cathollc spirituality Archives

Faith Check 26 – Sacramentals with Greg Youell

Sacramentals

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In the minds of non-Catholics, Catholicism often conjures images of Catholic stuff: candles, crucifixes, rosaries, statues, holy water, oils,
and the like. These are called sacramentals—not to be confused with the seven sacraments, they are material items that the Lord uses as conduits of his blessing.
Because of our belief in sacramentals, Catholics have sometimes been accused of practicing magic. But magic is the pagan or new age belief that an object has power in and of itself. Sacramentals are the Christian belief that the living and true God uses His creation as instruments of grace and healing.

Sacramentals appear all throughout the Scriptures. James speaks of anointing with oil.¹ Acts of the Apostles tells us that Paul’s handkerchiefs brought healing power to those they touched.²In the Old Testament, Elisha’s bones were used to bring a dead man back to life.³

And of course the Gospels portray Our Lord himself often using water, mud or even his own spit to perform mighty works of healing and cleansing, a power which Jesus passed on to his priests to be continued to this day.⁴ Sacramentals are neither magic nor make believe, but powerful weapons to be utilized in our spiritual journeys.

1 – Js. 5:14

2 – Acts 19:11-12

3 – 2 Kgs. 13:21

4 – cf. Mt. 10:7-8; Lk. 10:18-20; Jn. 20:21-23, etc.

RC#4 – Heresy and Orthodoxy – The Resilient Church w/ Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

Episode 3 – Heresy and Orthodoxy

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The Resilient Church with Mike Aquilina, offers a fascinating look at the trials and triumphs of the Catholic Church over the past two thousand years. Fast-paced sketches of critical periods in church history give readers perspective on the challenges faced by the church today. Mike Aquilina does not shrink from the realities of the past, including badly behaved leaders and those who betrayed the Lord. Yet he also leaves us all with well-founded hope for the future: God remains faithful in every circumstance and fulfills his promise to remain with his church always.

Pick up a copy of Mke’s book. You’ll find so much more and invaluable references and resoources, as well

Also visit Mike’s “Discerning Hearts” page for more audio downloads and information!

The Chaplet of St. Charbel – Discerning Hearts

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For the text of the Chaplet and other prayers, visit the Discerning Hearts St. Charbel Page

Memorial: 24 December
Son of a mule driver. Raised by an uncle who opposed the boy’s youthful piety. The boy’s favorite book was Thomas a Kempis’ The Imitation of Christ. At age 23 he snuck away to join the Baladite monastery of Saint Maron at Annaya, where he took the name Charbel in memory of a 2nd-century martyr. Professed his solemn vows in 1853. Ordained in 1859, becoming a hieromonk. He lived as a model monk but dreamed of living like the ancient desert fathers. Hermit from 1875 until his death 23 years later, living on the bare minimum of everything. Gained a reputation for holiness and was much sought for counsel and blessing. He had a great personal devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and was known to levitate during his prayers. He was briefly paralyzed for unknown reasons just before his death on Christmas Eve, 1898.

“…a hermit of the Lebanese mountain is inscribed in the number of the blessed, a new eminent member of monastic sanctity is enriching, by his example and his intercession, the entire Christian people. May he make us understand, in a world largely fascinated by wealth and comfort, the paramount value of poverty, penance and asceticism, to liberate the soul in its ascent to God…” Pope Paul VI, October 9, 1977

Born: 8 May 1828 at Beka-Kafra, Lebanon as Joseph Zaroun Makhlouf
Died: 24 December 1898 at Annaya of natural causes
Beatified: 1965 by Pope Paul VI
Canonized: 9 October 1977 by Pope Paul VI

WOM#17 – Mystical Experiences and Consoling Prayer – The Way of Mystery w/ Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts

Episode 17 -The Way of Mystery: The Eucharist and Moral Living

Mystical experiences and consoling prayer. Prayer is earnestly desired, because it is something we delight in. Also the prayer that will spontaneously occur. Another type of experience is the aspect of the sacramental encounter.

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For more episodes in “The Way of Mystery” Series click here

Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, is making available to ”Discerning Hearts” and all who listen, his series of programs entitled “The Way of Mystery”.

The Vatican II documents remind us that the spiritual journey is not made in a vacuum, that God has chosen to save us, not individually, but as The People of God. The Eucharist must help Christians to make their choices by discerning out of Christ’s paschal mystery. For this process to take place, however, Christians must first understand how the Eucharist puts them in touch with Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, and what concrete implications being in touch with this mystery has for their daily lives.

For more information on the “Institute of Priestly Formation” and for oth er material available by Deacon Keating, just click here

Don’t forget to pickup a copy of “Communion with Christ” , it is on e of the best audio sets on prayer…ever!

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

Faith Check 27 – Development of the Living Church w/Greg Youell

Development of the Living Church

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The celebrated English convert, John Henry Cardinal Newman, pointed out that the Catholic Church can be likened to a tiny acorn which grows into a tree—though it looks entirely different, it remains in its essence, the same thing. Likewise, a human grows from a tiny child to an adolescent through adulthood to old age, yet he remains the same person with the same DNA.

