St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a historical reflection on the 80th anniversary of St. Josemaria Escriva’s founding of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross on February 14, 1943. Fifteen years after founding Opus Dei (October 2, 1928), St. Josemaria finally saw “a way, a canonical solution to have priests in Opus Dei.” St. Josemaria had realized early on that Opus Dei needed priests “who have that heightened awareness that Christ wants to be in the workplace. He wants to be in the family, he wants to be in social relations… The layperson can’t just receive the sacraments in a perfunctory way. Those sacraments need to be administered by holy priests who completely understand that the layperson is called to a first-class sanctity.”As Fr. Peter explains, “the priest and the layperson are an organic unity.” Both “have their own role that is indispensable for the New Evangelization, to bring Christ to the middle of the world, and they complement each other and they’re profoundly united to each other.” This is why the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross is so important to Opus Dei and the Church: to meet the “burning need for holiness among the priests” so that they meet the “burning need for holiness among laypersons.”View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this special podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on the feast of Mary, Mother of Fairest Love (February 14th), and the significance of this Marian title in the life of the Church and the history of Opus Dei.Rooted in the Old Testament, Fr. Javier explains how “fair” in this title of Our Lady refers to “beauty” and “fairest love” means “the most beautiful love.” He also explains how St. Josemaria Escriva helped to revive the devotion to this title applying it to Mary as “the guardian of the beauty of chastity” and “as a way of praying for holy purity, for the sanctity of marriage, for the sanctity of the family, and for vocations to celibacy."The virtue of holy purity is not just about control, as Fr. Javier explains, but it is primarily about love. Holy purity is a gift from God that helps us safeguard the image of God we have in our soul and in our heart, which is “where we are able to love God and make a covenant with God. The heart is the place of truth… So many things happen in the heart. And this interior world has to be protected.”Mary brings us the hope we need to struggle, to tell the truth in our hearts, to repent, and to have the holy purity “to make room in our hearts for God, for true love, for the fairest and most beautiful love… which is her Son.”_____St. Josemaria’s desire to build a shrine to Mary, Mother of Fairest Love in the United States is underway! The shrine will be “a place where people come and ask Mary for many favors for their marriage, for their families, for their vocation, and also for holy purity.” Learn about the “Mary, Mother of Fairest Love Family Shrine” at: https://fairestloveshrine.org/.View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the meaning of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ and why “to be a follower of Christ, we have to love the Church.”In the Letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul writes about the Church being “without stain or wrinkle.” Fr. Peter points out that, in today’s media, we often read about and see things that make this seem impossible. Yet the Church is lovable because it was founded by “God himself, God made man,” and Christ defines the Church as “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.We don’t judge the Church by the misbehavior but by the “salt and light of the world”—men and women who accept and live by the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Church, and who make good use of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. The Church, as Fr. Peter explains, “brings the very best out of the human person. The more that human person embraces the teachings of Christ, the greater that person is.”In this podcast you will also hear how:The Church is a sacrament, a sign, and not just a symbol.The Church is a sign of unity, life, conversion, and salvation.Wherever we are—among our family, in our workplace, in all social relations—we are members of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.Scripture, the Sacraments, and the teachings of the Church are an extension of Christ.View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on how Jesus’ example and teachings on humility are key to knowing ourselves and to knowing God. Reflecting on Scripture, specifically the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, Fr. Peter highlights how we can only know God, and give ourselves to Him, when we own ourselves and are not held back by our pride, resentments, self-absorption, or sinfulness. St. Josemaria Escriva said that Jesus’ greatest act of humility is to be a “prisoner behind the appearance of bread” in order to have an intimate relationship with each one of us and to serve us. Jesus remains in the Blessed Sacrament so that we may have him “all to ourselves; no lines, no tickets, no waiting rooms.” Fr. Peter reminds us to learn from Jesus’ example of self-emptying humility and self-giving love. “Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Philippians 2:6-7).So, the more we empty ourselves, the more we experience Christ and allow him to live in us and take over our lives. And the more we allow this happen, the more all those around us will be able to see the compassionate and merciful face of Our Lord.In this podcast, you will also hear how:The Pharisee’s prayer “doesn’t work” but the prayer of the Publican is effective because he humbled himself.We can’t be self-satisfied with what we have and try not to give it away - that’s pride.Holiness is more about being a good repenter than being a good performer.Humility is enhanced when we’re honest with ourselves, and making a good confession is a great antidote to pride.View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio guides us to reflect upon the importance of loving God, being united to Him, and being a light in the world that extends and radiates His love to others. But how does God expect us to do this in our lives? Drawing upon the Gospel story of the Rich Young Man, Fr. Peter points out the “three steps” that Jesus shares with the young man to be happy and attain eternal life: 1) make God the center of your life because only God is good and can satisfy you; 2) live the commandments to gain the freedom to own yourself; 3) make a self-gift of yourself to Christ who is number one in your life.To be totally centered on Christ, like all of the saints, is to begin to experience the joy of eternal life here on earth. But, it's not going to work and we will always go away sad if we don't make the decision to give ourselves completely to Christ and become light and joy in the world. In this podcast, you will also hear how: A talented college girl who left the Church found her way back to the Eucharist through the