St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Leo Austin focuses on living the present moment with meaning and gratitude, recognizing our time and talents as gifts from God. Fr. Leo reflects on the parable of the talents, emphasizing that God entrusts each of us with unique gifts and opportunities, allowing us to participate in his creation. Our life and time are opportunities to give what we have received b...

In our meditation of the week , Fr. Fred Dolan reflects on how some of the most remarkable moments in the New Testament are those moments when one person or another came up to Jesus and begged him for a favor. And how Our Lord also waits for us to ask him for the favors that we desire, by approaching him with the same boldness and passion. Drawing on the life of St. Josemaria, particularly the wit...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and how she helps us to rise up to Heaven in our daily lives. For St. Josemaria, the Assumption or the Dormition of Our Lady played a vital role in his life as a young boy in Barbastro, Spain. St. Josemaria’s devotion to Our Lady became so great that he wished to “rise up” to Heaven with Ma...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio leads us to listen and reflect on the meaning of the Transfiguration of the Lord and how it should transform us today. The Transfiguration of Jesus encourages us in our commitment to discipleship. When we commit to protracted prayer - deep, silent, concentrated prayer - we can see God through our eyes of faith and deeds of love. The mystery of Our L...

St. Josemaria Escriva wrote that, “A very important characteristic of the apostolic man is his love for the Mass” ( The Way , no. 528). In this meditation, we listen and reflect on the Sacrifice of the Mass, the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and how it is the center and summit of our spiritual lives. Our belief in the Eucharistic Sacrifice comes from God. We don’t achieve that belief th...

In our meditation of the week, Fr. Leo Austin reflects on the gospel of St. Luke, particularly the scene of Jesus’ visit to Bethany. At Bethany, Our Lord was able to find refuge in his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Fr. Leo reminds us that similar to Bethany, Christ longs to take refuge in our heart, to find a place where he can rest as our friend. In this way, we are called to make our hearts...

In our meditation of the week:  Fr. Peter Armenio sheds light on the mystery of redemption and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the life of every saint—and here he draws upon personal encounters with John Paul II, Mother Teresa, and Alvaro del Portillo—there is an intimate connection with Christ and his Eucharistic sacrifice.  Through the Holy Mass, our work and sufferings can also take on an in...

In our meditation of the week: In this meditation, Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the importance of detachment in our spiritual lives in order to make a generous gift of ourselves to our Lord and to others.  He reminds us that while the comforts of this world can be good in themselves, they are ultimately fleeting.  Drawing upon the story of the Rich Young Man, Fr. Peter urges us to give all that w...

In our meditation of the week: in light of the Feast of St. Josemaria on June 26th, Fr. Peter Armenio invites us to reflect on St. Josemaria's legacy and his role as an "evangelical sacramental." The canonization of a saint is an infallible declaration that the person is an actual sacramental, an outward sign of Jesus Christ. Through canonization, the Church acknowledges that person...

In our meditation of the week, Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha reflects on how the saints are those who best radiate Jesus Christ in the world. It is through their humanity and personalities that we can see and touch the humanity and the personality of Jesus. The whole gamut of human experience-- health, work, rest, marriage, friendship, joy, sorrow, humor-- everything can be full of Christ, can radiate Chri...

In our meditation of the week, in preparation for Father's Day, Msgr. Fred Dolan shares a reflection on the important and necessary role fathers have within the family unit and in society today. Drawing upon anecdotes and heartfelt memories from his relationship with his own father, Msgr. Dolan shares seven points that can help fathers renew and strengthen their relationship with their spouse...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha helps us to understand how God's immense love is revealed to us in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart each year, we are reminded that the Sacred Heart is not just a profound symbol, but an invitation to experience the immense, tender, and life-giving love of Christ. Therefore, Fr. Donncha invite...

In this meditation, Fr. Peter Armenio helps us to pray and go deeper in our understanding and love for the Eucharist as we prepare for the feast of Corpus Christi. On Corpus Christi, it is a common practice in many Catholic churches to hold a Eucharistic procession following Mass. This procession is symbolic of our work as modern day apostles. We are each called to be a living monstrance, bringing...

In our meditation of the week, Fr. Peter Armenio explores the profound significance of the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in bringing Christ to others. Fr. Peter emphasizes how Mary, our mother and queen, is the shortcut to Jesus Christ. She's not just for comfort, but also a force against evil and for evangelization. In Scripture, she's our hope, revealed from Genesis to Revelation as...

 In our meditation of the week, Fr. Leo Austin contemplates the transformative experience of the Holy Spirit beginning at Pentecost and the command to go out into the world and transform it with the fire and love of our faith. Fr. Leo asks us to imagine the emotional and spiritual journey of the apostles, placing ourselves in their shoes, grappling with the profound implications of Jesus' dea...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Fred Dolan beautifully reflects on the period between Easter and the Ascension, transporting us to the Upper Room where Mary, the holy women, and the Apostles awaited the promised coming of the Paraclete. Through his insightful words, we envision their emotional journey from the despair of the Lord's apparent defeat to the elation of Easter Sunday and the mi...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio delves into Christ’s new commandment to love one another as he has loved us emphasizing the “vertical” and “horizontal” aspects of this commandment, likening it to the shape of a Cross. Fr. Peter also explains how strengthening our prayer life empowers us to live out this commandment and how embracing a life of piety serves as the foundation for our...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio delves into the profound significance of the Resurrection challenging the notion that the Christian’s life is one defined by suffering alone. Instead, Fr. Peter emphasizes how Jesus’ Resurrection offers us a beacon of hope, turning our focus from pain to the promise of transformation when we unite ourselves to the Cross. View Transcript Visit Show P...

In our meditation of the week:  Fr. Peter Armenio inspires our prayer this Easter season reminding us that the heart of our calling as Christians is to always be credible witnesses to the Resurrection by making the living Jesus real in the world. But how do make the Resurrection of Jesus credible today? If we're going to announce the Resurrection, like our early Christian brothers and sisters...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio offers a reflection on Easter-- the highest celebration of Our Lord's life and victory. But, we must never forget that we wouldn't have that victory without the Cross. To believe in the Resurrection, we have to believe in the power of the Cross. As Fr. Peter explains, every day is a good day to bring the Cross to our prayer and to meditate...

In this meditation for Easter Sunday: Fr. Javier del Castillo invites us to contemplate the Resurrection of Christ and how the Resurrection is an event that can only be accessed by people of faith who have had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Why is the Resurrection such a mysterious event that is not public, but is only accessed through a personal encounter with Our Lord? Because, as Fr. J...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Javier del Castillo explains the great lesson Jesus teaches us in the gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (John 12:20-33), which is that we have to die -- to self and in this world-- in order to really see who he is. From a Christian outlook, death is a passageway to eternal life where we get to see God, face to face, if we have lived according to the faith. Beca...

In our meditation of the week:  Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on the revolutionary teaching of St. Paul who preached that Our Lord who is rich in mercy will always forgive us (Ephesians 2:4-10). It is a message that is intended to make our hearts rejoice on this Fourth Sunday of Lent or Laetare Sunday . Salvation is a gift. God became man for this purpose, to have mercy on us. We don't for...

In our meditation of the week:  Fr. Javier del Castillo helps us to contemplate the Gospel of the Mass for the Third Sunday of Lent— Jesus cleansing the Temple (John 2:13-25). This is a rare moment in the Gospel when Jesus gets angry because the worship that was due to his Father was being mingled with human motives and was not worthy of his Father God. As Fr. Javier explains, when it comes to the...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Javier del Castillo helps us to contemplate the scene of the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, which we read in the Gospel of the Mass for the Second Sunday of Lent (Mark 9:2-10). Fr. Javier explains how Jesus took the Apostles up Mount Tabor to show them the full truth about himself, about his divinity, so that they could have hope in eternal life and rem...