Heart of the Ark - Episodes Tagged with “Beauty”

Episode 103: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 47 - In Communion of Service

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 18:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis ends Dilexit Nos with a final word about the importance of mission as the visible embodiment of our response to the relationship with God. Mission cannot be accomplished apart from God's love, and a Christian can not live God's love without loving his neighbor. Pope Francis final prayer for the love of Christ to be known through the work of every Christian active in his or her own vocation, is the universal task that we are born into at our baptism. Chapter 5 Paragraphs 212-220

Each session of Dilexit Nos in a Year begins by breaking open the scriptures and topics covered in order to outline the themes of Pope Francis, and frame our conversations for the weekly discussion for the year ahead. For the next 50 weeks, we will work through four to five paragraphs reading of the text of Dilexit Nos, with opening prayer, and short reflection based upon the paragraphs covered and the prayerful discussions of the questions to ponder together as we reflect on the work of spiritual and communal formation and mission in this Jubilee Year of Hope.

Prayer

Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, embrace my heart.
Fire of the Heart of Jesus, inflame my heart.
Charity of the Heart of Jesus, fill my heart.
Strength of the Heart of Jesus, sustain my heart.
Mercy of the Heart of Jesus, pardon my heart.
Patience of the Heart of Jesus, do not forsake my heart.
Reign of the Heart of Jesus, establish Yourself in my heart.
Wisdom of the Heart of Jesus, teach my heart.
Will of the Heart of Jesus, guide my heart.
Zeal of the Heart of Jesus consume my heart.
Jesus, make our hearts more like your own.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 212-220

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 102: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 46 - Bringing Love to the World

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0500

"Mission, as a radiation of the love of the heart of Christ, requires missionaries who are themselves in love and who, enthralled by Christ, feel bound to share this love that has changed their lives." Pope Francis examines the innate connection between discipleship and missionary outpouring, as a desire to unite oneself with the pattern of self-donation, Jesus Christ. He elucidates the character of evangelization by recognizing the attractiveness, and invitation to marvel at love. Chapter 5, pp 205-211

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 205 - 211

Letter of St. Pope John Paul II - On 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII conscration to the Sacred Heart

Meditation of St. Bonaventure
A reflection on the Sacred Heart from St Bonaventure
Take thought now, redeemed one, and consider how great and worthy is he who hangs
on the cross for you. His death brings the dead to life, but at his passing heaven and
earth are plunged into mourning and hard rocks are split asunder.
It was a divine decree that permitted one of the soldiers to open his sacred side with a
lance. This was done so that the Church might be formed from the side of Christ as he
slept the sleep of death on the cross, and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled: 'They
shall look on him whom they pierced'. The blood and water which poured out at that
moment were the price of our salvation. Flowing from the secret abyss of our Lord's
heart as from a fountain, this stream gave the sacraments of the Church the power to
confer the life of grace, while for those already living in Christ it became a spring of living
water welling up to life everlasting.
Arise, then, beloved of Christ! Imitate the dove 'that nests in a hole in the cliff', keeping
watch at the entrance 'like the sparrow that finds a home'. There like the turtledove hide
your little ones, the fruit of your chaste love. Press your lips to the fountain, 'draw water
from the wells of your Saviour; for this is the spring flowing out of the middle of paradise,
dividing into four rivers', inundating devout hearts, watering the whole earth and making
it fertile.
Run with eager desire to this source of life and light, all you who are vowed to God's
service. Come, whoever you may be, and cry out to him with all the strength of your
heart. "O indescribable beauty of the most high God and purest radiance of eternal light!
Life that gives all life, light that is the source of every other light, preserving in
everlasting splendour the myriad flames that have shone before the throne of your
divinity from the dawn of time! Eternal and inaccessible fountain, clear and sweet stream
flowing from a hidden spring, unseen by mortal eye! None can fathom your depths nor
survey your boundaries, none can measure your breadth, nothing can sully your purity.
From you flows 'the river which gladdens the city of God' and makes us cry out with joy
and thanksgiving in hymns of praise to you, for we know by our own experience that
'with you is the source of life, and in your light we see light’.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 101: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 45 - Integrity and Harmony

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

In his concluding paragraphs, Pope Francis draws us back to the catechesis of St. Pope John Paul II, and gives a natural recapitulation of the major themes of this document. Through the five statements of Pope St. John Paul the Great, we see that the plan of salvation, to unite the human heart to the love of the Father is through the Sacred heart of Jesus and the action of the Holy Spirit. Our natural pattern for our hearts, in union with His heart is one of meekness, and lowliness... that we may imitate the true pattern of Love perfectly given through Jesus Christ. Chapter 5, paragraphs 200-204.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 200 - 204

Catechesis at the General Assembly - 20 June 1979

Litany of the Sacred Heart - from EWTN
THE LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART
Presider People Respond:
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, Victim for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in You,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in Whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of Whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke You,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,
Lamb of God, You who take away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You who take away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, You who take away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart. R. Make our hearts like Yours.
Let us pray Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Your most beloved Son and upon the
praises and satisfaction which He offers You in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Your
mercy do You of Your great goodness grant forgiveness in the Name of the same Jesus Christ, Your
Son, Who with You lives and reigns world without end. Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 100: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 44 -An Oblation to Love

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis clarifies the concept of reparation through the spirituality of St. Therese of Liseux's Oblation to love. Therese became a martyr for love, without risking the spiritual dangers of taking on further punishments for any other reason than love. In order to make certain that our interior life is rightly ordered in its purpose. Jen draws parallels in this from the spiritual handbook "Practice of the Presence of God" to clarify the importance for emptiness, and allowing oneself to offer personal sufferings to God. Chapter 5, paragraphs 195-199

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 195 - 199

An Oblation to Love - Carmelite Spirituality

The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence

Monthly Prayer from Pope Leo XIV - January 2026 -
For Prayer with the Word of God

O Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart that I may hear your Word,
and understand and do your will, for I am a sojourner upon the Earth.
Hide not your commandments from me, but open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of your Law.
Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of your wisdom.

On you do I set my hope, O my God, that you shall enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of your knowledge; not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; For you are the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from you comes every good deed and every gift.

Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 99: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 43 - Reparation: An Extension of the Heart of Christ

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 13:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis brings all of his prophetic and theological writings to the fore as he draws from the Catechism, the Conciliar Documents and Ignatian Spirituality to summarize the true freedom of living out the will of God in one's own personal life. It is only through the inner contemplative life in practice that a missionary action can be truly said to work out the will of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 5, paragraphs 191-195.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 191 - 195

Laudato Si - Pope Francis Encyclical on Care for our Common Home

Karl Rahner, SJ - The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola

God of My Life - Karl Rahner, SJ -

Prayer of Karl Rahner, SJ

God of my life, only in love can I find You, my God.
In love, the gates of my soul spring open, allowing me to breathe a new air of freedom and forget my own petty self.
In love, my whole being streams forth out of the rigid confines of narrowness and anxious self-assertion, which makes me a prisoner of my own poverty and emptiness.
In love, all the powers of my soul flow out toward You, wanting never more to return, but to lose themselves completely in You, since by Your love, You are the inmost center of my heart, closer to me than I am to myself.
But when I love You, when I manage to break out of the narrow circle of self and leave behind the restless agony of unanswered questions, when my blinded eyes no longer look merely from afar and from the outside upon your unapproacheable brightness, and much more when You Yourself, O Incomprehensible One, have become through love the inmost center of my life, then I can bury myself entirely in You, O mysterious God, and with myself all my questions.
Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 98: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 42 - Mending Broken Hearts

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis defines Chrisitian reparation as the "acknowledging the intention to make amends, and to do so in a concrete way, is essential for the process of reconciliation and a return to peace of heart". He outlines the two essentials for reparation, acknowledging our guilt, and asking for forgiveness.
Chapter 5, Paragraphs 185-190

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 185 - 190

Address of Pope Francis to the participants in "RÉPARER L'IRRÉPARABLE"

The Third Sorrowful Mystery - Crown of Thorns

Catechism of the Catholic Church - The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation

Stay with me, lord Padre Pio’s prayer after holy communion
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have
You present so that I do not forget You.
You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak
and I need Your strength,
that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life,
and without You, I am without fervor.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light,
and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice
and follow You.

Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You
very much, and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.

Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is,
I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love.

Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late and the day is coming to a close, and life passes;
death, judgment, eternity approaches. It is necessary to renew my strength,
so that I will not stop along the way and for that, I need You.
It is getting late and death approaches,
I fear the darkness, the temptations, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.
O how I need You, my Jesus, in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus, in life with all its dangers. I need You.

Let me recognize You as Your disciples did at the breaking of the bread,
so that the Eucharistic Communion be the Light which disperses the darkness,
the force which sustains me, the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me, Lord, because at the hour of my death, I want to remain united to You,
if not by communion, at least by grace and love.

Stay with me, Jesus, I do not ask for divine consolation, because I do not merit it,
but the gift of Your Presence, oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord, for it is You alone I look for, Your Love, Your Grace, Your Will, Your Heart,
Your Spirit, because I love You and ask no other reward but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You with all my heart while on earth
and continue to love You perfectly during all eternity.
Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 97: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 41 - Reparation - Building on the Ruins

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis explores the visionary insight of Pope St. John Paul II in his recognition that the only way to build a "civilization of love" is through Gospel based understanding of reparation through a true devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Francis's own understanding of how to communicate authentic reparation in a secular context this Gospel of Love in order to effect the possibility of more freedom and justice to society is through interior relationship and moral authority grounded in the Heart of Jesus, pierced while He was nailed to the cross, which pours out grace and mercy. Chapter 5, Paragraphs 181-184

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 181 - 184

Centesimus Annus of John Paul II, 1991 - 100 years of Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII

General Audience of 8 June 1994 - John Paul II on Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Civilization of Love

Pope Francis General Audience of Young People of Canada - 29 July 2022

Consecration of India to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - Pope St. John Paul II - 1986

Lord Jesus Christ,
Redeemer of the human race,
to your most Sacred Heart
we turn with humility and trust,
with reverence and hope,
with a deep desire to give to you
glory and honour and praise.

Lord Jesus Christ,
Saviour of the world,
we thank you for all that you are
and all that you do for the little flock
(and all the twelve million people
living in this Archdiocese of Delhi,
which includes those entrusted
with the stewardship of this nation.)

Lord Jesus Christ,
Son of the Living God,
we praise you for the love
that you have revealed
through your Sacred Heart,
which was pierced for us
and which has become the fountain
of our joy, the source of our eternal life.

Gathered together in your Name,
which is above all other names,
we consecrate ourselves to your most Sacred Heart,
in which dwells the fullness of truth and charity.

In consecrating themselves to you,
the faithful renew their desire
to respond in love
to the rich outpouring of your merciful love.

Lord Jesus Christ,
King of love and Prince of peace,
reign in our hearts and in our homes.

Conquer all the powers of evil
and bring us to share in the victory of your Sacred Heart.

May all we say and do give glory
and praise to you and to the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God living and reigning for ever and ever.
Amen.

(Said on the occasion of a trip to India, in 1986)

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 96: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 40 - Fraternity and Mysticism

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis sketches the ripples of devotion to the Sacred Heart through the eyes of five French men religious with deep theological underpinnings who either inspired, reformed or began movements within the church to minister to the poorest through fraternity, solidarity and accompaniment of the poor and marginalized throughout history. Chapter 5 Paragraphs 177-180

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 177 - 180

The Life and Thought of Charles de Foucauld thesis by A. Patey

A quote by Abbot Henri Huevelin - If you meet someone who is searching, don’t preach a sermon at him, just show him you love him.

Pope's Prayer Intention for November 2025 - Lord Jesus,
You who invite the weary and burdened
to come to You and rest in Your Heart,
we ask You this month for all the people
who live in darkness and despair,
especially for those struggling
with suicidal thoughts.

May they always find a community
that welcomes them, listens to them, and accompanies them.
Give all of us an attentive and compassionate heart,
capable of offering comfort and support,
also with the necessary professional help.

May we know how to be close with respect and tenderness,
helping to heal wounds, build bonds, and open horizons.
Together may we rediscover that life is a gift,
that there is still beauty and meaning,
even in the midst of pain and suffering.
We are well aware that those who follow You
are also vulnerable to sadness without hope.

We ask You to always make us feel Your love
so that, through Your closeness to us,
we can recognize and proclaim to all the infinite love of the Father
who leads us by the hand to renew our trust in the life You give us.

Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 95: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 39 - Being a fountain from which others can drink

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 13:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis traces the work of the Holy Spirit, pouring forth from the Sacred Heart of Jesus can be received in the heart of the believer as a river, or fountain that pours from His Love to our hearts, and by our goodness out through the entire human family. From the early church fathers, Pope Francis traces the spirituality of the Christian disciple as a fountain of living water. Paragraphs 172-176

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 5, Paragraphs 172 to 176

Saint Ambrose: Holy Spirit, River of Grace from EWTN article

Saint Ambrose's letter to St. Ireneus refrenced in this section

Prayer of St. Ambrose hosted by Ascension
O loving Lord Jesus Christ,
I, a sinner, not presuming on my own merits,
but trusting in Your mercy and goodness,
with fear and awe approach the table of Your most sacred banquet.
For I have stained both my heart and body with many sins,
and have not kept a strict guard over my mind and tongue.
Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful majesty, I, a wretched creature,
entangled in difficulties, have recourse to You, the fount of mercy;
to You I fly for healing and take refuge under Your protection,
and I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior whom I am unable to face as my Judge.
To You, Lord, I show my wounds, to You I lay bare my shame.
I know that my sins are many and great and on their account I am filled with fear.
But I trust in Your mercy, which is endless.
Look down on me, therefore, with the eyes of mercy, Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King,
God and Man, crucified for men. Hear me, for my hope is in You;
have mercy on me, for I am full of sin and wretchedness,
You who never cease to let flow the fountain of mercy.
Hail Victim of Salvation, offered for me and for all mankind on the tree of the cross.
Hail, noble and precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ
washing away the sins of the whole world.
Remember, Lord, Your creature, whom You have redeemed with Your Blood.
I am grieved because I have sinned. I desire to make amends for what I have done.
Take away from me, therefore, O most merciful Father, all my iniquities and my sins,
that, being purified both in soul and body, I may worthily partake of the Holy of Holies;
and grant that this holy oblation of Your Body and Blood, of which though unworthy I purpose to partake,
may be to me the remission of my sins, the perfect cleansing of all my offenses,
the means of driving away all evil thoughts and of renewing all holy desires,
the accomplishment of works pleasing to You,
as well as the strongest defense for soul and body against the snares of my enemies.
Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 94: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 38 - EXTENDING CHRIST’S LOVE TO OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:00:00 -0500

In Chapter 5, Pope Francis gives us insight into the ramifications of the church's view of Human Dignity, and the way that the call of the Sacred Heart of Jesus necessitates the response to His Love to the entire human family. From the early church, Christian communities recognized the reason and the fundamental duty to love all because "He Loved us first". Paragraphs 167-171

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 167 to 171

Dignitas Infinita - DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH - DECLARATION “DIGNITAS INFINITA”
ON HUMAN DIGNITY - 2 April 2024

St. Ireneus Prayer -

It is not thou that shapest God
it is God that shapest thee.
If thou art the work of God
await the hand of the artist
who does all things in due season.
Offer Him thy heart,
soft and tractable,
and keep the form
in which the artist has fashioned thee.
Let thy clay be moist,
lest thou grow hard
and lose the imprint of his fingers.

