He Thirsts Podcast

In this episode, we look to Our Lord Jesus Christ in His priestly prayer in the Gospel of St. John, and His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. In these prayers, we witness in a very profound way Our Lord’s love for the Father with which He loves us, and freely choosing the Cross. We examine how these prayers lead us to achieving perfect love in our own spiritual lives.

Prayer is in fact a gift of the Holy Spirit, for indeed, we do not know how to pray as we ought. It is the means through which we detach ourselves from worldly consolations, grow in virtue and attain authentic knowledge of ourselves rooted in the knowledge of the goodness and mercy of God the Father, and so achieve perfect love of God and neighbour.

Questions to Ponder

"Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned." ~ St. Alphonsus Ligouri

In this episode, I share some life-changing learnings about the Spouse of the Mother of God and the earthly father of Our Lord Jesus Christ from reading the Consecration of St. Joseph by Fr. Donald Calloway. Except for Our Lady, no other saint has been so highly exalted as St. Joseph. Just as Our Lord and Our Lady entrusted themselves to his self-sacrificing love, as his spiritual children and members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we are invited to consecrate ourselves to him and imitate his virtues. 

“If the lily, by being exposed only for a few days to the light and heat of the sun, acquires its dazzling whiteness, who can conceive the extraordinary degree to which St. Joseph was exalted, by being exposed as he was, day and night, for so many years to the rays of the Sun of Justice, and of the Mystical Moon who derives all her splendour from Him?”

~ St. Francis de Sales

Ite ad Joseph - Go to Joseph!

Our Lord said to St. Faustina:

"As often as you hear the clock strike the third hour, immerse yourself completely in my mercy, adoring and glorifying it; invoke its omnipotence for the whole world, and particularly for poor sinners; for at this very moment mercy was opened for every soul. In this hour, you can obtain everything for yourself and for others for the asking; it was the hour of great grace for the whole world - mercy triumphant over justice.

Try your best to make the Stations of the Cross in this hour, provided that your duties permit it; if you are not able to make the Stations of the Cross, then at least step into the chapel for a moment and adore in the Blessed Sacrament, My Heart, which is full of mercy; and should you be unable to step into the chapel, immerse yourself in prayer where you happen to be, if only for a brief instant."

Music: Epidemic Sounds

Our Lord revealed to Saint Faustina a powerful prayer that He wanted everyone to say - The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. St. Faustina prayed the Chaplet constantly especially for the dying, and the Lord urged her to encourage others to say it too, promising extraordinary graces to those who would recite this special prayer.

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina:

Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you. Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. ... When they say this Chaplet in the presence of dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the Merciful Saviour. Priests will recommend it to sinners as their hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite Mercy. ... I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My mercy. ... Through the Chaplet, you will obtain everything, if what you ask is compatible with My will.

In this Episode, we track back to follow the progression of the how the pious practice developed as the Way of the Cross throughout the centuries. What began as a desire of devout pilgrims returning from the Holy Land in Jerusalem, led to the replication in their home cities of the path Our Lord walked for the very last time during His earthly life. We also learn of the modern day variants of the Way of the Cross: The Traditional Form and the Biblical form which was promulgated by St. John Paul II.

In today's episode, I'm joined by my dear friend, Esther, who has had a devotion to the Divine Mercy for years. She takes us through Our Lord's desire for how to have devotion to His Divine Mercy as He revealed to St. Faustina. In the diary of St. Faustina, Our Lord reveals himself to be a merciful saviour and invites us to contemplate His mortal suffering at 3:00pm and His journey to the cross for our redemption.

In this first episode of the second season, we invite you to reflect upon the fact God chose you before the founding of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight, to be perfect as He is perfect. But because of our brokenness, God the Father in His generosity lavishes upon us the grace to remain in communion with Him. The means available to us is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us begin the Lenten Season by going to Confession and turning away from things that cannot satisfy the deepest longing of our hearts. Only Jesus satisfies.

Today we reflect on the Kingship of Jesus Christ - the suffering King for the sake of our Salvation

In this episode, we find out why Holy Mother Church encourages us to pray the Rosary, not just in the month of October, but for the rest of our lives. The Rosary is essentially a Compendium of the Gospels, where we immerse ourselves in the Salvific mission of Our Lord, and respond to His infinite thirst for us.

Resources:

In this final instalment of the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, we continue to contemplate the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ through the eyes of His Blessed Mother in the Luminous Mysteries. These Mysteries are a recent addition to the Holy Rosary through the prayerful discernment of St. John Paul II.

The Luminous Mysteries are a personal favourite because we see in a very clear way, the role of Our Blessed Mother as Mediatrix at the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee. We also contemplate the immensity of the love Our Lord has for us when He instituted the Eucharist for our eternal food, and His desire to be wholly united with us as we continue on our earthly pilgrimage.

Look out for the new text of the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary with recently added invocations: http://www.vatican.va/special/rosary/documents/litanie-lauretane_en.html