First Reading and Psalm
Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
The Gospel, Mark 1:29-39

Episode 3 The Daily Prayer of Discernment: The Ignatian Wisdom of the Examen Prayer with Fr. Timothy Gallagher.
 The conversation continues on the subject of the first step in the Examen – GRATITUDE.   Why?  Because first, above all things, God is love.  So at the start of the prayer, we should recall the gift of love God has blessed us with that day and give Him thanks and praise….and be concrete.  Fr. Gallagher offers examples of what that could look like.  Then the conversation begins on the next step – PETITION.  Asking God to show you what see clearly the spiritual realities of that day.  

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As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J.  1909 in the public domain)

METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.
Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.
Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.

OUR FATHER.

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 books and audio available for purchase from Fr. Timothy Gallagher check out his website: www.frtimothygallagher.org

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

From Vatican Radio:

On the afternoon of Wednesday 2nd of February , Feast of the Presentation of the Lord , Pope Benedict XVI will preside over vespers in Saint Peter’s Basilica at 5.30 pm.

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In an effort to prepare for this evening celebration , on this day which is also dedicated to the XVI World Day of Consecrated Life we bring you a musical meditation focusing on the Presentation: “Mary and Joseph came to the Temple to present the Child Jesus to the Lord as the Law required.The Fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary focuses on the Presentation in the Temple. We celebrate it liturgically forty days after Christmas on the Feast of Candlemas , when we process with lighted candles , bearing witness before the world to the light of Christ”.

In this programme presented by music historian Monsignor Philip Whitmore you can listen to a setting of the Magnificat antiphon for the first vespers of the Feast of the Presentation by Catholic composer in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , William Byrd.

A programme produced by Veronica Scarisbrick .

“The favor of God was upon him”
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an excerpt from today’s reflection by Don Schwager:

Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph and he prophesied to Mary about the destiny of this child and the suffering she would undergo for his sake. There is a certain paradox for those blessed by the Lord.  Mary was given the blessedness of being the mother of the Son of God. That blessedness also would become a sword which pierced her heart as her Son died upon the cross. She received both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow. But her joy was not diminished by her sorrow because it was fueled by her faith, hope, and trust in God and his promises. Jesus promised his disciples that “no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22). The Lord gives us a supernatural joy which enables us to bear any sorrow or pain and which neither life nor death can take way.  Do you know the joy of a life fully surrendered to God with faith and trust?

Simeon was not alone in recognizing the Lord’s presence in the temple. Anna, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit. She was found daily in the temple, attending to the Lord in prayer and speaking prophetically to others about God’s promise to send a redeemer. Supernatural hope grows with prayer and age! Anna was pre-eminently a woman of great hope and expectation that God would fulfill all his promises. She is a model of godliness to all believers as we advance in age.  Advancing age and the disappointments of life can easily make us cynical and hopeless if we do not have our hope placed rightly. Anna’s hope in God and his promises grew with age. She never ceased to worship God in faith and to pray with hope. Her hope and faith in God’s promises fueled her indomitable zeal and fervor in prayer and service of God’s people. What do you hope for? The hope which God places in our heart is the desire for the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness. How do we grow in hope? By placing our trust in the promises of Jesus Christ and relying not on our own strength, but on the grace and help of the Holy Spirit. Does your hope and fervor for God grow with age?

“Lord Jesus, may I never cease to hope in you and to trust in your promises. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may always recognize your saving presence in my life. Help me to point others to Christ and to be an example of faith and devotion as Simeon and Anna were to their generation.”

for the full reflection visit : Daily Reading and Meditation

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”

St. Brigid of Kildare, an extraordinary woman of faith, who was known for the beauty of her heart.

Daughter of Dubtach, pagan Scottish king of Leinster, and Brocca, a Christian Pictish slave who had been baptized by Saint Patrick. Just before Brigid’s birth, her mother was sold to a Druid landowner. Brigid remained with her mother till she was old enough to serve her legal owner Dubtach, her father.

She grew up marked by her high spirits and tender heart, and as a child, she heard Saint Patrick preach, which she never forgot. She could not bear to see anyone hungry or cold, and to help them, often gave away things that were Dubtach’s. When Dubtach protested, she replied that “Christ dwelt in every creature”. Dubtach tried to sell her to the King of Leinster, and while they bargained, she gave a treasured sword of her father’s to a leper. Dubtach was about to strike her when Brigid explained she had given the sword to God through the leper, because of its great value. The King, a Christian, forbade Dubtach to strike her, saying “Her merit before God is greater than ours”. Dubtach solved this domestic problem by giving Brigid her freedom.

