THE ROSARY HOUR PODCAST NEWSLETTER [1st Edition]
JMJ+
23 agosto | 23 August, Santa Rosa de Lima | St. Rose of Lima, pray for us.
"How do we enter into redemptive suffering? How to heal from the sacraments?
Dear Readers:
We hope you enjoyed spending time at the Digital Café with guest Spiritual Director, Dr. Bob Schuchts who visits with Dr. Tina Bailey for the premiere of Season 2: Bookshelf, allowing those who cannot directly access the John Paul II Healing Center in Tallahassee, Florida, USA to explore his responses to our team’s questions on healing the whole person through this book, “Be Healed.”
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to click-to-rewatch another popular Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Schuchts as a respondent to Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, Provincial Superior of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy, who answers our questions about the Wounds of Christ and the Sorrowful Mysteries, especially relevant as we approach Sept. 15 Memorial of Nossa Senhora Das Dores (Our Lady of Sorrows) and begin to reflect upon the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady.
Below are some musings, segmented for our readers, the purposes of this post, as well more details linked to the video presentation above. NOTE: In this global invitation, Dr. Schuchts invites you to join the St. John Paul II Healing Center for a Virtual Conference.
We must emphasize that should you decide to participate in this round from August 28 to Sept. 1, REGISTRATION MUST BE ENTERED BY AUG 23, 11:59 PM tonight, especially if you wish to take advantage of the DISCOUNT at 50% off — only for Priests / Religious who USE Code: HWPV50AUG23 should your community / family / health team / spiritual director advise you to sign-up here.
See below for Wounds of Christ Rosary step-by-step as taught by Sister Chambon.
Sincerely,
The Rosary Hour Podcast Team
ABOUT DR. SCHUCHTS
Dr. Bob Schuchts, Ph.D. is the founder of the John Paul II Healing Center and the author of the best-selling book, Be Healed: Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in Your Life, and other numerous titles. He has also contributed to a variety of other publications and has published resources available through the Center. Bob spent more than 30 years as a therapist, while also teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in marriage and family relationships, human development, applied psychology, and marriage and family therapy. He held adjunct professor positions at Florida State University; Tallahassee Community College and the Center for Biblical Studies in Tallahassee, Florida. He has also taught courses at the Theology of the Body Institute and the Augustine Institute.
Dr. é o fundador do Centro de Cura João Paulo II e autor do livro best-seller Seja Curado: Encontrando o Poderoso Amor de Jesus em Sua Vida, além de vários outros títulos. Ele também contribuiu para uma variedade de outras publicações e publicou recursos disponíveis através do Centro. Bob passou mais de 30 anos como terapeuta, ao mesmo tempo que ministrava cursos de graduação e pós-graduação em casamento e relações familiares, desenvolvimento humano, psicologia aplicada e terapia conjugal e familiar. Ele ocupou cargos de professor adjunto na Florida State University; Tallahassee Community College e o Centro de Estudos Bíblicos em Tallahassee, Flórida. Também ministrou cursos no Instituto de Teologia do Corpo e no Instituto Agostinho.
Learn more here:
https://jpiihealingcenter.org/
THE BACKSTORY - WHY “BE HEALED”?
One of the many reasons our RHP Team chose to spotlight “Be Healed” and the upcoming Virtual Conference / events offered by the John Paul II Healing Center (See the video above) or click-to-watch our YouTube video posted on the Digital Café channel) arose, in part, from an influential talk that took place in mid-January 2021 and which was posted by Catholic Conscience.
In that discussion, Dr. Natasha Fernandes, a general Psychiatrist and Assistant Professor who specializes in the care for adults with developmental disabilities and a priest named Fr. Peter Turrone (PhD) who also has a background in medical science and neuroscience and worked as a research scientist at Centre for Addictions and Mental Health (CAMH) on the side effects of antipsychotic drugs before he was called to the priesthood, explored together their preliminary (and by no means exhaustive) thoughts on important topics like:
“health, the unity of body and soul, and the nature of human well-being, synthesizing science and Catholic wisdom about the human person.”1
It was this conversation which raised among our team members, many months before our podcast evolved into this prayer-project-in-the-making, a dialogue — primarily about how we have ourselves, in our own personal lives, experienced frustration with traditional models of health care outside of a Catholic setting.
