St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

On June 1 the Church celebrates the Feast of Mary, Mother of the Church. Traditionally the Church is also called Mother, through which we are nourished, consoled, washed, embraced, and reborn. We run to it in times of difficulty. The Church is an extension of Christ, and in the background is the icon of the Church—Mary, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church.In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on this mystery; how we can bring the mystery to our daily lives; and, how Mary wants us to treat her as Mother in every sense of the word.St. Josemaria explains: “Find out for yourself by personal experience the meaning of Mary’s maternal love. It is not enough just to know she is our Mother and to think and to talk about her as such. She is your Mother and you are her son. She loves you as if you were her only child in this world. Treat her accordingly: tell her about everything that happens to you, honor her and love her” (Friends of God, no. 293).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 reflects on the spiritual transformation the Apostles went through upon receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As disciples of Christ, if we are docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can continue the work of the Apostles in sharing the Gospel message in the world today.St. Josemaria explains: “The Holy Spirit is present in the Church of Christ for all time, so that it may be, always and in everything, a sign raised up before all nations, announcing to all men the goodness and the love of God. The presence and the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church are a foretaste of eternal happiness, of the joy and peace for which we are destined by God” (Christ is Passing By, no. 128).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 Christ’s last words before his Ascension and explains that in the work of evangelization no one can be ignored – “out of a hundred souls we are interested in a hundred.”St. Josemaria explains: “What compassion you feel for them! You would like to cry out to them that they are wasting their time… Why are they so blind, and why can’t they perceive what you – a miserable creature – have seen? Why don’t they go for the best? Pray and mortify yourself. Then you have the duty to wake them up, one by one, explaining to them – also one by one – that they, like you, can find a divine way, without leaving the place they occupy in society” (Furrow, no. 182).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!

St. Josemaria Escriva made many pilgrimages throughout his lifetime seeking opportunities to encounter God and praying for his conversion and of the whole world. Today’s podcast commemorates the 50th Anniversary of St. Josemaria Escriva’s pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City from May 15-24, 1970.His pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on the Hill of Tepeyac, is recognized as the longest and one of the most important pilgrimages in his life. in this podcast, Fr. Javier shares historical insight to the pilgrimage and the lessons we can learn from St. Josemaria’s example of Marian devotion. Toward the end of this meditation (at 21:52), Fr. Javier shares an excerpt from Dream and Your Dreams Will Fall Short by Pedro Casciaro, available in our online shop at www.stjosemaria.org.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!

A Spiritual Retreat on the Conversion of St. Mark invites you to contemplate the life of St. Mark and accompany him through the central moment in his life in which we witness the man who was once a runaway from Christ become an evangelist for the Catholic faith.This retreat helps us to reflect on our vocation and personal call to holiness, regardless of our state in life. In his own pursuit of holiness, we see St. Mark overcome fear to become a daring, courageous disciple of Christ. Like St. Mark, when faced with difficulty in our own life, will we choose to flee bravely from temptation or will we flee cowardly from grace?A Spiritual Retreat on the Conversion of St. Mark is ideal for anyone seeking to take 1 - 2 days from daily life to spend quiet time in prayer and to enter more deeply into the Gospel. It is an opportunity to examine our spiritual life, reflecting upon the moments in which we have abandoned God and rejoicing in the gift of His merciful love.Access the full retreat online: download today!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 this joyous Easter season and the consoling truth of the faith in which we know that Christ has conquered sin and death for all. This season encourages us to look inward and foster a resurrection within our spiritual life. As we continue to grow in holiness, we receive the grace needed to be a vessel in which others can encounter Christ through our witness.St. Josemaria explains: “Easter is a time of joy – a joy not confined to this period of the liturgical year, but to be found really and fully in the Christian’s heart. For Christ is alive. He is not someone who has gone, someone who existed for a time and then passed on, leaving us a wonderful example and a great memory. No, Christ is alive. Jesus is the Emmanuel: God with us.” (Christ is Passing By, no. 102).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!

St. Josemaria Escriva recognized that God’s forgiveness is even more impressive than his ability to create something out of nothing, and that “his absolute power is best shown in his power to forgive.” On our part, we ultimately have to accept God’s gift of Divine Mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation that he established.In this reflection from Fr. Javier del Castillo, we learn how Christ forgives us, just as he forgave Thomas and the Apostles for running from the Cross and not having believed on Good Friday. After this encounter with the resurrected Christ, we must be sure of God’s forgiveness, and move on to forgiving others.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!

As we celebrate Easter Sunday and rejoice in the Resurrection, Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on the insurmountable joy we receive in awareness of the good news that Christ is alive. This message leads us to cultivate an interior conversion in which we can discover the presence of Christ in everyday life.Amidst the current challenge of social distancing, Msgr. Dolan encourages us to remain steadfast in prayer and to use this time as an opportunity to discover the plans God has for us so that we may continue to carry out his mission here on earth.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 the five sorrowful mysteries to help us slow down and go deeper as we pray each decade of the Holy Rosary. St. Josemaria explains: "As we draw closer during this Holy Week to the suffering of Jesus Christ, let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to enable us, like her, to keep all these things in our minds and ponder over them in our hearts” (Friends of God, no. 126).Each mystery is time marked below:0:00 First Mystery: The Agony in the Garden5:10 Second Mystery: The Scourging at the Pillar8:51 Third Mystery: The Crowning of Thorns13:18 Fourth Mystery: The Carrying of the Cross17:15 Fifth Mystery: The CrucifixionSupport 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 mystery of Christ’s suffering as we approach the Sacred Triduum and look forward to celebrating the joy of the Resurrection. As we look at the final hours before his Crucifixion, we see Christ contemplate the sins of humanity and willingly embrace the Cross. He takes on our suffering and bears the weight of our sins so that we too may dwell with him in heaven.St. Josemaria explains: “Let us meditate on our Lord, wounded from head to foot out of love for us. At the sight of Christ bruised and broken – just a lifeless body taken down from the cross and given to his Mother – at the sight of Jesus destroyed in this way, we might have thought he had failed utterly. But this is victory, not defeat. We are nearer the resurrection than every before; we are going to see the triumph which he has won with his obedience” (Christ is Passing By, no. 95).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!