him for his generosity and to our Guardian Angel for their presence in our lives!

It’s really important to understand the difference in the angels beyond all the New Age silliness. There are the Holy Angels (we love them and they love us) and the fallen angels (bad, bad, bad)…it’s what discernment and spiritual warfare, on many levels, are all about.

Bruce and I, thanks to Fr. Damien Cook, had the opportunity to speak to Fr. Titus Kieninger of Opus Sanctorum Angelorum about the role of Holy Angels. Be prepared…you’ll have to listen a couple of times to this discussion; Fr. Titus Kieninger gives so much information about their mission that you’ll need hear a few times to get it all.

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Be sure to visit Opus Sanctorum Angelorum

Let us affectionately love His angels as counselors and defenders appointed by the Father and placed over us. They are faithful; they are prudent; they are powerful; Let us only follow them, let us remain close to them, and in the protection of the God of heaven let us abide. ~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Blessed Herman the Cripple – author of one of the most heartbreakenly beautiful prayers of all time – Discerning Hearts

Everytime we pray the rosary, we pray with Blessed Herman the Cripple. He’s the author of one of the most heartbreakenly beautiful prayers of all time….the Salve Regina.

Blessed Herman (1013-1054) was born with many medical problems: cleft palate, cerebral palsy, and spina bifida. During his lifetime he was known as Blessed Herman the Cripple. Father Robert F. McNamara on his website, Saints Alive, calls him Blessed Herman the Disabled.

He was a remarkable man. Despite his daunting physical limitations he studied and wrote on astronomy, theology, math, history, poetry, Arabic, Greek, and Latin. He also built musical and astronomical equipment. He was considered a genius in his time. He wrote prayers and hymns – the most notable being the Salve Regina (Hail Holy Queen).

Father McNamara in his article on Blessed Herman the Disabled comments on the great meaning of Herman’s life with this closing insight:

“In his own day, the heroic cripple who achieved learning and holiness was called ‘The Wonder of His Age’.

In our day, many voices say that people with disabilities should be phased out of existence. Which were the Dark Ages, then or now!”

Let us pray with Blessed Herman, and ask him to help us to receive the graces for the virtues we lack…humility, patience, kindness, and all the others which allow the love of Christ to shine in the world through us.

Prayers

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The Hail Holy Queen (The Salve Regina)

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs; mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this, our exile, show to us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus! O Clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us O Holy Mother of God…That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen. – Blessed Herman

The poem below is from Father Benedict J Groeschel’s book,
Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones.

Herman The Cripple
by
William Hart Hurlbut, M.D.

I am least among the low,
I am weak and I am slow;
I can neither walk nor stand,
Nor hold a spoon in my own hand.

Like a body bound in chain,
I am on a rack of pain,
But He is God who made me so,
that His mercy I should know.

Brothers do not weep for me!
Christ, the Lord, has set me free.
All my sorrows he will bless;
Pain is not unhappiness.

From my window I look down
To the streets of yonder town,
Where the people come and go,
Reap the harvest that they sow.

Like a field of wheat and tares,
Some are lost in worldly cares;
There are hearts as black as coal,
There are cripples of the soul.

Brothers do not weep for me!
In his mercy I am free.
I can neither sow nor spin,
Yet, I am fed and clothed in Him.

I have been the donkey’s tail,
Slower than a slug or snail;
You my brothers have been kind,
Never let me lag behind.

I have been most rich in friends,
You have been my feet and hands;
All the good that I could do,
I have done because of you.

Oh my brothers, can’t you see?
You have been as Christ for me.
And in my need I know I, too,
Have become as Christ for you!

I have lived for forty years
In this wilderness of tears;
But these trials can’t compare
With the glory we will share.

I have had a voice to sing,
To rejoice in everything;
Now Love’s sweet eternal song
Breaks the darkness with the dawn.

Brother’s do not weep for me!
Christ, the Lord, has set me free.
Oh my friends, remember this:
Pain is not unhappiness.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation – the gift of the healing that flows from the confessional – Discerning Hearts

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Msgr. Esseff discusses the Sacrament of Reconciliation. What is a “core wound”? What prevents us from being Christ in the world today? Who do we encounter in the confessional? What is the role of the Cross in the confessional? What does Jesus see from the Cross? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in revealing the “core wound”?

visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building A Kingdom of Love”

Msgr. Esseff continues his reflections in the Chapel of the Apparitions in Paray le Monial, France.

The Sacred Heart calls us to love to win the battle.

Everytime we pray the rosary, we pray with Blessed Herman the Cripple. He’s the author of one of the most heartbreakenly beautiful prayers of all time….the Salve Regina.

The Hail Holy Queen (The Salve Regina)

The poem below is from Father Benedict J Groeschel’s book, Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones.

Herman The Cripple by William Hart Hurlbut, M.D.

I am least among the low, I am weak and I am slow; I can neither walk nor stand, Nor hold a spoon in my own hand.

Like a body bound in chain, I am on a rack of pain, But He is God who made me so, that His mercy I should know.

Brothers do not weep for me! Christ, the Lord, has set me free. All my sorrows he will bless; Pain is not unhappiness.

From my window I look down To the streets of yonder town, Where the people come and go, Reap the harvest that they sow.

Like a field of wheat and tares, Some are lost in worldly cares; There are hearts as black as coal, There are cripples of the soul.

Brothers do not weep for me! In his mercy I am free. I can neither sow nor spin, Yet, I am fed and clothed in Him.

I have been the donkey’s tail, Slower than a slug or snail; You my brothers have been kind, Never let me lag behind.

I have been most rich in friends, You have been my feet and hands; All the good that I could do, I have done because of you.

Oh my brothers, can’t you see? You have been as Christ for me. And in my need I know I, too, Have become as Christ for you!

I have lived for forty years In this wilderness of tears; But these trials can’t compare With the glory we will share.

I have had a voice to sing, To rejoice in everything; Now Love’s sweet eternal song Breaks the darkness with the dawn.

Brother’s do not weep for me! Christ, the Lord, has set me free. Oh my friends, remember this: Pain is not unhappiness.