ST IRENAEUS OF LYONS (c. 130 – c. 203)

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 93: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 37 - Love for Love

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis begins the explanation of the practice of the devotion of the Sacred Heart with the call for universal understanding of the Church's concept of Reparation. Reparation is not a quid pro quo, it is a fundamental recognition of the transformation that needs to happen in each of us in order to address the root of the evil. Unlike a secular understanding, it is not a one-and-done repayment, or showing of performative sacrifice. It is a habit cultivated in order to change the practice to conform to justice and right order. Since this is a introductory segment, Jen offers the opportunity to read and understand the full Act of Reparation written by Pope Pius XI in 1928. Dilexit Nos paragraphs 164 - 167.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 164 to 167

Annum Sacram -

Margaret Mary Alacoque - Letter to Fr. Croisset

Act of Reparation - Pope Pius XI - Miserentissimus Redemptor

O sweet Jesus, Whose overflowing charity for me is requited by so much forgetfulness, negligence and contempt, behold us prostrate before Your altar (in Your presence) eager to repair by a special act of homage the cruel indifference and injuries, to which Your loving Heart is everywhere subject.

Mindful alas! that we ourselves have had a share in such great indignities, which we now deplore from the depths of our hearts, we humbly ask Your pardon and declare our readiness to atone by voluntary expiation not only for our own personal offenses, but also for the sins of those, who, straying far from the path of salvation, refuse in their obstinate infidelity to follow You, their Shepherd and Leader, or, renouncing the vows of their baptism, have cast off the sweet yoke of Your Law.

We are now resolved to expiate each and every deplorable outrage committed against You; we are determined to make amends for the manifold offenses against Christian modesty in unbecoming dress and behavior, for all the foul seductions laid to ensnare the feet of the innocent, for the frequent violations of Sundays and holidays, and the shocking blasphemies uttered against You and Your Saints.

We wish also to make amends for the insults to which Your Vicar on earth and Your priest are subjected, for the profanation, by conscious neglect or terrible acts of sacrilege, of the very Sacrament of Your Divine Love; and lastly for the public crimes of nations who resist the rights and teaching authority of the Church which You have founded.

Would, O divine Jesus, we were able to wash away such abominations with our blood. We now offer, in reparation for these violations of Your divine honor, the satisfaction You once made to Your eternal Father on the cross and which You continue to renews daily on our altars; we offer it in union with the acts of atonement of Your Virgin Mother and all the Saints and of the pious faithful on earth; and we sincerely promise to make recompense, as far as we can with the help of Your grace, for all neglect of Your great love and for the sins we and others have committed in the past.

Henceforth we will live a life of unwavering faith, of purity of conduct, of perfect observance of the precepts of the gospel and especially that of charity. We promise to the best of our power to prevent others from offending You and to bring as many as possible to follow You.

O loving Jesus, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our model in reparation, deign to receive the voluntary offering we make of this act of expiation; and by the crowning gift of perseverance keep us faithful unto death in our duty and the allegiance we owe to You, so that we may one day come to that happy home, where You with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, world without end. Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 92: A Torrent of Grace: Turning our wounds into Sacred Gifts with Jesus

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Mark Joseph Williams, who serves the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, as Special Advisor to Cardinal Joseph Tobin is a licensed clinical social worker and author of the book, "A Torrent of Grace". When Mr Williams was a young teen, he was victimized by clergy sexual abuse. The trauma and ensuing feelings of shame took years to come to grips with, and Mark's journey of faith back to the healing through the Catholic church is one of grace and accompaniment. He now works with and advocates for people who suffer from mental health issues stemming from abuse and trauma, and has dedicated his life to bringing witness to the redeeming grace of accompaniment and vulnerability he has found in Jesus.
Jen speaks with Mark and Gina Criscuolo, LCSW, and coordinator for the Office of Accompaniment at the Deparment of Protection of the Faithful for the Archdiocese of Newark.

Jersey Catholic article about "A Torrent of Grace" and Mark Joseph Williams.

Department of Protection of the Faithful at Archdiocese of Newark.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 91: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 36 - Hearts opened to the working of the Holy Spirit

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 13:00:00 -0500

Pope Francis ends Chapter 4 with the two last Spiritual Fruits to be gained from devotion to the Sacred Heart, namely Compunction and Consolation. In referencing his own homily for Mass of Chrism 2024, Pope Francis sees an ordered understanding of compunction as the natural remedy for both hearts heardened towards the world, and indeed the remaining notions of clericalism. Through consolation, God's heart has the means to work its remedies upon our woundedness in order that we have a rightly ordered understanding of what God's love demands of us in regards to worship and service. Dilexit Nos paragraphs 158 - 163.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 158 to 163

Homily for the Mass for Holy Chrism - 2024

Spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola 203 (p 35 in this edition)

Ignatian Prayers - O Deus Ego Amo Te

O Deus Ego Amo Te - St. Francis Xavier, translated by Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.

O God, I love thee, I love thee,
Not out of hope of heaven for me,
Nor fearing not to love and be,
In the everlasting burning,
Thou, thou, my Jesus, after me
Didst reach thine arms out dying,
For my sake sufferedst nails, and lance,
Mocked and marred countenance,
Sorrows passing number,
Sweat and care and cumber,
Yea and death, and this for me,
And thou couldst see me sinning:
Then I, why should not I love thee,
Jesus, so much in love with me,
Not for heaven's sake;
Not to be out of hell by loving thee;
Not for any gains I see;
But just the way that thou didst me
I do love and I will love thee:
What must I love thee, Lord, for then?
For being my king and God.

Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 90: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 35 - Reasons of the Heart

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 16:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis continues with the spirituality of consolation in the writings of Pius XI and giving us theological backing for the understanding of mystical knowledge and spiritual knowledge as separate and distinct between science and opinion. Quoting Thomas Aquinas, we see how things can be seen in complexity or simplicity at the same time when viewed from a human or divine perspective. Jen quotes both St. Padre Pio and St. John Paul II on their mystical experiences of the understanding of the mystical consolation of the Sacred Heart, as well as the notion of time travelling through the union of one's sufferings to those of Christ's Passion. Chapter 4 paragraphs 154-157.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 154 to 157

Miserentissimus Redentor - Pope Pius XI See paragraph 14

Summa Theologica - Thomas Aquinas

Padre Pio and the Sacred Heart of Jesus from EWTN - Most Rev. Paolo Carta, Bishop Emeritus of Foggia

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 89: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 34 - THE DEVOTION OF CONSOLATION

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis spends some time with the mechanics of the Devotion of the Sacred Heart, in looking at the writing of Pope Pius XI, who clearly recognizes the mystical possibility of consoling the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the time of His passion, through our own offering of suffering united with the cross. St. Margaret Mary got this idea from the Divine Revelations she received, and the church has approved exactly this concept ever since. Chapter 4 paragraphs 151-153.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 151 to 153

Miserentissimus Redentor - Pope Pius XI See paragraph 13

Consoling the Sacred Heart of Jesus through our own actions today - The Divine Mercy

Can We Change the Past? - NPR article about quantum physics and time travel

Morning Offering USCCB
O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day

for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,

for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians,

and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.

Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 88: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 33 - Christ's Heart and Your Interior Life

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis traces a few currents of religious communities that have developed spiritual practices or charisms directly impacted by devotion to the Sacred Heart. Pope Francis highlights a number of saints whose intimate relationship with the source of Divine Love shaped the trajectory of their evangelizing witness or their congregation's vocation. Jen shares how merely showing up to lead the Sacred Heart devotion shaped her life and has had a deep impact in the lives of her children. Chapter 4, paragraphs 148 - 150.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 148 to 150

Article from Aletea about John Paul II and the Litany of the Sacred Heart

John Paul II - Society of Jesus on his pilgrimage to Paray le Monial - Sacred Heart Devotion

Vincentian Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart of Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 87: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 32 - Resonance with the Heart of Christ

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:30:00 -0400

Pope Francis elucidates why the contemplative practices codified by St. Ignatius of Loyola, are such a natural fit to the devotion to the Sacred Heart, that beginning with St. Claude de Colombiere, and down through the centuries, the devotion has taken a special meaning and become a banner for the Society of Jesus. As someone who makes Ignatian spiritual practices a daily part of her day, to deepen her relationship with the living God who communicates His Word of Love, Jen offers a brief personal witness to the efficacy of lectio divina and examen of consciousness. Chapter 4, paragraphs 143 - 147

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 143 to 147

How Jesuit's Spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart - by the Pillar

Spiritual Toolkit for We Are His Witnesses - from the Archdiocese of Newark

Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 86: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 31 - St.Thérèse of Lisieux (2 of 2)

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 16:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis spends significant time in Chapter 4, paragraphs 138-142, fleshing out the spirituality of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, for whom the Sacred Heart was a fundamental part of her devotional practice in both familial practice and mystical experience. Pope Francis recalls the importance of abandon, trust and confidence in the inexhaustable love of God for each of us, as likened unto a devoted parent whose love gives courage to a precocious toddler.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 138 to 142

The Spirituality of St. Therese of Lisieux

The Carefree Abandon of Saint Therese of Lisieux by Mary-Elizabeth Peters, Ph.D., T. 0. CARM.