Many of us began to realize by trial-and-error, over many years of experience and discussions with caring health professionals, priests, and spiritual directors, that there was a gap that we could address — this growing need for people of all backgrounds to further discuss the important questions about healing the whole person which Dr. Fernandes / Fr. Peter touched upon in their brief and introductory footnotes to these quite complex topics. These kinds of discussions have inspired many to explore alternatives to the current models for healing and find ways to evolve how we deal with brokenness that Christ’s Church invites us to meet in our baptism and the regular exposure to the sacraments.
In was in that spirit that our team felt we should approach Dr. Bob Schuchts as an expert who might help us better understand what was at the heart of contemplating the Sorrowful Mysteries.
If you are new to the research at the heart of the JPII Healing Center, perhaps you may be inspired to read a short excerpt from the ‘Introduction’ to “Be Healed” from this PDF offered by Ave Maria Press from their website.
We’ve reproduced only the first two pages from this free online sample for educational use purposes only.
“BE HEALED”
by: Dr. Bob Schuchts
INTRODUCTION
[Jesus’] gaze, the touch of his heart heals us . . . enabling us to become truly ourselves and thus totally of God. Pope Benedict XVI, Saved by Hope
Somewhere deep inside each one of us is a burning desire to finally become the person God created us to be. Yearning to be fully alive, we long to give ourselves as a gift wholeheartedly back to God. Yet despite these stirrings, many of us hesitate and resist, fearing the very thing we desire. While we long to be made pure and whole, we avoid God’s process of purification and healing.
I wonder if the Samaritan woman felt a similar reluctance before encountering Jesus at Jacob’s well (see Jn 4). Do you remember her story? Her brief but powerful encounter with Jesus exposed the secrets of her heart and set her free to love again. She came to the well with an insatiable thirst. Her many worldly lovers had left these cravings for love unfulfilled. Neither could she satisfy their consuming appetites. One by one, they had thrown her away like a day-old beverage that had lost its taste. We can only imagine how hopeless and unworthy she felt before her encounter with Jesus. Consider her shock when Jesus approached her, asking her for water.
According to the customs of the time, a Samaritan woman would not be permitted to speak with a Jewish man. Furthermore, some scholars suggest she came this late in the day to avoid facing the people in her own village. But Jesus was not a bit surprised by their encounter. Coming to the well, Jesus too was thirsty, though he was seeking more than water. He thirsted for this woman, with a deep desire that was totally different from the way the other men desired her. While they sought to consume her for their own pleasure, Jesus longed to satisfy her thirst by pouring himself out on her behalf. He desired to fulfill her, not to use her.
Can you picture the scene as they greet each other and his gentle gaze meets hers? I envision her immediately avoiding eye contact with Jesus. But then sensing something unusual in his presence, I imagine her looking up, being drawn into Jesus’ penetrating gaze. Piercing her shame and reaching to the depths of her soul with his words, he sees her and speaks to her heart as no one has ever done before now. His searing love purifies her heart, burning away the shame-based lies that have tarnished her self-respect. Her previously unreachable well, the well of her soul, is now overflowing with living water. Running into the village, she longs to offer a refreshing drink to everyone she meets. She is radically transformed by her encounter with Jesus. Seeing her own dignity for the first time, she now desires to give herself completely to God. She wants to tell everyone about this man who “knew everything” about her. She invites all of us to come and meet him for ourselves.
[End of Excerpt]
HEALING THE WHOLE PERSON WEEKEND IN COMMUNITY
If you are financially able to travel and/or wish to experience this programme in person, or able to get to Collierville, Tennessee, one might consider the Healing the Whole Person Weekend: September 7-9, 2023