Brigid’s aged mother was in charge of her master’s dairy. Brigid took charge ,and often gave away the produce. But the dairy prospered under her (hence her patronage of milk maids, dairy workers, cattle, etc.), and the Druid freed Brigid’s mother.

Brigid returned to her father, who arranged a marriage for her with a young bard. Bride refused, and to keep her virginity, went to her Bishop, Saint Mel of Ardagh, and took her first vows. Legend says that she prayed that her beauty be taken from her so no one would seek her hand in marriage; her prayer was granted, and she regained her beauty only after making her vows. Another tale says that when Saint Patrick heard her final vows, he mistakenly used the form for ordaining priests. When told of it he replied, “So be it, my son, she is destined for great things.”

Her first convent started c.468 with seven nuns. At the invitation of bishops, she started convents all over Ireland. She was a great traveller, especially considering the conditions of the time, which led to her patronage of travellers, sailors, etc. Brigid invented the double monastery, the monastery of Kildara, which means Church of the Oak, that she ran on the Liffey river being for both monks and nuns. Saint Conleth became its first bishop; this connection and the installation of a bell that lasted over 1000 years apparently led to her patronage of blacksmiths and those in related fields.

Litany of Saint Brigid of Kildare

This old litany is of unknown origin.

Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, Have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Queen of virgins, Pray for us. Saint Brigid, Pray for us. Mary of the Gael, Pray for us. St. Brigid, Patroness of Ireland, Pray for us. St. Brigid, shining light of virtue and sanctity, Pray for us. St. Brigid, consecrated spouse of Jesus Christ, Pray for us. St. Brigid, foundress of Kildare, Pray for us. St. Brigid, cornerstone of the monastic institute in the Isle of Saints, Pray for us. St. Brigid, great model of Irish virgins, Pray for us. St. Brigid, mother of religious, Pray for us. St. Brigid, pattern of religious perfection, Pray for us. St. Brigid, intercessor for the Irish Church, Pray for us. St. Brigid, mediatrix for the Irish race, Pray for us. St. Brigid, protectress of the holy faith planted by Saint Padrig, Pray for us. St. Brigid, enjoying with him the clear vision of God, Pray for us. St. Brigid, whose one desire was to satisfy the poor, drive out hardship, and spare every miserable man, Pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

V. Pray for us, O glorious Saint Brigid: R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, Who dost rejoice with the memory of the blessed Saint Brigid, Thy virgin and abbess, mercifully grant that we may be assisted by her merits, by whose chastity we are illumined. Through Jesus Christ Thy Son Our Lord. R. Amen.

Episode 4 Beginning to Pray:  “Heaven in Faith”  Day 2 Prayer 2 – “Hurry and Come Down”

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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.

From “Heaven in Faith: Day 2 Prayer 2” found in The Complete Works vol 1:

8. “As long as our will has fancies that are foreign to divine union, whims that are now yes, now no, we are like children:  we do not advance with giant steps in love for fire has not yet burnt up all the alloy; the gold is not pure; we are still seeking ourselves; God has not consumed” all our hostility to Him.  But when the boiling cauldron has consumed “every imperfect love, every imperfect sorrow, every imperfect fear,” “then love is perfect and the golden ring of our alliance is larger than Heaven and earth.  The is the secret cellar in which love places his elect,” this “love leads us by ways and paths known to him alone and he leads us with no turning back, for we will not retrace our steps.”

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

This the text we are using to discuss “Heaven in Faith” you can find it here and order from the Carmelite Sisters

We would like to offer heartfelt thanks to
Miriam Gutierrez for providing for us “the voice” of Blessed Elizabeth for this series

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 GRACE and the life of Jesus we receive in Baptism.  From Ephesians Chap 4 v 7 -16, Msgr. Esseff discusses what he calls “that most magnificent passage” which transforms us.   What made the transformation occur?  What is Original Sin? He reflects on the fall of our first parents and the broken relationship with God, and God’s gift of the Son.  The importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary…the first person to receive the revelation of the Trinity.  The tremendous moment of PENTECOST.  What is Sanctifying Grace?  What does it mean to have Jesus within us and what are we called to do?  How can we forgive, especially the deepest wounds?  Being like Jesus, we depend completely on the Father.  The lie of the “I can do anything” attitude.  The beauty of Galatians 2:20.  Ask God to help you discover your true self in Him.

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

Episode 3- The School of Prayer: Reflections on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI –  Abraham the great Patriarch who prays in intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah.  The mystery of intercessory prayer and God’s great mercy.  When we persist in prayer, like Abraham, the more we come to know God and trust in His love for us.  How sin corrupts our capacity to receive God’s movement of protection and love.  How the sacrifice of Christ opens the door to the mystery.  If we can learn how to pray, then we learn how to be loved.  How do we pray for others?