Abandonment is the delicious fruit of love - PN 52 by Therese of Lisieux

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 85: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 30 - St.Thérèse of Lisieux (1 of 2)

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis spends significant time in Chapter 4, paragraphs 133-137, fleshing out the spirituality of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, for whom the Sacred Heart was a fundamental part of her devotional practice in both familial practice and mystical experience. We read how she does not understand the Heart of Jesus as demanding reparation, but as "burning with tenderness."

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 133 to 137

I Believe in Love by Fr. Fr. Jean C. J. d'Elbée: A Personal Retreat Based on the Teaching of St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese and the Sacred Heart of Jesus poem written for her sister, Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 84: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 29 - St. Charles de Foucauld

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis leans into Chapter 4, paragraphs 129 to 132, and gives us the example of the French Trappist and hermit Charles de Foucauld as one who renewed the evangelizing power of devotion to the Sacred Heart to bring all to know the Love of Christ poured out for us and made manifest in the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 129 - 132

Biography of Charles de Foucauld

Prayer of Abandonement

Father,

I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do,
I thank you.

I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 83: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 28 - St. Claude de la Colombière

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis, in paragraphs 125-128, seeks to place the devotion to the Sacred Heart which was inspired by the apparitions of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary within the obedience of the Catholic church, by including St. Claude de la Columbière, the French Jesuit who became confessor and spiritual advisor to St. Margaret Mary. By keeping us obedient to the gospel and connected to the sacramental life and church, we can ensure that the devotion is not a means for personal complacency, but an active and life giving call to follow in the Love that God wants for each of us.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 125- 128 - St. Claude de la Columbière

Jesuit's global article for background on St. Claude de la Columbière

Prayer of Trust and Confidence by St. Claude la Columbière

ACT OF HOPE AND CONFIDENCE IN GOD
St. Claude de la Colombiere

My God, I believe most firmly that You watch over all who hope in You,
and that we can want for nothing when we rely upon You in all things.
Therefore I am resolved for the future...to cast all my cares upon You...

People may deprive me of worldly goods and status.
Sickness may take from me my strength and the means of serving You.
I may even jeopardize our relationship by sin, but my trust shall never leave me.
I will preserve it to the last moment of my life, and the powers of hell shall seek in vain
to grab it from me.

Let others seek happiness in their wealth and in their talents. Let them trust in the purity of their lives, the severity of their mortifications, in the number of their good works, the enthusiasm of their prayers,
as for me, my Rock and my Refuge, my confidence in you fills me with hope. For You, my Divine Protector, alone have settled me in hope.

"This confidence can never be vain. No one, who has hoped in God, has ever been confounded."

I am assured, therefore, of my eternal happiness, for I firmly hope in it and all my hope is in You. "In You, O loving God, have I hoped: let me never be confounded."

I know too well that I am weak and changeable. I know the power of temptation against the strongest virtue.
I have seen stars fall and foundations of my world crack; these things do not alarm me. While I hope in You, I am sheltered from all misfortune, and I am sure that my trust shall endure, for I rely upon You to sustain this unfailing hope.

Finally, I know that my confidence cannot exceed Your generosity, and that I shall never receive less
than I have hoped for from You. Therefore I hope that You will sustain me against my evil inclinations,
that You will protect me against the deceitful attacks of the evil one, and that You will cause my weakness
to triumph over every hostile force. I hope that You will never cease to love me and that I shall love You unceasingly.

"In You, O loving God, have I hoped: let me never be confounded."

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 82: "Mama said don't give up" - Mission Rosary with Robert Ramos

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 18:00:00 -0400

Jen sits down with Robert Ramos, husband, dad, Knight of Columbus, and lay minister leading his family in faith, and founder of Mission Rosary. Born out of the desire to keep serving in faith, despite the darkness of the pandemic, Robert responded to a desire to keep showing up in faith for his family and uses his story and his desire to share the Good news with others as a means for healing. His latest campaign is called "Your Life Matters", and is changing lives in his community.

Robert has seen how his faith has helped him overcome childhood traumas, and deal with the stresses as a military veteran, dad and husband doing his best. We talk through a lot of the ways God shows up in his life, and the ways he leads his family in prayer and faith.

Robert Ramos's Mission Rosary Prayer Journal
Or check out the whole Mission Rosary Etsy Shop

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 81: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 27 - A New Declaration of Love

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 15:00:00 -0400

At just exactly passed the midpoint of the encyclical, Pope Francis in Chapter 4, paragraphs 119 - 124, finally gets to the apparitions of the Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the Visitation nun who in 1673 through 1675 received private revelation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Francis clarifies the significance of private revelations, as well as the connection between the Sacred Heart and Jesus's Eucharistic presence.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 119- 124 - A New Declaration of Love

Holy Mass and Ordinations, Feast of the Sacred Heart, June 27 2025 - Pope Leo XIV

Prayer for Mutual Coexistence - August 2025
Jesus, Lord of our history,
Faithful companion and living presence,
You who never tire of coming to meet us,
Here we are, in need of Your peace.

We live in times of fear and division.
Sometimes we act as if we were alone,
Building walls that separate us from one another,
Forgetting that we are brothers and sisters.

Send us Your Spirit, Lord,
To rekindle within us
The desire to understand one another, to listen,
To live together with respect and compassion.

Give us the courage to seek paths of dialogue,
To respond to conflict with gestures of fraternity,
To open our hearts to others without fear of differences.

Make us builders of bridges,
Able to overcome borders and ideologies,
Able to see others through the eyes of the heart,
Recognizing in every person an inviolable dignity.

Help us create spaces where hope can flourish,
Where diversity is not a threat
But a richness that makes us more human.

Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 80: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 26 - St. Francis de Sales

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 08 Aug 2025 17:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis dives into the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jean Francis de Chantal in Chapter 4, paragraphs 114-118, who together established the Order of the Visitation. St. Francis de Sales profound imagery of the Sacred Heart being engraved with the names of each of us to love individually and profoundly is a powerful one, which certainly laid the ground for St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who was a professed Visitation nun.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 114 - 118 - St. Francis de Sales.

John Abruzzese article on St. Francis de Sales - meditation about the heart of Jesus the infant in the straw.

The Prayer of St. Francis de Sales

Be at peace.
Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life;
rather look to them with full hope as they arise.
God, whose very own you are, will deliver you from out of them.
He has kept you hitherto, and He will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it, God will bury you in his arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you then and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering, or give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination.
St. Francis de Sales 1567-1622

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 79: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 25 - The Spread of Devotion to the Heart of Christ

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Sat, 02 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis continues in Chapter 4, paragraphs 103-113, outining major medieval saints who prefigure the modern devotion to the Sacred Heart, through mystical and prayer experioences that helped to inform and inspire deeper understanding of the love of Christ. There is something important in this notion that the Holy Spirit reveals truths over time, and that we are all inheritors of grace through the traditons of the Church as well as through our sacramental bonds.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 109 - 113 - The Spread of the Devotion to the Heart of Christ.

