Is your family a happy family, filled with love and mercy? In this podcast, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on what it means to be a family, following in the example of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. In this Year of the Family proclaimed by Pope Francis, “we are called to rediscover the educational value of the family unit… being founded on the love that always regenerates relationships, opening up horizons of hope.” Fr. Eric challenges us to look inward within our family to find consolation in the moments ...
Feb 07, 2022•22 min
In this podcast, part of our Day of Recollection resources for the month of February, Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha reflects on the importance of the Holy Mass in our daily life. He explains that in every Mass the healing work of Christ becomes present and effective in our world. Fr. Donncha offers encouragement for those times when we may not feel like going to Mass, for it is then when we absolutely need the Mass as it is an encounter with God’s love and a catalyst for our work of evangelization. [ Tra...
Feb 01, 2022•30 min
How can you create a family environment in which each person can thrive? In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan concludes our series, Marriage: A Christian Vocation , by reflecting on the virtues and ideals necessary to build up a strong, Christian family. Looking to the Holy Family as our example, Msgr. Dolan encourages all men and women to go about parenting in a thoughtful way, ready to invest the time and effort necessary to foster the following virtues in the home: faith, trust, patience, resili...
Jan 21, 2022•16 min
Continuing our series, Marriage: A Christian Vocation : In this podcast, Msgr. Dolan reflects on safeguarding the holy sacrament of matrimony through the trials and temptations that may arise. He explains that couples are called to continually seek the good of the other and to give of oneself just as Jesus gave himself to the point of death for each one of us. St. Josemaria reminds us: “We would have a poor idea of marriage and of human affection if we were to think that love and joy come to an ...
Jan 17, 2022•14 min
Through June 2022, in union with the whole Church, the St. Josemaria Institute podcasts, reflections and programs will be celebrating the topic of the Joy of the Family . This month, we will begin with a three-part series from Msgr. Fred Dolan offering a deeper reflection on the sacrament of marriage as a Christian vocation. Msgr. Dolan begins this series by sharing considerations from Pope Francis’ recent Letter to Married Couples for the “Amoris Laetitia Family” Year . Drawing upon the example...
Jan 10, 2022•16 min
In this podcast, part of our Day of Recollection resources for the month of January , Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on our call to be sowers of peace and joy in the world today as we seek to lift up one another in charity. We see in Scripture that Christ comes to us as the good news of great joy , coming to Earth to save each person from sin. Fr. Peter reminds us that we are called to be an extension of Christ, reflecting his light and love to all people, living out the mission of the universal Chu...
Jan 03, 2022•29 min
Do you have the aspiration, the desire, to give yourself completely to God? What is holding you back? In this podcast, as we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1), Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha reflects on our vocation as children of God and our calling to begin again as we give witness to the incarnate love of God the Father. Fr. Donncha explains: “The Lord wants to become incarnate in us, to live in and through us. You and I are called to live out our vocation as beloved daughters ...
Dec 30, 2021•30 min
The Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family on December 26, marking the halfway point for The Year of the Family: March 19, 2021 - June 26, 2022. In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on keys themes from Amoris laetitia , an Apostolic exhortation on love in the family written by Pope Francis. This exhortation sets forth the goal for us and our families to resemble more and more closely the Holy Family of Nazareth so that we become, as Msgr. Dolan encourages us, “leaven of a new human...
Dec 24, 2021•27 min
To conclude our Advent series: In this week’s podcast, Fr. Javier reflects on the last of the cardinal virtues: temperance. The holiday season, in particular, is a good time to reflect on this virtue as we battle the temptations of partaking in so many pleasurable things and activities all around us! Temperance, the “virtue which allows us to regulate those things that give us pleasure here and now”, helps us “to use them, but not abuse them—to use them temperately insofar as they lead us to our...
Dec 22, 2021•31 min
Have you heard the good news of great joy? In this podcast, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on the moment within the Christmas narrative when the angels proclaimed the good news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds. The shepherds saw this incredible appearance of God’s glory around them, and they were given a sign: not some strange, obtuse and complicated puzzle, but rather a simple sign of a baby lying in a manger in the city of Bethlehem. God chose first to appear to the shepherds– a simple, watchful ...
Dec 22, 2021•18 min
Continuing our Advent series: In this week’s podcast, Fr. Javier reflects on the virtue of fortitude, which allows us to overcome difficulties when we need to achieve the good. When confronted by evil and suffering in the world, or challenges in our daily lives, we can easily lose our peace and sense of reason. But, as Fr. Javier explains, it is possible to coexist with pain and suffering and not lose our sense of reason when we seek and grow in the virtue of fortitude. Fr. Javier reflects on th...
Dec 15, 2021•31 min
The Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, honoring the dogma that Mary was conceived without Original Sin. In this podcast, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on the joy of this great solemnity in which we are encouraged to pray for an increase in our docility to the work of the Holy Spirit so that we may turn away from sin and allow the Lord to work through us as we work to build up the Kingdom of God. Fr. Eric explains: “Even though we have sin, even though we have...
Dec 06, 2021•27 min
Continuing our Advent series: In this week’s podcast, Fr. Javier reflects on the virtue of justice, in which we are called to give each person his or her due, and how we must foster this virtue in our relationships with God, our neighbors, and ourselves. The virtue of justice challenges us to examine ourselves and see how we can improve on a personal and spiritual level. In doing so, we are able to more freely correspond to the grace of God and will become more charitable in our actions within o...
Dec 03, 2021•34 min
The St. Josemaria Institute is pleased to share a new four-part series for Advent— Be Ready! — reflections on the four cardinal virtues and how they can help us prepare our hearts for Christmas. In this week’s podcast, the first of the series, Fr. Javier reflects on the virtue of prudence which lays the foundation for us to grow in practice of the three other cardinal virtues: justice, fortitude, and temperance. The virtue of prudence challenges us to meditate on the life of Jesus so that we beg...
Nov 26, 2021•36 min
What does Christ’s teaching by the Sea of Galilee, surrounded by crowds, teach us about the waves that rise up in our lives and our need to keep our eyes on Christ? In this podcast, Fr. Donncha invites us to meditate upon the Gospel scene of Christ along the Sea of Galilee in which he shows his desire to enter into our lives to dwell in constant communion, conversation, and love with us. He explains that “Christ seeks us out, enters into our ordinary life, and fills the texture of ordinariness w...
Nov 22, 2021•30 min
Are you seeking to draw near to Our Lord more each day? As heard in the Gospel for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, we encountered the endearing figure of Zacchaeus, a tax collector who had a poor reputation among his Jewish confreres, but nevertheless had a deep desire to meet Jesus. He overcame his shame and reached out to be close to Jesus who was passing by. In this podcast, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on the promptness of Zacchaeus– his initiative and the grace of conversion that he received...
Nov 15, 2021•28 min
Do you live each day with the urgency and desire to bring the gospel message into your work, family, and social relations? In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on the value of living an ordinary Christian life in the middle of the world. He prompts us to reflect on the fading Catholic identity in the world today and challenges us to bear witness to the light of Christ in our everyday life. Fr. Peter explains that: “Catholics, laity especially, have to give people an experience ...
Nov 08, 2021•32 min
In this podcast, part of our Day of Recollection resources for the month of November , Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on fulfilling our divinely given mission. He explains that “this inspired life begins with the awareness that God dwells within us, that he is keenly interested in everything we do, and that he awaits our loving response all day long. The challenge is to maintain that vocation sense every single day.” As we respond to our divine mission, we are strengthened with the grace to become a ...
Nov 01, 2021•19 min
Is the Communion of Saints just a comforting idea ? Or a true and deeply consoling reality ? In this podcast, as we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints (Nov. 1) and the Commemoration of All Souls (Nov. 2), Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha reflects on the importance of community in our faith journey as we pursue the goal of eternal life with Christ in Heaven. Through the sacrament of baptism, we are welcomed in to communion with the Church and united to one another through the mystical body of Christ. We a...
Oct 25, 2021•29 min
In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on three key themes from Guardian of the Redeemer , an Apostolic exhortation on St. Joseph in the life of Christ and of the Church written by St. John Paul II. The key themes— obedience of faith, work as an expression of love, and the primacy of the interior life —help us meditate on “the one into whose custody God entrusted his most precious treasures,” particularly as we near the close of the Year of St. Joseph on December 8. Msgr. Dolan explains: “Th...
Oct 18, 2021•18 min
In this podcast, as we celebrate the month of the holy Rosary, Fr. Leo Agustina shares a reflection on deepening our devotion to Our Lady through the holy Rosary, in which we discover our role in God’s plan of salvation. Reflecting on the Annunciation, Fr. Leo reminds us that Mary’s fiat , her openness to the will of God, is a pivotal moment for humankind. As she freely accepts the will of God, Mary embraces her role as our spiritual mother and demonstrates for us the power in redeeming the ordi...
Oct 11, 2021•27 min
In this podcast, part of our Day of Recollection resources for the month of October , Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on pursuing sainthood in and through the realities of our ordinary work. Fr. Javier illustrates this principle by incorporating examples from the hidden life of Christ and lessons from the parables in Scripture. He explains that, “if we let the Lord give supernatural prominence to our work, we will be able to sanctify our own work, sanctify ourselves in our work, and sanctify ot...
Oct 05, 2021•32 min
In this podcast, as the Church prepares to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Archangels on September 29, Fr. Eric Nicolai shares Scriptural context on the creation of the angels and offers insight on how we can seek to imitate the virtues modeled by the Holy Archangels in our everyday life.Fr. Eric explains: “The Archangels motivate us to live for others in a true contest of meaning and purpose. No matter where we are, we always see the angels [present] in our life. They help us to live with hope,...
Sep 27, 2021•32 min
In a society focused on external success and recognition, do we take time to look within and reflect: What do I love? Where am I going? How will I change the world?In this podcast, Fr. Leo Agustina shares a reflection on discovering the beauty of creation within our ordinary circumstances – our work, our interactions, our home – and how, by welcoming God into our midst, we can participate in his work of creation and transform the world around us.Fr. Leo explains: “Whatever is in [our] hands can ...
Sep 20, 2021•28 min
Have we become used to, or even indifferent, to Jesus on the Cross? Where’s the Cross in our lives?In this podcast, Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha shares a meditation in honor of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14) and the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows (September 15), which are “a great opportunity for us to deepen once more in the wisdom of the Cross and to ask the Holy Spirit to open our souls to this profound wisdom which is expressed in the phrase the Triumph of the Cross”. ...
Sep 14, 2021•30 min
In this podcast, part of our Day of Recollection resources for the month of September , Fr. Peter Armenio shares a meditation on the sanctification of human love as witnessed through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. This gift of sacrificial love encourages us to look inward and reflect upon the opportunity to be a witness to the love of Christ is our daily life. Through the grace made present to us in the sacraments, we are strengthened to lay down our life for one another and inspired to l...
Aug 31, 2021•33 min
In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo shares a meditation inspired by the phrase, “an hour of study, for a modern apostle, is an hour of prayer” (St. Josemaria Escriva; The Way, no. 335). Approaching academic learning as a form of prayer is not a way of life designed solely for students. Rather, it is a way of life that all Christians should adopt as it helps us develop a stronger worldview. Fr. Javier discusses how to approach Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the writings of the Churc...
Aug 24, 2021•36 min
Is Christian life growing around you? In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio invites us to reflect upon the apostolate of attraction as the means by which we are to fulfill the Great Commission and lead others into a relationship with Christ. This type of apostolate, as old as the Gospel itself and encouraged by Pope Francis, begins by our faithful witness to the love of Christ: people need to see us as an oasis of joy and peace. It is our witness, only later accompanied by doctrine, that will prove...
Aug 17, 2021•25 min
As the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary on August 15, Fr. Eric Nicolai reflects on the role of Mary as the new Eve and how we can obtain the joy of salvation through her intercession. Fr. Eric encourages us to enter into this feast day in a unique way, allowing ourselves the opportunity to be led into a deeper joy guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We are challenged to see ourselves through the prism of God’s love, to abandon the old ways of sin, and to set our...
Aug 10, 2021•30 min
In this podcast, part of our Day of Recollection resources for the month of August , Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on the importance of forming children in virtue so they become witnesses to the love of Christ. Msgr. Dolan explains this essential task requires sacrifice, time, intentionality, and authenticity, as children watch and respond more willingly to witnesses than teachers. Support the show THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episode...
Aug 03, 2021•21 min
