St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio invites us to contemplate the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Queen of Apostles—our model of total self-giving and the one who brings us to Jesus through her “yes.” He highlights Mary’s quiet but powerful presence from Genesis to Revelation and the vital role she plays in our vocation to holiness and evangelization.

Listen now to reflect on:

• Why Mary’s “yes” is the mod...

In our meditation of the week: Msgr. Martin Schlag guides us to contemplate Jesus as the Good Shepherd who knows, loves, and leads each of us personally. Drawing from Scripture, as well as the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva, Fr. Martin explores the meaning of faithfulness in ordinary life, learning to recognize the voice of Christ the Good Shepherd, and surrendering our own plans in trust.

Listen now to reflect on:
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In our meditation of the week: Drawing from St. Luke’s account of the Visitation, Msgr. Frederick Dolan invites us to contemplate Mary’s interior life—her overwhelming joy, her urgency to serve, and her radiant presence as she brings Christ to her cousin Elizabeth’s home. This encounter, filled with prayer and self-giving, offers us a model of what it means to make ourselves a sincere gift to others.

Listen now to reflect ...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on Mary as the model of discipleship. From the Annunciation to Cana, Mary shows us that God’s plan unfolds through human cooperation. Her presence and intercession at the Wedding Feast of Cana not only initiates Christ’s public ministry but also reveals how our trust and obedience allow God to act. Fr. Peter invites us to see how every saint who learned to say “Yes” to God d...

In our meditation of the week for the feast of Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on the life and virtues of the faithful successor of St. Josemaria Escriva, whom he affectionately nicknamed Saxum or rock in Latin.

Fr. Javier shares how the gift of fortitude, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, was powerfully present in Blessed Alvaro’s life and how we too are called to become “rocks”--dependable buildin...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on how the Risen Christ remained hidden from the disciples on the road to Emmaus so they would learn to recognize him with the eyes of faith. Drawing from St. Luke’s Gospel, Fr. Peter shares how we too are called to encounter Christ daily—especially in the Bread and the Word—through a life of prayer and faith.

Listen now to reflect on:  

• Why Christ willed...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the mystery of the Resurrection and our mission to proclaim the joy that Christ is alive. He explains that we are not called to announce that Jesus is risen through dramatic gestures or grand proclamations but through the example of our faith and our joy.

Christ's resurrection is not only a past event but a living reality made present to us in the Eucharist ...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha reflects on the overflowing joy and wonder of Christ’s Resurrection and the living presence of the Risen Lord in the Church, in creation, and in our daily lives.

Fr. Donncha invites us to rediscover the Church as the living presence of Christ among us - a gift that is not the result of human effort, but the action of the Risen Lord in history. He reflects on how the Chur...

In our meditation of the week for Holy Thursday: Fr. Donncha Ó hAodha offers a profound reflection on the enduring, limitless love of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. Entering the Upper Room with the Apostles, we are invited to contemplate the eternal love of Christ, who “loved them to the end,” and who gives us not a symbol but his very self in the Blessed Sacrament.

Fr. Do...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio shares a reflection on the Gospel passage of the Passion of Christ (Luke 22:14-23:56) which is read on Palm Sunday. During this holiest time of the year, the Church invites her people to focus directly on the suffering of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The longer Gospel readings help us to honor Christ’s request to “keep watch and pray” with him as he asked the Apostles in the Ga...

In our meditation of the week: Reflecting on the Gospel of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11), Msgr. Fred Dolan invites us to contemplate the gift of mercy—a central theme of the Christian life. In this powerful scene, Christ reveals the heart of the Father, not through condemnation, but through compassion and forgiveness. It is a call to each of us to examine how quickly we pass judgment, often without even realizing it.

Note: This meditation was recorded in front of a live audience.

In our meditation for the Fourth Week of Lent, Fr. Peter Armenio invites us to renew our commitment to the three pillars of Lent: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. As we reach the midpoint of this penitential seson, he reminds us that Lent centers on Christ’s self-giving sacrifice on the Cross—the greatest expression of love. To follow Christ is to embrace the ...

In our meditation of the week: Msgr. Fred Dolan reflects on the 100th anniversary of St. Josemaria’s priestly ordination on March 28, 1925. He invites us to consider the extraordinary fruitfulness of St. Josemaria’s life and his desire to be a genuine priest with a genuine and serious concern for souls that led him to love everyone without distinction.

Drawing from personal anecdotes and historical accounts, Msgr. Dolan hi...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent and how they teach us to see that God approaches us first because he eminently wills our happiness-- a happiness that begins here on earth because of his liberation.

Fr. Peter begins by recounting the familiar story of how Moses encountered God through the burning bush. We see God reveal himself as a liberator, seeking to free the ...

In our meditation of the week: Msgr. Dolan reflects on the Transfiguration of Christ and how this scene reminds us that a major goal of the Lenten season is to create an interior silence that allows us to enjoy God's presence.

Msgr. Dolan shares how the scene of the Transfiguration echoes the words of the Psalms: "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:11). The disciples who witnessed this moment "fel...

In our meditation of the week: we reflect on the virtue of fortitude as the driving force to overcome temptation. St. Josemaria Escriva reminds us, "A task which presents no difficulties lacks human appeal – and supernatural appeal too. If you find no resistance when hammering a nail into a wall, what can you expect to hang on it?" (The Forge, no. 245). To win the prize, you cannot avoid the struggle—it is the very path t...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on self-denial as a path to deeper faith and freedom in Christ. As we begin Lent, we are reminded that to follow Our Lord, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Self-denial strengthens our commitment to prayer, holiness, and living the Gospel with conviction. 

Fr. Peter reminds us that St. Josemaria Escriva said, "If you don’t deny yourself, you ...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on the first evangelical words of Christ—"Come and see"—and the power of personal witness in evangelization. He highlights how spreading the Gospel does not require grand gestures but genuine relationship, as seen in the example of John the Baptist, who led his disciples to Jesus, and in the early Church, where ordinary laypeople shared the faith in their daily liv...

In our meditation of the week: Fr. Peter Armenio reflects on St. Josemaria Escriva's teaching on realistic optimism— omnia in bonum- the confidence that Christ has already conquered all on our behalf, and that by uniting ourselves to him through prayer, we can overcome any challenge and participate in his victory. 

Drawing from John 16:33, he reminds us of Christ’s words: “In the world you will have affliction. But t...