St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

Reflection… “My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart” (Psalm 38:5-8).In the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus tells Peter, James, and John to watch and pray, he is also calling us to watch and pray.  In our prayer we contemplate who Jesus really is, what he did for us out of love and what this means for us today.  How can we make this time of prayer personal and allow what we learn to overflow into our daily lives. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

Reflection… Lent is a season of conversion of the mind, heart, and soul through the acts of prayer, penance, and deeds of charity/alms giving. Though its exact time of origin is unknown, the practice of fasting and the offering of a penance during the 40 days prior to Easter was more widely visible in the church sometime soon after The First Council of Nicaea, AD 325. The councils’ program of liturgical and theological alignment may have been the springboard that aided in the formation of the structure of Lent as we practice it today.May the graces we receive this lent through our prayers of self-giving love, acceptance of our crosses of penance, and deeds of charity toward the least of our brethren, propel us to continue to perfect these newfound works in our daily lives.Jesus gently calls us to an improved relationship with Him, “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

Jesus prepared the disciples to bear fruit as they began to evangelize.  We too must prepare for evangelizing as well. During the season of lent let us practice being in the presence Jesus, to be in constant prayer.  In the early church St. Paul taught, to "Put on Christ".  To evangelize well our faith must grow and for our faith to grow one must pursue holiness.The Second Vatican Council has brought to the forefront that the laity are called to bring the modern world back to Christ.  Through obedience, let us begin in the silence of our meditation to commence with contemplative hearts to change the world. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

During this season of lent we are called by the Church to repent of our sins and turn back to the gospels. The Gospel of Luke makes it clear that all are being addressed when Jesus gives instructions on how to be his disciples, “Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).Therefore, to be Jesus’ disciples, to put him first, we must practice temperance from our own desires, passions, and all that does not bring us closer to Jesus. As we reach detachment from those actions that pull us away from Jesus, we will begin to see the greater joy promised in the Beatific Vision. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

When we attend Mass, do we really envision the joining of heaven and earth, which is about to become visible to us? Do we work on realizing how precious a gift Our Father has given us, our Daily Bread, given for our spiritual sustenance?We need to learn from the saints how precious a gift the Liturgy is for our spiritual growth. When it comes to praying at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass it can be helpful to keep in mind the words of St. Augustine, “The desire is thy prayers; and if thy desire is without ceasing, thy prayer will also be without ceasing. The continuance of your longing is the continuance of your prayer.”In the example of St. Augustine, let us prayerfully desire to become closer with Our Lord Jesus Christ during the Mass. And let's also keep in mind to call on Our Blessed Mother for help so that we may improve. This meditation will continue to give you other tools and examples for learning to truly pray the Mass.Visit Show Page Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

Today in the podcast….. "Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear..." (1 Peter 3:14-16).This is the courage that the Apostles of Jesus Christ are calling us to embrace when approaching the ever approachable Godhead in His Divine Infancy.  Jesus Christ wants us to be free from all anxiety as we build our relationship with Him. Just as one would feel free to interact with a newborn baby, unafraid of what others think while lavishing a Baby with affection.This meditation will enlighten the faithful in how to, as St. Josemaria Escriva has stated many times, evangelize with great charity as one improves their pious relationship with the Lord. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

In a homily given by St. Josemaria Escriva in the 1960’s he calls all to imitate Jesus’ love for Humanity. What does this call invite us to do today? Fr. Peter Armenio, an Opus Dei priest, enlightens us by mentioning that the call to “Passionately Love The World,” invites us to leave our comfort zone, find new compassion for others, be present for those who do not know that they hunger for Christ, His consolation, and His peace. In turn, our efforts of imitating Christ will ultimately give our lives meaning and we will have found true love.Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way." . . . Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" "Seven," . . . "and a few fish. . . . Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full.” Matt. 15:32-37We should take note that if we trust enough to give Our Lord Jesus Christ all that we have, as in the loaves and the fish, then there is nothing to worry about for Jesus will always take care of us. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

Fr. Peter Armenio, an Opus Dei priest, is quoted in this podcast saying, “We are disciples of Christ marked with this unity of life that we give an experience of Christ through joy.”   He challenges us to evaluate our daily lives and see if we can find Christ there in the midst.He stresses that, as Disciples of Christ there should be a common thread that runs through our lives. This Common thread is the manner in which we interact with others through which they can see the presence of Jesus Christ in our very person. Just like the vessels of clay St. Paul refers to when telling the Corinthians that they must hold God within their being in order to be able to give Him to others.We must let others experience Christ through our very actions of love, kindness, affection, and joy then they can recognize the life of Christ alive in us. The receiver of these actions should feel loved through our being present to them. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

Fr. Peter Armenio, an Opus Dei priest, reminds us that St. Josemaria was inspired by the light of God with the mission to bring Christ into the heart of the entire world in a way that He had never been before. Into a world that is gripped by a culture of death; to be healed by the intervention of God’s Mercy. “God is the same as always. It is men of faith that are needed: and then, there will be a renewal of the wonders we read of in the Gospel” (St. Josemaria; The Way, no. 586).Faith filled children of God are called to participate in this beautiful mission. We are to replicate both the joy and the affection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This can be done if first a well formed interior life of prayer is established, for it is our prayer life that exudes this joy, the light of Christ. Fr. Peter refers to what St. Gregory Nazianzen wrote in his Oration #39 that, “[God] wants you to become a living force for all mankind, lights shinning in the world.” This is no ordinary light he speaks of; it is a light in which we are bathed in the glory of God. Let us ask Our Blessed Mother Mary to help us enter into the light, the light of her Son, which is nothing more and nothing less than the Mercy of God. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today! 

Jesus spoke these words, “For I tell you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).In this passage, Fr. Peter Armenio, an Opus Dei priest, points out that we must not lack repentance, love for God, and affection and compassion for others, especially those alienated from God. Our Lord calls us to love our neighbor, for when we are loving our neighbor; we are loving God. In the spirit of St. Josemaria Escriva’s charism of living daily life, we can look at this quote from Archbishop Nguyen Van Thuan (1928-2002), when addressing the Lord, “I will no longer look back but do willingly, simply, humbly, and bravely the duties which come from the circumstances in which I find myself, as your will.” Then again, “ I want to turn every minute that remains in my life into an act of love.” These words can become our daily mantra when we are faced with our daily crosses and are struggling interiorly for the strength to carry them. Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you:Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review.Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.orgAlso, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!