In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo shares a reflection on working for God, inspired by the homily given by Saint Josemaria on February 6, 1960. Fr. Javier poses three important questions for us to consider as we approach work each day: Do we work for Christ? We see in the beginning passages of Scripture that God gave man and woman the vocation to work – to till the garden. We are each called to put our talents at the service of God. Work itself is not to be seen as the end, but rather, to ...
Jun 11, 2019•33 min
This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost, recognized as the birthday of the Church, in which the apostles received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and were inspired to go out and share the faith in a radical way. In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on recognizing the importance of the Holy Spirit within our own life. The Holy Spirit helps us discern the personal message of Pentecost to all of us who want to follow Christ and live the Gospel to the full. We mu...
Jun 04, 2019•28 min
“And Mary said, behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.” (Lk 1:38) A Spiritual Retreat in the Footsteps of Mary guides us through the life of Mary as we seek to renew and transform our own life of faith through prayer. Following in Mary’s example of responding to God’s call to love and serve unconditionally, we are each called to reach that same height of holiness. As you listen to this retreat, you will be able to reflect with Mary upon the key moments the Hol...
May 13, 2019•27 min
On today's podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo sets the stage for a five-part series on The Road to Emmaus . In the Scripture passage, we see that the disciples do not make it all the way to Emmaus. This is a sign of their own conversion as they were running away from the events they had witnessed. In their eyes, they were let down. Christ was supposed to liberate them from the Romans, but as a result of the crucifixion, their Savior looks like a fraud. In the eyes of these two disciples, Christ wa...
Apr 22, 2019•32 min
In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan recounts the story of the resurrection as told in the Gospel of Easter Sunday and to which the Apostles became witnesses and used as the basis for their preaching. This passage leads us to reflect on gratitude and our own relationship with Christ. We are encouraged to foster a spirit of gratitude, knowing that Christ loves each one of us and freely gave himself up so that we might have life and live it to the full. From this spirit of gratitude, we can strengthe...
Apr 20, 2019•27 min
In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on the Gospel passage of the Passion of Christ (Luke 22:14-23:56) which is read on Palm Sunday. During this time, the Church invites her people to focus directly on the suffering of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The longer Gospel readings help us to honor Christ’s request to “keep watch and pray” with him as he asked the Apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane. In this scene, we prayerfully rediscover God’s love for us expressed through his humanit...
Apr 13, 2019•30 min
In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan shares a reflection on the gift of mercy as seen through the Gospel of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). This Gospel passage leads us to reflect inward and ask ourselves: how quickly do we pass judgement on others without even realizing it? The main goal of Satan is to create division among people, whether it be a family, a church community or an entire society. The main antidote to this divisiveness and negativity is mercy. Mercy is God’s free gift to...
Apr 07, 2019•24 min
The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ. [ Transcript ] Support the show THANK 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 t...
Apr 05, 2019•4 min
On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare Sunday, the Church marks the half-way point through the season of Lent. In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio renews in us a desire to grow in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Lent revolves around the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which is the greatest form of self-emptying and self-love. We, as followers of Christ, must embrace the cross and come to know Christ through sharing in His self-emptying. We come to know Christ more deeply through a...
Mar 31, 2019•31 min
The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ. [ Transcript ] Support the show THANK 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 t...
Mar 30, 2019•4 min
The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ. [ Transcript ] Support the show THANK 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 t...
Mar 23, 2019•3 min
In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent. He recounts the familiar story of how Moses encountered God through the burning bush. We see God reveal himself as a liberator, seeking to free the Israelite people. God reveals himself to Moses by stating his name, ‘I AM’, which is the first time God reveals this in Scripture. God desires a personal relationship with us, and like all relationships, this relationship begins with an introduction. This interact...
Mar 22, 2019•29 min
The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ. [ Transcript ] Support the show THANK 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 t...
Mar 16, 2019•4 min
In this podcast, Msgr. Dolan shares a reflection on the importance of silence as exemplified in the passage of the Transfiguration of Christ. This Scripture passage reminds us of a popular verse from the book of Psalms, “be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:11). The disciples who witnessed the transfiguration embraced the silence; they did not tell anyone what they had seen. They understood that anything other than silence would have ruined everything. Instead, they held on to the fresh memor...
Mar 12, 2019•26 min
The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ. [ Transcript ] Support the show THANK 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 t...
Mar 09, 2019•4 min
In this podcast, we reflect on the virtue of fortitude as the motivation to overcome temptation. St. Josemaria Escriva tells us that “a task which presents no difficulties lacks human appeal - and supernatural appeal too. If you find no resistance when hammering a nail into a wall, what can you expect to hang on it?” ( The Forge , no. 245). In order to win the prize, you cannot dodge the fight that takes you to the end.The virtue of fortitude is essential for the spiritual life and human develop...
Mar 07, 2019•24 min
In this podcast, we reflect on self-denial as a way to increase our faith and relationship with Christ. If we are to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Self-denial allows us a certain freedom in which we can live out the Gospel message. The goal of becoming a saint takes a serious commitment, one of prayer and Eucharistic piety. We cannot let laziness get the best of us or hold us back from becoming the person we were created to be. Saint Josemaria tells us, “if y...
