St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

Continuing our Easter series, To and From Emmaus : In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the disciples’ feeling of dejection and tragedy in response to Jesus’ death, not recognizing yet how his death and resurrection will become a symbol of conversion and transformation. We see, therefore, in the story of Emmaus that it is in the midst of our difficulties that we must turn to the Lord and...

The St. Josemaria Institute is pleased to present a new seven-part podcast series by Fr. Peter Armenio on the road to Emmaus as a complement to your time of prayer as we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord this Easter season. In this week’s podcast, the first of the series, Fr. Peter introduces us to the circumstances surrounding the disciples’ journey to Emmaus – what events are they leaving b...

Praying the Stations of the Cross with St. Josemaria Escriva is an invitation and guide to praying and contemplating the traditional fourteen stations following the way of Jesus Christ’s passion and death. Like the original, this adaptation of St. Josemaria’s beloved devotion, The Way of Cross, seeks to help people to pray and, with God's grace, to grow in a spirit of reparation and of gratit...

Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha concludes our Lenten podcast series by reflecting on how we can become vessels of God’s love and instruments of God’s grace through our participation in the Way of the Cross and sharing in Christ’s passion and death. Despite our sinful nature, Christ continues to call each of us to be witnesses of his love and mercy. Fr. Donncha explains that through our participation in the s...

The Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19, honoring St. Joseph as the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and earthly father of Christ. During this Year of St. Joseph proclaimed by Pope Francis, we are reminded to go to St. Joseph and discover in him an intercessor, a support and a guide. In this podcast, Fr. Leo Agustina shares a reflection on the freedom of St. Joseph which all...

What is it like to be there on Mount Calvary, on Golgotha, at the moment of the death of Jesus in the company of Mary and St. John the Apostle and the Holy Women? Continuing our Lenten podcast series, Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha reflects on the wounds of Christ which helps us to realize our vocation to share in Our Lord’s suffering. As we contemplate Christ in his Passion, we are challenged to take part...

A Spiritual Retreat on St. Joseph, Father and Protector guides us on a prayerful reflection on St. Joseph as our father and protector, and his role in our salvation. On this retreat, we are guided to contemplate the life of St. Joseph, his virtues and zeal, and take a contemplative look at our own lives. St. Joseph teaches us– despite our weaknesses, doubts, frailty, and sinfulness– how to see all...

What does it mean to be healed by the wounds of Christ? And, through understanding this saving mystery, how can we make reparation and show our love for the body of Christ? In this podcast, Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha continues our Lenten podcast series contemplating Christ as a Man of Sorrows. Looking to the example of Christ, we come to realize that his suffering and Cross are also an essential part of...

What is it like to see an adult who falls or has fallen to the ground?… And what does it mean for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to fall to the ground? Continuing our Lenten series on the Way of the Cross, Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha reflects in this podcast on the tangible way God’s love is shown through his falls and physical weakness along the way to his crucifixion and death. Christ embraces his human...

Published in 1981, The Way of the Cross -- a posthumous work of St. Josemaria Escriva -- has become a beloved devotion for Catholics worldwide. This season of Lent, we will be sharing a new five-part podcast series from Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha on the prominent themes found in The Way of the Cross that can help us to be renewed and strengthened in Christ’s love through the contemplation of his Passion...

In your decision to follow Christ, how can you become more in love with Jesus and never let that love grow stale? In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on how the grace received in responding to our vocation to follow Christ gives us a lense through which we can continue to grow in loyalty, fidelity and constancy. With this spiritual outlook, maintaining our daily practice of prayer to keep o...

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the Presentation of the Lord and the Church’s celebration of this feast on February 2. He explains the historical background of the event and what it means for us today, primarily that it is through the Presentation that we recognize Jesus as the Light of the World and we are given the hope of salvation. As disciples, Jesus’s Presentation is an invita...

In this podcast, Rev. Javier del Castillo reflects on the lives of the early Church martyrs and the way they gave witness to their faith through the simple actions of everyday life. He explains how we too should foster an awareness of our personal sanctification and strive to be heroic in and through our ordinary circumstances. As we respond to the call to holiness with the same faith of the marty...

How can we live a sanctified life and inherit the gift of eternal life? St. Josemaria explains: “Detach yourself from the goods of this world. Love and practice poverty of spirit: be content with what is sufficient for leading a simple and temperate life. Otherwise, you will never be an apostle” ( The Way , no. 631). This reflection from Fr. Peter Armenio offers three practical considerations in a...

As we look forward to the New Year and seek opportunities to begin again, we are pleased to begin a new podcast series reflecting on St. Josemaria’s homily The Richness of Ordinary Life, in which St. Josemaria puts before us the goal of personal sanctity and reminds us that the path of holiness lies in the little things of ordinary life. In this podcast, Fr. Leo Agustina draws inspiration from the...

In this podcast, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the Holy Family as the foundation and model of the love of Christ. We are reminded of the greatest event in history – God becoming human, becoming part of this universe. God came into this world through a family, spending the majority of his life in his home in Nazareth. It is through the hidden life of christ that we come to understand the great comm...

In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on the Annunciation of the Lord, as told in the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and invites us to contemplate and imitate Mary’s listening heart. Our expectation, preparation, and contemplation are heightened during these final days of Advent– this is true both as we prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas and as we prepare to receive...

In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on St. John the Baptist to show how, like the saint, we can become active listeners of the Word in our hearts. In particular, this talk aims to persuade you to embrace a lifestyle where there is room for meditation on Sacred Scripture and spiritual reading, such as the lives of the saints and spiritual classics, that can help us grow in our interio...

As we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, marking the halfway point of the Advent season, we are prompted to approach the manger scene in haste as we seek to discover the good news of our Savior’s birth. In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo draws upon the birth of our Lord in a lowly manger to illustrate our brokenness and need of a Redeemer. He explains the three kinds of concupiscence – lust of the fl...

St. Josemaria Escriva made many pilgrimages throughout his lifetime seeking opportunities to encounter God and praying for his conversion and of the whole world. Today’s podcast commemorates the 50th Anniversary of St. Josemaria Escriva’s pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City from May 15-24, 1970. His pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on the Hill of...

Fr. Javier del Castillo continues our Advent podcast series reflecting on the call we receive at baptism to become a saint. In looking at the vocation of the twelve apostles, we see Christ choose ordinary men with defects and shortcomings to be instruments in the work of grace. Fr. Javier reminds us that the Lord works in all people through the grace of the Holy Spirit. Though we may notice our ow...

In this podcast, Msgr. Fred Dolan looks to the example of the Holy Family as a model of living out authentic virtue in every area of our lives. He reflects on the importance of being a witness to the love of Christ and shares practical examples of how we can create an environment at home that strengthens children in the fundamental areas of virtue: authentic piety, the use of technology, the need...

Are you ready to open your heart to Jesus this Advent? Fr. Javier del Castillo begins our Advent podcast series reflecting on St. Josemaria’s simple instruction for a fruitful and peaceful Advent: “Open your own hearts to Jesus and tell him your story” (Christ is Passing By, no. 1). To understand how Christ enters into the lives of His people, Fr. Javier reflects on key gospel figures whose encoun...

As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in the United States, Fr. Javier del Castillo reminds us in this meditation, as St. Josemaria Escriva often did, that we ought to thank God always by habitually making frequent acts of thanksgiving, acts of gratitude. Fr. Javier explains: "We were never asked by God to come into existence. Everything we have – our talents, our virtues, even our defects – all h...

The Solemnity of Christ the King 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...