St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

In our meditation of the week: Reflecting on the Gospel of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11), Msgr. Fred Dolan invites us to contemplate the gift of mercy—a central theme of the Christian life. In this powerful scene, Christ reveals the heart of the Father, not through condemnation, but through compassion and forgiveness. It is a call to each of us to examine how quickly we pass judgment, often without even realizing it.Msgr. Dolan reminds us that the devil seeks to divide—within families, communities, and society at large. But mercy, as a free and generous gift from God, restores unity and healing. It enables us to overcome division and to recognize one another as children of God.Drawing from the teachings of Pope St. John Paul II, Msgr. Dolan emphasizes that every human being is a neighbor to be loved. The question is not “Who is my neighbor?”—which already implies limits—but rather, “To whom should I become a neighbor?” Mercy calls us to expand our hearts, to love as Christ loves, and to reflect his mercy in our daily encounters.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!

Note: This meditation was recorded in front of a live audience.In our meditation for the Fourth Week of Lent, Fr. Peter Armenio invites us to renew our commitment to the three pillars of Lent: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. As we reach the midpoint of this penitential seson, he reminds us that Lent centers on Christ’s self-giving sacrifice on the Cross—the greatest expression of love. To follow Christ is to embrace the Cross and come to know him through our own acts of self-emptying.Fr. Armenio emphasizes that almsgiving is the animating force behind prayer and fasting. Without charity, the other two lose their vitality. He encourages us to begin with love for our families and extend it outward—living the works of mercy and witnessing to Christ’s love in our daily interactions.Prayer and fasting, too, are essential. Fr. Armenio encourages us to carve out moments of silence in our days to encounter the Lord. In this quiet, we receive his love and are strengthened to share it with others. Through fasting, we learn to deny ourselves, resist temptation, and redirect our hearts toward Christ.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 our meditation of the week: Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on the 100th anniversary of St. Josemaria’s priestly ordination on March 28, 1925. He invites us to consider the extraordinary fruitfulness of St. Josemaria’s life and his desire to be a genuine priest with a genuine and serious concern for souls that led him to love everyone without distinction.Drawing from personal anecdotes and historical accounts, Msgr. Dolan highlights three defining traits of St. Josemaria’s priesthood: his passionate love for the Eucharist, his burning desire for souls, and his constant search for God’s will. He recounts St. Josemaria's deep humility, his desire to serve without recognition, and his conviction that everything is done by God.Msgr. Dolan reminds us that central to the spirituality of St. Josemaria is the call to place the Holy Mass at the very heart of our lives. For St. Josemaria, the Mass was not a daily obligation, but the center and root of his interior life—something he urged all his spiritual children to imitate. Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of his ordination, St. Josemaria wrote: “Let us renew the resolution that the Holy Mass will be always the center and root of our existence. That is the best celebration of priesthood.”View TranscriptVisit Show Page 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 our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent and how they teach us to see that God approaches us first because he eminently wills our happiness-- a happiness that begins here on earth because of his liberation.Fr. Peter begins by recounting the familiar story of how Moses encountered God through the burning bush. We see God reveal himself as a liberator, seeking to free the Israelite people. God reveals himself to Moses by stating his name, ‘I AM,’ which is the first time God reveals this in Scripture. God desires a personal relationship with us, and like all relationships, this relationship begins with an introduction. This interaction points us toward Christ, as God will become man through whom he will have a personal relationship with his people. Through Moses, God seeks to defeat the Egyptians and save the Israelite people, prefiguring what Christ will do on the cross — defeat Satan and free God’s people from sin.Fr. Peter also recounts the parable of the fig tree. We see Christ personified as the gardener and God the Father personified as the owner. The gardener is advocating to save the fig tree, explaining to the owner that he can cut it down eventually, but it has not yet had its time. Applying this parable to our own life, we see a sense of urgency in the Gospel. Our time here on earth is finite — at some point, it will end.The season of Lent allows us the opportunity to look inward and to begin again: to take advantage of reconciliation, to seek after Christ in prayer, and to reach out in charity toward others.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 our meditation of the week: Msgr. Dolan reflects on the Transfiguration of Christ and how this scene reminds us that a major goal of the Lenten season is to create an interior silence that allows us to enjoy God's presence. Msgr. Dolan shares how the scene of the Transfiguration echoes the words of the Psalms: "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:11). The disciples who witnessed this moment "fell silent," understanding that words would have diminished its significance.   Silence is essential for encountering God. Msgr. Dolan quotes Pope Francis who explains that, "We simply cannot do without the silence of prolonged prayer, which enables us to perceive God’s language and to see the whole of our existence afresh in His own light" (Gaudete et Exsultate, no. 171). Lent calls us to cultivate this silence, shifting our focus from distractions to God’s will. How will you embrace silence this holy season to grow closer to God?  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 our meditation of the week: we reflect on the virtue of fortitude as the driving force to overcome temptation. St. Josemaria Escriva reminds us, "A task which presents no difficulties lacks human appeal – and supernatural appeal too. If you find no resistance when hammering a nail into a wall, what can you expect to hang on it?" (The Forge, no. 245). To win the prize, you cannot avoid the struggle—it is the very path to victory.  Fortitude is essential for both the spiritual life and human development. Msgr. Dolan reflects on the importance of deferred gratification—choosing to set aside immediate desires in favor of what must be done. He explains that this discipline goes hand in hand with gumption, the ability to recognize the right course of action and take decisive steps forward. A key danger in the spiritual life is abandoning the fight altogether. We can either face challenges with fear and stress or embrace them with excitement and trust.  The Gospel for the First Sunday of Lent recounts Christ’s temptation in the desert. As the perfect model of virtue, he embodies fortitude in the face of Satan’s trials. This Lent, how can you strengthen the virtue of fortitude in your own life and say ‘no’ to temptation? 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 our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on self-denial as a path to deeper faith and freedom in Christ. As we begin Lent, we are reminded that to follow Our Lord, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Self-denial strengthens our commitment to prayer, holiness, and living the Gospel with conviction.  Fr. Peter reminds us that St. Josemaria Escriva said, "If you don’t deny yourself, you will never be a soul of prayer" (The Way, no. 6). In a world filled with temptation, we must cultivate self-control and embrace sacrifice. And, as St. Josemaria urges, "Do it now! Now is the only shot you have. The past is gone, and the future doesn’t exist."  View Transcript  Visit Show Page 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!

