[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff discusses the crippling effects of fear and it’s remedy.  Fear, in a very real way, is the opposite of faith.  There’s an adage in spirituality that says that if we can name the demon we can tame it.  Jesus wants us not to be afraid.  He may challenge us in some ways, so that we can name it and bring it out of the darkness into peace.  The Light dispels the fear!  Fear fuels sin.  Ultimately, it’s a fear of not being loved and losing relationship in some way.  Luke 15 ( the parable of the Prodigal Son) shows us how much the Father loves us…no matter what!  He’s waiting with open arms to relieve the pain and suffering.  Look at the One who wants to pick you up!  Some suffer in silence, especially when falsely accused…stand with Jesus at the first station of the cross.  Do not take your eyes off the face of Jesus…we are meant for eternal life.  Learn from the examples of the saints… BELIEVE.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff”s website:  “Building A Kingdom of Love“

What is Marian Consecration?  What is the role the Blessed Virgin Mary in our lives?  How can this bring us even more fully into the heart of Divine Mercy? What a joy to talk with Fr. Michael Gaitley, who serves as director of the Association of Marian Helpers, about   “33 Days to Morning Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration”.  He answers the above the questions above and so much more.

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The goal of the retreat contained in the book is to learn how to ponder more deeply in our hearts what it means to enter into Marian consecration.  With the help of not only St. Louis de Montfort, but also St. Maximilian Kolbe, Bl. John Paul II, and Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Fr. Gaitley reveals to us the great connection between the heart of Mary and beautiful depth of Divine Mercy…and the key to it all is…TRUST.

 

Find the book here

 

To learn more about the “All Hearts A Fire” parish programs that Fr. Michael spoke of  click here

 

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff offers a 90 day challenge!  The object of Lent and the Easter season is to become more and more transformed into Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit we may glorify the Father through our honor and praise and obeying his Divine will, through the intercession of Mary and all the Saints, for the salvation of the World.  But instead of 40 days, but to set our sights on 90 days…all the way to Pentecost.  To become a 90 Day Wonder!

 

Remember the object is union with Jesus Christ.  It’s not about a 40 yard dash, but a 24/7 marathon.  What are some of the challenges that might arise, what are the remedies?

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building A Kingdom of Love”

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of Readings

Here is the book for Lent (and any other time of the year for that matter), “Simplifying Your Soul:  Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit” is “simply” wonderful!  Paula Huston has such a gentle way of helping us to  penetrate into what our hearts so we can draw closer to what we truly long for…a deeper relationship with God…the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  A benedictine oblate, Paula, draws from the best of the monastic traditions and helps us to apply those practices in our modern day circumstances.  I have to believe that Sts. Benedict and Scholastic would be overjoyed how this 21 century daughter of the church as responded to their initial teachings  offered so a long ago.  NOT TO BE MISSED…HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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You can find it here

 

“Too often thought of as simply a season of sacrifice, Lent is revealed here as something far richer–a privileged time to experience God in your everyday life, to open yourself to conversion, and to savor God’s transforming love.”–Rev. James Martin, S.J., Author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything

 

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff teaches the importance of the Liturgical year and in particular the season of Lent.  He also shares his experience of fasting in a desert found in Peru. From this he learned the importance of FASTING and PRAYER.  Msgr. Esseff challenges us to discern what the Father in Heaven is asking us to do this Lent through fasting, so we can purely and perfectly follow His Holy Will.  And he describes ALMSGIVING, and story from an experience he had with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Sisters.

The Church prepares a spiritual retreat for all of us during Lent.  The Holy Spirit is transforming you in a radical way so that you become more like Jesus Christ…the day by day exercise of Morning Prayer, the Eucharist and Evening Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, and the other moments of contemplative prayer aids in the transformation…our ego decreases and Jesus increases in our minds and in our hearts.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building A Kingdom of Love”

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of Readings

“The Work of Mercy: Being the Hands and Heart of Christ” is the latest from  Mark Shea.  There’s no one who articulates Catholic teaching quite the way Mark does…it’s clear, engaging, entertaining and targeted to challenge the lukewarm heart.  His new book is an important contribution to our understanding of Catholic Social Teaching as expressed through the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy….EXCELLENT. Highly recommended!

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You can find the book here

Brings the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy into the 21st century. —JOHN MICHAEL TALBOT, musician and author

In this engaging, entertaining book, Mark Shea helps us rediscover what Christians have practiced for centuries–the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. —JIMMY AIKIN, senior apologist, Catholic Answers

Visit Mark’s blog at “Catholic and Enjoying It“

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff teaches the importance of the Liturgy of Hours. He breaks open each portion of Morning Prayer. The Hymn, the psalm, the canticle, again the psalm … we sing praise to God with this section of Morning Prayer. Then God speaks to us in the reading. Then we respond to with the a short psalm. Then he helps us to appreciate the power of the Benedictus. That is followed by the intentions of the Church. Concluding with the great Our Father. We then bless the Lord and give Him thanks. Jesus unites the world in our prayer of praise to the Father when we enter into the Divine Office.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building A Kingdom of Love”

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of Readings

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff offers his second lesson in “Teach Us How To Pray”.  He speaks of the importance of Morning and Evening prayers in our lives.  The Holy Spirit inspires us to pray and the Church teaches prayer through the Liturgy of the Hours.  Msgr. Esseff goes on to teach on the Psalms.  Those who pray the psalms offer powerful praise to the Father. Who actually praises?  In the deepest level of our heart, it’s actually Jesus who praises the Father in us when we pray the Psalms and the Father loves us in return.  What is essential is that we listen to what God says to us in prayer…Listen.

