Heart to Heart: Faith Seasons Podcast

Today's Season of Joy reflection on John 14:21-26 is by Erin Maiorca.

Erin and her husband Tom have two sons and live in Glenview, Illinois. She served at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House since 2012, and as the Executive Director since 2019. She’s on the Board of Directors for the Ignatian Spirituality Project, holds a BA from University of Illinois, as well as a Culinary Arts Degree and enjoys cooking, reading, day-hiking, and kayaking.

from John 14:21-26
“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit
whom the Father will send in my name --
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”

To read the full scripture passage, please visit: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051622.cfm

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

from John 15:1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
"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.
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.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;

Read the full scripture: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042824.cfm

Peggy has served her entire career with Catholic Charities agencies in four different American dioceses. She is currently Vice President of Programs & Services with Catholic Charities USA. She is also a Spiritual Director trained in the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. She grew up in Wauconda, Illinois.

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

Today's Season of Joy reflection on John 14:7-14 is by Fr. Roc O'Connor, SJ.

Roc became a member of the Jesuit staff at the Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House in Barrington, IL in October 2022, gratefully so, and still continues his ministry to the church as a composer of liturgical music and an author of books on spirituality. 

from John 14:7-14
Jesus said to his disciples:
"If you know me, then you will also know my Father.
From now on you do know him and have seen him."
Philip said to Jesus,
"Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."
Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time
and you still do not know me, Philip?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050623.cfm

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

Today's Season of Joy reflection on John 14:1-6 is by Bill Damato.

Bill was a religious Brother from 1961 to 1996. He served as Director of Formation & Recruitment, Educator, Secondary President, and Director of Institutional Advancement. Bill has provided mental health services in underserved regions in Appalachia; he was the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources in Long Island & Westchester School Districts; and he consults with boards on issues of governance and board integration.

from John 14:1-6
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

To read the full scripture passage, please visit: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051322.cfm

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

from 1 Peter 5:5b-14
Beloved:
Clothe yourselves with humility
in your dealings with one another, for:
God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble.
So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time.
Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you...

Full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042522.cfm

My father was a cattleman in northern Wisconsin. I often traveled with him trucking cattle. When riding I began to notice that when driving directly north or south, directly east or west of St. Peter’s Catholic church in my home town he tipped his hat exactly when we crossed these compass points. I learned directions from my father, and I also learned God was back there at the center of our village. And, that God was important. My father prayed in the morning before work, he read the bible. We said the family rosary. If a farmer would come to visit him during rosary, he was invited in to join us. We knew who God is, the center of our life. Dad showed us it is important to place our worries on Him. He cares for us. He loves us.

A key word in today’s first reading is “Beloved”. “Beloved” is an intimate term used among people who are in love, who give love and receive love. Who are your “Beloved”? I have deep, powerful memories of men and women who called or named me “beloved”.

Who is speaking these words? Peter, the fisherman, called by Christ to be a fisher of men and women, was renamed, by Christ, “the rock” on whom he would build his church. Whom we heard saying to Christ at their last supper “I will die for you!” But who, a few hours later, faced by a servant girl and the crowd proclaims: “I don’t even know the man!” A coward – crumbling sandstone, not granite. As the cock crowed, Christ looked at him. We are told Peter wept, recognizing his sad state, but later turned back to Christ, (unlike Judas who despaired and killed himself thinking there is no forgiveness). So, who is this failed rock, now calling us “Beloved” in today’s reading? It is Peter, but changed. Humbled. Humbled by his experience of weakness, but now graced. Who writes: “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God”.

What can I learn here?  A beginning grace is “to KNOW I am a sinner, but loved. It is to know that God’s name for me is “Beloved” even though I sin. Anthony Patovano once wrote “To be forgiven is to be loved without any reason”. Peter learned this. We need learn this. We Jesuits (sons of Ignatius) describe ourselves as “men who know they are sinners and yet called to be companions (eat bread with) Jesus under the cross.” This is the first great grace of the Spiritual Exercises we make as novices.

