Discerning Hearts - Catholic Podcasts

The Papacy: The Apostolic Throne – Love's Earthly Form – Roots of the Faith with Mike Aquilina Mike Aquilina reflects on the origin and continuity of the papacy, beginning with Christ’s words to Peter in the Gospel and continuing through the witness of the early Church. The authority given to Peter did not end with his lifetime but carried forward through successors in Rome. Early Christian histor...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 21 – The Sixth Degree of Humility In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on the Sixth Degree of Humility in Chapter 7 of the Holy Rule. St. Benedict turns to the ordinary and often hidden realities of daily life, where humility is shown i...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 20 – The Fifth Degree of Humility In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on the Fifth Degree of Humility in Chapter 7 of the Holy Rule. St. Benedict turns from endurance and restraint to truthful speech, showing that humility also appears...

I'm Troubled and I'm Tempted; I'm Going to Fail – Struggles in the Spiritual Life with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V. Fr. Timothy Gallagher describes how temptation often appears during times of anxiety or discouragement in the spiritual life. Through the story of John, who anxiously waits for medical test results, he illustrates how worry can disturb prayer and open the door to subtle suggestions t...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 19 – The Fourth Degree of Humility In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on the Fourth Degree of Humility from Chapter 7 of the Holy Rule. St. Benedict now turns to perseverance when obedience becomes difficult. Humility is tested not wh...

The Third Sunday of Lent: The Living Water – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff Podcast In this Second Sunday of Lent reflection, Msgr. John Esseff invites listeners into the mystery of the Transfiguration from the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus reveals his glory on the mountain as he prepares to face suffering and death. The mountain of light is inseparable from the mountain of Calva...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 18 – The Third Degree of Humility In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on the third degree of humility in Chapter 7 of the Holy Rule. St. Benedict brings humility into concrete daily life by placing it within relationships and legitimat...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 17 – The Second Degree of Humility In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on the second degree of humility in Chapter 7 of the Holy Rule. St. Benedict moves from awareness of God’s presence to the ordering of the human will. Humility beco...

Oscar Wilde & The Picture of Dorian Gray – 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 life, struggles, and literary genius of Oscar Wilde through his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. Pearce presents Wilde as a man defined by paradox. Brilliant, witty, and celebrated in Victorian soc...

In Place of Materialism, Gratitude – 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 reflect on Chapter 6 of the Rule of St. Benedict, which addresses restraint of speech and the spiritual importance of silence. In a culture overflowing with words, St. Bened...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 16 – The First Degree of Humility In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on the first degree of humility in Chapter 7 of the Holy Rule. St. Benedict begins with a simple but decisive foundation: keeping the fear of God always before our e...

The Clergy – Love's Earthly Form – Roots of the Faith with Mike Aquilina Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor discuss the sacrament of Holy Orders and its roots in the earliest life of the Church. Jesus entrusted the apostles with continuing His work when He commanded them at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me,” establishing a structure that appears already in the New Testament: bishops, pries...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 15 – Humility as Truth In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor enters Chapter 7 during the third week of Lent as St. Benedict turns explicitly to humility. What has been quietly formed through listening, obedience and charity is now named. Humility...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 14 – Receiving Admonition and Correction In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on St. Benedict’s teaching about receiving correction. As Chapter 5 concludes, obedience is tested in a practical way: how the heart responds when it is admon...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 13 – Obedience Without Murmuring In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on St. Benedict’s warning against murmuring. Obedience is not only about completing a task. It includes the consent of the heart. When the exterior action is finished...

How Can I Be Drawn to Such Things? – Struggles in the Spiritual Life with Fr. Timothy Gallagher O.M.V. Fr. Timothy Gallagher and Kris McGregor reflect on spiritual desolation through Beth’s story. After a draining day, she feels too discouraged to pray and instead turns to gossip, television, and social media, ending the night ashamed. Ordinary fatigue can open the door to deeper discouragement an...

The Power of the Cross, applying the Passion of Christ to your life Episode 3: The Cross of Christ unites us… – Ash Wednesday through Saturday of that week. In Episode 3 of The Power of the Cross, Michael Dubruiel reflects on the Cross as a uniting force that draws together heaven and earth, mercy and truth, humility and love. During the Second Week of Lent, the Cross is revealed not only as the p...

The Second Sunday of Lent: The Transfiguration and Listening to Christ – Building a Kingdom of Love w/ Msgr. John Esseff Podcast In this Second Sunday of Lent reflection, Msgr. John Esseff invites listeners into the mystery of the Transfiguration from the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus reveals his glory on the mountain as he prepares to face suffering and death. The mountain of light is inseparabl...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 12 – Unhesitating Obedience In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on the beginning of Chapter 5 and St. Benedict’s teaching on unhesitating obedience. This obedience is not compliance or loss of freedom. It is a readiness born of love. W...

Episode 3 – The Cross of Christ teaches us… – Second Week In "The Power of the Cross", Michael Dubruiel penned a truly exceptional meditation on the Cross of Christ which serves beautifully as a source for reflection any time of the year, but it is particularly poignant and compelling during the weeks of Lent. Several years ago Bruce and I had the chance to have a series of conversations with Mich...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 11 – Before the Setting of the Sun In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on St. Benedict’s instruction not to nurse anger or harbor a grudge, but to make peace before the setting of the sun. The Holy Rule recognizes how quietly resentmen...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 10 – Preferring Nothing to Christ In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on St. Benedict’s call to concrete charity and the decisive command to prefer nothing whatever to Christ. The tools of good works now move outward into ordinary and...

Mary Shelley and Frankenstein – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce Joseph Pearce and Kris McGregor explore how Frankenstein has been widely misread, particularly through film adaptations that flatten its moral and philosophical depth. Written when Mary Shelley was still a teenager, the novel emerged from a turbulent season in her life—shaped by her radical atheist father, her fem...

The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life: Learning to Listen to God with a Discerning Heart with Kris McGregor Episode 9 – Not My Will In this episode of The Rule of St. Benedict for Daily Life, Kris McGregor reflects on St. Benedict’s call to endure hardship and bear injuries patiently. Chapter 4 does not promise relief from suffering. Instead, it forms a heart capable of remaining steady when lif...

Purgatory: Love Stronger than Death – Roots of the Faith with Mike Aquilina Mike Aquilina explores the ancient Christian teaching on purgatory, showing that it is deeply rooted in Scripture and the earliest traditions of the Church. While the term “purgatory” does not appear explicitly in the Bible, the reality of post-death purification is present in passages such as 2 Maccabees, 1 Corinthians 3,...