The Importance & Power of Prayer w/ Tammy Peterson: Part II

Friends, I invite you to listen to the second half of my conversation with Tammy Peterson. It is always a joy to see the Holy Spirit moving in the lives of those who invite him in.

00:00 | Intro
00:28 | Prayer as sustenance and as intercession across space and time
06:00 | What is transubstantiation?
11:50 | Praying Scripture
13:30 | Prayerful examination of a day
18:33 | Examining Dante’s Divine Comedy
20:08 | Dark nights of the soul
23:31 | Grace in suffering
31:27 | Remembering the body
32:58 | Singing and prayer
34:16 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

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[Leo_fabulator]

Bishop Barron's words left a deep impression on me. Starting today, I will pray the Hail mary, Lords prayer, Glory be prayers every day for one person who is suffering the most on this earth.

[deelot]

I love all of Bishop Barron's pastoral teachings. Even when Tammy goes off at length promoting this Carnivore diet, which I think could have been cut out at points, Bishop Barron always steers it back to Catholic teaching.

[NancyCahalan]

I think the book to which you referred is Come Be My Light. It is a wonderful book that I highly recommend to anyone to read.

[TrickyVickey]

I have been very sick almost to death several times and the spiritual growth I experienced was worth it all.

[therese_paula]

May I grow in my prayer life. Intercede for me, my Immaculate Mother 🙏🙏🙏

[catholicnewsworld]

Thanks for highlighting the importance of prayer! Prayers and blessings! Such a touching story!

[ManiusCuriusDenatus]

I found my way to OCIA through your ministry, among others. Thank you, Bishop. I ask your prayers.

[DawnLapka-ci]

I even pray when TV is on -- sometimes that happens and I realize it's been on all day, but it was just background noise. I've had spiritual direction priests or nuns in my life, and had some of these same conversations that you folks put out. The whole point of spiritual direction is for both the people in the conversation: the person who has more education involved is still being soul-moved, and the learner of the philosophy or theology or psychology or sociology is soul-moved as well, continuing on those deeper relationships with God. Thanks for doing this.

[CoreyMildenberger]

Hello Bishop Barron.

I've been following you for awhile now. My knowledge of the Catholic faith has broadened as a result. Thank you.

There are some messages that you repeat Bishop that are difficult for me to internalize. I find your honesty in addressing difficult questions refreshing from the fairytale idealization that I feel many fall under due to their traumas in life that originally bring them to religion. Certainly I have been one of those. It was the death of my brother at an early age that brought me to God. Advancing from an unexamined faith later in life however has brought a more challenging examination for me as I question do I truly believe in Christ not just out of the fear of death, loss, hell. My eternalization and hope of an ongoing beautiful life for loved ones, living and dead prevented me from asking tuffer questions to strengthen my faith or finding joy in the resurrection.

You have said that love is not an emotion but an act of the will. I find it difficult to accept that the heart does not proceed the will in many respects. In your words "God is pure love, that the love between the Father and Son is the Holy Spirit". I find my experience with the Holy Spirit is felt in the heart more than the mind. That the mind opens through the medium of love. It seems much bigger than my intellect. Is love God's intellectual will, right reason, or something deeper than these. That God wills love to his creation cannot be merely understood as an act of reason or intellect? Reason and intellect are used for much destruction in the hands of those who have no heart or consciousness for the sanctity of life. Love transcends will and reason? Or is right reason a definition of love? I'm confused somewhat by your comment that love is not a feeling or emotion. I agree that from selfish motives emotion can lead to manipulation of others for one's own end. Emotion undefined leads us into choices that leave us empty, misguided and this can cause a lot of harm. Love of self becomes confusing and self deprecating when one cannot satisfy one's passions within the context that God wants us to live life to the fullest. What does this mean for our wellbeing when our passions are suppressed because of evil? To attempt to find this fullness of life through sin seems forgivable when we are disordered or deprived. Christs forgiveness of those that would crucify him demonstrates his divinity and compassion for our disorder. I use your definition here that "evil" is the lack of a good or the fullness of what should be there for the person according to Gods design. The evil that many suffer prevents them from experiencing a satisfaction of the passions that are God given. In essence love of self for the Christian becomes a masochistic commitment as the individual try's to discern the cross they should carry and then they allow evil in their life because they don't know how to love themselves. I can envision that Christ could love himself fully in his humanity. That he new his worth to God. Should our cross in our brokenness be love of self? Our disorder in self love leads to more evil for many believers as we cannot achieve fullness of life when we accept evil as our cross but cannot change or affect improvement in the evil we endure for whatever reason. Evil then persists for those that we influence and love due to an inability for us to achieve fullness of life through Gods original plan. Self destructive behaviour results from unfulfilled desires and evil persists. This can completely destroy the person if they cannot find forgiveness from loved ones or themselves for their sins or connot remove themselves from the evil. By our will or Gods will do we accept evil in our life? We may not or do not attend to evil in a proper self loving fashion due to our limits so what is it that many Christians struggle with? Why are they turning away? That suffering for sufferings sake is what life to the fullest means? Not attractive. To be selfless as Christ was selfless would be akin to a complete fullness of love and acceptance of oneself? Right ordered we are better able to care for others. I think this is where many check out in discerning Gods will. There's enough suffering to endure in life why would they want more? The church is clear that God values suffering and that selfless suffering for others is where love dwells as we find maturity in our faith. But...we are asked by Christ to ease the suffering of others? This often puts us at odds with another's will or aligns us with evil that will not relent.

I think for many believers when they see that Christ has died for us the question becomes what has he purchased in "this" life for us. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven? Which is it? To ease the suffering of others through a compassionate heart. To bring others to Christ so that they may take up
a "perceived" cross uninformed, not enlightened and suffer more? To perpetuate more evil? Do we cause more unnecessary suffering in this fashion?

Our should we say that suffering that is a personal choice from the depth of a mature love of self has merit and that this leads to fullness of life. Love thy neighbour as thyself. If I love myself why is it that even though Christ can forgive us many cannot truly forgive themselves or move past the evil in their life.

To distinguish between necessary and unnecessary suffering becomes blurred for me. To distinguish between sacrifice for love of others and an unnecessary masochistic behaviour that diminishes my own value and human integrity is difficult. Christ suffered this indignity but I don't see it was masochistic like I feel many Christians do to themselves. Much of my spiritual growth has developed under such suffering however so this confuses me. Because of my passions I sense the lack of goods that I need to flourish and I suffer from this deprivation. I have searched for why I do not possess them fully. At 61 I see my sin more clearly then ever before and my sins are revealed at a deeper level in regards to how I have affected others and the cost that I have paid for my sins. I have become sharply aware of the consequences of my sins and am sorrowful. At the same time I am beginning to be able to forgive myself and find peace. At what point though does suffering through the acceptance of evil in my life reduce my ability to flourish. Is accepting evil in my life carrying "my" cross? Or is it bondage, oppression? Should we not fight against evil? Are there many crosses for me to choose from? I feel that there are many crosses to be carried but I hesitate to lay down the one I have chosen to bare. Can there be a greater good that God intends for me that could ease the truly unnecessary suffering of others? When I say this I mean the suffering of those that suffer not from their own prideful will but from external circumstances and evils that they endure through no fault of their own. This is my constant struggle in discerning Gods will. Do I have the wrong cross in my hands?Am I defining my cross incorrectly in my journey to salvation. Is our cross the journey to self love...not this or that? If I truly love myself I need to be aligned with my creator who loves me. Can you help interpret this struggle?

[michaelfrank]

I am pleased we came down on the side of an activist God. My God is an activist God. Prayer matters. Many around me believe in a God who created it all and then washed his hands of all of us.

[BoldlyDream]

Thank you for your teaching to understand. Amen, thank you Jesus Christ for saving souls of the lost. I rejoice in knowing the truth and welcome all who seek to know you as brothers and sisters. Thank you for your grace as we seek you. In all decisions we are to base our understanding on your teachings. Thank you for all the brave people of the Catholic faith who have kept your history so we may be guided in our understanding with truth. Amen 🙏

[papisoros]

The greatest thing that a soul in trial can decide to try is to be useful to the Risen One, according to the Greatness of the Creator of our soul and as He offered us: to be Happy in the service of Him who has no Servants, and only has Happy People around Him.

It is a great Honor for any soul and angelic creature, to serve the Risen One, the Very Love of God the Creator, incarnated in the human body for the Redemption of the human creatures of His Father.

I really like to tell the Truth, even if it complicates my life.

Blessed is Life when it is complicated by telling and showing the Truth.

I have been having clear dreams of spiritual content for several years, thanks to helping a child when he needed me and starting to pray the Holy Rosary (I thought I was old, you, and look at me now haha)

Our decisions, in this brief time to make decisions, mark our soul in the brief here, and in the eternal awakening before our own Judgment, before the Most Just and the one who Loves us most, our Savior God Christ.

[MartinMartin-muqj]

How important it is to thank our Savior for all the good he does in others and for all the good he does in us.

The more and better Christians live in this trial, this brief trial is a better place to go through.

How different the soul is when it is eaten away by the infamy that creeps in this world, than when that same soul is Happy with much less than what is surplus or necessary, but with much more than what is necessary to have: to God Christ in our hearts

In success, in health, in earthly triumph, the soul is also severely tested, falling due to pride is typical of those who do not want to, and only ill-treat themselves.

of dead beasts without love, hell is full

[marylynnmazzocco]

I have sung and hummed all my life, brings contentment. Interesting that people who stutter sing without stuttering.

[quincyjoelcahilig]

God bless you Bishop Robert and Mrs. Tammy Peterson and husband Dr. Jordan Peterson

[lenniedelarosa]

When I young, maybe 19?? I read a book "God This is Anna" and she likened God to a dot and man to a line. She said that man is a line with a beginning and and end and we see only portions of that line/life. While, God is a dot who can see both beginning and end. Prayer and how it applies is talking to God who can see all and our praise and worship covers this realm of a dot.

[ucantstopme]

When I think of an example of a miracle, her situation comes to mind...I don't know what else it could be?

[albertoflamini]

From St. Hugh Church, Coconut Grove, FL! 🙏🏻🔥🙌🏻For Bishop Barron! Vocations and the full conversion of our cristian brothers and sisters!

[ceciliadreger]

"You expired, O Jesus,
but the source of life gushed forth for souls and an ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You." Amen. Jesus, I Trust in You!!!
Our Lady of Lourd, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Pope John Paul, pray for us.
St. Matthew, pray for us.
St. Sarah, pray for us.
St. Anne, pray for us
St. Cynthia, pray for us.
St. Faustina, pray for us,
Cecilia Dreger and family (🕒🪑💧) Bishop Thomas Daly and Father Parsath.

[PuyaR-pljt]

Indeed, who knows, perhaps once a monk in 13th century had prayed for me ( “another ravenous wolf” that is incapable of praying for himself.)