Peter continues in today’s reading: “Cast all your worries upon the lord” (being too worried is because you are listening to the devil and not trusting God). Why? “Because, (as Peter says and my father showed us), God cares for you!” Because he loves you.

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

from Acts 12:24-13:5a
The word of God continued to spread and grow.

After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission,
they returned to Jerusalem,
taking with them John, who is called Mark.

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042424.cfm

We see in our passage from Acts that the Word of God increases and multiplies. This kind of holy contagion highlights the growth and spread of the message of God's Word. Barnabas and Saul, after completing their service in Jerusalem, returned to Antioch with John, also known as Mark. In Antioch, there were prophets and teachers, including Barnabas, Saul, and others. As they were worshiping and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to them, calling them to be set apart for a specific work. Barnabas and Saul, led by the Holy Spirit, went to Seleucia and then sailed to Cyprus.

Upon arriving in Salamis, they began proclaiming the Word of God in the synagogues. John was with them, assisting in their mission. This passage highlights the importance of being receptive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Barnabas and Saul were chosen and set apart for a specific work by the Holy Spirit. Isn’t this true for all of us? Some of us are parents. Some of us are teachers, spouses, and caretakers. We all are set apart in our own way, within our communities to spread Christ's message through action and being and loving.

Just like Barnabas and Saul, who obediently followed the Spirit's guidance and embarked on their mission to proclaim the Word of God, so too do we. The presence of John, who assisted Barnabas and Saul, shows the importance of teamwork and collaboration in spreading the message of God. Together they worked to proclaim the Word of God in the synagogues, which is to say, to be disciples of Christ is to be in partnership, in community, not in a bubble; not alone.

Our scripture reading reminds us of the power and impact of the Word of God. It is a living and active force that increases and multiplies. It also emphasizes our vital role in carrying out God's work and the importance of being open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. As we reflect on this Scripture, let us consider how we can be receptive to the nudgings of the Holy Spirit in our own lives. We can also consider how we can collaborate with others in spreading the message of Christ's love and mission, and be active participants in the growth and multiplication of the Word of God.

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

Today’s Season of Joy reflection on John 10:22-30 is by Fr. Radmar Jao, SJ.

Fr. Radmar is the Vocation Director for the Jesuits West Province, based in Los Angeles, CA. Before joining the Jesuits in 2001, Radmar was a professional film, TV, and stage actor. He's also a spiritual director, retreat leader, and travels to give presentations on Ignatian Spirituality and discernment.

from John 10:22-30
The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem.
It was winter. 
And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. 
So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
"How long are you going to keep us in suspense? 
If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." 
Jesus answered them, "I told you and you do not believe.
The works I do in my Father's name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep.

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050223.cfm

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

Today's Season of Joy reflection on Acts 11:1-18 is by Mark Huddy.

Mark serves the Catholic Diocese of Columbus as Director of Catholic Charities and Social Concerns and is a member of the senior executive team. Mark and his wife Beth have four children and four grandchildren. They are members of St. Matthew the Apostle parish in Gahanna, Ohio.

from Acts 11:1-18

As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them
as it had upon us at the beginning,
and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said,
‘John baptized with water
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us
when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I to be able to hinder God?”

To read the full scripture passage, please visit:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050922.cfm

Here we are on Day 23 of the Easter season, fully immersed in the Acts of the Apostles.

Acts is a wonderful book, telling the story of the Apostles after the Resurrection of Jesus, the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the Church all through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

We can read it as a history or we can think of it as evidence of the hand of God guiding the Church through obstacles and challenges to the ends of the earth. Sometimes we forget that we, as baptized believers, are the Church and that those miracles are still happening today.

In fact there is an organization called Acts XXIX (in Roman numerals) working to energize the Church to live out the next chapter of Acts in our day, following Our Lord’s mandate to carry the Gospel message to the ends of the earth.

