. AR#3 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. As human beings, we have disordered desires. One of our greatest disordered desires is to want things now, to be impatient, and to want things through our own efforts, without waiting or cooperating with God’s will. To wait and cooperate with God’s will, is to unleash the wonderful charac…

AR#2 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. We want everything accomplished right away. God only knows that accomplishment follows one thing after another. He knows that it takes time for us to learn what it means to be human, to be those who are loved so deeply by His most Sacred Heart, His mother, and the saints. He knows that it t…

AR#1 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. One of God’s attributes is patience. He suffers His own creation, as it comes to fulfillment in His love. The God that we worship is a God who truly loves us. And in this great love, He waits. He waits for us to respond to all that He has given us. And He doesn’t simply wait in a passive wa…

Episode 5: Hell – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First Deacon James Keating discusses the theology of hell, emphasizing it as a reality shaped by human freedom. Hell is the consequence of dying in a state of unrepented mortal sin, where individuals knowingly and freely reject God’s love. This eternal separation from God is marked by isolation an…

Episode 4: Heaven – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First Deacon James Keating explores the nature of heaven as a relationship with Christ rather than a physical place. Heaven begins now, insofar as we are “in Christ.” This communion, nurtured through prayer, sacraments, and repentance, is the essence of heaven. Sin disrupts this union, leading t…

Episode 3: Purgatory – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss the nature of purgatory, referencing saints’ mystical experiences to explore purification, suffering, and holiness. Saints like St. Catherine of Genoa offer images of purgatory that allow us to meditate on sin’s disruptive nature to the Bod…

Episode 2: What is Death? – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore deep themes of Catholic theology around death, salvation, and the journey of purification, both in life and after death. Humanity’s fear of death often stems from the fear of isolation, as humans are created for communion with God and …

Episode 1: Introduction – Salvation Begins Now: Last Things First Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore the Christian understanding of life, death, and the eternal destiny in light of Catholic teaching on the “last things” (heaven, hell, death, and the final judgment). Contemporary Catholics may struggle with these concepts, as the vocabul…

The Eucharist and the Hope of Conversion with Deacon James Keating Ph.D. In “The Eucharist and Hope for Conversion,” Deacon James Keating discusses the deep spiritual significance of the Eucharist and the Sacr…

The Desert of Consumerism – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss Lent as a spiritual oasis in life’s desert, where distractions of consumerism often obscure our deeper needs. Deacon Keating reminds us of Lent’s call to surrender to God’s providence, confro…

This reflection was given during a special Discerning Hearts Advent evening of prayer and meditation at St. Margaret Mary’s Church in Omaha, NE Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO. Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page The post…

The Suffering of Love – The Heart of Hope with Deacon James Keating Ph.D. Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss the healing hand of Christ, seeing the will of God, and how we suffer love. Deacon Keating reflects on the tale of the two criminals on the cross next to Christ on Golgotha. This series explores the work of suffering in the Chris…

Conversion in the Context of Prayer – The School of Prayer: Reflections on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI What is the authentic understanding of “conversion” in the context of prayer. Deacon Keating discusses the reflection offered by the Holy Father of the encounter of Elijah with prophets of Baal. Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor o…

Waiting for God – The School of Prayer: Reflections on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI What is the authentic understanding of “intercession” in the context of prayer. Moses speaks to God as friend. The invisibility of God puts deep questions in our hearts. Unless we have the intimacy of relationship with God in our hearts, our fear will overwhel…

Who Are We? Wrestling with God – The School of Prayer: Reflections on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI Jacob wrestling with Angel. The mystery of the name. We have to let God ask us who we are or will you resist and remain isolated? Our prayer is only going to be fruitful if we surrender ourselves to the question…who are you? Like Jacob, once we …

The Mystery of Intercessory Prayer and God’s Great Mercy- The School of Prayer: Reflections on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI Abraham the great Patriarch who prays in intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah. The mystery of intercessory prayer and God’s great mercy. When we persist in prayer, like Abraham, the more we come to know God and trust in H…

Faith and Reason in the Life of Prayer – The School of Prayer: Reflections on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI Allowing God to effect our minds, as well as our hearts. If you let God close you will be free…to let him in so close that God prays in you. Letting God’s love be the norm of our culture…in the other and in the poor. The role of silence …

Why We Need Prayer – The School of Prayer: Reflections on the teachings of Pope Benedict XVI “Life without prayer has no meaning or points of reference”. The relationship between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is so essential to our understanding of prayer. The meaning of the Church. Suffering the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the…

Episode 5 -Stations of the Cross: Reflections with Deacon James Keating – Deacon Keating guides us through the 12th station (Jesus dies on the Cross), the 13th station (Jesus is taken down from the Cross and laid in the arms of His mother), and the 14th station (Jesus is placed in the tomb) along the Way of the Cross. Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., i…

Episode 4 -Stations of the Cross: Reflections with Deacon James Keating – The Stations of the Cross – one of the most powerful devotionals alive in the heart of the Church. Reflecting and deeply meditating on the Passion of the Christ, Deacon Keating guides us through the 9th station (Jesus fall a 3rd time), the 10th station (Jesus is stripped of H…