Prime Matters

Just as faith actively receives from God, faith actively rejects that which is not from God. Each of us entertains (and often believes) lies and false images of God and oneself, obstructing our attempts to receive from God. Turning to God involves rejecting that which holds us back from him. Actively receiving and actively rejecting are two sides of the same act of faith. In this three-part series, Msgr. Thomas Richter offers an overarching vision of the Christian interior life. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

Faith acknowledges the needs of the heart and relates them to Jesus. However, due to original sin, we often sit in self-made aloneness, failing to bring our needs to him. Filled with anxiety and worry, we try to fix ourselves, not realizing that this tendency arises from the often-misunderstood vice of sloth. It’s time we kick the spiritual bachelor out of the basement and open up to Christ in prayer. In this three-part series, Msgr. Thomas Richter offers an overarching vision of the Christian interior life. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

As Christians, we need to make sure that we’re getting God right. It is possible to pray for years without a Christian heart, approaching prayer as pagans in Christian clothing. In this reflection, Msgr. Thomas Richter helps to expose the pagan vision of prayer that exists in our hearts in hopes of clearing the way for each of us to encounter God. In this three-part series, Msgr. Thomas Richter offers an overarching vision of the Christian interior life. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

Much of the Christian journey involves gaining a sense of the big picture: actively interpreting our lives according to the Catholic imaginative vision is essential for the Christian life. In the final days of Lent in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Monsignor James P. Shea delivered a retreat from an empty campus entitled, "From Shadows into the Light: Gaining the Eyes of Faith." Pairing reflections on the gift of faith with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, these reflections were delivered daily from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

The Church is at once changeless and remarkably flexible: while the battle is constant, the terrain on which it is fought changes from one generation to the next. In the final days of Lent in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Monsignor James P. Shea delivered a retreat from an empty campus entitled, "From Shadows into the Light: Gaining the Eyes of Faith." Pairing reflections on the gift of faith with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, these reflections were delivered daily from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

If it is true, as Christians believe, that Christ is incarnate in a Mystical Body, then that Body is the necessary focus of the world's story. In the final days of Lent in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Monsignor James P. Shea delivered a retreat from an empty campus entitled, "From Shadows into the Light: Gaining the Eyes of Faith." Pairing reflections on the gift of faith with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, these reflections were delivered daily from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

God established the Church as a colony of heaven on earth, which he inhabits and in which he clothes himself, continuing the rescue mission of Christ. In the final days of Lent in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Monsignor James P. Shea delivered a retreat from an empty campus entitled, "From Shadows into the Light: Gaining the Eyes of Faith." Pairing reflections on the gift of faith with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, these reflections were delivered daily from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

In the midst of a great drama of realities visible and invisible, God invades rebel-held territory to redeem the wayward human race, taking on our nature in order to suffer on our behalf. In the final days of Lent in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Monsignor James P. Shea delivered a retreat from an empty campus entitled, "From Shadows into the Light: Gaining the Eyes of Faith." Pairing reflections on the gift of faith with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, these reflections were delivered daily from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

Faith is a matter of vision: it is a way of seeing more truly and more fully, the healing of our minds that allows us to grasp what is real and what is true in its entirety. In the final days of Lent in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Monsignor James P. Shea delivered a retreat from an empty campus entitled, "From Shadows into the Light: Gaining the Eyes of Faith." Pairing reflections on the gift of faith with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, these reflections were delivered daily from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

The question of faith is not as much about whether we believe God exists as it is whether we are willing to come to him and trust in him. We say we have faith - do we really? In the final days of Lent in the midst of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Monsignor James P. Shea delivered a retreat from an empty campus entitled, "From Shadows into the Light: Gaining the Eyes of Faith." Pairing reflections on the gift of faith with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, these reflections were delivered daily from Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

The most basic language of God is spiritual consolation on the third level of the human heart: God encourages and gives life, energy, lightness, and attraction to the human heart concerning one’s relationship with God and all that he has revealed to be true. The most basic language of the enemy is spiritual desolation on the third level of the human heart: it is an experience of heaviness, confusion, darkness, and discouragement concerning one’s relationship with God and all that he has revealed to be true. What is prayer? How can I hear God’s voice? How can I discern his will and pursue my vocation? Father Dominic Bouck, chaplain of the University of Mary, discussed these questions with Monsignor Thomas J. Richter, a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck known for his insights into Christian prayer, spiritual direction, and vocational discernment. Reflecting on their experiences in parish ministry and working with students of all ages, Msgr. Richter and Fr. Bouck present a profound and lively view of Christian prayer. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

In order to hear God speak, one must become aware of the movements of one’s interior life and understand their origins. While many of our thoughts, feelings, and desires have natural origins, Christians have always believed that God (and the enemy) speak to us in our lives and the quiet of our hearts. Once we have discerned the source of the movements of our interior lives, we can receive those that are from God as true, reject those that are opposed to God as false, and act accordingly. What is prayer? How can I hear God’s voice? How can I discern his will and pursue my vocation? Father Dominic Bouck, chaplain of the University of Mary, discussed these questions with Monsignor Thomas J. Richter, a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck known for his insights into Christian prayer, spiritual direction, and vocational discernment. Reflecting on their experiences in parish ministry and working with students of all ages, Msgr. Richter and Fr. Bouck present a profound and lively view of Christian prayer. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