WHERE: Collierville, TN at Incarnation Catholic Church
360 Bray Station Rd.
Collierville, TN 38017VIRTUALLY: The Livestream is available: $119 USD / PERSON
Registration Closes 9/11/23 at 11:59 PM ET and LIVESTREAM PLAYBACK AVAILABLE TWO WEEKS POST-EVENT
CLICK HERE to REGISTER
Healing the Whole Person Weekend "Sanación de Toda la Persona" November 30 - Dec. 2, 2023 in SPANISH
WHERE: Our Lady of Lavang Catholic Church, 11731 SE Stevens Rd, Happy Valley, OREGON, USA
Registration Opens 8/28/23 at 10 AM ET (7 AM PT))
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: https://jpiihealingcenter.org/event/11-29-23-hwp/
PRAYER & HEALING - THE “WOUNDS OF CHRIST ROSARY”
In his most recent sermon from this past Sunday, Fr. Peter Turrone reflected on 1 Kings 19: 11-13:
Then the LORD said:
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
He mentions that God talks to us in a subtle way and notes that prayer is “holding on and calling out to the Lord: keeping our eyes firmly fixed on Him”. He further notes the reality that, “No one has ever had an authentic experience of God without suffering”. Fr. Peter’s Friday evening seminars on St. John of the Cross / St. Thérèse at his parish have thematically focused on exploring how we can understand suffering by uniting it with Christ during our time in adoration and when we make the effort to visit with Jesus beyond Sunday mass by assisting more often in the Holy Eucharist, or even making a regular act of spiritual communion. [LINK TO 21:03 for Fr. Peter’s reflections on the nature of prayer].
One prayer of unity with Christ (provided by decree of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Rome March 23, 1999) is taught by “The Mission of the Holy Wounds: The Testimony and Mystical Experience” of Sister Marie-Marthe Chambon (1841-1907), a revelation of the Sacred Heart to a Visitandine of Paray-le-Monial.
For those interested, here is the “Wounds of Christ Rosary” based on that revelation to pray on Rosary Beads:
STEP 1: Between each decade of this Wounds of Christ Rosary, one can contemplate one of Jesus' five Holy Wounds and formulate a prayer. Start with this prayer before reciting the “Wounds of Christ Rosary”:
O Jesus, Divine Redeemer, be merciful to us and to the whole world.
R. Amen
Holy God, Mighty God, Immortal God, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
R. Amen
Eternal Father, grant us mercy through the Blood of Jesus Christ, Your only Son. Grant us mercy, we beseech You.
R. Amen
STEP 2: As you begin decade, on the single large Rosary bead, pray the following:
“Eternal Father, I offer You the Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ to heal those of our souls.”
STEP 3: On the 10 small Rosary beads, utter these words:
My Jesus, pardon and mercy through the merits of Your Holy Wounds.
STEP 4: END WITH REFLECTIONS ON THE WOUNDS OF CHRIST by the SAINTS
For example, of Jesus wounds, Saint Margaret Mary (1647-1690) said:
"Jesus Christ, my sweet Master, presented Himself to me, all shining with Glory, with His five Wounds shining like five suns. And from this Sacred Humanity, flames came out on all sides, but especially from his Adorable breast which resembled a furnace, and having opened, discovered to me his all loving and all amiable Heart which was the living Source of these flames.
From the Diary of St. Faustina, 1337, 267
As I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament and greeting the five wounds of Jesus, at each salutation I felt a torrent of graces gushing into my soul, giving me a foretaste of heaven and absolute confidence in God's mercy.
Jesus told me that I please Him best by meditating on His sorrowful Passion and by such meditation much light falls upon my soul.
PRAY THE ROSARY EVERY DAY
Finally, one could end with a decade of the Rosary with Fr. Peter and member of Children’s Rosary ®, Amelia which allows those you encounter to easily fill in their own intention. This video was created for those children / families who have already mastered the lessons taught in the introductory video posted on the Digital Café.
If you haven’t done so already, please see Padre Nuno’s Lesson: “Salve Rainha” & CLICK HERE to witness virtually his procession teaching the 4th Glorious Mystery on the Camino to Santiago.
This video is a webinar in the Beauty of Creation Series. Click below for useful links related to the introduction to these topics:
https://catholicconscience.org/caring-for-the-whole-person/
Healing in Christ: JPII Healing Center gives conference virtually to study how to address our inner wounds. Healing the Whole Person Weekend "Sanación de Toda la Persona" November 30 - Dec. 2, 2023