St. Gertrude's Prayer on the Titles of Christ

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 78: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 24 - Echoes of the Word in History

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis continues in Chapter 4, paragraphs 102-108, with presenting the ways in which our Spiritual heritage and church traditions have understood God's Love throughout the two millennia of Christendom. How saints and scholars have expressed the all consuming love of God poured out from the wounded side of Christ are the active healing power of Christ given through the Holy Spirit in the graces of the Sacraments.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 102 - 108 - Echoes of the Word in History

Catechism of the Catholic Church - 1114 - 1116 - The Sacraments of Christ

Thomas Merton - Come, My Love
Come, my love

Come, my love,
Pass through my will
As through a window
Shine on my life
As on a meadow
I like the grass to be consumed
By the rays of the sun
On a late summer’s morning

Come, my love,
All through the night
I lay longing
Eagerly to wait
For love’s union
Like dawn’s flower awaits
For the wedding with the sun
Consummated in the light

Your light, my love,
Is stealing my heart
As a secret
I’m left
Like a vanishing form
That leaves no shadows
Exposed naked, alone
Between the heavens and the earth
Lifted high on the cross with the Savior

O life-giving tomb,
Prepared through the night
For dawn’s dying
Like a moon
Like the mansions of heaven
Await the rebirth of a child
New Jerusalem
So come to my life, Light of Heaven

Come, my love,
Pass through my will
As through a window
Shine on my life
As on a meadow
I like the grass to be washed
By the rays of the sun
On the late summer’s morning

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 77: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 23 - A God who Thirsts for Love

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 17:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis in Chapter 4 sets paragraphs 98 - 101, in using the prophets of the Old Testament that spoke of the love of God for His beloved people of Israel with the consolation of springs in the desert and waters flowing to satiate the thirsty. We dive into a letter of Pope St. John Paul II to the Society of Jesus which helps us contextualize the importance of understanding our own belovedness first, as a first step in understanding our path for discipleship.
Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 98 - 101 - A God who Thirsts for Love

Letter to the Superior General at Paray-le-Monial - 7 October 1986 - Pope St. John Paul II

Anima Christi Prayer
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O Good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Permit me not to be separated from you.
From the wicked foe, defend me.
At the hour of my death, call me
and bid me come to you
That with your saints I may praise you
For ever and ever. Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 76: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 22 - A Love that Gives Itself as Drink

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis begins Chapter 4 with paragraphs 92 - 97, in using the scriptures of the Old Testament that foretold of the water that will satisfy the land, and bring everlasting life and abundance to the people of Israel. The prophet Ezekiel and the Psalms give us glimpses into the salvific promises of the Messiah which are intertextually related to the Gospel of John.

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 4, Paragraphs 92 - 97 - A Love that Gives Itself as Drink

Mishnah Sukkot

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer for discernment

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 75: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 21 - Further Reflections and Relevance for our times (2 of 2)

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis concludes Chapter 3 with paragraphs 87 - 91 the reflections of recognition that only through simple trust in the mercy and reality of love contained in the "the incarnate synthesis of the Gospel" that the words of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and St. Faustina Kowalska come to be understood. He has laid the groundwork for the understanding of personal spiritual experience and communal missionary commitment found uniquely through the Sacred Heart of Christ, and that this is the missional foundation of all pastoral conversion that needs to be effected throughout our church.
As we will begin the next chapter on the Precious Blood and since we have entered this month of July devoted to the Precious Blood of Christ, Jen leads us in understanding the nurturing symbology of the Pelican in the prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas "Adoro te Devote".

Prayer

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 87 - 91 - Further Reflections and Relevance for our times (2 of 2)

C'est la confiance - Pope Francis on the 150th anniversary of the birth of St. Therese of the child Jesus

Spiritual meaning of the Pelican article from St. Catherine Church

Adoro te Devote from Preces Latinae

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 74: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 20 - Further Reflections and Relevance for our times (1 of 2)

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 18:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis concludes Chapter 3, paragraphs 82-86 with the reflections of Pope Pius XII and Pope Benedict XVI in addressing the ways in which in a special way the Eucharistic and scriptural aspects of the devotion to the Sacred Heart address the heresies that are still prevalent in modern society, in particular the Janeists and also certain sects that have an understanding of further public revelation, past what is Biblical.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs82 - 86 - Further Reflections and Relevance for our times (1 of 2)

[Encyclical Letter Haurietis Aquas - Pope Pius XII 15 May 1956

Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini Pope Benedict XVI 2010

Prayer

Consecration to the Sacred Heart by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.
I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants.

Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 73: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 19 - Recent teachings of the Magisterium

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 15:15:00 -0400

Pope Francis starts wrapping up Chapter 3 in paragraphs 78 - 81, with reflections on his recent predecessor's teachings and recommendations regarding the importance of devotion to the Sacred Heart. Tracing from Pope Leo XIII, Pius XI, and XII, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI. As a closing meditation, Jen brings in the most recent reflection and prayer from Pope Leo XIV in a prayer for compassion and mission through knowing intimately the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 78-81 - Recent Teachings of the Magesterium

Prayer

[Encyclical Letter Annum Sacrum - Pope Leo XIII 25 May 1899

[Encyclical Letter Miserentissimus Redemptor - Pope Pius XI 8 May 1928

[Encyclical Letter Haurietis Aquas - Pope Pius XII 15 May 1956

Catechesis - Pope St. John Paul II - 8 June 1994 -

Angelus - Pope Benedict XIV - 1 June 2008

Pope Leo XIV - Prayer to the Sacred Heart - 11 June 2025

Lord, I come to your tender heart today,
to you who have words that set my heart ablaze,
to you who pour out compassion on the little ones and the poor,
on those who suffer, and on all human miseries.

I desire to know you more, to contemplate you in the Gospel,
to be with you and learn from you
and from the charity with which you allowed yourself
to be touched by all forms of poverty.

You showed us the Father’s love by loving us without measure
with your divine and human heart.
Grant all your children the grace of encountering you.

Change, shape, and transform our plans,
so that we seek only you in every circumstance:
in prayer, in work, in encounters, and in our daily routine.

From this encounter, send us out on mission,
a mission of compassion for the world
in which you are the source from which all consolation flows.
Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 72: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 18 - Trinitarian Perspectives (2 of 2)

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 16:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis stresses the importance of the Trinity in Chapter 3, exploring the active agency of the Holy Spirit in the salvific and adoptive work accomplished through Jesus' Sacred Heart. God the Father pours out the Holy Spirit in Love to Jesus Christ and that one and the same spirit is poured into the hearts of all believers. Pope Francis references the words of St. John Paul II at the turn of the third millenium, and his own homily for the recognition of the work of the Holy Spirit. We close with the words of our own Cardinal Tobin in his Trinitarian message published today, as well as the new prayer of the Sacred Heart from Pope Leo XIV offered just this morning.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 75-77 - Trinitarian Perspectives

Prayer

Pope St. John Paul II - Angelus 23 June 2002

SAINT JOHN PAUL II, Message on the Hundredth Anniversary of the Consecration of the Human Race to the Divine Heart of Jesus

Pope Francis Homily at Gemelli Hospital 27 June 2014

Cardinal Tobin Rejoice in the Lord - June 13, 2025 - The Trinity is the central mystery of Christian Life and Belief

Pope Leo XIV - Sacred Heart Prayer - June 2025

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 71: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 17- Trinitarian Perspectives (1of 2)

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis recgnizes the importance of the Trinity in Chapter 3, exploring the unique relationship that God the Father desires with each individual through Jesus Christ, his Son. Pope Francis uses scriptural sources, as well as tradition of the church through St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Ireneus to recognize the central place within humanity that God's love has. We read the words of St. John Paul II at the turn of the third millenium, Pope Leo XIV's homily last week, and conclude with a prayer by St. Ephraem Syrus who lived in the 4th century for our meditations on accompaniment and vocation.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 70-74 - Trinitarian Perspectives

Prayer

John Paul II's "Tertio Millennio"

Pope Leo XIV "Homily on the Jubilee of Families"

Jessica French's "Strengthen for Service"

Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands
That holy things have taken;
Let ears that now have heard thy songs
To lesser things never waken.

Lord, may the tongues which "Holy" sang
Be free from all deceiving;
May eyes which saw Thy love be bright
Thy blessèd hope perceiving.