The first reading for today is a beautiful guide for us in two ways:

First, in this time of Easter joy we are enthusiastic about sharing the message of God’s great love through our words and our deeds.

But our humanity sometimes clouds our best efforts.

We have a human tendency to categorize things and even people into groups and, based upon our own experiences and understanding we also tend to place value judgments on those groups.

This is what happened to Peter when he goes to Jerusalem after baptizing a Roman centurion named Cornelius and his family in Caesarea, staying with them and eating with them.

The circumcised believers in Jerusalem confront Peter about this. Peter had violated the legal barriers between Jew and Gentile.

It was an honest question based upon their lack of understanding and their not knowing at that moment the specifics of the divine direction Peter had received in Joppa.

We are prone to making similar mistakes. We can be tempted to limit our evangelizing outreach in word and Charity to the “deserving,” or to those who don’t cross certain boundaries that we have established.

Thus, we rob our actions of their power as a sign of the incredible gratuitous love of God for us sinners. We want to protect ourselves or the Church or God from being taken advantage of by the unscrupulous.

But maybe it is precisely our willingness to take that risk that the unscrupulous are transformed by the human echo of divine love. Maybe, by allowing God’s love to flow freely through us, we are transformed as well. ...

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

from 1 John 3:1-2
Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042124.cfm

I remember looking through family photo albums when I was a kid, seeing pictures of my dad when he was little, my grandfather when he was little. You know, there's something kind of startling about that, right? My gosh, my dad was a little kid just like me. You know, my grandpa, the photos were in black and white, so I knew that was a long time ago. But I could see the resemblance; their eyes, their haircuts, you know, they looked a little bit like me and my boy cousins. Then jumping ahead a couple of years, also this experience, being in high school... Went to a big all boys Jesuit high school, you know, being a freshman there first year, right? I'm skinny. I'm nervous. I see these big seniors. You know, some of them have on the letterman jackets in the hallways. They're talking to each other. You know I’m getting a sense, gosh, some of these guys are smart, friendly, you know, help out the freshmen, others ignore us, make fun of us. 

You know, when we're young and when we're older, we keep asking that question, don't we? Who am I? Who do I want to be? And of course, we're always looking around for guidance, for models. You know, my dad, okay, he was young, like me. He's now big. He's an adult. My grandpa, he's a grown man. You know these teenagers who are a little older than me. As Christians, we see Jesus, we want to come to know him. And we trust that knowing him will help us to know ourselves. Knowing him, we're going to become who he wants us to be. 

This week, in the first letter of Saint John, at Mass, we'll hear that we are God's children. He tells us, beloved, we are God's children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. You know just that, right? We are God's children, okay? God, our Father knows us, loves us. Well, who's another child of God? Well, Jesus is the Eternal Son. And in the Gospels, we see Jesus. He's a model for us, also that we can actually know him. You know, he's not like a pro athlete on TV where it's just kind of a one way relationship, right? We just sort of watch him. But, he's never going to get to know us. No, Jesus is different. We can know him in prayer. He knows us. He can speak to us through the Scriptures, in our faith, through the Sacraments.

But again, with the Lord, okay, we're not just doing this on our own. Christ is with us. Jesus is showing us. He is revealing himself to us. He is shaping our hearts. Mother Mary, also a child of God, she who is a beloved daughter of the father, mother of Jesus. You know she too models for us what's possible, right, when our heart is truly united with the Lord. We see Mary, this model of compassion, mercy, closeness to her son. One more time that line, “Beloved, we are God's children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. We know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 

Dear friends, Jesus gives us a model. Jesus shows us what's possible. He shows us what our lives can look like when we're united with the Father. And Jesus is a friend walking with us, nourishing us in the Eucharist with His Body and blood. In this Easter season, we celebrate his glory. We ask him, Lord Jesus, make our hearts more like your Sacred Heart.

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010

Submit a prayer request: htoh.us/prayers

Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate