Recent Archives - Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

"A Day of Vigil with the Blessed Virgin Mary" - A Holy Saturday Reflection with Msgr. John Esseff - Discerning Hearts Podcast The post A Day of Vigil with the Blessed Virgin Mary – A Holy Saturday Reflection with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

In this special Discerning Hearts conversation, Deacon James Keating joins Kris McGregor to reflect on the mystery of Good Friday and the saving love revealed on the Cross. Recorded during the 2020 lockdowns, his words remain strikingly relevant as he contemplates Christ’s perfection as the one who forgives, welcomes the enemy and reveals the fullness of divine love. This episode invites us to meditate more deeply on the crucifixion, Christian dignity, forgiveness and the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the human heart. The post The Mystery of Good Friday with Deacon James Keating Ph.D. and Kris McGregor – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Joseph Pearce explores Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, revealing a powerful story of sin, repentance, mercy, and redemption. The post GWWL7 – Nathaniel Hawthorne – The Scarlet Letter – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor begin this series on the life and times of St. Joseph with a discussion on his ancestry. The post SJ1 – St. Joseph’s World – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor discuss spiritual desolation and St. Ignatius of Loyola's guidance on overcoming it. The post SISL11 – I Don’t Have the Energy – Struggles in the Spiritual Life with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Communal worship speaks to this need. We usually imagine worship as a break in our secular lives, or sometimes even an obstacle to achieving other goals. With this attitude, worship is sometimes simply seen as “time out” from what is really important. Without denying the importance of secular realities for the laity, could we look at worship in another way? Worship is not an obstacle to daily living; it is not time off from more vital realities. Worship is, in fact, the great doorway into all that is both secular and holy. It is our way into real living. In worship, we find the great integration of the simple, ordinary, and plain (people, bread, wine, words) with the holy and transcendent (paschal mystery, incarnation, grace, transformation, salvation). The call of the laity is to carry into each day of work and domestic commitment the truth that the ordinary and the holy are not opposed. Only sin and the holy are opposed. Lenten worship services help us bring this truth to the world. The more we come to see the presence of Christ in worship as a presence that permeates our being in the world, the more we will hunger to participate in worship as the source of our moral witness in everyday life. The Eucharist primarily is our participation in Christ’s Paschal Mystery, which is his self-offering to the Father, both in his life and upon the cross, and is also the Father’s response in raising him from the dead. Christ came to us; he came to dwell upon Earth and take on created goodness so that all in creation that is not good (sin) may be transformed by his presence, by grace. We too, in communion with him through the grace of the sacramental life, fill the ordinary world with his presence and become witnesses to this salvation through virtue and grace cooperating in moral activity. The post CTD6 – The Oasis of Lent – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Joseph Pearce explores Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, revealing a powerful story of virtue, humility, and authentic love rooted in truth. The post GWWL6 –Jane Austen – Pride & Prejuidice and Mansfield Park – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Mike Aquilina discusses how early Christian leaders upheld the dignity of human life in a culture where infanticide and abortion were common and widely accepted. The post ROF10 – Defending Human Life – Roots of the Faith with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Msgr. John Esseff reflects on the Feast of the Annunciation, which falls in the heart of Lent. The post The Annunciation – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

CTD#5 – "Leaving the Desert" - Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating "Celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation is, for many Catholics, a most daunting prospect. This sacrament has been the source of many jokes, composed perhaps by persons seeking to reduce the level of stress they feel regarding one of its main components: naming personal sin. The naming of one's own sin to oneself and to a priest is self-revelatory to the point of evoking anxiety. Initially, it can be true that some level of apprehension may accompany this sacrament, but over time with regular celebration of this form of worship, anxiety diminishes. Most positively the sacrament of reconciliation promotes truthful self-knowledge regarding sin in the context of Christ's saving presence. Once someone experiences both the naming of sin and the reception of God's mercy in this sacrament, he or she actually begins to celebrate this sacrament and see it as a great gift from Christ and his Church." The post CTD5 – Leaving the Desert – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.