St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

On Sunday, November 24, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is a day to celebrate and remember that “Christ, true God and true man, lives and reigns. He is the Lord of the universe. Everything that lives is kept in existence only through him” (Christ Is Passing By, no. 180). On this feast we also end the liturgical year and begin to prepare for Advent and Christmas.In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on St Josemaria’s approach to the spiritual life in which we must be open and willing to begin again. At the start of a new liturgical year, we are encouraged to look inward, assess our spiritual life, and identify the ways in which we can renew and strengthen our relationship with 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!

Throughout the month of November, the Catholic Church commemorates all the faithful souls who have departed this life but have not yet attained the joy of heaven. The Church encourages us to pray for the souls in purgatory, so that they may be freed from the bondage of sin and admitted to their eternal reward in heaven.In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan shares how we can approach our responsibility to intercede for the holy souls in purgatory. Keeping in mind those who have gone before us leads us to contemplate our own spiritual journey and encourages us to look inward and assess how our actions today will affect the demands of eternal life.As St Josemaria reminds us, “The Holy Souls in Purgatory. Out of charity, out of justice, and out of excusable selfishness – they have such power with God! – remember them often in your sacrifices and in your prayers. May you be able to say when you speak of them, ‘My good friends the souls in purgatory’” (The Way, no. 571).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!

The Catholic Church in the United States is celebrating National Vocation Awareness Week from November 3-9, 2019. The celebration is dedicated to promoting vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life through prayer and education, and to renewing our prayers and support for those who are considering one of these particular vocations.In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on the call to live out our baptismal vocation to be a saint. The path to sainthood begins with our response to the grace we receive through Baptism and is nurtured by our participation in the Eucharistic liturgy, prayer, and Marian devotion. Our openness to the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit helps us to realize our mission as a disciple to live the Gospel, to bring the Gospel to others, and to attract others to 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!

On November 1, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints and, in the Gospel for the day, we hear Jesus’ teaching on the beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12A). In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan shares a reflection on how Christ gave us the beatitudes as an explanation of what it means to be holy and to help us navigate our personal journey towards holiness. We reflect on how striving for holiness is influenced by our correspondence to God’s grace as we see in the example of the saints. In contemplating the lives of the saints, we can be inspired to discover new ways of living out the beatitudes as we pursue holiness in everyday life.[Transcript]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 shares a reflection on the spirituality of St. John Paul II, whose feast day is celebrated October 22. St. John Paul II rooted his papacy in the Eucharist and devotion to Mary, inspiring holiness in people of all backgrounds from across the globe. There are many aspects we can learn from the papacy of St. John Paul II, but most importantly he taught us: how to pray, how to love, and how to serve.As Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote: “Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking; his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!’ An entire pontificate is condensed in words like these. It is as though he would like to open the doors for Christ everywhere and wishes to open up to people the gate that leads to true life, to true love.”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. Teresa of Avila, whose feast day is celebrated October 15, is a Doctor of the Church known for her work in the movement of spiritual and monastic renewal within Spain during the Counter-Reformation. Her written works are highly regarded among mystical literature in the Catholic Church and continue to inspire readers today.In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo shares insight into the life of St. Teresa of Avila and reflects on an important lesson we can learn from her: the necessity of prayer. Saint Teresa of Avila understood that people are not born saints but can achieve sainthood through cooperation in God’s divine plan. Her time of prayer was most frequently spent in quiet contemplation upon the suffering of Christ, allowing her to become more aware of her own sinfulness which led her to rely more fully on God. In following the example of Saint Teresa of Avila and turning away from sin, we too can walk the path toward sainthood.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 celebrating the month of the Holy Rosary, we share a reflection from Msgr. Fred Dolan on the importance of Marian devotion. This reflection 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!

October 2 marks the anniversary of the founding of Opus Dei by St. Josemaria Escriva in 1928. St. Josemaria saw and understood that the laity, not only priests and religious, are called by God to a life of holiness through their work, family, and personal interests, married or single. He set out to found Opus Dei as a means to offer a spirituality for the laity and the means to help them persevere in their calling to live and work as one more in the world.In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo talks about Opus Dei—its beginnings and mission—and explains the essence of the vocation to holiness, specifically the vocation to Opus Dei. He also explains what it means to have a secular outlook—a characteristic of the lay faithful who are called to sanctify temporal affairs in the world by bringing Christ into that world.Today Opus Dei has thousands of members around the world and many more who are just discovering it and want to know more about it. If you would like a brief introduction to Opus Dei, what is is and does, this talk is for you.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!

Throughout the month of September, the St. Josemaria Institute is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the first publication of The Way by St. Josemaria. For thousands of people today, The Way is a beloved guide to prayer that helps readers in their effort to get to know Jesus Christ and to strive for holiness in everyday life.We end our four-part podcast series on The Way with a talk by Fr. Javier del Castillo who reflects on the top four points shared and referenced across social media in the past year. Fr. Javier helps us to explore these points offering insights as to why they continue to challenge readers to holiness 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!

The Way is a practical guidebook for our spiritual life that offers insight into real life experiences. The points found in The Way came about from the fruit of St. Josemaria’s interior life paired with intense spiritual direction. He wrote frequently about what he was experiencing, and although the points touch on many facets of life, the core of St. Josemaria’s message is that we are all beloved children of God.In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan offers a reflection on key points from The Way that are useful for consideration in prayer. He brings a deeper appreciation to these points by explaining the meaning behind each point and shares what St. Josemaria was experiencing during that particular period in his 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!