St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

In this meditation, Fr. Leo Austin draws upon lessons from Scripture as he encourages us to pray for the grace to take better advantage of difficulties and darkness in order to develop a deeper interior life. This movement from discouragement to hope occurs especially in the faculty of our memory, when we process our own reactions in our personal conversation with God. 
As St. Josemaria wrote in The Forge, no.158: "When our vision is clouded, when our eyes have lost their clarity, we need to go to the light. And Jesus Christ has told us that he is the Light of the world and that he has come to heal the sick.—That is why your weaknesses and your falls — when God allows them—should not separate you from Christ, but rather draw you closer to him!" 
PAUSE AND REFLECT: 
How did I react in a past moment of difficulty or darkness? How could I turn more quickly to Christ's light next time? 
How do I use my memory in my conversations with God, to pass my past reactions through the heart of Christ so that he can purify me? 
Do I feel spiritually stuck in any way–in my social life or professional life, or by facing my limitations–and how could I instead take this as an opportunity for growth? 
Do I hear myself when I voice discouragement? How can I also hear, perhaps in louder volume, the voice of Jesus Christ telling me to lean more on His grace? 
What are the “false shelters” under which I tend to hide? 
 
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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In this meditation, Fr. Peter Armenio brings to life several stories from the life of St. Josemaria, including the footprints in the snow that helped him recognize his vocation and the founding of Opus Dei on October 2, 1928. Fr. Peter helps us consider the importance of being a contemplative soul in the midst of our occupation so that we can bear witness to the love of Christ in all we say and do. 
PAUSE & REFLECT: 
Could I become a more ready apostolic instrument for the Holy Spirit to spread the blaze of Jesus Christ in and through my life? 
Am I at risk of becoming worldly, and if so, what am I going to do about becoming a more contemplative soul? 
What if I were to entrust myself and my resolutions from this time of prayer to my guardian angel? 

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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In this meditation, we invite you to pray alongside Msgr. Martin Schlag and, following the advice of St. Josemaria, repeat his heartfelt petitions to Mary under the invocation of Our Lady of Sorrows. 
By contemplating Mary's heart, we can learn to: 
let God strengthen my faith when I find myself at the foot of the Cross; 
pronounce a 'fiat' to God when He is asking something of me that's not what I want; 
stand loyally by the side of Christ when I feel lonely, abandoned, or just plain tired. 
Speaking about the heart of Mary, Msgr. Schlag leads us in meditation on Scripture, through a personal examination, and into contemplation by speaking directly to our Blessed Mother. 
He explains: "The sword pierces a heart that loves Jesus, and in Jesus, loves all of us. So, Saint Josemaria goes so far as to connect Mary's sorrow with these words of Jesus: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” 
Mary's suffering is not pointless or sterile. She suffers with Christ and for souls—for us—and is united with the redemptive love of her Son. 
PAUSE & REFLECT: 
How do I receive suffering? Am I afraid of pain? 
What barriers in my life prevent me from accepting the cross with faith? 
How can my suffering lead me into to a deeper love of God? 
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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In this meditation, Fr. Marty Miller draws out lessons about becoming contemplatives in the middle of the world by looking at our similarities to the lives of the Apostles. Their active lifestyles highlight three key elements for us to maintain a contemplative spirit amid our everyday duties: 
1) our love for creation can grow to extend to the stark realities of modern life; 
2) our willingness to struggle can get us through the tough spots of the road if we take them as reminders of the importance of the contemplative spirit; 
3) our constant connection with Our Lord, that He himself maintains, can keep us oriented towards Him no matter what. 
 The saintly Apostles were not monks; rather their ministry demanded that they support themselves with work. And, the lives of so many saints show us that contemplation is compatible with facing great challenges.  For us, too, the realities of our lives in the middle of the world should be content for our dialogue with God.  In this way, we can trust that He has placed us in this world, with our life's challenges, for a reason, and the reason is always our sanctification. 
PAUSE & REFLECT: 
Have I become cynical about some aspect of contemporary life? If so, how could I lean more on God, to allow him to heal me? 
How could the lives of the saints, of a particular saint perhaps, help me to put my troubles in perspective and to realize that God is always by my side? 
What is going on in my life right now that could and should be content for my next conversation with God? 
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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In this meditation, Fr. Eric Nicolai leads our imaginations from Sacred Scripture to the lakeside of eastern Ontario to the university campus where St. Josemaria famously proclaimed:  "[God] waits for us every day, in the laboratory, in the operating theatre, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home and in all the immense panorama of work. Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it." (Passionately Loving the World, no. 114) 
Although St. Josemaria delivered that homily in 1967, the words ring just as true for us today, at the start of this new academic year.  In this timely meditation, Fr. Eric prompts us to take on our apostolic mission with as much enthusiasm as St. Josemaria. 
He explains: "Let us feel ourselves now to be on a mission this year, to truly be protagonists in bringing the love of God wherever we are. And the university campus, the university buildings, they certainly need the love of God, the joy of being servants of God. The world needs all that love that we put into our studies... The apostolate that we will engage in as we meet people that maybe are distant from God and that maybe haven't had the grace to receive the formation, the knowledge of the faith that we have." 
 
PAUSE & REFLECT:  
What repeated tasks, such as turning on a computer or making my bed, can remind me to say short little prayers to God? 
Do I see my desk as an altar upon which to offer my work to God, in union with the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus? 
What might help me to maintain–or regain–my enthusiasm for my studies and work? 
Am I entrusting myself to the Holy Spirit, so that God can reach others through my friendships this year? 
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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