St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

On August 6th, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. On today's podcast, we listen and reflect on the “background” and meaning of the Transfiguration, and how contemplating the scene of the Transfiguration continues to transform us today:— The Transfiguration of Jesus encourages us in our commitment to discipleship.— When we commit to protracted prayer—deep, silent, concentrated—we can see God through the eyes of our soul and heart.— The Transfiguration helped the apostles to trust in the Cross—the raw materials that make up our crosses—and to believe that there is no such thing as failure when we follow Christ.— Contemplating this scene and Jesus’ words (Mk 9:2-10), we begin to see Him, to take on His capacity for self-giving love, and we become more empowered to give of ourselves with the heart of Jesus.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 co

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the home of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Nazareth, their example of a "bright and cheerful home", and why building a strong family foundation rooted in love and joy is essential to the new evangelization. Like St. Josemaria Escriva, we can go to St. Joseph to learn the "secret" to knowing Jesus Christ and bringing him to our family and others: “Saint Joseph, our Father and Lord: most chaste, most pure. You were found worthy to carry the Child Jesus in your arms, to wash him, to hug him. Teach us to get to know God, and to be pure, worthy of being other Christs. And help us to do and to teach, as Christ did. Help us to open up the divine paths of the earth, which are both hidden and bright; and help us to show them to mankind, telling our fellow men that their lives on earth can have an extraordinary and constant supernatural effectiveness” (The Forge, no. 553).Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to y

Why is marriage important to society today? And, what distinguishes a healthy marriage from one that is in serious trouble?On this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on the Sacrament of Marriage and how it is the cornerstone to society and the image of the eternal love between Christ and his Church.Marriage is the pathway for spouses to lead one another to heaven. For a marriage to flourish, it must be grounded so that each spouse is able to see the other as God sees him or her. Spouses must seek out genuine admiration for the gifts of the other, realizing that two lives become one as they build the foundation upon which they can strive for sanctity.Marriage is hard work. We marry imperfect people, yet are called to love them with their defects and limitations. Men and women are very different. We may not understand each other, but we are called to accept and love each other. Marriage is like a pearl of great price – it is worth fighting for it.Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podc

Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (Jn 2:3)A Spiritual Retreat in the Footsteps of Mary guides us through the life of Mary as we seek to renew and transform our own life of faith through prayer. Following in Mary’s example of responding to God’s call to love and serve unconditionally, we are each called to reach that same height of holiness. As you listen to this retreat, you will be able to reflect with Mary upon the key moments the Holy Spirit impacted her life, culminating with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Mary, along with the apostles, were radically transformed by the Holy Spirit. Through spending time on retreat and allowing ourselves time to converse with God, we are allowing ourselves the opportunity to be transformed by the work of the Spirit so that we may faithfully continue on our journey toward heaven.A Spiritual Retreat in the Footsteps of Mary is a collection of ten meditations preached by Rev. Javie

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the importance of the virtue of humility in the spiritual life. The need for a spiritual life stems from a desire to reject our sinful nature; that is, our realization that we are sinners moves us to want to grow spiritually, to follow Christ. And, without humility, the biggest obstacle to following Christ is self-importance. Each one of us has certain gifts within the spiritual life but we are not the origin of these gifts – they have been given to us by God. As we become aware of our spiritual gifts, we are drawn deeper into a life of true discipleship with Jesus Christ.As St. Josemaria Escriva wrote: “Get rid of those proud thoughts! You are but the brush in the hand of the artist, and nothing more. Tell me, what is a brush good for if it doesn’t let the artist do his work?” (The Way, no. 612).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

On Saturday, July 6, the Church celebrates the Feast of Saint Maria Goretti, who is honored for her heroic resistance when a young man tried to seduce her when she was eleven years of age. After resisting the young man’s actions, Saint Maria Goretti was stabbed fourteen times and died four days later as a result of the wounds. She forgave her assailant multiple times and prayed for his repentance and conversion throughout her final days.In this podcast, Rev. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on the importance of holy purity, particularly at a time when this virtue clashes with the cultural norm. He shares five important resolutions that we can make when striving to live a life of purity: to make good confessions, to accept the guidance of the priest in living the virtue of purity, to pray three Hail Mary’s for purity each evening, to guard the senses to avoid looking at someone impurely, and to ask for the virtue of purity with humility as it increases our capacity to love.Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTEN

In this podcast, as we prepare to celebrate the feast day of St. Josemaria, Msgr. Fred Dolan shares a reflection on the life of St. Josemaria and the inspiration behind Opus Dei.In Scripture, Christ compares the Kingdom of God to a tiny mustard seed that will grow and flourish over time. On October 2, 1928, God led St. Josemaria to discover his own mustard seed - the work of Opus Dei. St. Josemaria showed the world that holiness is not something extraordinary, rather, something ordinary which can be found in our everyday work. God led St. Josemaria to see that the Church needs an institution that does nothing else but serve God through ordinary, daily realities. The life of St. Josemaria and the work of Opus Dei show us that the world is not an obstacle to holiness, but a place where holiness is found.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 Instagr

This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) when “we come together to consider the depths of our Lord’s love for us, which has led him to stay with us, hidden under the appearances of the Blessed Sacrament” (St. Josemaria Escriva; Christ is Passing By, no. 150). Present under the property of bread and wine, the Church believes the Eucharist is fully the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection to help us pray and go deeper in our understanding of the Eucharist and our call to be living monstrances, the sacred vessels in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for veneration.On the Feast of Corpus Christi, it is a common practice in many Catholic churches to hold a Eucharistic procession following Mass. This procession is symbolic of our work as modern day apostles. We are each called to be a living monstrance, bringing the light of Christ into every aspect of our life: our family, our wor

