Heart to Heart Spiritual Direction

In this episode, we welcome Father Matthew Cortnick to the Hope's Garden family. Father Matt proclaims the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary time, Mark 1:29-39 and in his homily stresses the need to go with Jesus to a desert place every day and enter into conversation with Him. Prayer is our source of strength in the midst of our busy and stressful lives.

Father Michael speaks to us, heart to heart, about the truth of chastity and how every person is called to live a chaste life regardless of vocation.

Father Michael helps us to shift our perspective and see problems as opportunities to open to God's grace and grow in faith and trust.

Father Michael shares with us his encounter with God the Father and how he came to truly know that he is God's beloved.

Father Michael gives us a beautiful description of the Holy Trinity.

Father Michael Stalla helps us to understand what it means to pray without ceasing and how we can do this. The Hope's Garden Prayer Podcast can help us to pray without ceasing. Pray along with beautiful prayers honoring Christ the Bridegroom and inspired by The SOng of Songs as you go through your day. You can find the Hope's Garden Prayer Podcast and The Bridegroom Speaks Podcast on all major pod...

Father Michael Stalla gives us practical tips for handling distractions during Mass.

Father Michael shares a message of hope and healing straight from his heart and the Heart of Christ.

Father Michael Stalla helps us understand the power of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and how to discern when you are in need of this anointing.

Father Michael Stalla addresses the issue of how to communicate and work together when one spouse seems to be progressing more quickly in their healing process.

Father Michael Stalla gives practical wisdom on how to remain consistent in our prayer routines.

Many of us have been told over and over again to just accept whatever suffering comes and "offer it up." Father Michael offers wisdom and advice for discerning when what we are enduring is redemptive suffering and when it is not. God does not ask us to "offer up" abusive treatment that violates our dignity. If you are a Catholic woman in an abusive relationship or just need support from a Catholic...

Betrayal, abuse, and traumatic events leave us wondering, "Where am I safe? Who am I safe with?" Father Michael speaks gently to our wounded hearts and helps us to truly believe that we are always safe with Jesus.

So often we are told to rest in Jesus and let Him restore us. But how do we actually rest in Him? How do we drink deeply of His Living Water? Father Michael gives us some practical prayer ideas for letting Jesus refresh us.

A sacramental marriage is the visible sign of the mutually self-sacrificing living-giving love of the Holy Trinity. Father Michael explains the difference between a sacramental marriage and a civil marriage and how to make God the third Person in your marriage.

God asked Hosea to marry an unfaithful wife so Hosea would come to know the depths of God's love for us - His unfaithful people.

We desire to remain in God's peace and to surrender our worries, our decisions, our wills into His loving hands but how do we actually do this? Father Michael, spiritual advisor of Hope's Garden, gives us some excellent suggestions on how to actually surrender to God.

Father Michael explains the four pillars of the sacrament of marriage: free, total, faithful, and fruitful.

Through His healing miracles Jesus reveals not only Who He is but who we are - God's beloved children. And our true dignity as God's children cannot be shaken or tainted by how others treat us.

Father Michael talks about how taking time to rest in the Lord during Eucharistic Adoration strengthens us to fight temptation.

Father Michael introduces us to Christ as the Bridegroom. St. John Paul II said, "The ‘sincere gift’ contained in the Sacrifice of the Cross gives definitive prominence to the spousal meaning of God’s love. As the Redeemer of the world, Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church." If the idea of Christ as Bridegroom is unfamiliar to you or you are looking for a simple way to explain this beautiful tru...