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of ReadingsBe sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website: Building a Kingdom of Love

[powerpress]Prayer is assumed as something we know how to do, but do we? The Church has been constantly teaching her children throughout the ages. The Mass, of course, is our central act of prayer.  But to truly deepen our prayer, even our worship in the Mass, we must appreciate who God is. God is a Trinity, He revealed Himself to us. He is Three Persons in One God. We experience and express their relationship when we pray “Glory be to the Father, Glory be to the Son, Glory be the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end”. When we pray “Glory be to the Father”, He really hears us…He is present, He is truly with you. What does that mean when we pray? It is a relationship. The same is true in relation to the Son and the Holy Spirit. Msgr. Esseff, in this first lesson on prayer, breaks this open in a very deep and important way…the importance of Trinity and presence. Msgr. Esseff also begins an introduction to the importance of the Liturgy of the Hours and the Psalms.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website:  “Building A Kingdom of Love“

In January 2012, Msgr. Esseff conducted a weekend retreat for the Deacons and Deacon-Candidates and their wives of the Diocese of Fargo.

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The subject is SINFULNESS and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The crucifixion and death of Jesus and what Jesus “sees” from the Cross. We will not grow in the Divine life given to us in Baptism if we do not become fully aware of our sinfulness in direct relation to our blessedness.  The Devil is aware of  Christ in us; he hates the beauty of that union. The Enemy’s purpose is to destroy that relationship.  Why would we sin and endanger our union with Christ?  Sin is not just breaking a commandment, it is the destruction of the Divine life in us.  Sin is a mystery; it is a darkness.  Our souls are a battleground…between the forces of light and the forces of darkness, the forces of love and the forces of hatred…a complete head on crash in every soul.

Msgr. Esseff then instructs on the importance of enlisting the aid of the Holy Spirit to truly prepare us for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It’s only through the aid of the Holy Spirit can God reveal to us what truly separates us from the  Father.  He reveals to us our “core wound”…the tendency in our behavior that causes us to sin.  Often we only pay attention to the symptoms of the wound, we need the Holy Spirit to show us the cause.  The deeper we go into our sinfulness the deeper the experience of the Divine Mercy.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building a Kingdom of Love”

 

Christopher West is a pioneer in the area known as “The Theology of the Body”, a teaching found in the Wednesday audiences of Bl. John Paul II over the course of many years.  In “The Heart of the Gospel:  Reclaiming the body of the New Evangelization”, Christopher shares his insights and deeper understandings found in over 20 years of experience with this work and it’s relevance for our faith lives today.  In the course of the book, he also answers those objections to his approach in the past.  He dives deeply into the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, the teachings of the Saints, and above all, Sacred Scripture to find a richer expression of this important work and its message for our world today.   Below is the complete interview I had with Christopher which lasted close to an hour.  His humble, candid, honest approach to our discussion reveals  his care and concern for the subject and great love for the work given to us by our late great Holy Father, Bl. John Paul II.

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You can find Christopher’s book here

“The light of the Gospel, which is a clear but at times painful light, can illumine human sexuality to its very depth in order to transform it and bring it to its full beauty. Here lies the great strength of Blessed John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. In this peaceful and positive response to critics, Christopher West proves once again that he is a faithful and inspiring interpreter and communicator of this great pope’s teaching, a teaching so urgently needed for an effective proclamation of the Gospel.” —Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, cardinal archbishop of Vienna; general editor, Catechism of the Catholic Church; and grand chancellor, International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family

“Christopher West has gone to the desert … and come back stronger than ever.  Those who may previously have thought his work was one-sided in its celebration of the body and sexuality will find here, brought out more clearly than ever, the deep balance and integration that has always been the foundation of his work.” – Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson, Archbishop of Saint Louis,  Chairman, USCCB Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations

 

Faith at Work:  Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck is fantastic…a remedy for  spirituality seekers  in the workplace (and in the home as well)!  You have to love a work that begins with conversion as a goal.   Kevin Lowry offers concrete helps which assist all of us deepen our relationship with Christ and His Church, and live authentic lives as Catholics in the world.  Great for individuals and for group study as well.

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“Too many Christians treat ambition and success as if they’re four-letter words…. For a Catholic in business, they can be touchstones of sanctification.”— Scott Hahn, Ph.D., professor of biblical theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville

 

 Be sure to visit Kevin Lowry’s website at Grateful Convert

 

 

Check it out here

 

 

What is the “Roman Canon”?  Fr. Milton Walsh helps us to answer that question and enter deeply into the mystery found in this beautiful Eucharistic prayer.  Drawing from the best of biblical and liturgical scholarship, Fr. Walsh offers a beautiful meditation that can help priests, religious, and laity deepen their understanding of the text that for centuries was the only Eucharistic prayer used in the Roman Rite.  This is a great book to give those in Catholic Adult Formation programs, like the RCIA, Diaconate training, Religious Education Catechist, as well as to the average “pew person” who longs for a deeper encounter in the depths of our Sacred Liturgy.

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You can Fr. Walsh’s book here

With a revised English translation of the venerable Roman Canon, many Catholics will be hearing it with new ears. This book will help them hear it with a new heart. Don’t just study the new words, step into the soul of Eucharistic Prayer I. —Rev. Paul Turner, Former president of the North American Academy of Liturgy