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A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—How does viewing Jesus as my savior from death help me to face head-on the deaths of loved ones and even my own death?

Seek—Fast from passing judgment on anyone today. Realize in this little dying to yourself, you are opening yourself to see others as God sees them.

Knock—Meditate on Revelation 1:17-18

When I saw him, I fell in a dead faint at his feet, but he touched me with his right hand and said, ‘Do not be afraid; it is I, the First and the Last; I am the Living One, I was dead and now I am to live for ever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of the underworld.

Imagine Jesus touching you with his right hand and lifting you up from your death. What other areas of your life are dominated by death rather than the life of Christ  Ask Our Lord to free you from all death.

Transform Your Life—Do not shy away from death. Attend the funerals of loved ones and use the experience to engage your faith in Christ. Pray for others, ask the saints to pray for you, seeing in them living examples of the promise of Christ to save us from death.

Michael Dubruiel’s book The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life is currently available in Kindle format. 

You can find the book here:
https://amzn.to/4rTMBK9

To explore more of Amy Welborn’s books and writing, visit:
https://amywelborn.wordpress.com/books-by-amy-welborn/

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

The post PoC-4 Saturday after Ash Wednesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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HOW MUCH WE NEED JESUS

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—How greatly do I feel the need for Christ in my life?

Seek— Practice fasting before your reception of the Eucharist. Also find special times to fast before high points in the Christian year and during high points in your own life so that you may always remain focused on your need for Christ. Try doing more than is required by the Church.

Knock—Meditate on Revelation 22:17, 20

The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come’. Let everyone who listens answer, ‘Come’. Then let all who are thirsty come: all who want it may have the water of life, and have it free. The one who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus.

What did Jesus say about two or more gathering in his name?

Transform Your Life—Foster and keep before you the need that you have for Jesus. Make your constant prayer to Jesus one of entreating him to come, to be present, inviting him to be a part of your life.

Michael Dubruiel’s book The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life is currently available in Kindle format. 

You can find the book here:
https://amzn.to/4rTMBK9

To explore more of Amy Welborn’s books and writing, visit:
https://amywelborn.wordpress.com/books-by-amy-welborn/

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

The post PoC-3 Friday after Ash Wednesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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THE INVITATION OF JESUS

Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Do I fear the cross of Christ, or do I embrace it?

Seek—Place a crucifix in a prominent place in your home. Look upon this sign of our salvation upon rising and before you retire for the night, asking Christ to help you to “take up your cross” and follow him.

Knock—Meditate on Philippians 3:18-21

I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ.

They are destined to be lost. They make food into their god, and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things.

For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.

What are you living for?

Transform Your Life— Believe in the gospel and experience the liberating effects of taking up your cross and following Jesus. Make your life one that will not be spent looking backward in regret for all the good that you did not do—focus on the good that you can do right now!

Michael Dubruiel’s book The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life is currently available in Kindle format. 

You can find the book here:
https://amzn.to/4rTMBK9

To explore more of Amy Welborn’s books and writing, visit:
https://amywelborn.wordpress.com/books-by-amy-welborn/

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

The post PoC-2 Thursday after Ash Wednesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Am I living my life in fear of death or in anticipation of eternal life in Christ?

Seek— Try to focus on Christ as the motivation for all of your actions throughout the day. Be conscious of whom you are trying to please in all that you do.

Knock— Meditate on Genesis 3:19.

“You are dust and to dust, you shall return.”

How does Baptism wash away original sin? What is the purpose of recalling that, without Christ, we are all living to die? How does the cross of Christ defeat death?

Transform Your Life—Make the cross of Christ your banner of hope. See in the victory of Jesus’ cross a life-changing invitation to overcome all the evil forces that try to keep you from being who God has created you to be and to drive you away from your true purpose in life.

Michael Dubruiel’s book The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ to Your Life is currently available in Kindle format. 

You can find the book here:
https://amzn.to/4rTMBK9

To explore more of Amy Welborn’s books and writing, visit:
https://amywelborn.wordpress.com/books-by-amy-welborn/

The post PoC-1 Ash Wednesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Third Day – “All devout and faithful souls“

“Today bring to Me all Devout and Faithful Souls, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were a drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness.”

Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.

The post A Novena to the Divine Mercy – Day Three appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Is life a series of “gifts” from God or tragedies?

Seek—Encounter the empty tombs of life with the expectation that they are signs of the Risen Christ.

Knock—Meditate on 1 John 4:18–19.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because he first loved us.

How do you view the events of your life, as God punishing you or as God showering you with gifts? Is your image of what God is like from the way Jesus reveals God to us or from some other source?