Fr. Peter Armenio explores the simple yet profound call of Christ: 'Come and see.' He emphasizes the power of personal witness in evangelization, showcasing how genuine relationships can lead others to faith. Stories of transformation highlight the importance of support from friends and family. The podcast also discusses the role of prayer in effective evangelization, illustrating how true conversion emerges from personal encounters with Christ. It culminates in reflecting on the vibrant faith journeys of youth and inviting others into the joy of discipleship.

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on St. Josemaria Escriva's teaching on realistic optimism— omnia in bonum- the confidence that Christ has already conquered all on our behalf, and that by uniting ourselves to him through prayer, we can overcome any challenge and participate in his victory.  Drawing from John 16:33, he reminds us of Christ’s words: “In the world you will have affliction. But take courage; I have overcome the world.” This triumph is not just a past event but a present reality, accessible to us when we live in union with him. As Romans 8:28 assures, “All things work for the good of those who love God,” a truth that calls us to trust in divine providence, even in adversity.  View Transcript  Visit Show Page 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 our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the hidden years of Jesus' life and the profound sanctity found in the ordinary. He emphasizes how Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived lives of simplicity and work, demonstrating that holiness is not reserved for extraordinary deeds but is found in daily life, family, and labor.  Fr. Peter highlights the Gospel's silence on Jesus' early years, noting that his hidden life in Nazareth was so ordinary that it became a stumbling block for those who later encountered him as the Messiah. Drawing from St. Josemaria Escriva’s writings, he explains that the path to holiness is through sanctifying daily tasks with love—whether in work, family life, or social interactions.  Also looking to the example of St. Therese of Lisieux, who found holiness in the smallest acts, Fr. Peter encourages listeners to transform their daily routines into prayer. He reminds us that God’s love is expressed through self-giving in ordinary duties and that evangelization begins in the family and workplace.   View Transcript Visit Show Page 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!