May feet that tread Thy holly courts
From Thy true light never be banished;
May bodies by Thy body fed
With Thy new life be replenished.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 70: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 16 - A Threefold Love

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Sat, 31 May 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis explains further in Chapter 3, the depths of the passionate love that Jesus expresses, using the ancient language of the Hebrew scriptures "Song of Songs" and how that has inspired saints including St. John of the Cross to help us throughout the church's history to re-encounter this desire of God for each of us.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 64-69 - A Threefold Love

Prayer

St. John of the Cross - Spiritual Canticle translated by Rhina P. Espaillat

I Am the Rose of Sharon by Wiliam Billings

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 69: "The Mystery story that feeds our entire being" - Discipleship and music with Mark Haas

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Wed, 28 May 2025 11:00:00 -0400

Jen speaks with Mark Haas, composer, lecturer, music director and husband and father about the "treasure of inestimable value" that is the music composed throughout the centuries for Catholic worship. Mark's reversion to Catholicism lead him to learn more about what Vatican II's writers intended for the music at worship, and how we can be authentic with passing the patrimony on to future generations.

Mark Haas is composer and speaker who promotes sacred music within the Catholic tradition. His liturgical music has been sung in over 600 parishes, in 10 countries, including musical settings for various ordinations and dedications. In 2017, his orchestration of Michael Accurso’s I Will Praise Your Name Forever was presented by the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra during the Dedication of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, NC.

Mark has also contributed nearly 30 articles promoting various Catholic topics published by Aleteia.org, ChurchPOP.com, CatholicExchange.com, and Corpus Christi Watershed. Various pieces have been featured on CatholicVote.org, and The Patrick Madrid Show on Relevant Radio.

In 2016, his original choral piece, Prayer of St. Francis, was sung for Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, Italy. In 2024, his instrumental arrangement of Faith of Our Fathers was played during Mass at the FOCUS/SEEK Conference in St. Louis, MO. Mark holds a BFA in Music Composition from Marshall University, and an MFA in Composition from UNC School of the Arts. He currently serves as the Director of Music at the Ave Maria Parish in Ave Maria, FL where he lives with his wife Renae and their seven original compositions.

More information is available on [www.markhaasmusic.com](www.markhaasmusic.com)

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 68: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 15 - A Love that is Tangible

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 23 May 2025 17:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis continues Chapter 3, presenting the reality of Jesus's love in human and divine terms as a tangible love with affections, passions, and corporal understandings of all that it means to be human and yet divine in nature, eternal and unwavering. This section gets to the fundamental truth of Christ as the unique incarnation and salvation of the God of Love. Once for all, born in time, and yet unbounded by it, that we all might experience intimately and readily.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 59-63 - A Love that is tangible

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 67: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 14- Venerating His Image

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 16 May 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis continues Chapter 3 of Dilexit Nos with paragraphs 52-58, recognizing the importance of right order for worship. Apart from the person of Jesus Christ, the image of His heart is not meant to be a image of worship, especially not in the context of liturgy. But is to only and always be a devotional symbol meant to bring us to recognize the Divine Love incarnate in all aspects of His divinity and humanity.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 52-58 Venerating His Image

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 66: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 13 - Worshiping Christ

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 09 May 2025 17:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis begins Chapter 3 of Dilexit Nos with paragraphs 48-51, clarifying the church's historical precedence for preferring the devotion to the Sacred Heart above other devotions as it is the inseparable from the person of Jesus Christ and the unbounded love of Christ for us.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 3, Paragraphs 48-51 Worshiping Christ

Prayer

PIUS VI, Constitution Auctorem Fidei (28 August 1794), 63: DH 2663.

Annum Sacram - Leo XIII - Annum Sacram - Consecration of the World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - 1899

Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart by Pope Leo XIII

Issued with the Encyclical Letter Annum Sacrum, 25 May 1899

Most sweet Jesus, redeemer of the human race, look down upon us, humbly prostrate before your altar. We are yours and yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with you, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your most sacred heart. Many, indeed, have never known you, many too, despising your precepts, have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your sacred heart. Be you king, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you; grant that they may quickly return to their father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be you king of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one shepherd. Be you king also of all those who sit in the ancient superstition of the Gentiles, and refuse not you to deliver them out of darkness into the light and kingdom of God. Grant, O Lord, to your Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor forever.
Amen.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 65: "Seeing God Face to face" - Catholic funerals and evangelization with Fr. Peter Wehrle

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 06 May 2025 12:00:00 -0400

Jen takes a trip to Our Lady of the Lake in Verona, and speaks to Fr. Peter Wehrle about facing grief, which can be one of the most challenging moments in life, and offering families accompaniment, listening, and Christ's welcome from darkness to light.

Our Lady of the Lake

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 64: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 12 - Jesus' Words

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 02 May 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis concludes Chapter 2 of Dilexit Nos with paragraphs 43-47, highlighting Jesus' words of love and expressions of deep emotion, passion, and compassion in the gospel accounts. From scriptures, we can be assured of Christ's love for us in word and deed, as it was in the beginning, now, and for all the ages to come. Christ loves us.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 2, Paragraphs 43-47 Jesus' Words

Evangelii Gaudium - Chapter IV. Paragraph 160

Prayer

Closing prayer -
Day 7 of the Novena in Memory of Pope Francis

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 63: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 11 - Jesus' Gaze

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 14:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis continues Chapter 2 of Dilexit Nos with paragraphs 39-42, highlighting Jesus' modeling of the importance of seeing, beholding, and being present to those we seek to heal and call. The Gospel accounts emphasize the importance of beholding each unique person as a further expression of love, tenderness, and closeness that we are to emulate in our service to others.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 2, Paragraphs 39-42 Jesus' Gaze

Prayer

Sung by Shepherds - Virgil Thomson (1896 - 1989)

Welcome all wonders in one sight!
Eternity shut in a span!
Summer in winter! day in night!
Heaven in earth! and God in man!
Great little one, whose all-embracing birth
Lifts earth to Heaven, stoops Heaven to earth!

Welcome, tho' nor to gold, nor silk
To more than Cæsar's birthright is:
Twin sister seas of virgin's milk
With many a rarely-temper'd kiss
That breathes at once both maid and mother
Warms in the one, cools in the other

She sings Thy tears asleep, and dips
Her kisses in Thy weeping eye:
She spreads the red leaves of Thy lips
That in their buds yet blushing lie
She 'gainst those mother diamonds tries
The points of her young eagle's eyes.*

Welcome—tho' not to those gay flies
Gilded i' th' beams of earthly kings
Slippery souls in smiling eyes—
But to poor shepherds, homespun things
Whose wealth's their flocks, whose wit's to be
Well read in their simplicity

Yet, when April's husband show'rs
Shall bless the fruitful Maia's bed
We'll bring the first-born of her flowers
To kiss Thy feet, and crown Thy head
To Thee, dread Lamb ! whose love must keep
The shepherds while they feed their sheep

To Thee, meek Majesty, soft King
Of simple graces and sweet loves!
Each of us his lamb will bring
Each his pair of silver doves!
At last, in fire of Thy fair eyes
Ourselves become our own best sacrifice!

A Christian prayer in union with creation from LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

Father, we praise you with all your creatures.
They came forth from your all-powerful hand;
they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
Praise be to you!

Son of God, Jesus,
through you all things were made.
You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,
you became part of this earth,
and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.
Today you are alive in every creature
in your risen glory.
Praise be to you!

Holy Spirit, by your light
you guide this world towards the Father’s love
and accompany creation as it groans in travail.
You also dwell in our hearts
and you inspire us to do what is good.
Praise be to you!

Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you
in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of you.
Awaken our praise and thankfulness
for every being that you have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined
to everything that is.

God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth,
for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!
Amen.
Given in Rome at Saint Peter’s on 24 May, the Solemnity of Pentecost, in the year 2015, the third of my Pontificate.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 62: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 10 - Actions and Words of Love

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 13:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis begins Chapter 2 of Dilexit Nos, by speaking about way Jesus embodied closeness and tenderness, in action as much as in speech. He embodied the myriad expressions of touch, tenderness and closeness that we are to imitate in our service of others. He speaks about the science of true love having two natures, "deeds and gift of self."