Christian relational prayer is focused on friendship with Christ. Much of the fear and anxiety young people often experience around discernment arises from a false understanding of prayer, focused entirely on figuring out what one must do. The vocational question, however, cannot be the first question of prayer: only once one has experienced the presence of Christ and has begun to receive from the heart of God can one begin to discern. The question of one’s vocation must be approached from within a lived relationship with Christ through a spirit of gratitude and magnanimity, rather than of sloth and pusillanimity. What is prayer? How can I hear God’s voice? How can I discern his will and pursue my vocation? Father Dominic Bouck, chaplain of the University of Mary, discussed these questions with Monsignor Thomas J. Richter, a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck known for his insights into Christian prayer, spiritual direction, and vocational discernment. Reflecting on their experiences in parish ministry and working with students of all ages, Msgr. Richter and Fr. Bouck present a profound and lively view of Christian prayer. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

Prayer is concerned with receiving from God – but that does not mean it is passive. Prayer seeks to actively receive from God, which requires that we actively reject that which is not from God: lies and false ideas that are opposed to what God has revealed to us about who he is and how he relates to us. Active receptivity and active rejectivity both occur within the context of a relationship, encapsulated by the question, “Jesus, what are you doing?” What is prayer? How can I hear God’s voice? How can I discern his will and pursue my vocation? Father Dominic Bouck, chaplain of the University of Mary, discussed these questions with Monsignor Thomas J. Richter, a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck known for his insights into Christian prayer, spiritual direction, and vocational discernment. Reflecting on their experiences in parish ministry and working with students of all ages, Msgr. Richter and Fr. Bouck present a profound and lively view of Christian prayer. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision."

The Christian imaginative vision and the modern secular vision of the world shape our view of who God is and how he relates to us. The secular vision tells us that the purpose of prayer is to convince God to act. The Christian vision, however, tells us that God is already present and provides for us always, which means that prayer is concerned primarily with receiving from God and allowing him to act. Only once we have begun to understand what prayer truly is can we truly relate the movements of our interior lives to Christ and receive from him. What is prayer? How can I hear God’s voice? How can I discern his will and pursue my vocation? Father Dominic Bouck, chaplain of the University of Mary, discussed these questions with Monsignor Thomas J. Richter, a priest of the Diocese of Bismarck known for his insights into Christian prayer, spiritual direction, and vocational discernment. Reflecting on their experiences in parish ministry and working with students of all ages, Msgr. Richter and Fr. Bouck present a profound and lively view of Christian prayer. Prime Matters (www.primematters.com) is a groundbreaking project of educational outreach of the University of Mary: "Awakening the Catholic Imaginative Vision." 

The ancient battle between good and evil continues today in each human heart. God calls; darkness seduces; and here, now, each one of us is faced with the choice on which our fate rests, a choice as old as the angels and our first parents. Will we accept life with God, embracing in all humility the path He lays out for us? Or will we draw up hedges around our egos, echoing those fallen words: “I will not serve”? The decision is ours; our eternal destinies are in our hands. While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover. www.primematters.com A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

The controversy sparked by the life of Jesus has followed his Church down through the ages. Deemed a refuge for the ignorant as often as the ark of salvation, a haven for barbarism as often as a lover of freedom, Darth Vadar as often as a queenly and tender mother, the Church remains plagued by division, confusion, and betrayal in its adherents. And yet it continues to find new converts, new Christians, even in a secularized and materialist culture. For in its most significant aspects, the Church has served as the keeper of the sacraments: visible signs of the invisible reality that God has kept his promise – the human race will be made new. While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover. www.primematters.com A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

Pentecost ushered in the apostolic age of the Church, those years in which Peter, Paul, and all the apostles ventured across the known world, spreading the Gospel to all nations, evangelizing Jews and Gentiles alike. Before long, small churches popped up across Asia, Africa, and Europe, even as disciples began to cultivate a Tradition and the beginnings of a book of Scriptures, all amidst an atmosphere of persecution and martyrdom. The Church had taken root. While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover. www.primematters.com A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

Where is the great drama of human history headed? What does the Christian know about his future? We consider here what we know and what we do not know about the pilgrimage of the human race toward its ordained end. As we await the end of history as we know it, the “end times,” the “apocalypse,” the final judgment, in what (or whom) shall we place our hope? While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover. www.primematters.com A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.

After His Resurrection, Jesus’s disciples wondered: would he now establish the long-awaited messianic kingdom, authoritative and powerful beyond measure? But Jesus had something different – and far more satisfying – in store. The divine Logos was to ascend once more to the Father, sending down the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, establishing the Lord’s presence within each of His followers. And the fruit of the Spirit would become manifest in each of them: in dramatic form as the Apostles spoke in tongues at Pentecost and in subtler form as they went out into the world with tender hearts, clear minds, and resilient wills for the mission they were to carry forward. While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover. www.primematters.com A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.