Discerning Hearts - Catholic Podcasts

William Shakespeare – Hamlet and Macbeth – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce In this episode of The Great Works in Western Literature, Kris McGregor and Joseph Pearce explore two of William Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, Hamlet and Macbeth. Widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in Western civilization, Shakespeare presents in these plays a profound exploration of the...

Joseph and His King – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor explore the historical and cultural setting surrounding the birth and early life of St. Joseph, placing him within a small, quiet Nazareth shaped by hope and rooted in the promises to Israel. Though seemingly insignificant, this setting was alive with religious diversity, as groups like the Pharisees,...

I Have No Fervor & I Feel Sad – Struggles in the Spiritual Life with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V. Fr. Timothy Gallagher discusses St. Ignatius of Loyola's insights on handling spiritual desolation with St. Ignatius' rule to remain steadfast in spiritual practices during desolation and not make changes, using Beth’s experience to illustrate this. Despite feeling no fervor during a Bible study,...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 45 – St. Frances of Rome- Fidelity in the Ordinary In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor turns to St. Frances of Rome, a wife, mother, widow and Benedictine oblate whose holiness was formed not in withdrawal from responsibility, but in the middle...

The Mystery of Good Friday – A Special Conversation with Deacon James Keating, Ph. D., and Kris McGregor During this podcast, Deacon Keating will offer his insights on the mystery of this Good Friday. Amidst the turmoil of the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, this recording captured Deacon Keating's profound insights. Remarkably, his words continue to resonate with timeless relevance, offering poignant...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 44 – St. Gregory the Great – The Pastoral Rule: Guarding What Is Hidden In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor continues with St. Gregory the Great and reflects on a quieter danger in the spiritual life: not open failure, but the slow erosion that...

A Special Holy Thursday Reflection – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff Msgr. John Esseff reflects deeply on the meaning of Holy Thursday, focusing especially on Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet and the institution of the Eucharist. He describes the foot-washing as a sign of humility and love that all Christians are called to imitate, not just toward family and friends, but esp...

In place of provincialism, respect and tolerance – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B In this episode of The Holy Rule of St. Benedict: A Spiritual Path for Today’s World, Kris McGregor and Fr. Mauritius Wilde, OSB, explore the challenge of overcoming provincialism through the Benedictine virtues of respect and tolerance. Within the stability of monastic life, there exist...

Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce In this episode of The Great Works in Western Literature,  Joseph Pearce and Kris McGregor explore Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a foundational work of American literature that offers a profound meditation on sin, repentance, and redemption. Set within a Puritan community, the novel examin...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 43 – St. Gregory the Great – The Pastoral Rule: Discretion and Self-Knowledge In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor continues with St. Gregory the Great and turns to a danger that often follows responsibility: losing sight of one’s own soul while...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 42 – St. Gregory the Great – The Pastoral Rule: Compassion Rooted in Prayer In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor turns to St. Gregory the Great, monk, pope, and Doctor of the Church, whose Pastoral Rule speaks with unusual depth about the relati...

St. Joseph's World – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina Kris McGregor and Mike Aquilina explore St. Joseph by placing him within the sweeping history of Israel, especially the lineage of Abraham and King David as presented in the Gospel of Matthew. This genealogy is not incidental but central, revealing a family story rooted in concrete historical events, carefully preserved over centurie...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 41 – St. Anslem of Canterbury – Proslogion: Seeking the Face of God In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor continues with St. Anselm of Canterbury and turns from faith seeking understanding to the deeper patience of seeking God’s face. Anselm help...

I Don’t Have the Energy – Struggles in the Spiritual Life with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V. Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor discuss spiritual desolation and St. Ignatius of Loyola's guidance on overcoming it. Desolation often manifests as a lack of energy or motivation in one's spiritual life, as illustrated by Bob's story—a faithful man suddenly feeling weary in his spiritual commitments...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 40 – St. Anslem of Canterbury – Proslogion: Faith Seeking Understanding In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor turns to St. Anselm of Canterbury, the Benedictine monk, abbot, and Doctor of the Church, whose well-known phrase “faith seeking underst...

Palm Sunday: Entering the Passion of Christ – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff Podcast In this Palm Sunday reflection, Msgr. John Esseff invites listeners into the beginning of Holy Week, where the Church holds together both the triumph of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and the suffering that will soon follow. The crowds welcome Jesus as king, yet misunderstand the nature of his king...

Jane Austen and Pride & Prejudice and Mansfield Park – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce In this episode of The Great Works in Western Literature, Kris McGregor and Joseph Pearce explore the enduring genius of Jane Austen through Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park. Austen, often misunderstood or reduced to light romantic fiction, is revealed as a writer of profound moral...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 38 – St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn – The Book of Special Grace — Being Held by God In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor turns to St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn, a Benedictine nun whose life was deeply formed by the liturgy, the Holy Rule, and the worsh...

In place of spiritual homelessness, stability – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B In this episode of The Holy Rule of St. Benedict: A Spiritual Path for Today’s World, Kris McGregor and Fr. Mauritius Wilde, OSB, explore the deeply countercultural Benedictine vow of stability as a remedy for what Fr. Mauritius describes as a kind of “spiritual homelessness.” In a world ma...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 38 – St. Gertrude the Great – Trust Before God In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor continues with St. Gertrude the Great and turns more directly to the trust that marks her whole spiritual life. That trust did not arise suddenly or in isolation...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 37 – St. Gertrude the Great – Friendship With the Lord In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor turns to St. Gertrude the Great, a Benedictine nun formed in the remarkable monastery of Helfta. Her love for Christ is tender, reverent, and deeply root...

Defending Human Life – Roots of the Faith with Mike Aquilina Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss how early Christian leaders upheld the dignity of human life in a culture where infanticide and abortion were common and widely accepted. In the ancient pagan world, unwanted infants—especially girls—were often abandoned or killed, and abortion was supported by prominent thinkers. Jewish and Christ...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 36 – St. Hildegard of Bingen – Living in Harmony In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on St. Hildegard of Bingen’s vision of healing as the restoration of harmony. For Hildegard, healing is not only the easing of pain or the correction...

Annunciation – Annunciation on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor Kris McGregor speaks with Sally Read about Annunciation: A Call to Faith in a Broken World, a book Sally wrote as a letter to her daughter and as a reflection on faith, motherhood, and conversion. Sally describes the Annunciation as a pattern for every life: God calls, the soul answers, and trust must continue even when prayer feel...

The Annunciation – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff Msgr. John Esseff reflects on the Feast of the Annunciation, which falls in the heart of Lent. He shares how personal and significant this date is to him, as it marks the wedding anniversary of his parents. Their story, including seeking a dispensation to marry during Lent and defying an arranged marriage, mirrors the boldness an...