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 2, Paragraphs 32-38 Actions and Words of Love

Prayer

The Difficult Science of Love - Pope Francis

Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will, all that I have and possess.
Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it.
All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will.
Give me Thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me. -
St.Ignatius Loyola

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 61: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 9 - The world can change, beginning with the Heart

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 16:00:00 -0400

Pope Francis speaks about the radical remaking of the world, which is only possible when the transformational power of God's love is fully embraced and lived in the relationship between Christ and His Disciples. In the presence of the heart of Christ,Francis asks the Lord to have mercy on this suffering world in which he chose to dwell as one of us, so that our world, which presses forward despite wars, socio-economic disparities and uses of technology that threaten our humanity, may regain the most important and necessary thing of all: its heart.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 1, Paragraphs 28-31 THE WORLD CAN CHANGE, BEGINNING WITH THE HEART

Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 82; 10; 14. 26

DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Declaration Dignitas Infinita (2 April 2024).

SAINT JOHN PAUL II, Angelus, 28 June 1998

Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ (24 May 2015), 83: AAS 107 (2015), 880.

Prayer

1 John 4:7-21

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 60: "The God who never breaks His promises" with Fr. Alex Gaitan

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 12:00:00 -0400

Jen speaks with Fr. Alex Gaitan, who offers a meditation for Holy Week and the cross as the ultimate promise of salvation. Fr. Alex is the Coordinator for the Migrant Ministry in the Archdiocese of Newark and helps us to contemplate the sacredness of God in a profound identification with the suffering and vulnerable.

From JerseyCatholic -
Father Alex Gaitan has worked to curtail gang activity within Chicago’s immigrant community; brought to the forefront the mental health crisis among immigrants in Atlanta, Ga.; aided in citizenship classes and passport processing for immigrants at the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in San Gabriel, Cali.; and helped hundreds of Mexican farmers experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic in Fresno, Cali.
In 2022, Father Gaitan, a Claretian devoted to justice and peace, was called to the Archdiocese of Newark’s St. Joseph’s Church in Jersey City, where he has been part of a United Nations Ministry. Recently, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R, Archbishop of Newark, appointed Father Gaitan to head the archdiocese’s newest ministry to support immigrants through local church communities.

Immigration Ministry Webpage at Archdiocese of Newark

Read the full article about Immigration Ministry from JerseyCatholic

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 59: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 8 - Seek not for the light, but for the fire

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 17:00:00 -0400

Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 7 - Chapter 1 Paragraphs 24-27
Pope Francis speaks about the difference between a knowledge of a relationship with heart, versus knowing data with the intellect. He introduces this importance to understanding the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and the writings of St. Bonaventure and St. John Henry Newman. The understanding of the heart is achieved with the fire of faith, and encompasses the contemplative and meditative mind, in order to listen to the heart of God. It is the Christian's duty to seek this contemplative mind in order to discern the heartbeat of Christ, or the voice and will of the God.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 1, Paragraphs 24-27 FIRE

Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, VII, 6.

Michel de Certeau and the Spirituality of St Ignatius - Dominique Salin

Benedict XVI - on St. Bonaventure 3
Prayer

The Pillar of the Cloud - St. John Henry Newman

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 58: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 7 - We were made to love and to be loved

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 7 - Chapter 1 Paragraphs 20-23
Pope Francis closes this section of the heart uniting the fragments, by recognizing the profound core of our being in the purpose for which we were 'made to love and to be loved'. In offering the antithesis to artificial intelligence, Pope Francis sees the heart as the authentic core of understanding for life's large and small moments. He offers the example of weeping elderly women, who have lived lives of dignity that now weep at the uselessness of war and tragedy. Finally he asks us to ask ourselves if we have hearts.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 1, Paragraphs 20-23

O Christ Your Heart, Compassionate

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 57: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 6 - The Heart unites the fragments

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 6 - Chapter 1 Paragraphs 17-19
Pope Francis notes the unifying and discerning action of "seeing with the heart." Through the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we can begin to put together knowledge and insight to holistically understand the reality of God's presence in our lives. Jen uses the Lenten hymn "Again we Keep this solemn fast" as a meditation to recognize when we should use our voices in truth, and when we should remain silent in order not to do otherwise.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 1, Paragraphs 17-19

Speaking with the Heart in Truth and Love - 57th World Communication day -

Ex more docti mystico - Pope St. Gregory the Great

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 56: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 5 - Why are you here, Elijah?

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 15:00:00 -0400

Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 5 - Chapter 1 Paragraphs 13-16
Pope Francis asks us to contemplate a return to the hearts the integrated part of our being, that fully encapsulates all that we are. Beyond any one system of study, we are a complex human being fully integrated as soul, and body, with mind, spirit, thought, will and emotional capabilities. At the center of this authentic, unique system is the fundamental heart of a human.

Each session of Dilexit Nos in a Year begins by breaking open the scriptures and topics coverred in order to outline the themes of Pope Francis, and frame our conversations for the weekly discussion for the year ahead. For the next 50 weeks, we will work through four to five paragraphs reading of the text of Dilexit Nos, with opening prayer, and short reflection based upon the paragraphs covered and the prayerful discussions of the questions to ponder together as we reflect on the work of spiritual and communal formation and mission in this Jubilee Year of Hope.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 1, Paragraphs 13-16

Still, Small Voice - Thomas Enwright - https://www.theway.org.uk/websubs/623.pdf

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 55: "The Lord wants you to know that He is yours, and He wants to know- Will you be His?"

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0400

Jen speaks with Sr. Rita Clare Yoches and Sr. Sarah Rose Dent of the Franciscan Sisters T.O.R. of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother about their conversion to discipleship, vocation call and giving your life to Jesus. Sr. Rita Clare shares her powerful personal call to be Christ's spouse. Sr. Sarah Rose speaks to us about developing a prayer life that fits our own way of being so that we can remain connected to Christ as we encounter others.

Franciscan Sisters T.O.R. of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother are based in Steubenville, OH
https://www.franciscansisterstor.org/

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization

Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 54: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 4 - Returning to the Heart

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 15:00:00 -0500

DIlexit Nos in a Year - Session 4 - Chapter 1, Returning to the heart - Paragraphs 9-13.
Pope Francis asks us to contemplate a return to the heart in the midst of a world that no longer recognizes authenticity or the need for an interior life, in order to recognize ourselves and be able to grow intimacy with others.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 1, Paragraphs 9-12

8 June 1994 - Pope St. John Paul II Audience - https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/audiences/1994/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_19940608.html

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 53: "It's not about the color or the nationality, it's about loving God" with Rahsaan Garlin

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0500

"It's not about the color or the nationality, it's about loving God" with Rahsaan Garlin, Coordinator of African American, African and Caribbean Apostolate in the Archdiocese of Newark speaks with Jen about the importance of representation, and assisting Black families in building community to create strong families of faith for the younger generations.
Rahsaan spearheaded the Archdiocese of Newark's Black History Month Jubilee Mass on February 16, 2025, at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J which was concelebrated by Wilton Cardinal Gregory, and Joseph Cardinal Tobin.

For more information, or upcoming events sponsored by the AAACA, please check out: https://rcan.org/aaaca/

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 52: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 3 - Like Grandma's cookies

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:00:00 -0500

Dilexit Nos in a Year session 3 - Chapter 1 paragraphs 5 through 8. - Like Grandma's Cookies
Pope Francis continues with the symbolic meaning of the heart as a locus of sincerity. He asks us questions about the nature of the way we see ourselves authentically, and how we live in the world.
He explores the idea behind deceit, falsehood, pretense and lies, versus living an authentic life full of the leaven of truth. Using scriptural passages from Samson and Delilah, and Luke's gospel.

Dilexit Nos - Chapter 1, Paragraphs 5-8

Prayer

Pope Francis - Like Grandma's cookies - Morning Meditation 14 October 2016 - https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/cotidie/2016/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20161014_like-grandma-s-cookies.html

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 51: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 2

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:00 -0500

This is Session 2 of Dilexit Nos in a Year from the Heart of the Ark Podcast. In the first Chapter of Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis traces the historical and philosophical idea of the heart as locus of reason and desire that forms the core of being of a human. We explore Chapter 1 - Paragraphs 2-4.

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 50: Dilexit Nos in a Year - How is this going to work?

