Episode 5 “What am I to do?” The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions w/Fr. Timothy Gallagher

This episode offers a continuing look at the importance of the disposition of heart and the means which help us to be open to God’s will.  Then Fr. Gallagher begins the opening conversation on the vocation God may be calling us to.

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Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.

For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit  his  website:   frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

Episode 3  “What am I to do?” The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions w/Fr. Timothy Gallagher.

This episode offers a look at the importance of the “foundation” of our discernment.

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Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.

For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit  his  website:   frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

Episode 1  “What am I to do?” The Discernment of God’s Will in Everyday Decisions w/Fr. Timothy Gallagher.

This episode offers an overall introduction of the series by offering examples, both big and small, and the overall tools that will be used to come to the discernment of God’s will in various situations.  In particular, what do we do when deciding between “a morally good option and another apparently good option”?
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Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.

For more information on how to obtain copies of Fr. Gallaghers’s various books and audio which are available for purchase, please visit  his  website:   frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

It was with the greatest delight that I had the opportunity to meet Dan Burke at the recent Catholic Marketing Trade Show, held in Dallas, TX.  Dan is the incredibly gifted founder of “Catholic Spiritual Direction“, a fantastic website, where I have received a great deal of insight and inspiration.  To read his work on the site is a wonderful thing, but to talk with Dan and hear him share the beauty of our Catholic Spiritual Tradition is pure gift.  He really gets it!  More than just the “how-to’s”, Dan understands the “why” of  prayer and discernment and he communicates it beautifully.  He appreciates what our hearts ache for; he shares with us that it begins and ends with an encounter with Jesus…the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Dan Burke launched out on the “digital sea” long before many others in order to bring to those who were seeking the richness of authentic Catholic Spiritual Direction …and for that blessing we have much to thank him for.

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And here’s great news…Dan has a new book coming from Emmaus Road Publishing
(get your orders in now!)

You can find Dan’s book here 

Calling All Catholics Into A Deeper Union …

“Most of us have questions about spiritual direction. What is it? Is it for me? What if I can’t find a spiritual director? These questions and more are well answered in Dan Burke’s book. The Lord is clearly calling all Catholics into a deeper union with him. This book, in a style which is both inspiring and practical, provides some of the Church’s most important wisdom about how to respond to this call.”

Ralph Martin

[powerpress] I had the opportunity to speak with Msgr. Esseff, who  is conducting a spiritual retreat for the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity in Sydney, Australia.  He shares with us the teachings from the first day, which is on the principal and foundation of prayer as taught by St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Msgr. Esseff begins by reflecting on the Awe of God and the difference between “being” and “becoming”.  He shares a special memory of an experience that helped him to understand this which occurred when he was a young boy on his grandfather’s farm.  Many years later, he would learn this was a basic teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas on the nature of God and creation.  God is being and creation (including man) is becoming.

With that foundation, Msgr. Esseff proceeds to teach us that all of our are becoming therefore because mankind has a soul and has the capacity for reflection, we have the power to glorify God.  That is the first call we have, to glorify God.  To often we focus on our selves and what serves our needs.  St. Ignatius would say, that instead when faced with a decision or direction, each human being is called to discern, to ask whether if this is what God wants or is this is what I want.  The key is to take ask the Father “What do you want us to do?”  This is discernment at its basic level.

 

 

To obtain a copy of Msgr. Esseff’s book byvisiting here

 

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building a Kingdom of  Love”

 

Episode 8 The Daily Prayer of Discernment: The Ignatian Wisdom of the Examen Prayer with Fr. Timothy Gallagher.
Fr. Gallagher, in this concluding episode, reviews the different dimensions of the Examen prayer and applications for our lives.  

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As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J.  1909 in the public domain)

METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.
Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.
Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.

OUR FATHER.

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.  For more information on books and audio available for purchase from Fr. Timothy Gallagher check out his website: www.frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out
Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

Episode 7 The Daily Prayer of Discernment: The Ignatian Wisdom of the Examen Prayer with Fr. Timothy Gallagher.
Fr. Gallagher continues to discuss the  the fifth step – RENEWAL – which is how we move forward after our encounter with God in our prayer.

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As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J.  1909 in the public domain)

METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.
Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.
Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.

OUR FATHER.

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.  For more information on books and audio available for purchase from Fr. Timothy Gallagher check out his website: www.frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out
Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

Episode 6 The Daily Prayer of Discernment: The Ignatian Wisdom of the Examen Prayer with Fr. Timothy Gallagher.
Fr. Gallagher continues to discuss the fourth step –  FORGIVENESS.  Then we approach the fifth step – RENEWAL – which is how we move forward after our encounter with God in our prayer.

[powerpress]

As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J.  1909 in the public domain)

METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.
Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.
Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.

OUR FATHER.

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.  For more information on books and audio available for purchase from Fr. Timothy Gallagher check out his website: www.frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out
Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

Episode 3 The Daily Prayer of Discernment: The Ignatian Wisdom of the Examen Prayer with Fr. Timothy Gallagher.
 The conversation continues on the subject of the first step in the Examen – GRATITUDE.   Why?  Because first, above all things, God is love.  So at the start of the prayer, we should recall the gift of love God has blessed us with that day and give Him thanks and praise….and be concrete.  Fr. Gallagher offers examples of what that could look like.  Then the conversation begins on the next step – PETITION.  Asking God to show you what see clearly the spiritual realities of that day.  

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As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J.  1909 in the public domain)

METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.
Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.
Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.

OUR FATHER.

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.  For more information on books and audio available for purchase from Fr. Timothy Gallagher check out his website: www.frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out
Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

Episode 2 The Daily Prayer of Discernment: The Ignatian Wisdom of the Examen Prayer with Fr. Timothy Gallagher.   The First Step in the Examen Prayer:  Gratitude.  Taking time out of the day when our hearts are free to receive the Lord’s presence.  Prayer always takes two persons in relationship…ourselves and God.  Then together with the Lord, we see what the gifts of love God has poured out upon us.  The key in this first step, is not to look for our missteps (that may come later), but to look for the gifts and give thanks.

[powerpress]

As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J.  1909 in the public domain)

METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.
Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.
Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.

OUR FATHER.

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.  For more information on books and audio available for purchase from Fr. Timothy Gallagher check out his website: www.frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out
Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

Episode 1 The Daily Prayer of Discernment: The Ignatian Wisdom of the Examen Prayer with Fr. Timothy Gallagher – Serves as an introduction to the coming series and the Examen Prayer.  

Can we live with our spiritual eyes open to catch the action of God?  The Examen Prayer is the one prayer St. Ignatius could not imagine doing without.   You can’t stand still in the spiritual life if you are praying the Examen Prayer.   

[powerpress]

As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J.  1909 in the public domain)

METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.

First Point. The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received.
Second Point. The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out.
Third Point. The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen.
Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults.
Fifth Point. The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.

OUR FATHER.

Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life:  The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.  For more information on books and audio available for purchase from Fr. Timothy Gallagher check out his website: www.frtimothygallagher.org

 

For the other episodes in this series check out
Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

 

“Surrender! The Life Changing Power of Doing God’s Will” is another outstanding offering from Fr. Larry Richards!  From start to finish Fr. Larry  challenges us to place Jesus Christ first  in our lives and in our relationships with others and the world.  Once we can do that, things begin to fall in place.  Then he helps us to recognize the difference between God’s will and our will, and to trust that His will be better for us if we trust, love and….SURRENDER!

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Fr. Larry Richards is an engaging writer, who never fails to keep us hooked through the entire book.  This will be one of those books that you want to purchase at least two copies, because you’ll want to pass it on to another, and you’ll want to keep one for yourself for years to come.

 

You can find the book here

 

 

 

Also check out Fr. Larry’s other Discerning Hearts interview
for his book “Be A Man!”

Special 6 – Interior Silence

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Interior Silence, in particular in the liturgy, is reflected upon by Deacon Keating.   He leads a meditation during a prayer service with priests, on the letter “Spiritual Formation in the Seminaries”  which calls for spiritual silence to be at the core of seminary formation.  Priests are called to be teachers of prayer and directors of spirituality.  Why silence is so vitally important and what are the blocks  to prevent it…the cynicism that reacts to the ideal. The role of discernment and diminishing interference.  If priests have trouble with this, imagine the challenge for the laity.

Deacon Keating is the Director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University.

Click here for more Deacon James Keating

 

EWTN Global Catholic Television Network: EWTN Live – Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ – Fr. David J. Simonetti – The Benefits of Spiritual Direction

Fr. Simonetti spoke on the topic of Spiritual Direction on EWTN last night, and spoke for a few minutes about his time with IPF’s Spiritual Direction Training Program

Is Jesus Calling? A Spiritual Guide to Discerning Your Vocational Call with Fr. Paul Hoesing – episode 7: It’s all about relationship.  What to do now.

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1. Go to Mass, if possible, daily Mass
2. The sacrament of confession
3. Daily Prayer
4.  Talk to a priest
5.  Read the Gospels
6.  Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
7.  Eucharistic adoration
8.  Live a life of virtue
9.  Spiritual reading
10.  Hang around good people

 

Based on “Is Jesus Calling You To Be A Catholic Priest: A helpful guide”, published by National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Director.

Fr. Paul Hoesing serves as the Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Omaha, NE.
Check out “For Your Vocation.org“