Mar 04, 2019•22 min
As we prepare for the upcoming season of Lent, in this podcast we turn our attention to the life of Saint Paul. Paul, who once led the persecution of the early Christian church, had a profound conversion after encountering the love of Christ and in turn, began to lead the spread of the Christian faith. Paul shows us that we evangelize by giving others a similar experience to what we had when we first encountered Christ. Paul preaches ‘Christ crucified’, that we must ‘put on Jesus Christ’. During...
Feb 20, 2019•28 min
In this podcast, we reflect on the greatest gift of all: charity. Charity is the foundation for all virtues, for if a virtue does not come from a place of love, then it is for nothing. Saint Paul shares in his letter to the Corinthians that “if [we] speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, [we] are a resounding gong or a clashing symbol. Likewise, if [we] have a faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, [we] are nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-2). The gift of charity is instilled ...
Feb 17, 2019•22 min
As we celebrate National Marriage Week, we reflect in this podcast on the Holy Family as the foundation and model of the love of Christ. We are reminded of the greatest event in history - God becoming human, becoming part of this universe. God came into this world through a family, spending the majority of his life in his home in Nazareth. It is through the hidden life of Christ that we come to understand the great commandment, “love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). Christ spent the ...
Feb 11, 2019•25 min
On this podcast we reflect on beginning a new year and what it means to begin again. During this time of prayer, we want to ask ourselves: What can I do to make these twelve months ahead spectacular? First, we want to accelerate to the finish, which means hastening towards our goal of Heaven. This brings up the topic of strategy: How do we go about doing it? Jesus Christ shows us the way. He said to be perfect like His Heavenly Father is perfect and He gives us the gift of forgiveness of sins— t...
Feb 02, 2019•16 min
On this podcast we reflect on our personal journey to follow Jesus Christ. To follow Jesus is a journey and this is why he says he is the way (John 14:6). And, the geography of this journey is the human heart--our hearts. Like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), our journey begins by contemplating the love of the Father, how good we have it at home, and we repent for underestimating the infinite mercy of God. Like the son, we feel his heartfelt sorrow for alienating himself from his father. Repent...
Jan 28, 2019•29 min
Today on the podcast a reflection on the words of Jesus : “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me" (John 15:1-4). Jesus reserved these words for ...
Jan 20, 2019•24 min
On this podcast we are invited to contemplate the apostles' first encounter with Jesus Christ and how that experience was an encounter with the love He had for them. Jesus is human love with a human nature--the Word made flesh. After Jesus' first conversation with Andrew and John, Andrew left the Lord's house a new man and he want out to find his brother, Simon Peter, and brought him to Jesus. From the get go, Jesus asks them (and us): "Are there other people you can bring to me?" Part of this f...
Jan 13, 2019•31 min
This time of year is an especially spectacular and special time to penetrate the question: Who is God? What can we know about God? On this podcast we are invited to reflect on the mystery that our God has become one of us and how every prayer and reception of the Sacraments focuses on this incredible Truth. We [could] begin answering these questions by focusing on the suffering and solidarity of Jesus’s humanity and the fact that Our Lord shared in every component of human life. And, in turn, ou...
Jan 03, 2019•26 min
As we prepare for the season of Advent, we share a reflection on the fruits of the Holy Spirit: peace and joy. And how with these gifts we are called to create bright and cheerful homes and environments like the home of the Holy Family in Nazareth. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23). The gifts of peace and joy are also expressions of the Heart of Jesus which he promises to give to us: “Peace I ...
Nov 26, 2018•25 min
St. Josemaria Escriva wrote that: “A very important characteristic of the apostolic man is his love for the Mass” ( The Way , no. 528). Today on the podcast, we listen and reflect on the Sacrifice of the Mass, the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and how it is the center and summit of our spiritual lives. Our belief in the Eucharistic Sacrifice comes from God. We don’t achieve that belief through technique but through God’s grace. Our task is to correspond to the faith that God gives us ...
Nov 20, 2018•23 min
Thanksgiving Day is celebrated annually in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. On today’s podcast, a reflection on the significance of this holiday and how it is a reminder that we ought to thank God always by habitually making frequent acts of thanksgiving– acts of gratitude. “We were never asked by God to come into existence. Everything we have— our talents, our virtues, even our defects— all have been been foreseen by God, allowed by God, given to us by God so that we can fu...
Nov 19, 2018•28 min
On this podcast, we listen to the words of Jesus in the Gospel of St. John and reflect on what it means to our calling in life (vocation): "Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:4-5). Jesus tells us that our vocation is to be an apostle - to b...
Nov 14, 2018•25 min
On today’s podcast… We contemplate the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians to learn that the face of the early Church was primarily made up of ordinary men and women. But we soon come to see that their "ordinariness" was distinguished by a holy anxiousness and sense of urgency to bring the Gospel to every corner of the world.Like in every era, we are witnesses of great suffering and sadness and as Christians we recognize that the greatest suffering occurs through an absence of God. Witho...
Nov 01, 2018•27 min
