St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

In this podcast, Fr. Justin Gillespie reflects on true friendship as a rare and precious gift. While it is a gift, friendship is also something that we need. Jesus provides it, and by praying about what true friendship is, we can rediscover the vital importance of friendship with Christ.St. Josemaria explains: “God never abandons us. It is not a proper Christian attitude to look upon friendship with God only as a last resort. Do we think it normal to ignore or neglect the people we love? Obviously not! Those we love figure constantly in our conversations, desires and thoughts. We hold them ever present. So it should be with God” (Friends of God, no. 247).Support 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 we rebroadcast a cherished meditation from the first five years of the St. Josemaria Institute Podcast. This reflection from Msgr. Fred Dolan leads us to consider our own relationship with Mary, through whom we are led closer to the heart of Christ.As St. Josemaria Escriva wrote: “Today as in other times, the rosary must be a powerful weapon, to enable us to win in our interior struggle and to help all souls. Exalt holy Mary with your tongue: God asks you for reparation, and for praise from your lips. May you always want to know how to spread peace and happiness throughout the world, through this beautiful devotion to our Lady, and through your watchful love” (Holy Rosary, Author’s Note).Support 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 Mary’s title "Mother Most Amiable", showing us how Mary invested in the lives of others as true friends. As we reflect upon the Visitation and the Wedding Feast at Cana, it is evident to see the genuine concern and authentic love Mary has for those around her. These stories offer inspiration and encouragement for us as we foster holy friendships in our own lives and seek to imitate the joyful example of our Blessed Mother, Mary.St. Josemaria explains: “What does a mother want most of all from her children, from those who are flesh of her flesh and blood of her blood? Her greatest desire is to have them close to her. When the children grow up and it is no longer possible to have them beside her, she waits impatiently for news from them, and everything that happens to them, from the slightest illness to the most important events, concerns her deeply” (Friends of God, no. 289).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!

Do you find yourself lacking resilience in the spiritual life, often resulting in taking “two steps forward, one step back” when it comes to your relationship with Christ?In this podcast, part of our Day of Recollection resources for the Month of September, Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on confronting the struggles we face in strengthening and maintaining our relationship with God. Drawing upon the lives of the saints, he reminds us of the importance in establishing a plan of life to foster discipline within our spiritual life. As we create order in our daily life of work and prayer, we become less inclined to act on temptations and will instead have the strength to remain focused on Christ.Support 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. Javier del Castillo shares a meditation inspired by the phrase, “an hour of study, for a modern apostle, is an hour of prayer” (St. Josemaria Escriva; The Way, no. 335). Approaching academic learning as a form of prayer is not a way of life designed solely for students. Rather, it is a way of life that all Christians should adopt as it helps us develop a stronger worldview.Fr. Javier discusses how to approach Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the writings of the Church Fathers as a form of prayer. He also explains how to overcome three common obstacles –– lust, curiosity, and falsehood –– that inhibit our desire to study.Support 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!

Do you have the desire and goal to love others well?In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on sharing the love of Christ with those we encounter each day: among our family, friends, and colleagues. He explains that to love others well, we must first deny ourself by embracing our daily struggles and sacrificing for the good of others. As we transform our disposition toward our challenges, we can become more receptive to the grace attained through charity.St. Josemaria explains: “Charity is not something we ourselves build up. It invades us along with God’s grace. We would do well to fill, to saturate ourselves with this most beautiful truth: ‘If we are able to love God, it is because we have been loved by God.’ You and I are able to lavish affection upon those around us, because we have been born to the Faith, through the Father’s love for us” (Friends of God, no. 229).Support 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, as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr. Javier del Castillo revisits the dogma of the Assumption, discusses St. Josemaria’s devotion to Our Lady, and explains how we too can participate in the mystery of the Assumption.St. Josemaria explains: “As we meditate on these truths, we come to understand better the logic of God. We come to realize that the Supernatural value of our life does not depend on accomplishing great undertakings suggested to us by our overactive imagination. Rather it is to be found in the faithful acceptance of God’s will, in welcoming generously the opportunities for small, daily sacrifice” (Christ is Passing By, no. 172).Support 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. Justin Gillespie shares some considerations on ways that we can speak to our Lord in the stillness, in the silence, of being present in his presence in the Eucharist. He also reminds us to call upon the Blessed Virgin Mary for help and guidance as we make efforts to improve our relationship with God and in turn improve our lives.Support 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!

What is the vocation of a priest, and how can we as the lay faithful support them in their path of life?In this podcast, as we celebrate the feast of St. John Vianney, Fr. Javier del Castillo explains why priests need our prayers and reflects on the four characteristics of a priestly soul according to St. Josemaria Escriva.St. Josemaria explains: “The Church needs priests, and always will. Ask the Blessed Trinity for them each day, through Holy Mary. And pray that they may be cheerful, hard-working, effective; that they may be well trained: and that they may sacrifice themselves joyfully for their brothers, without feeling that they are victims” (The Forge, no. 910).Support 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!

Has anyone ever told you to let go and let God?In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo shares a reflection on the Gospel scene in which Martha welcomes Christ into her home (Luke 10:38-42) and reveals to us the meaning of letting go and letting God into our lives.In the Gospel passage, we notice Martha become caught up in the activity and details of serving Christ which inhibit her from fully enjoying the presence of Christ in her home. This theme is echoed in society today with a strong push for perfectionism in our work and at home. To contradict this vice, Fr. Javier reminds us to identify the intention behind our work so that we may continue to glorify God in all that we do. Working with intention allows us to be receptive to the grace of the Holy Spirit and helps us to recognize the presence of Christ in the ordinary moments of everyday life.Support 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!