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, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha.
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.
Episode 1: Introduction – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First
Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore the Christian understanding of life, death, and the eternal destiny in light of Catholic teaching on the “last things” (heaven, hell, death, and the final judgment). Contemporary Catholics may struggle with these concepts, as the vocabulary and focus on eternal destiny have diminished, often overshadowed by preoccupations with everyday life.
It’s important for us to acknowledge death as a reality and mystery that ultimately gives meaning to life. Avoidance of death, often seen in euphemisms like “passing,” detracts from the full Christian understanding of life and resurrection. Keating highlights that clergy should guide people in facing death meaningfully, as this helps people better live in alignment with their faith.
A core element is the resurrection of the body, which Christianity views as essential to personal identity and continuity with life on earth. Contrasting this with Platonic ideas that view the soul as separate from the body, Dcn. Keating tells us that, in Christian teaching, body and soul are intertwined and will be united in the resurrection. The sacramental life, particularly the Eucharist, provides a connection to this eternal life, as Jesus himself says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Faith, hope, and love in Jesus draw Christians into eternal life, already beginning on earth.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Awareness of Eternal Destiny: How often do I contemplate my eternal destiny, and do I see its relevance in my daily life?
Understanding of Death and Resurrection: How comfortable am I with discussing death, and do I fully understand the hope that the resurrection of the body offers?
Connection to Heaven in Everyday Life: Do I recognize the continuity between my current life and eternal life, seeing hints of resurrection in moments of healing and reconciliation?
Respect for the Dignity of the Body: How do I value and care for my own body and those of others, especially the vulnerable, as a reflection of my belief in the resurrection?
Living the Sacramental Life: How am I staying connected to Jesus, especially through the Eucharist, as a way to experience and deepen my communion with eternal life?
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
994 “But there is more. Jesus links faith in the resurrection to his own person: “I am the Resurrection and the life.”544 It is Jesus himself who on the last day will raise up those who have believed in him, who have eaten his body and drunk his blood.545 Already now in this present life he gives a sign and pledge of this by restoring some of the dead to life,546 announcing thereby his own Resurrection, though it was to be of another order. He speaks of this unique event as the “sign of Jonah,”547 the sign of the temple: he announces that he will be put to death but rise thereafter on the third day.548”
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.
Episode 10-Listening For Truth– Practical ways of living a life of virtue prayer…one way to listen to friends and even enemies to hear the truth God may be wanting to reveal to us. The wounds that surface in the healing process. The interior healing that can occur and who should help with that process.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Episode 9-Listening For Truth– The supernatural virtues provide for us the gifts to walk and respond to moral truths. We need to practice the virtues to receive the wisdom of God and to be more deliberate in the love of the good. The theological, contemplative language is foreign to many, unlike the political language in which the culture swims, and that can affect how we respond to moral questions. What can we do to listen and respond to Truth?
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
This is a special reposting of a conversation I had with Dr. Thomas Howard several years ago. This great man died on October 15, 2020. His wisdom continues to be a blessed gift to all of us. R.I.P. – KM
What a delight to talk once again with Dr. Thomas Howard. This time we discuss “Hallowed Be This House: Finding Signs of Heaven in Your Home.” Dr. Howard has such a beautiful gift of recognizing the sacred. Through this marvelous book, he helps us all to appreciate the many ways in which we too can dive deeper into the “mystery,” especially in those ordinary places and things found in our lives. This book is a treasure!
Tom Howard, an accomplished writer of great distinction, has the rare gift of being able to express profound truths in whimsical terms. In Hallowed Be This House, he explores with charm and wit the sacramental aspect of our daily lives. I found the book vastly entertaining and, what is more, felt refreshed and the happier of having read it. So, I am sure, will all its readers. —Malcolm Muggeridge
Howard’s vision is the quintessential Catholic, sacramental vision. To read this book is to see with the eyes of Christ. —Peter Kreeft, Handbook of Christian Apologetics
The Moment of Christian Witness with Dr. Rodney Howsare Ph.D. – pt. 1
Dr. Rodney Howsare, Ph.D.
With Dr. Rodney Howsare Ph.D., we begin with a conversation about Hans Urs von Balthasar and his analysis of the thought of Karl Rahner S.J. and those who followed after him. We then discuss the meaning of what Balthasar calls “the Decisive Moment.”
Balthasar: Beauty, Goodness, Truth is a series of conversations with noted theological scholars about the life and teachings of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar who is considered to be one of the most important Catholic intellectuals and writers of the twentieth century.
Hans Urs von Balthasar puts his finger on the precise origin of all those elements in modern Christianity which see the real Jesus Christ as unknowable, the Gospels as merely the confused reflections of later Christians, and Christian tradition as a perpetuation of the mythology.
Episode 8-Listening For Truth– When we come upon the Truth, we rest in it. Our journey is over. The Lord wants us to rest in Him. We rest when we receive the truth about what is good for us and what is ethical. Within us is the mind that can discern truth and receives it and then has that truth confirmed by the indwelling presence of God. It’s in the still small voice that will confirm; we have to learn how to go inward to hear it. To properly form a conscience, we have to 1. Know who we are, 2. Find where we learn about moral truth: 3. Discern who we go to with our questions. The fullness of Truth is taught in the Church.
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people
in parables, saying,
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants
to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests,
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Mother Teresa. 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 St. Pope 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 7-Listening For Truth– We are resurrection people who live out of the power of the Resurrection. Theological virtues, faith, hope, and love, are given to us in the fullest sense through the sacraments and how we receive and open our hearts to that gift. Moving our affection from sin to truth. How do we prepare ourselves to receive moral truth?
Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a Professor of Spiritual Theology at Kenrick Glennon Seminary, in St. Louis, MO. He previously served as the Director of Theological Formation at the Institute for Priestly Formation located at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
Listening for Truth leads men and women in a search for a fuller experience of God that begins in prayer, grows in the rediscovery of our spiritual being, and grounds itself in the truth of Jesus Christ. A presentation of the Christian life as an engagement of the whole person — body, mind, and soul — in the challenge of daily living.
From the book description:
