St. Augustine of Hippo, Part 2 – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson

In part 2 of their conversation, Dr. Matthew Bunson and Kris McGregor explore the transformative journey of St. Augustine from his baptism in Italy to his return to Africa, where he established a monastic community and eventually became a priest and bishop. Augustine’s profound transformation and commitment to spiritual renewal equipped him to compassionately address heresies like Donatism and Pelagianism, emphasizing the Church’s teachings on the efficacy of the sacraments and grace.

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St. Augustine of Hippo, Part 1 – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson

Dr. Matthew Bunson and Kris McGregor discusses the life and legacy of St. Augustine, one of the most influential figures in Christian history. Dr. Bunson describes Augustine as a towering figure, honored as a saint, a Church Father, and a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the “Doctor of Grace.” His vast body of work, including Confessions and City of God, has profoundly impacted Western civilization and Christian thought.

St. Au...

Second Day – Jesus Loves You

Thought for the day:
“Do not be afraid – you are precious to Jesus. He loves you.”

Ask for the grace to be convinced of Jesus’ unconditional and personal love for you.

St. Teresa of Calcutta, you allowed the thirsting love of Jesus on the Cross to become a living flame within you, and so became the light of His love to all.

Obtain from the Heart of Jesus (here make your request).

Teach me to allow Jesus to penetrate and possess my whole being so co...



Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 25:1...

G. K. Chesterton and The Man Who Was Thursday – Great Works in Western Literature with Joseph Pearce

In this episode of The Great Works in Western Literature, Joseph Pearce and Kris McGregor explore St. Augustine’s Confessions, one of the great masterpieces of Christian literature and a work that remains remarkably personal more than sixteen centuries after it was written. Part autobiography, part theology, and part extended prayer, the Confessions recount Augustine’s restless search for truth and the obstacles of pride, sin, and false ideas that kept him from God. Pearce describes Augustine as an “ev...

From the Confessions of St. Augustine, bishop

(Lib. 9,10-11:CSEL 33, 215-219)

Let us gain eternal wisdom

The day was now approaching when my mother Monica would depart from this life; you know that day, Lord, though we did not. She and I happened to be standing by ourselves at a window that overlooked the garden in the courtyard of the house. At the time we were in Ostia on the Tiber. And so the two of us, all alone, were enjoying a very pleasant conversation, “forgetting the past and pushing on to what is...

Day 9

St. Augustine has written:

“Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and...

First Day – Know the Living Jesus

Thought for the day:
“Don’t search for Jesus in far lands; He is not there. He is close to you; He is in you.”

Ask for the grace of an intimate knowledge of Jesus.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta, you allowed the thirsting love of Jesus on the Cross to become a living flame within you, and so became the light of His love to all.

Obtain from the Heart of Jesus (here make your request).

Teach me to allow Jesus to penetrat...



Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to Matthew 24:42-51

Je...

How to Overcome Anger – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

Fr. Mauritius Wilde, OSB and Kris McGregor explore St. Benedict’s practical wisdom for dealing with anger, beginning with the simple instruction from Chapter 4 of the Rule: “You are not to act in anger.” Fr. Mauritius makes an important distinction between experiencing anger and allowing anger to control our actions. Anger itself is part of the human experience and can even provide the energy necessary to recognize injustice and defend what is good. Jesus Himself displays what Fr. Mauritiu...

Day 8

St. Augustine has written:

“I look forward, not to what lies ahead of me in this life and will surely pass away, but to my eternal goal. I am intent upon this one purpose, not distracted by other aims, and with this goal in view I press on, eager for the prize, God’s heavenly summons. Then I shall listen to the sound of Your praises and gaze at Your beauty ever present, never future, never past. But now my years are but sighs. You, O Lord, are my only solace. You...

Wednesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 23:27-32

Jesus sai...

Episode 6 – Know your Weapons pt. 1 – A Manual for Spiritual Warfare with Dr. Paul Thigpen, Ph.D

In this episode of Put on the Armor: A Manual for Spiritual Warfare, Kris McGregor and Dr. Paul Thigpen begin a rich discussion on one of the most hopeful themes in the spiritual life: the weapons God has given His people for the battle. Far from leaving Christians defenseless, the Lord equips them with divine means to overcome the enemy’s strongholds. Dr. Thigpen explains that these strongholds can take many forms, including sinful habits, spiritual wounds, unhealthy relationships, and pa...

