catholic Archives

IP#121 Fr. Larry Richards – Surrender on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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“Surrender! The Life Changing Power of Doing God’s Will” is another outstanding offering from Fr. Larry Richards! From start to finish Fr. Larry challenges us to place Jesus Christ first in our lives and our relationships with others and the world. Once we can do that, things begin to fall into place. Then he helps us to recognize the difference between God’s will and our will, and to trust that His will be better for us if we trust, love and….SURRENDER!

Fr. Larry Richards is an engaging writer, who never fails to keep us hooked through the entire book. This will be one of those books that you want to purchase at least two copies, because you’ll want to pass it on to another, and you’ll want to keep one for yourself for years to come.

You can find the book here

From the book description:

…Surrender outlines concrete steps you can take to dwell in peace. Simply put, God wants every one of us to be a saint which is a lot of work! It requires developing a plan for your life, in accordance with the Lord’s will.

Prayer is the key to this, as it opens the soul to hearing God’s voice and accepting his guidance. But prayer too requires discipline and planning. Father Richards is the life coach every one of us needs on the sidelines of our daily life the tough love coach who calls it like he sees it.

Allow yourself to move out of the driver seat and surrender to the one who knows all God.

RN17 – Regnum Novum – Bl. Paul VI – Gaudium et Spes, Humane Vitae, and the Declaration on Religious Freedom

Episode 17- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – Bl. Paul VI – Gaudium et Spes, Humane Vitae, and the Declaration on Religious Freedom

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We live at a very special time. The confluence of many things has brought forth the clear need to be able to articulate the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church in a way that is accessible and applicable. This is not to be an effort where high-minded theories are to be bandied about. Rather, this is a time of opportunity wherein we can apply the Social Doctrine to the concrete so as to bring about a New Kingdom, a Revolution. – Omar G.

Paul VI born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini (26 September 1897 – 6 August 1978), reigned as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it. He fostered improved ecumenical relations with Orthodox and Protestants, which resulted in many historic meetings and agreements.

In this episode we discuss Gaudium et Spes, Humane Vitae, and the Declaration on Religious Freedom, among other works

Also visit Omar’s “Discerning Hearts” page Catholic Social Teaching 101

You can find Omar Gutierrez’s book here

In The Urging of Christ’s Love Omar Gutiérrez tells the stories of eleven people who lived their lives in pursuit of Christ Jesus. Each Saint, Blessed or Servant of God is considered in the context of Catholic Social Teaching. Then at the end of each chapter a prayer is offered and quotes from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church are provided in order to link the lessons we can learn from the saint’s life to Church teaching. By discovering some new saint friends, and rediscovering some old ones, The Urging of Christ’s Love presents Catholic Social Teaching in an accessible and important way.

RN16 – Regnum Novum – St. Pope John XXIII – Pacem in Terras (Peace on Earth) and the Natural Law – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 16- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – St. John XXIII, Pacem in Terras (Peace on Earth) and the Natural Law

Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth) was a papal encyclical issued by Pope John XXIII on 11 April 1963.

St. Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963), headed the Catholic Church and ruled Vatican City from 1958 until his death.

Pope John was elected on 28 October 1958. He called the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) but did not live to see it to completion. He died in 1963, only four-and-a-half years after his election, and two months after the completion of his final encyclical, Pacem in Terris. He was beatified, along with Pope Pius IX, on 3 September 2000.

Also, visit Omar’s “Discerning Hearts” page Catholic Social Teaching 101

Deacon Omar F.A. Gutierrez is an Instructor for the Holy Family School of Faith Institute and Director of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith for the Archdiocese of Omaha. He’s also the author of “The Urging of Christ’s Love: The Saints and The Social Teaching of the Catholic”

St. Anthony of the Desert, Father of the Church…patriarch of the monastic life with Mike Aquilina

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Mike Aquilina, in conversation with Bruce and Kris McGregor, breaks open the life and teachings of St. Anthony of Desert (aka St. Anthony the hermit, St. Anthony Abbott or St. Anthony the GREAT!)

Born c. 251
Herakleopolis Magna, Egypt
Died 356
Mount Colzim, Egypt

You can find the Life of St. Anthony by St. Athanasius at the link provided here:
– Vita S. Antoni (Life of St. Anthony)

A quote from St. Anthony:
“I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said groaning, “What can get through from such snares?” Then I heard a voice saying to me, “Humility.”