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Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha.

From  Pope Benedict’s 3 audience on prayer:

This is the power of prayer. For through intercession, the prayer to God for the salvation of others, the desire for salvation which God nourishes for sinful man is demonstrated and expressed. Evil, in fact, cannot be accepted, it must be identified and destroyed through punishment: The destruction of Sodom had exactly this function.

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

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

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

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

 

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 PRAYER.  From Luke Chap 11 v 1-13, Msgr. Esseff discusses how little we know how to pray and how to receive.  He reflects on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s teaching to St. Catherine Laboure about prayer.  Then he offers the proper movement of prayer:

1.  “Be there with Him and for Him”
2.  “You have to want Him”  Intensify the desire of relationship with God.
3.  “Listen to Him”

• A – Acknowledge (What’s going on in your heart)
• R – Relay that to God
  (Tell God – Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
  and the Blessed Virgin Mary – about that experience)
• R – Receive (What is God going to tell me about what I told Him)
• R – Respond

4.  “Let Him”  (Surrender to God)

What happens when we encounter the Holy Eucharist
What happens when we encounter the Living Word of God

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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On the evening of the start of the retreat, Msgr. Esseff gave a talk to prepare the hearts and minds of the participants. He explains the importance and value of SILENCE and listening to God. We may be doing too much talking to God and not enough listening. He provides the structure of the hours of prepare and scripture to reflect on and how to pray for the reception of a particular grace.

Msgr. Esseff offers Ephesians 3:14-20, in particular, for reflection. He will later in the talk, give specific scripture for reflection for the hours of prayer.  He discusses our specific calling…from baptism to marriage, the diaconate…what is our identity as Christian.

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

“Compelling” just isn’t a big enough word to capture the work that Fr. Paul Hamans has given us in this book.  Edith Stein and Companions on the Way to Auschwitz” not only gives us a portrait of the great saint, but gives us the faces and insights into the hearts of those we call “companions”…be prepared to be both heartbroken and inspired at the same time.
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Find this book at the Ignatius Press website

-“An important, beautiful, heart-wrenching book. These Jewish Catholics, were doubly blessed, for they were martyred twice – once, when they entered the Catholic Church at the cost of losing their families, their homes, their livelihoods, and a second time when they were sent to the extermination camp as Jewish Catholics. Martyred for their Catholic faith, martyred for their Jewish blood. The faith, dedication to God, and love of the Church that they showed as they underwent this double martyrdom are inspiring reminders of what the true stakes and rewards of our lives as Catholics are.”
—Roy Schoeman, Author, Salvation is From the Jews

During this time when we are asked to remember the value of our religious liberty, our conversation with Dr. Thomas Kidd is an important one.  Dr. Kidd gives us the life and  passionate thought of “Patrick Henry:  First Among Patriots”.  Patrick Henry gave us the great rallying cry “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”, and yet many of us may not realize that he had huge reservations about the scope of the Constitution, because he feared it could one day seize that liberty and destroy it  if allowed to go unchecked….very interesting.  I found this to be a fascinating book.  Would Patrick Henry’s concern turn out to be a prophetic one?  Dr. Thomas Kidd handles his subject well, and presents the time, place and overall personality of Henry with clarity and insight in a very compelling read.

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Dr. Thomas Kidd teaches history at Baylor University and is Senior Fellow at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion. His newest book is Patrick Henry: First Among Patriots, published in 2011 with Basic Books. God of Liberty: A Religious History of the American Revolution was published in 2010, also by Basic Books. Additional recent books include American Christians and Islam, published in 2008 by Princeton University Press, The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America, published by Yale University Press in 2007, and The Great Awakening: A Brief History with Documents, with Bedford Books in 2007.  He is a contributor to patheos.com and has written op-eds for USA Today and the Washington Post.

You can find the book here

Wilfred M. McClay, SunTrust Chair of Excellence in Humanities, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

“His (Patrick Henry’a) historical reputation has suffered somewhat because of his opposition to the Constitution, but as Thomas Kidd shows in this vivid and lucid new biography, that judgment fails to do him justice. Indeed, his fears of the Constitution’s tendency toward consolidation and empire turned out to be well-founded, and the principal themes of his life, including his emphasis upon the cultivation of virtue and the protection of limited government, have never been more relevant. May this fine book lead to a long-overdue reconsideration of a great but neglected figure.”

First Reading and the Psalm
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
Second Reading, 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
The Gospel, Mark 1:21-28