So too the Church grows and develops as the living Body of Christ. Of course, the Church of over one billion people today is not a mirror image of the relatively tiny Church in the first century Mediterranean we read about in the New Testament—nor should it be. The Church’s organization and outward forms are dynamic, not static, and must change to meet the needs of the age—yet the Church remains the same Church believing the same Faith.

The Church’s doctrine also grows and develops—never contradicting itself, but deepening with years of reflection and clarification. For instance, it was not until Christ’s divinity was denied that the Nicene Council gave us the Creed we profess each Sunday at Mass, which states precisely what we do and do not believe about our Lord. And so the grows the Church until the consummation of time.

MC4 – Praying with Scripture: Christian Contemplation and Meditation in the Ignatian tradition w/Fr. Timothy Gallagher

Episode 4 Praying with Scripture: Christian Contemplation and Meditation in the Ignatian tradition w/Fr. Timothhey Gallagher

Fr. Gallagher continues to discuss the differences and benefits of meditation and contemplation – the cornerstones of Ignatius of Loyola’s spiritual practice.

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For other episodes in the series visit The Discerning Hearts “Praying with Scripture” page

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.

For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit his website: frtimothygallagher.org

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

IP#147 Dr. Raymond Dennehy – Jacques Maritain’s Christianity and Democracy and the Rights of Man and the Natural Law on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Dr. Raymond Dennehy was a delight to talk to about the work and influence of 20th century French philosopher Jacques Maritain. Ignatius Press has published in a special one volume set, Maritain’s “Christianity and Democracy and the Rights of Man and the Natural Law”, which provides key insights for Christians in shaping the political and social orders.

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Jacques Maritain was one of the principal exponents of Thomism, the philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas, in the modern world. He lived for many years in the United States, and taught at Princeton University and Columbia University. After WWII, he served as the French ambassador to the Vatican. He also helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

You can find the book here

“Maritain was one of the pioneers of the Catholic human rights revolution, which changed the course of 20th century politics. While helping the Church through a genuine development of social doctrine, Maritain helped forge some of the tools that eventually broke through the Berlin Wall.” – George Weigel, Ethics and Public Policy Center

“In these passionate words one encounters the mind of Maritain in all its vigor and variety. His reflections on the challenges facing the world’s democratic experiments – starkly realistic yet infused with Christian hope – are as timely today as they were seventy years ago.” – Mary Ann Glendon, Harvard University

“This has been one of my all-time favorite ‘David books’ – those little books that take down Goliaths. Almost single-handedly, Maritain launched a hypothesis on the Christian (and Jewish) origins of the foundational axioms of democracy, of which many atheists are now coming to admit the truth. The sheer power of his hypothesis is more evident with every passing year. The republication of this classic is therefore bound to kindle longing for a deeper, more just reevaluation.” – Michael Novak, American Enterprise Institute

BKL69 – “He shall proclaim peace to the nations!” – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff

BKL 69 ” Building a Kingdom of Love” – “He shall proclaim peace to the nations!” Peace begins inside the hearts of each baptized Christian…do you know who you are?

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Reading 1 ZEC 9:9-10

Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,
shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the foal of an ass.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Reading 2 ROM 8:9, 11-13

Brothers and sisters:
You are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.

Gospel MT 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30th 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 Blessed 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 Bl. 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. To obtain a copy of Msgr. Esseff’s book by visiting here Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building a Kingdom of Love”

WOM#16 – The Internal World and External Presence of God – The Way of Mystery w/ Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts

Episode 16-The Way of Mystery: The Eucharist and Moral Living

The internal world and external presence of God. The importance of silence and recognizing the day of our visitations. Experiencing the love of God internally. We live by faith…moving to living by love.

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For more episodes in “The Way of Mystery” Series click here

For more information on the “Institute of Priestly Formation” and for oth er material available by Deacon Keating, just click here

Don’t forget to pickup a copy of “Communion with Christ” , it is on e of the best audio sets on prayer…ever!

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

BTP#Special – Pilgrimage- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

BTP#Special – Pilgrimage

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We join Dr. Lilles on his pilgrimage following the Primitive Way or Original Way (known in Spanish as El Camino de Santiago Primitivo) which was the first pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela. He describes to us the true meaning of what it is to be called to “pilgrimage” (as opposed to just “trip taking”). We discuss the disposition of the heart and mind, as well as the significance of the “shrine”. A very compelling sharing on prayer and the journey of faith.

Dr.Anthony Lilles is a Catholic husband and father of three teaching Spiritual Theology at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary. He teaches spiritual theology and spiritual direction to transitional deacons, and the spiritual classics to the men who enter the Spirituality Year, a year of prayer in preparation for seminary formation. He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray” Catholic blog spot. For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles