St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

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...

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...

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 certai...

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...

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. Josemar...

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 Euc...

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...

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 persona...

“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 holines...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ] THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! If you enjoy our weekly meditations, please consider helping us keep the St. Josemaria Institute Podcas...

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 co...

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 ] THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! If you enjoy our weekly meditations, please consider helping us keep the St. Josemaria Institute Podcas...

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 ] THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! If you enjoy our weekly meditations, please consider helping us keep the St. Josemaria Institute Podcas...

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 relationsh...

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 ] THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! If you enjoy our weekly meditations, please consider helping us keep the St. Josemaria Institute Podcas...

In this podcast, Msgr. Dolan shares a reflection on the importance of silence as exemplified in the passage of the Transfiguration of Christ. This Scripture passage reminds us of a popular verse from the book of Psalms, “be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:11). The disciples who witnessed the transfiguration embraced the silence; they did not tell anyone what they had seen. They understood tha...

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 ] THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! If you enjoy our weekly meditations, please consider helping us keep the St. Josemaria Institute Podcas...

In this podcast, we reflect on the virtue of fortitude as the motivation to overcome temptation. St. Josemaria Escriva tells us that “a task which presents no difficulties lacks human appeal - and supernatural appeal too. If you find no resistance when hammering a nail into a wall, what can you expect to hang on it?” ( The Forge , no. 245). In order to win the prize, you cannot dodge the fight tha...

In this podcast, we reflect on self-denial as a way to increase our faith and relationship with Christ. If we are to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Self-denial allows us a certain freedom in which we can live out the Gospel message. The goal of becoming a saint takes a serious commitment, one of prayer and Eucharistic piety. We cannot let laziness get the best o...

As we prepare for the upcoming season of Lent, in this podcast we turn our attention to the life of Saint Paul. Paul, who once led the persecution of the early Christian church, had a profound conversion after encountering the love of Christ and in turn, began to lead the spread of the Christian faith. Paul shows us that we evangelize by giving others a similar experience to what we had when we fi...

In this podcast, we reflect on the greatest gift of all: charity. Charity is the foundation for all virtues, for if a virtue does not come from a place of love, then it is for nothing. Saint Paul shares in his letter to the Corinthians that “if [we] speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, [we] are a resounding gong or a clashing symbol. Likewise, if [we] have a faith so as to move...