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 and sons in Christ and to become identified with Christ.” 

As we begin the New Year, we turn to the example of Mary and contemplate her docility to the Holy Spirit as she freely responded to the will of God in her role as our Blessed Mother. We can, therefore, seek the grace of the Holy Spirit in our own life and renew our desire to say yes to God more each day as we set forth in the New Year.

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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 humanity and of a concrete and universal solidarity.”

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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 ultimate end.”

From his humble birth to later in life, Jesus Christ lived a spirit of temperance which allowed him to use the created world in order to save souls and bring them closer to God. As Fr. Javier explains: “For Jesus, the world is good— we have to know that. In fact, everything is created in the Word, everything is created in Him, and unto Him, and for Him. And so, there are no bad things that exist. But all those good things that exist need to be thought about very carefully, because the way we use those things in the world that are good, could lead us closer to God or could lead us away from God.“

This last week of Advent, as we prepare to welcome Jesus, we ask ourselves: What am I looking for? Am I looking for safety and security in material things? How can I let go of those things that pass away?

Download the companion to our Advent series and go deeper to enrich your prayer throughout the week: Be Ready!

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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 group of people. In doing so, God also invites us to set out within our hearts and to seek the infant Jesus in the manger. Fr. Eric prompts us to reflect: “If the Lord came today, are we that watchful? Or, maybe we’re more attentive to our screens, our devices, or our worries, or the latest sports results or political debates.” Rather, this Christmas, we seek the grace to be a watchful and contemplative people, ready to welcome the Infant Jesus and to hold him close in our heart.

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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 the reality that, “suffering is not something we look for; but when it comes, we certainly want what it takes in order to not get bogged down by it.” For this reason, we must look to the virtue of fortitude, and to the Holy Spirit, to be able to do things that go beyond our strength and overcome difficulties with courage.

Download the companion to our Advent series and go deeper to enrich your prayer throughout the week: Be Ready!

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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 rebellion, even though we have those things that lead us away from God, the Lord can transform us nevertheless, and with Our Lady’s intercession, can truly make us into the saints that the world needs today, that the Church needs today, and that we truly want to become.”

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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 our everyday life.

Download the companion to our Advent series and go deeper to enrich your prayer throughout the week: Be Ready!

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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 begin to acquire the way he thought, felt, and acted within his everyday life. Therefore, we must draw upon the grace received in prayer to help us discern the right action on our journey toward Christ.

Download the companion to the series to go deeper and enrich your prayer throughout the week: https://stjosemaria.org/advent-2021/.

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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 with the sublime beauty of his presence.” Therefore, through the divine grace of Christ, we can see our life which was once barren be transformed into something holy and divine. 

As St. Josemaria explains: “Your boat – your talents, your hopes, your achievements – is worth nothing whatsoever, unless you leave it in Christ’s hands, allowing him the freedom to come aboard” (Friends of God, no. 21).

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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 on account of his own generosity. Fr. Eric challenges us to have this same initiative in our interior life and reminds us that it requires humble examination of conscience and a willingness to begin again. In doing so, we will obtain a lasting serenity and joy found only in the grace of Christ.

[Transcript]

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