Transform Your Life—Accept the cross whenever it presents itself to you in daily life. Do not flee from it. Do not shrink from it, but embrace it in the name of Jesus. Learn from it, be enlightened by it, find in it the key to living a fruitful life. Think of this every time that you sign yourself with the cross.

The author of “The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ in Your Life“, Michael Dubriuel, passed away in 2009.  His wife, author Amy Welborn, has made his book available as a free e-book! We HIGHLY encourage you to download this exceptional work!

“The Power of the Cross” is available as a free e-book here

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

The post PoC-46 Holy Saturday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Do I feel “lucky” to carry the cross that God has given me?

Seek—Keep the cross of Christ before you at all times. Let it be a reminder of Christ’s forgiveness for you when you feel sorrowful for your sins. Let it be a sign of God’s love for others when you are tempted to judge. Let it be a light that you can share with those whose lives you touch.

Knock—Meditate on 1 Corinthians 12:26–27.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Do you think of yourself as a part of Christ’s body? What changes are necessary for you to make in order to act as a member of the body of Christ rather than as an individual follower of Jesus?

Transform Your Life—Realize the difference that embracing the cross of Christ makes in your life. Learn to see the world in a new way and to see what Jesus meant when he said, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5).

The author of The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ in Your Life, Michael Dubriuel, passed away in 2009.  His wife, author Amy Welborn, has made his book available as a free e-book! We HIGHLY encourage you to download this exceptional work.

The Power of the Cross is now available as a free e-book,

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

The post PoC-45 Good Friday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—Am I willing to do small things for Christ?

Seek—Volunteer to do a task that no one wants to do, a menial or unpleasant one, all the while uniting yourself with the Passion and death of Jesus.

Knock—Meditate on Philippians 2:5–8.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Paul says that we should have the mind of Christ, and Jesus told Peter that he was thinking like men and not God. How is having the mind of Christ different than the thoughts that we are apt to naturally have about life issues? Do your thoughts clash with the gospel message? Are you trying to be like the god you imagine, or the God Jesus revealed by his cross?

Transform Your Life——Seek to follow the example of Christ in all that you do. Be solicitous for the care of others. Learn the truth that in dying to self you are born into eternal life.

The author of The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ in Your Life, Michael Dubriuel, passed away in 2009.  His wife, author Amy Welborn, has made his book available as a free e-book! We HIGHLY encourage you to download this exceptional work.

The Power of the Cross is now available as a free e-book,

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

The post PoC-44 Holy Thursday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—How well do I prepare for the Eucharist I receive at Mass?

Seek——Try to participate fully in the Eucharist each time you are present; if possible, attend daily. Be mindful of what you do at Mass, what you hear and how you respond. Learn more about the Mass.

Knock—Meditate on 1 Corinthians 11:27–30.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

What does St. Paul mean when he says that those who do not discern bring judgment upon themselves? What can you do to examine yourself before participating in Mass to avoid doing it absent-mindedly?

Transform Your Life——Know what you celebrate when you are at Mass; mean what you do with every gesture and prayer, and especially when you receive Holy Communion.

The author of The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ in Your Life, Michael Dubriuel, passed away in 2009.  His wife, author Amy Welborn, has made his book available as a free e-book! We HIGHLY encourage you to download this exceptional work.

The Power of the Cross is now available as a free e-book,

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

The post PoC-43 Holy Wednesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Steps to Take as You Follow Christ

Ask—How often do I trust my own instincts, and how often do I entrust myself to Jesus?

Seek—Try to live each day with a resignation to God’s will, accepting each moment with the expectation that God might be breaking through to you.

Knock—Meditate on 1 Peter 5:6–9.

Bow down, then, before the power of God now, and he will raise you up on the appointed day; unload all your worries onto him, since he is looking after you. Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him, strong in faith and in the knowledge that your brothers all over the world are suffering the same things.

Think about the experiences of Peter in the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and the words that he writes here. What lesson do they convey? How might the devil be seeking to devour you in your attempts to follow Christ?

Transform Your Life—Make an amendment to live humbly. Cast all of your hopes and anxieties on the Lord. Realize that following Jesus means living a life of trust not in your way but in God’s way, the way of the cross.

The author of The Power of the Cross: Applying the Passion of Christ in Your Life, Michael Dubriuel, passed away in 2009.  His wife, author Amy Welborn, has made his book available as a free e-book! We HIGHLY encourage you to download this exceptional work.

The Power of the Cross is now available as a free e-book,

Check out more at the Discerning Hearts’ Michael Dubruiel page

Excerpt from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

The post PoC-42 Holy Tuesday: The Power of the Cross Lenten Meditation appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.