O Sapientia (O Wisdom) – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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O Wisdom, O holy Word of God,

you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care.

Come and show your people the way to salvation.

Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29).

For full text visit
the Discerning Hearts O Antiphon page

Man I Sing

Choral Music by Bob Chilcott
Performed by the BBC Singers

Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory Day 1

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composed by St. Alphonsus of Liguori
Visit the Discerning Hearts “Holy Souls” page for the complete novena and text of the prayers

Jesus, my Saviour, I have so often deserved to be cast into hell. how great would be my suffering if I were now cast away and obliged to think that I myself had caused my damnation. I thank Thee for the patience with which Thou hast endured me. My God, I love Thee above all things and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee because Thou art infinite goodness. I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of perseverance. Have pity on me and at the same time on those blessed souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say the following prayers: 1 Our Father… 1 Hail Mary…

The Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them. R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(State your intention(s) here while recommending yourself to the souls in Purgatory.)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

RN-10 – Value #5 – part 4 – Participation – Regnum Novum w/Omar Gutierrez – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Value 5 – The Common Good, Universal Destination of Goods, Subsidiarity, Participation, Solidarity part 4

“Participation.”

These are the five principles laid out in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church. If we understand these principles, then the work of the Revolution can begin. We are made now for a New Kingdom with Christ as our King in all things. Let us discover this place together, and make the devil cringe and know the suffering of defeat.

GWML#10 William Shakespeare (Hamlet and Macbeth) – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce – Discerning Hearts Podcast

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Episode 10 – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce – William Shakespeare

Arguably Shakespeare’s finest and most important play, Hamlet is also one of the most misunderstood masterpieces of world literature. “To be or not to be”, may be the question, but the answer has eluded many generations of critics. What does it mean “to be”? And is everything as it seems to be?

Probably the darkest of all Shakespeare’s plays, Macbeth is also one of the most challenging. Is it a work of nihilistic despair, “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”, or is it a cautionary tale warning of the dangers of Machiavellianism and relativism? Does it lead to hell and hopelessness, or does it point to a light beyond the darkness?

Based on the Ignatius Critical Edition, this series examines, from the Judeo-Christian perspective, the life, the times, and influence of authors of great works in literature.

Joseph Pearce is currently the Writer-in-Residence and Visiting Fellow at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in Merrimack, New Hampshire. He is also Visiting Scholar at Mount Royal Academy in Sunapee, New Hampshire. He is also Visiting Scholar at Mount Royal Academy in Sunapee, New Hampshire. He is co-editor of the Saint Austin Review (or StAR), an international review of Christian culture, literature, and ideas published in England (Family Publications) and the United States (Sapientia Press). He is also the author of many books, including literary biographies of Solzhenitsyn, J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and Oscar Wilde.

To learn more about the authors and titles available in the Ignatius Critical Editions

St. Hildegard and “Conversatio Morum – the Conversion of Life and the Iron Mountain” – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints with Dr. Anthony Lilles

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St. Hildegard and “Conversatio Morum – the Conversion of Life” – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints

Benedictine Spirituality and Lectio Divina…a “way of being”. In part one of this particular teaching, Dr. Lilles discusses the life St. Hildegard of Bingen and her expression of Benedictine teaching, in particular her vision of the “Iron Mountain.”

Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For over twenty years he served the Church in Northern Colorado where he joined and eventually served as dean of the founding faculty of Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Through the years, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful have benefited from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles

IP#254 David Scott – The Love That Made Mother Teresa on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

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David Scott – The Love That Made Mother Teresa on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

David Scott is one of the finest Catholic authors of our time. He can catechize from the heart like few I have ever read and the case is no different in what he offers with “The Love That Made Mother Teresa“. More than just another biography on the life of this great woman, David offers insightful spiritual reflections on different events she encountered during her extraordinary life. If we are open to those lessons, her response to those moments can aid Christ in transforming our lives today. In his hands her story truly becomes a witness to “Love”. I’ve read many, many books on the life of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, this is my favorite.

You can find the book here

“This book, more than any other, shows us the saint and her significance. It belongs in the hands of everyone who loves this most beloved of modern women.” —Dr. Scott Hahn

“This book reminds us as Mother Teresa always did that God calls all of us to holiness, to be saints.” —José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles