[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff reflects on Blessed Mother Teresa whom he met in 1984 in Beruit, Lebanon. Msgr. Esseff worked alongside Blessed Mother Teresa in Calcutta, Lebanon, West Africa, Haiti and elsewhere and would go on to serve as a spiritual director and confessor for Mother Teresa and her sisters.  (The last few minutes of the reflection are particularly poignant)

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

[powerpress]

Msgr. Esseff reflects on Matthew chap 18 v 21-35.  He shares the stories of a woman named Immaculee from Rwanda and young girl named Maria from Lebanon and the damage done by the hatred which is manifested in the world.  We have a capacity for communion…24 hours every day, 7 days a week.  How does that look in the relationship found in marriage?  From childhood, there are deep wounds we carry from our parents…from siblings…or from others. What can cause those wounds?  The bitterness and resentment that we carry…the damage it does to us.  What is the remedy?  The joy of forgiveness…and forgetting.  Msgr. Esseff shares a poignant story of a man named John, and how he came to forgive what many would find “unforgivable”.

This is the prayer mentioned by Msgr. Esseff in the talk...click here

 

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website….”Building A Kingdom of Love”

In January 2012, Msgr. Esseff conducted a weekend retreat for the Deacons and Deacon-Candidates and their wives of the Diocese of Fargo.

[powerpress]

The subject is GRACE and the life of Jesus we receive in Baptism.  From Ephesians Chap 4 v 7 -16, Msgr. Esseff discusses what he calls “that most magnificent passage” which transforms us.   What made the transformation occur?  What is Original Sin? He reflects on the fall of our first parents and the broken relationship with God, and God’s gift of the Son.  The importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary…the first person to receive the revelation of the Trinity.  The tremendous moment of PENTECOST.  What is Sanctifying Grace?  What does it mean to have Jesus within us and what are we called to do?  How can we forgive, especially the deepest wounds?  Being like Jesus, we depend completely on the Father.  The lie of the “I can do anything” attitude.  The beauty of Galatians 2:20.  Ask God to help you discover your true self in Him.

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

 

In January 2012, Msgr. Esseff conducted a weekend retreat for the Deacons and Deacon-Candidates and their wives of the Diocese of Fargo.

[powerpress]

The subject is PRAYER.  From Luke Chap 11 v 1-13, Msgr. Esseff discusses how little we know how to pray and how to receive.  He reflects on the Blessed Virgin Mary’s teaching to St. Catherine Laboure about prayer.  Then he offers the proper movement of prayer:

1.  “Be there with Him and for Him”
2.  “You have to want Him”  Intensify the desire of relationship with God.
3.  “Listen to Him”

• A – Acknowledge (What’s going on in your heart)
• R – Relay that to God
  (Tell God – Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
  and the Blessed Virgin Mary – about that experience)
• R – Receive (What is God going to tell me about what I told Him)
• R – Respond

4.  “Let Him”  (Surrender to God)

What happens when we encounter the Holy Eucharist
What happens when we encounter the Living Word of God

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

 

In January 2012, Msgr. Esseff conducted a weekend retreat for the Deacons and Deacon-Candidates and their wives of  the Diocese of Fargo.

[powerpress]

On the evening of the start of the retreat, Msgr. Esseff gave a talk to prepare the hearts and minds of the participants. He explains the importance and value of SILENCE and listening to God. We may be doing too much talking to God and not enough listening. He provides the structure of the hours of prepare and scripture to reflect on and how to pray for the reception of a particular grace.

Msgr. Esseff offers Ephesians 3:14-20, in particular, for reflection. He will later in the talk, give specific scripture for reflection for the hours of prayer.  He discusses our specific calling…from baptism to marriage, the diaconate…what is our identity as Christian.

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

[powerpress]  Msgr. Esseff not only laments the horror of the massacre of the Holy Innocents in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, but the tragedy of the continued holocaust of children within their mother’s womb that occurs today.  He reflects on the passage from Revelation which recounts the hatred the devil has for the womb of the woman:  The enemy HATES life.  Msgr. Esseff reminds us of the VICTORY of Christ and discusses the forgiveness and hope found with God.  He shares the stories of two seperate women named Maria, both of whom touched his life and who can help show us the way.

[powerpress]  Msgr. Esseff, on his patronal feast day, discusses St. John the Evangelist.  He recalls the message found in the Gospel of St. John, his letters, and stories from St. Polycarp.  Msgr. Esseff discusses the relationship of Our Lady with John, and the gift Jesus made of her to John and to us all.  He also shares how deeply the Sacred Heart is found in the teachings of St. John.

[powerpress] Msgr. Esseff reflects on the feast of St. Stephen the Martyr, the massacre in Nigeria at Christmas services, and his experiences in Lebanon. The story he shares is particularly poignant and compelling. He shares what we are called to do for Christ and what the future holds. He discusses how important the devotion to the Sacred Heart is for us personally and for the world.

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff shares some of his challenges, and yet, through it all God has been his strength. Allow God to gaze upon you. Ask the Father when He has found delight in you. Rest with that. He shares a story of when he was a young boy, 10 cents, and the meaning of Christmas.

 

 

 

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

[powerpress] Msgr. Esseff discusses the great love the Blessed Virgin Mary has for all of us. He shares his personal experiences with the Blessed Mother and a special encounter with her love, especially through the gift of her Son. He encourages us to remember that we are never alone.

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff reflects on Mary’s “yes” to the Archangel Gabriel. He also talks about the violent events in Egypt, Syria and other parts of the Middle East, as well as the tragedy of the typhoon in the Philippines. He shares his personal experience of being in Peru during the May 1970 earthquake, and how God taught him a very important lesson about how God brings about a greater good.

Msgr. Esseff also talks about the importance of doing God’s will…to love in Truth. How do we know what is authentic love? And he offers a teaching on the angels, in particular, the Guardian Angels.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website:  Building A Kingdom of Love

[powerpress] Msgr. Esseff reflects on his experiences following surgery and the need for surrender. He discusses the incarnation and it’s magnificence, and how the story hasn’t been totally told. The dangers in “self-reliance” and the gift of humility. Our need to control, especially for men. What is the remedy? Look to Mary for your answer. God wants you to be dependent on Him.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website: Building A Kingdom of Love

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff spoke at a recent conference which was held in PA. in November 2011. In the 3rd talk he speaks about sinfulness.   Our mistaken notions and what we should know. What are the traps, what will free us. How confession can bring us into right order.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website:  Building A Kingdom of Love

[powerpress]

Msgr. Esseff spoke at a recent conference which was held in PA. in November 2011. In the 2nd talk he speaks of our true relationship with the Father in Heaven, the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the 3 levels of the heart and the place of Jesus in our lives.

Be sure to visit “Building a Kingdom of Love”

[powerpress]