Burning Hearts with Rachel Herbeck

As we end our week, Paul teaches us that the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation are all necessary pieces of our armor. We discuss in particular how we guard our minds from the enemy.

As we continue to learn the elements of our armor, Paul instructs us to protect our hearts. God desires to protect our hearts with his righteousness so that our hearts stay soft and tender to his love.

Paul instructs us to clothe ourselves with the armor of God. Today, we begin to learn about the elements of God’s armor, starting with truth as our belt.

As we dive into the spiritual battle we are in, Paul shows us that in the battle Jesus fights on our behalf. Our job is to imitate Mary at the foot of the cross: standing in the victory God has won for us.

This week, Rachel shares stories from her trip to Rwanda and we begin to dive into Ephesians 6. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us see the spiritual battle that we are in and help us learn how to fight.

Are we paying attention to the voice of God or are we ignoring his voice and plan?

What does it look like to both pray constantly and pray humbly?

Are we relying on old blessings or open to new things God wants to do in and through us? Are we more concerned about the distractions of this world or the priorities of God?

What does it mean to have faith? Do we even have a "little" faith?

This week, we talk about a few of Jesus’ parable, why they are important, how we should approach them, and the impact they can have on our lives. 

As we finish Romans 12 today, St. Paul gives us radical instructions for living as Christians who are both in the world and set apart from the world. His instructions are challenging and counter-cultural, underscoring what it really means to have a transformed mind.

St. Paul calls us to fix our desires upon what is good and to genuinely love one another with mutual affection. Amid this passing world full of strife, he gives us a prescription for navigating our earthly pilgrimage: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.”

Each of us believers are knit into one body, one family, through a profound sacramental union and this reality must transform our daily lives! Our fallen human nature is tempted towards division, hatred, and jealously, but when we hate or resent members of our Christian family, we are wounding our own body.

St. Paul makes it clear that part of what makes it possible for us to discern God’s will for our lives is an inward change, being transformed by the renewing of our minds. The total transformation of our minds is only possible by the help of God’s grace, the outpouring of his mercy, and the supernatural aid of the Holy Spirit.

This week we’re looking at Romans 12 and St. Paul’s instructions to Christians on how to respond to the saving work of Jesus. Today, we talk about responding to Jesus’ selfless and sacrificial love by modeling that love through offering of our whole lives back to Him as a living sacrifice.

The culmination of human, spiritual, and intellectual formation leads to pastoral formation. In coming to know and love the Lord, we are able to serve Him by bringing others to do the same.

In addition to human and spiritual formation, St. John Paul II highlights the need to form the intellectual formation so that we can know Whom we love. In knowing more about Him, we can love Him more and help others to do the same.

Human formation paves the way for spiritual formation which leads to intimacy with God. St. John Paul II highlights the need to allow the cross to shape our life and draw us closer to the Lord. 

St. John Paul II explores the necessity of forming the human nature of a person. This includes virtue, temperament, and the way we process emotion. He calls us to this formation so that we can live a full spiritual life.

We introduce Chris Baker and the beginning of St. John Paul II’s document, Pastores Dabo Vobis. In this document, JPII outlines four pillars for personal formation.

Each one of us belongs to God’s family through our baptism. Paul gives us the task to have peace with every member of the family of God.

Throughout the scriptures, Paul has a major concern about unity. He instructs us to do everything to avoid division and love each other with the love of Christ.

In addition to holiness, adoption, and eternity, Paul tells us that we need to walk in humility, meekness, and patience. That is what it means to live a worthy life.

Paul tells us exactly what to focus on in our journeys with the Lord: growing in holiness, living out our adoption into God’s family, and living for eternity.

We begin to go through Ephesians 4 in which Paul is inviting us to live a life worthy of the calling we receive through our baptism. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us lead a worthy life.

Today, we ask the Holy Spirit to help us grow in confidence in God. We hear from Peter that this confidence we have in God comes from Jesus’ death on the cross for us.

Scripture teaches us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As we submit more and more under the Lordship of Jesus, Peter invites us to walk in a holy fear.

A key portion of the spiritual life that we often skip over is the necessity of submission and obedience in our discipleship to Jesus. He desires that we come under his submission as Lordship and walk in obedience with Him.

We are called to have a mindset that is spiritually ready. For Peter, this includes setting your mind and heart on the hope we have in Jesus Christ instead of on the things of this world.

This week, we dive into 1 Peter 1 and read Peter’s encouragement to be alert and fully sober. We ask the Holy Spirit to renew our minds so that we can live with a mindset that is spiritually focused.

Jesus tells us today that whoever wishes to serve Him must follow Him. This is ultimately an invitation to the cross, but a cross that produces resurrection. So, we ask for the grace to receive the cross of Christ.

Today, we discuss how the saints displayed a radical detachment to their lives. This allowed them to surrender fully to Jesus, which is the essence of greatness and glory.

Jesus’ death frees us from sin and grants us eternal life. He invites all of his followers into that death so that we may bear fruit as well.

What does greatness look like? Jesus reveals to us that the Father is going to show the world his glory through the death of his Son on the cross, and we discuss how glory comes through suffering.

This week, we dive into John 12 and immediately see Jesus communicating to his disciples that his hour has come. We discuss how Jesus in his humility even submitted to the plan and timing of his Father.

In today’s episode, John is very clear that if we deny sin we make God a liar. So often in our culture there is a denial of the reality of sin. We need to repent of our sins and receive God’s mercy in order to walk in the light.

Today, John tells us that Jesus didn’t just come to walk along side us, but He came as the Light of the world to enlighten our hearts. We ask for the grace to respond to the invitation to let that Light shine in us.

As we receive the Word of Life, John tells us that we are invited into the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is fellowship with other believers and fellowship with the Triune God Himself.

John shows us how he communicates about Jesus to others: He sees what Jesus has done, testifies to what He has done, and proclaims who Jesus is for all to see and hear.

This week, we dive into 1 John 1 and examine how John refers to Jesus as not just the Word, but the Word of Life. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us see that the Word made flesh is truly the source of our lives.

As we wrap up this week, we see that Scripture truly is our guide to walking in righteousness. In our own journeys, we cling to Jesus through his Word as we learn to walk in obedience to his commands.

In the face of persecution, Paul teaches Timothy how to stay the course. We are encouraged in our own lives to stand firm on what we have learned and who we have learned it from.

Paul gives an intense word for us today as we read, essentially sharing that if we follow God, we will be persecuted. We discuss: what should we expect as believers and how do we handle persecution?

Part of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy is to remind him of what he has seen as he lived life with Paul. As we see how Paul shared his life with Timothy, we ask the Holy Spirit to show us how we can walk with people and really share our lives with others.

This week, we dive into Paul’s second letter to Timothy, his spiritual son. We see how Paul encourages Timothy from prison in his own leadership of the Church of Ephesus.

What will our response be when the Bridegroom returns? Today, we see how we can live our lives in a way that, when we hear the heralding of the Bridegroom, we respond with joy and not dread.

The main difference between the wise and foolish virgins was oil in their lamps. Today, we discuss how to keep oil in our lamps so that we may be ready for the marriage feast.

Today, we discuss the need to remind ourselves over and over again the truth that Jesus is looking for a Bride. We meditate on the amazing reality that God the Father has prepared his Church as an eternal companion for his Son, Jesus.

As we continue through Matthew 25, we examine the Jewish wedding custom so that we may further understand the steps Jesus has taken to bring us home to his Father.

This week, we begin to examine the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25. Jesus begins by telling us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a Bridegroom who is coming for his Bride. This draws us into the beautiful reality of how Jesus desires to be in relationship with us.