Day 7

St. Augustine has written:

“As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not one who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from commandments, something from examples, and something from sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for study.”

Heavenly Father,
we turn to you now with the intentions we hold in our hearts,
as pray as St. A...

Tuesday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to Matthew 23:23-26

Jesus...

The 14 Rules of the Discernment of Spirits with Fr. Timothy Gallagher with Kris McGregor

Episode Fourteen: Rule Twelve – Standing Firm at the Beginning of Temptation

Episode 14-The Twelve Rule:

The enemy acts like a woman, in being weak against vigor and strong of will. Because, as it is the way of the woman when she is quarrelling with some man to lose heart, taking flight when the man shows her much courage: and on the contrary, if the man, losing heart, begins to fly, the wrath, revenge, and ferocity of the woman is ver...

Day 6

St. Augustine has written:

“As Christians, our task is to make daily progress toward God. Our pilgrimage on earth is a school in which God is the only teacher, and it demands good students, not one who play truant. In this school we learn something every day. We learn something from commandments, something from examples, and something from sacraments. These things are remedies for our wounds and materials for study.”

Heavenly Father,
we turn to you now with the intentions we hold in our hearts,
as pray as S...

The Feast of St. Bartholomew – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. John 1:45-51

Philip found Nathanael a...

Day 5

St. Augustine has written:

“A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature, but rejecting superstitious vanities and deploring and avoiding those who ‘though they knew God did not glorify him as God or give thanks but became enfeebled in their own thoughts and plunged their senseless minds into darkness. Claiming to be wise they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the image of corruptible mortals and a...

Sunday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 16:13-20

When Jesu...

The Queenship of Mary: A Mother and Queen of Every Heart – Building a Kingdom of Love with Msgr. John Esseff

In this episode of Building a Kingdom of Love, Msgr. John Esseff reflects on the Queenship of Mary, revealing a queenship rooted not in earthly power or grandeur, but in motherhood, humility, and love. Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth because she is the Mother of God and the mother given to us by Jesus from the Cross. From Guadalupe and Fatima to Lourdes and the Miraculous Medal, Msgr. Esseff shows Mary continually re...

Day 4

St. Augustine has written:

“You are surprised that the world is losing its grip, that the world is grown old? Think of a man: he is born, he grows up, he becomes old. Old age has its many complaints: coughing, shaking, failing eyesight, anxious, terribly tired. A man grows old; he is full of complaints. The world is old; it is full of pressing tribulations. . . . Do not hold onto the old man, the world; do not refuse to regain your youth in Christ, who says to you, ‘The world is passing away, the world is lo...



Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 23:1...



Fr. Quan Tran – The Imitation of Mary on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

Fr. Quan Tran joins Kris McGregor to discuss his book The Imitation of Mary: Keys to Growth in Virtue and Grace and his ministry, Fullness of Grace. Drawing on Scripture and the saints, he distills twelve Marian qualities—beginning with humility and confidence in God—and shows how grace always invites a free, active response. Each chapter ends with short, concrete practices so the teaching becomes lived: conforming our will to God’s, cultivating sacrificial love (Aquinas’ “to will the good of th...

Day 3

St. Augustine has written:

“The wisdom of what a person says is in direct proportion to his progress in learning the holy scriptures–and I am not speaking of intensive reading or memorization, but real understanding and careful investigation of their meaning. Some people read them but neglect them; by their reading they profit in knowledge, by their neglect they forfeit understanding.” (from “On Christian Doctrine“)

Heavenly Father,
we turn to you now with the intentions we hold in our hearts,
as pray as St. Augustine has taught:

Spiri...

Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 22:34-40

When the...

St. Bernard and the 12 Steps to Humility and Pride – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor have a discussion about St. Bernard of Clairvaux. They begin by discussing St. Bernard’s deep devotion to the Virgin Mary and his belief that Mary serves as the “neck” of the Mystical Body of Christ, through whom all grace from Christ is mediated to humanity.

Dr. Lilles outlines the historical context in which St. Bernard lived (1090-1153), highlighting his role in the Crusades, monastic reform, and his influence on other saints a...

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Pt. 2 – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson

Dr. Matthew Bunson and Kris McGregor discuss the life and influence of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th-century Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church. St. Bernard played a significant role in the Second Crusade, being called upon due to his reputation as a powerful preacher. Despite the Crusade’s failure, which was attributed to the incompetence and infighting of its leaders, Bernard was heavil...

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Pt. 1 – The Doctors of the Church: The Charism of Wisdom with Dr. Matthew Bunson

Dr. Matthew Bunsen and Kris McGregor discuss the life and influence of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. St. Bernard, a Doctor of the Church, is celebrated for his deep spirituality, theological brilliance, and reformative impact on monastic life. He was instrumental in building the Cistercian order and defending Church teachings. Bernard’s upbringing in a noble family provided him with a strong education and a profou...

Day 9

St. Bernard you have said:

“Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honored, the greater is the glory of her Son. There can be no doubt that whatever we say in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son. O Blessed Mary, whoever loves you honors God; whoever serves you pleases God; whoever invokes your holy name with a pure heart will infallibly receive the object of his petition.“

St. Bernard you h...

Day 2

St. Augustine has written:

“Though good and bad men suffer alike, we must not suppose that there is no difference between the men themselves, because there is no difference in what they both suffer. For even in the likeness of the sufferings, there remains an unlikeness in the sufferers; and though exposed to the same anguish, virtue and vice are not the same thing. For as the same fire causes gold to glow brightly, and chaff to smoke; and under the same flail the straw is beaten small, while the grain is cle...

Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus began...

Prayer During the Night – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B

In this episode of The Holy Rule of St. Benedict: A Spiritual Path for Today’s World, Fr. Mauritius Wilde, OSB and Kris McGregor explore St. Benedict’s striking attention to prayer during the night and in the quiet hours of early morning. Beginning with Chapter 8 of the Rule, Fr. Mauritius explains why Benedict structured the monastic day around Vigils, inviting the monks to rise while the world is still dark and quiet. These hours offer a particular openne...

Day 8

St. Bernard you have said:

“Many appear full of mildness and sweetness as long as everything goes their own way; but the moment any contradiction or adversity arises, they are in a flame, and begin to rage like a burning mountain. Such people as these are like red-hot coals hidden under ashes. This is not the mildness which Our Lord undertook to teach us in order to make us like unto Himself.”

“If anyone makes himself his own master in the spiritual life, he makes himself scholar to a fool.”

St. Berna...

Day 1

St. Augustine has written:

“No one knows what he himself is made of, except his own spirit within him, yet there is still some part of him which remains hidden even from his own spirit; but you, Lord, know everything about a human being because you have made him…Let me, then, confess what I know about myself, and confess too what I do not know, because what I know of myself I know only because you shed light on me, and what I do not know I shall remain ignorant abou...

Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus sai...

Day 7

St. Bernard you have said:

“It was love that motivated His self-emptying, that led Him to become a little lower than angels, to be subject to parents, to bow His head beneath the Baptist’s hands, to endure the weakness of the flesh, and to submit to death even upon the cross”

St. Bernard you have given us this prayer and with you, we pray:

(The Memorare)

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or soug...



Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time – A Time of Lectio Divina for the Discerning Heart Podcast

As you begin, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.  For at least the next few moments, surrender all the cares and concerns of this day to the Lord.

Say slowly from your heart “Jesus, I Trust In You…You Take Over”

Become aware that He is with you, looking upon you with love, wanting to be heard deep within in your heart…

From the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew 19:23...

The 14 Rules of the Discernment of Spirits with Fr. Timothy Gallagher with Kris McGregor

Episode Thirteen: Rule Eleven – Humility in Consolation and Trust in Desolation

Episode 13-The Eleventh Rule:

Let him who is consoled see to humbling himself and lowering himself as much as he can, thinking how little he is able for in the time of desolation without such grace or consolation. On the contrary, let him who is in desolation think that he can do much with the grace sufficient to resist all his enemies, taking strength in his Cre...

Day 6

St. Bernard you have said:

“Let no one believe that he has received the divine kiss, if he knows the truth without loving it or loves it without understanding it. But blessed is that kiss whereby not only is God recognized but also the Father is loved; for there is never full knowledge without perfect love.”

St. Bernard you have given us this prayer and with you, we pray:

(The Memorare)

REMEMBER, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy prote...