In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo shares a reflection on working for God, inspired by the homily given by Saint Josemaria on February 6, 1960. Fr. Javier poses three important questions for us to consider as we approach work each day:Do we work for Christ?We see in the beginning passages of Scripture that God gave man and woman the vocation to work – to till the garden. We are each called to put our talents at the service of God. Work itself is not to be seen as the end, but rather, to be seen as the means to pray, sacrifice, and give glory to God.Do we work in Christ?Christ, the source of love, spent his hidden years working. He spent this time working out of love for his heavenly Father as well as out of love for each one of us. By his example, Christ shows that we are called to sanctify the task at hand through the grace given to us by God. If we work out of love, we will see the fruit of our labor in heaven. As we work closely with God, we are slowly transformed and begin to reflect the love of Chr

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the Feast of Pentecost, recognized as the birthday of the Church, in which the apostles received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and were inspired to go out and share the faith in a radical way.In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on recognizing the importance of the Holy Spirit within our own life. The Holy Spirit helps us discern the personal message of Pentecost to all of us who want to follow Christ and live the Gospel to the full. We must take to heart the final words of Christ, “to go out and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). In the account of Pentecost, those gathered not only heard the Gospel message proclaimed in their own language, but they witnessed the love of Christ shown to them through the apostles.As we seek to lead others to Christ, we must do so not just in words but also through our witness of the love of Christ. The Holy Spirit works through us to move the hearts of others and lead them into an encounter with Christ.Support the

“And Mary said, behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to thy word.” (Lk 1:38)A Spiritual Retreat in the Footsteps of Mary guides us through the life of Mary as we seek to renew and transform our own life of faith through prayer. Following in Mary’s example of responding to God’s call to love and serve unconditionally, we are each called to reach that same height of holiness. As you listen to this retreat, you will be able to reflect with Mary upon the key moments the Holy Spirit impacted her life, culminating with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Mary, along with the apostles, were radically transformed by the Holy Spirit. Through spending time on retreat and allowing ourselves time to converse with God, we are allowing ourselves the opportunity to be transformed by the work of the Spirit so that we may faithfully continue on our journey toward heaven.A Spiritual Retreat in the Footsteps of Mary is a collection of ten meditations preached by Rev. Javier del Castillo, priest

On today's podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo sets the stage for a five-part series on The Road to Emmaus.In the Scripture passage, we see that the disciples do not make it all the way to Emmaus. This is a sign of their own conversion as they were running away from the events they had witnessed. In their eyes, they were let down. Christ was supposed to liberate them from the Romans, but as a result of the crucifixion, their Savior looks like a fraud. In the eyes of these two disciples, Christ wasn’t supposed to die, he was supposed to win.This Gospel scene challenges us to ask ourselves: Are we running away from something? What is our idea of salvation? Are we looking for safety or an “insurance policy”? What you read in the Gospel “is something that you should not only hear, but live. Everything, every point that is told there, has been gathered, detail by detail, for you to make it come alive in the individual circumstances of your life” (The Forge, no. 754). Saints find their mission in the Gospel. We s

In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan recounts the story of the resurrection as told in the Gospel of Easter Sunday and to which the Apostles became witnesses and used as the basis for their preaching. This passage leads us to reflect on gratitude and our own relationship with Christ. We are encouraged to foster a spirit of gratitude, knowing that Christ loves each one of us and freely gave himself up so that we might have life and live it to the full. From this spirit of gratitude, we can strengthen our desire to grow in our relationship with Christ and never lose the conviction that, through the power of the Resurrection, Christ is always present with us. Love calls for love in return. As we think of Christ, we should recall the love that led him to pour out so many graces upon us.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 w

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on the Gospel passage of the Passion of Christ (Luke 22:14-23:56) which is read on Palm Sunday. During this time, the Church invites her people to focus directly on the suffering of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The longer Gospel readings help us to honor Christ’s request to “keep watch and pray” with him as he asked the Apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane. In this scene, we prayerfully rediscover God’s love for us expressed through his humanity and sacrifice on the cross. Through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, we see his love poured out for us and discover the meaning in the crosses that he invites us to bear.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 f

In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan shares a reflection on the gift of mercy as seen through the Gospel of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). This Gospel passage leads us to reflect inward and ask ourselves: how quickly do we pass judgement on others without even realizing it?The main goal of Satan is to create division among people, whether it be a family, a church community or an entire society. The main antidote to this divisiveness and negativity is mercy. Mercy is God’s free gift to us as his children and it allows us to reunite with one another. Pope St. John Paul II explains that every human being is a neighbor to be loved. If we have to ask ourselves “who is my neighbor?”, then we are already setting limits and conditions. Instead, the question we should seek to ask is: “to whom should I become a neighbor?” We must love our neighbors as ourselves and show mercy to all those around us.Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite e

The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ.[ 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!

On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare Sunday, the Church marks the half-way point through the season of Lent. In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio renews in us a desire to grow in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Lent revolves around the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which is the greatest form of self-emptying and self-love. We, as followers of Christ, must embrace the cross and come to know Christ through sharing in His self-emptying.We come to know Christ more deeply through almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Although all three components go hand in hand, Fr. Armenio explains that without almsgiving, prayer and fasting will not work as almsgiving is the animating force behind prayer and fasting. We must live out the works of mercy and seek to love those around us, beginning first with our family and expanding to our friends and those we encounter each day. We must always be able to give a witness to the love of Christ.Fr. Armenio also explains the importance of prayer and fasting, drawing upon

The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ.[ 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!

The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ.[ 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 reflects on the readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent. He recounts 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. Armenio 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