joyful witness of her Catholic friends.Why a modern-day “rich young man” was not happy even though he had everything a boy his age would want.Jesus expects us to interact with the world in order to be its salt and light and preach to every creature (and it’s what being Catholic is all about).The decision to be totally centered on Christ will ultimately make us join the ranks of the saints.View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, Msgr. Dolan reflects on how “our spiritual life is a school of happiness where we learn how to be happy, no matter what.” The Christian way of life involves great difficulty and sacrifice, yet as the Apostles understood, “nothing could compare with the joy of a life with Jesus.” Jesus teaches us what it means to be really and truly happy.Msgr. Dolan also explains that our life of prayer sharpens our vision of the things that really matter and helps us protect that happiness that the Lord wants for us. Therefore, the more clearly we set our sights on goals that move our heart, the better our chances of forging ahead without minding the difficulties.As St. Josemaria said, “To be happy, what you need is not an easy life but a heart in love.” (Furrow, no. 795). A strong heart always fixed on the goal can struggle for Love until the end. In this podcast, you will also hear how:▪The more clearly we set our sights on goals that move our heart, the better our chances of forging ahead without paying attention to the difficulties.▪Ensuring our joy and peace depends more on what we truly want and less on the petty tyrannies of the moment.▪Patience is neither naïve optimism nor resignation. It is the attitude of the free person whose love is unfailing and whose sight is always set on the goal.View Transcript Visit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, Fr. Leo Agustina helps us realize that no matter how much we prepare, spiritually or materially, Christmas comes, and we never feel ready. There is always a contrast “between the purity and the beauty” of Christ’s coming and the “inadequacy” of our hearts to receive Him.Therefore, Fr. Leo invites us to adopt the humility and openness of the “broken figures” (or characters) who we find and imagine at the first nativity scene. They show us how all that is needed to welcome Christ is the willingness to receive the Good News. And, regardless of our brokenness and imperfections, Our Lord is always happy to welcome us when we approach him."As you kneel at the feet of the child Jesus on the day of his Epiphany and see him a king bearing none of the outward signs of royalty, you can tell him: 'Lord, take away my pride; crush my self-love, my desire to affirm myself and impose myself on others. Make the foundation of my personality my identification with you'" (Christ is Passing By, no. 32).In this podcast, you will also hear how:• Our Lord uses “broken figures” to deliver the most revolutionary message in human history, a message of hope and joy, a message that will change our history forever.• With our imperfections, wounds, and scars, we are gracious before God, and He comes to us whether we’re ready or not. He takes the lead and anticipates when we need His love.• Dorothy Day wrote that: “I believe that if Jesus can be born in stable, he can also be born in me…”• Wherever you are, God is knocking on your heart. He is not interested in external things and that gives us a lot of peace.• We need to learn from Christmas that God is always happy to come to us and to welcome us—that is the Epiphany.View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan invites us to reflect more deeply on the Nativity of Our Lord. “In the Incarnation,” he says, “God has come not only to unleash our power of loving and adoring God but also to give us a model on how to become more fully human."Recalling a famous short story from 1906, titled, “The Gift of the Magi,” Msgr. Dolan gives us the “antidote” to that attitude of commercialization that often accompanies the Christmas season. He helps us ponder the fact that what matters most is “the amount, the extent to which we love each other.” We are reminded that the greater our love, the greater our freedom. And so we want our love to remain open to absolutely everyone; we want the willingness to befriend others in imitation of Christ, who made friends with “tax collectors and sinners.”We pray and ask the Holy Family: “Do whatever it takes to give me that same degree of love [you have]. Help me to contemplate. Help me to develop the capacity to be still, to see that you, Jesus, are God. Help me to grow in love so that I can grow in freedom. Help me to grow in detachment so that I can be happy regardless of the circumstances. And help me to become a better and more understanding friend of all those around me.”Visit Show PageView TranscriptSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast for the Fourth Week of Advent, Fr. Peter Armenio helps us continue our preparation to "be ready" for Christmas—the celebration of our transcendent God breaking into our own world in the fullness of time—by contemplating Jesus Christ as the true source of peace and joy.St. Paul preached not that Jesus is peaceful but that He is peace; Isaiah calls Him the Prince of Peace; and Jesus tells us: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you" (John 14:27). God wants everyone to be recipients of this description of Jesus. This great joy is for all people and it fills all people with hope.Fr. Peter directs us, therefore, to ask God’s help to penetrate this definition of peace so that we can "always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope" (1 Peter 3:15).View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast for the Third Week of Advent, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the readings for the Mass of the third Sunday of Advent also known as “Gaudete Sunday” or “Rejoice Sunday”.The very first description of Jesus in the Gospel is that he is "good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10). Great joy always surrounds Him and there is always a joyous reaction in the presence of Our Lord. Therefore, one tell-tale sign that we are in the right disposition for Him to come to us is the prominent fruit of the Holy Spirit: joy.Fr. Peter explains that permanent, deep joy exclusively comes from Christ and is the fruit of a close relationship with Him. Joy outside of Christ is just a good mood, a thrill, or a momentary pleasure. Our true joy comes from being that good soil where we habitually seek Our Lord with our whole heart.And, if we are lacking joy, this is the time to examine ourselves: Am I looking for Jesus with all my heart? Is He number one in my life? Do I want Him to be number one?We pray to Our Lady, Cause of Our Joy: "Help me to be less crazy busy so my prayer becomes a habitual activity and my day revolves around Our Lord, and so that I can rejoice in Christ and more effectively transmit His life to my family and friends."View TranscriptVisit Show PageSupport the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!