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0500

It is through the Dilexit Nos in a Year from the Heart of the Ark, that we will seek to ask questions and pray together that Jesus Christ may do the transformative work in our hearts necessary to move from initiated believer, to abiding discipleship, to dwelling place of the spirit which serves in sacrificial self-gift. Borrowing from the Monastic tradition, we will read, ponder some questions and pray for God to work in our hearts. The scriptural texts will relate directly to the citations Pope Francis uses in Dilexit Nos.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 49: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Why do it?

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0500

Dilexit Nos in a Year - Why read it? Why did Pope Francis write it? What does it have to do with Evangelization? Post-COVID-19 ministry is an evolving process, Dilexit Nos, speaks right into the heart of our communities' issues and provides a framework for rebuilding a discipleship culture. As the pastoral conversion process seeks to address the multiplicity of love spoken about in John's gospel, the individual work of transformation is one that we will endeavor to do together throughout the Dilexit Nos in a Year from the Heart of the Ark. This holistic perspective is crucial for our community to make ethical decisions that align with our discipleship culture.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 48: Dilexit Nos in a Year - What is it?

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 03:00:00 -0500

Dilexit Nos, We Are His Witness, and the spiritual and communal work of responding to the heartbeat of Jesus. In October 2024, Pope Francis issues his fourth encyclical, Dilexit Nos “ON THE HUMAN AND DIVINE LOVE OF THE HEART OF JESUS CHRIST”. Just this past month, Cardinal Tobin, issued a Pastoral reflection “We Are His Witnesses”. In order to become the individual members of a community in which we can create a culture of evangelization it is our hope to reach the heart of every believer and impress their personal and communal duty of loving service.

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 47: Dilexit Nos in a Year - Session 1

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Fri, 14 Feb 2025 15:00:00 -0500

This is Session 1 of Dilexit Nos in a Year from the Heart of the Ark Podcast.
Each session of Dilexit Nos in a Year begins by breaking open the scriptures and topics coverred in order to outline the themes of Pope Francis, and frame our conversations for the weekly discussion for the year ahead. For the next 50 weeks, we will work through four to five paragraphs reading of the text of Dilexit Nos, with opening prayer, and short reflection based upon the paragraphs covered and the prayerful discussions of the questions to ponder together as we reflect on the work of spiritual and communal formation and mission in this Jubilee Year of Hope.

Prayer

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 46: Ep 46: Live life well - A Story of Resilience in Adversity with Howard Walker

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 11:15:00 -0500

Jen visits Dr. Howard Walker, a Catholic husband and father, and elementary school principal and educator who wants to spread wisdom for resilience in the face of adversity. Dr. Walker has struggled with his own childhood trauma and has learned from his own life and career some tips for learning to persevere despite grief.

CONTENT WARNING - this episode covers discussion of childhood trauma and abuse, mental illness, self-harm and suicide. Sensitive listeners please be aware.

National Suicide helpline - 988

Sanctuary Mental Health Ministry - "On Peace and Presence" - https://sanctuarymentalhealth.org/2024/12/13/reflections-on-peace-and-presence/

Blue Christmas presentation from RCAN Ministry of Loss and Healing- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KubAz1ZWag

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 45: Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room - A case for taking Advent spiritually seriously

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 14:00:00 -0500

Fr. John and Jen discuss the ways in which we can better prepare for the coming joy of Christmas by fully embracing the Advent practices and prayer time that can help us ready our hearts for the Nativity.

E'en so Lord Jesus quickly come by Ruth Manz - https://bibleasmusic.com/een-so-lord-jesus-quickly-come-revelation-1-4-4-8-22-20-5-paul-manz/

St. Andrew Novena - https://ascensionpress.com/pages/st-andrews-christmas-novena?srsltid=AfmBOorRC6SzoO1qaBuIIByOFrbznParZ6KnxT5BWOlyyd5Evh-KOHP0

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 43: Ep 43: The Rosary - The powerful weapon of Saints, and why you need to "get on the beads"

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 13:00:00 -0400

Fr. John and Jen share some personal experiences, wisdom from saints and insights into how they both became converted to the power of the Rosary later in life. Through the ages, saints have pointed to the importance of saying the Rosary, but why? What can it teach us today, and how can we make the most of this spiritual practice in our lives.

Eucharistic Rosary Congress: www.rosarycongressusa.org

Archdiocese of Newark Rosary Congress: www.rcan.org/rosarycongress

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 42: A Sunday Kind of Love - Giving the Lord's Day a Renewed Focus

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 10:00:00 -0400

Fr. John and Jen start season 3 of The Heart of the Ark with a call back to Sunday. Making the Lord's day a priority for our lives and our families in order that we may live Monday through Saturday well.

Domine Dies - (Day of the Lord - Pope St. John Paul II) - https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_letters/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini.html

Sacramentum Caritatis - (Sacrament of Love - Pope Benedict XVI) - https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis.html

This is My Body - Cardinal Rainero Cantalamessa - https://www.amazon.com/This-My-Body-Eucharistic-Reflections/dp/0819874159

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 41: Ep 41: Ahhh...September - Back to Seminary? A conversation with James McElroy

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 10:00:00 -0400

Jen and Fr. John team up to speak to James McElroy who began his studies at the Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University this past week. James is a 24 year old "normal guy" who has spent a full year of discernment before entering the major seminary. He gives us all a new perspective for tackling the school year ahead.

Vocations Office for the Archdiocese of Newark - https://www.newarkpriest.com/

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 40: A Father's hopes for Summer Vacation - Fun, Faith and New Perspectives with Brian Caldwell

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 13:00:00 -0400

Jen speaks with Brian Caldwell, Director of Family Life Office at the Archdiocese of Newark, and Adjunct Professor at Caldwell University (no relation) about the importance of making faith an integrated part of family life, and not just an add-on once a week for an hour on Sundays.
Brian oversees the work of the Pre-Cana marraige prep for those beginning married life as well as the anniversary masses that honor couples who have had seen their unions last the test of time.
Brian is a husband and a father of three, and shares some insight into the ways in which he and his wife's dedication to eachother and their willingness to keep an open dialogue with their kids has helped them to tackle the big events and the in-between times of life.

Image is not actual photo of Caldwell family.

Family Life Office - https://rcan.org/family-life/

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 39: Ep 39: Alan Hommerding - "There are many gifts including yours. There are many gifts, not only yours."

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0400

Jen speaks with Award winning composer, Alan Hommerding, whose diverse output as hymn text writer, poet, and Senior Editor at GIA Publications about the disciplines of writing and humility formed throughout a lifetime of ministry work. Alan once referred to himself rather dismissively as a "Catechist with a Rhyming dictionary", but has spent his career striving to bring the work of evangelization and mission to everything he does.

Alan Hommerding - https://giamusic.com/artists/alan-hommerding#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20Alan%20was%20named,the%20Association%20of%20Catholic%20Publishers.

St. Cecilia's Orchestra - https://www.amazon.com/Cecilias-Orchestra-Michael-ONeill-McGrath/dp/1584594756

O Great Sacred Feast of Life - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va2JAiDHm2s

In Holy Harmony - https://giamusic.com/resource/in-holy-harmony-prayers-for-parish-musicians-book-000701

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com

Episode 38: Teach a Sister, Touch the World - How Eucharistic devotion can transform the world.

Office For Evangelization - Archdiocese of Newark — Tue, 21 May 2024 10:00:00 -0400

Jen speaks with Sister Marie Pauline Demek, SCC, President of Assumption College of Sisters in Denville, New Jersey about the work of Evangelization accomplished at ACS as springing from the founder of the Sisters of Christian Charity, Blessed Pauline von Mallinckrodt. Blessed Pauline's Eucharistic devotion spurred her to a lifetime of serving Christ in each person through compassion and education of the poor and needy. Her legacy is manifest today in the College's mission to educate women to a life of Consecration to God for the building up of communities throughout the world.

Sisters of Christian Charity: https://sccus.org/
Assumption College for Sisters: https://acs350.org/

Office for Evangelization website: www.rcan.org/evangelization
Our original theme music is "Meditation" by Eric Hunter. - www.erichuntermusic.com