The Oasis of Lent – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss various aspects of marriage, spirituality, and the role of Christ in relationships. Life is a continuous response to God’s love, with the ultimate fulfillment found in heaven. While perfection may not be attainable, …

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…

Leaving the Desert – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explore Lent’s significance, urging introspection and acknowledgment of sin. Deacon Keating highlights society’s loss of this sense, attributing it partly to psychology’s influence. This reminds us of perso…

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…

The Desert of Sin – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss the concept of the “Desert of Sin”: the idea that sin, while providing some form of consolation, ultimately leads to spiritual emptiness and turmoil. Dcn. Keating emphasizes the importance of patienc…

Episode 3 -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 6th station (Veronica wipes the face of Jesus), the 7th station (Jesus falls a …

Waiting in the Desert – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss Lent as a time of vulnerability to God’s mercy, emphasizing bringing sin into Christ’s light for liberation. They contrast morality’s true freedom with sin’s chains and highlight Christ’s presenc…

Episode 2 -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 3rd station (Jesus falls the first time), the 4th station (Jesus encounters His…

The Desert of Ordinary Life – Crossing the Desert: Lent and Conversion with Deacon James Keating In this episode, Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor discuss integrating faith into daily life, warning against separating religion from ordinary activities. They stress the need for vulnerability in worship to avoid routine and self-centeredness. Le…

The 1st and 2nd Stations – Stations of the Cross with Deacon James Keating Deacon James Keating reflects on the Stations of the Cross as a profound meditation on Christ’s suffering and its connection to human woundedness. Through this devotion, believers unite their burdens with Christ, allowing His love to transform their struggles into a path of …

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…

The Gift of Holiness – Advent Retreat Reflection by Deacon James Keating Ph.D. Deacon James Keating reflects on the spiritual journey of focusing on “the one thing necessary,” inspired by the story of the Magi in Matthew 2, and the human tendency to be attracted to many distractions and how the saints exemplify unwavering commitment to God despite …

St. Therese of Lisieux said the following: “If I did not simply live from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient. But I only look at the present. I forget the past, and I take good care not to forestall the future.” In these remarks, St. Therese is trying to point to the truth that is buried deep within the Christian rev…

The patient one is also the meek one. In meekness, we have received God’s love so deeply, that we securely possess our own identities. Meekness is not weakness or some type of emotional withdrawal. To be meek, is to have suffered the coming of God’s love so deeply in our hearts, that we finally know who we are. And so we are no longer motivated to …

In the area of the new evangelization, we need to receive more in prayer. Even more than give witness to an action or word. The deeper we receive his love in prayer, the fewer our words will have to be to have great effect. God’s harvest awaits those who have received His love deeply. And for those who have received his love deeply, they bring fort…

The impatient one, above all, desires to speed up time and to get what he wants, when he wants it. In this way, impatience is related to violence. Whereas patience takes suffering upon the self. The impatient …

I will wait, and wait, and wait with the Lord. I will wait with and in the Lord, rather than violate charity. Wanting to speed up time, and make things happen now is a violation of charity. It does violence to the nature of things. But the patient person keeps a perspective that is beyond expedient. Beyond what is immediate, and sees before him or …

AR#7 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. Since we are God’s creation, we have come from God and we are returning to God; God has great confidence in His own grace. He has great confidence that his love for us can change us. He knows that we can make progress and be restored to spiritual and moral health. Do you have confidence in …

AR#6 – Advent Reflections with Deacon James Keating, Ph.D. One of our greatest sufferings as Christians is our own impatience with ourselves. We want to be good and holy immediately. St. Francis de Sales said “Have patience with all things. But chiefly, have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage, in considering your own imperfections. But ins…