Daily Holy Hour and Archbishop Fulton J Sheen

“Could You Not Watch One Hour with Me?”

Lord, teach us to pray!

Let us go all-in and imitate the practice of making a daily Holy Hour that Blessed Archbishop Sheen strongly recommended – and followed himself!

Above video: The Holy Hour – a Eucharistic revival starts with you! (9.5 mins.)

Key Points Archbishop Sheen emphasized

  • Our Lord asked for one hour of companionship: “Could you not watch with Me for one hour?
  • The discipline of making a daily Holy Hour is the remedy for apathy and indifference.
  • You will win the war before the Blessed Sacrament.
  • It then gives you the power to go out.
  • If you have a private audience every day with Our Lord, it keeps you tethered to the Lord.
  • Fall in love with Jesus and remember life is worth living.
  • You will find your purpose if you spend time with the Creator who made you for that purpose.

Archbishop Sheen was granted his desire of dying while making his daily Holy Hour, and he died on a Feast day of Mary.

3 Tips for a Fruitful Holy Hour

Bishop Sheen advised against rigid, overly structured agendas during your time in adoration. Instead, he recommended a natural flow based on deep intimacy:
  1. Be Still and Listen First: Do not feel the need to fill the hour with constant vocal prayers or spiritual reading. Spend the first part of your hour in silence, allowing God to speak to your heart before you speak to Him.
  2. Bring Your Real Self: Treat the hour like a conversation with a trusted friend. Bring your exact mood, your current anxieties, your daily failures, and your raw temptations directly to the Heart of Christ without hiding anything.
  3. Accept “Dryness” with Grace: Sheen noted that not every Holy Hour will feel emotionally uplifting. If you spend the hour struggling with distractions or feeling completely dry, the hour is still highly valuable because it represents a sacrifice of your time given entirely out of love.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen Beatification: Novena of Holy Hours – EWTN (Click here )

  • The topics for reflection look interesting – we haven’t had time to watch these yet.

THE URGENT NEED FOR EUCHARISTIC ADORATION AND FOR MAKING A DAILY HOLY HOUR – Quotes of Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s request: “I am asking you, every single day of your life without any exception, to make a continuous hour of adoration in the Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament…”

“Because we live in a demonic age, the time has come to take seriously this Holy Hour. It is the only thing our Blessed Lord ever asked us to do, ever asked directly of His disciples: ‘Can you not stay awake one hour with me?'”

“Who should make it [a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration]? Bishops, for an apathetic world, so that during that Holy Hour the Blessed Lord will speak to them, as He spoke to Paul at Corinth. ‘Be courageous, be not silent, speak out, I am with you.'”

Sheen continues, speaking of who should make a Holy Hour: “Priests. Make the Holy Hour. It may be a sacramental sign of our victimhood. Would you have power in the pulpit? Would you be able to console the sick? Would you be able to make converts? Then spend the Hour with our Lord. When you mount the pulpit you will shoot forth sparks, and the people will love you.”

“Sisters, you wonderful women, who bear a visible sign of your union with Christ, make the Holy Hour—and understand how much the children in schools are yearning for you to come back. Married couples, make the Holy Hour, to make up for an abortion every thirty seconds. Prove that the Lord is the Lord of life and not of death.”

“All you who are engaged in social work, treating humanity in any form, make the Holy Hour. Believe me, when you begin to see the invisible Christ behind that visible sign of Bread, you will soon begin to see in the poor and the naked the invisible Christ whom they represent. That is the vision that makes Mother Teresa one of the leaders of the world in the love of the poor.”

“And you young people, young men and young women, do not believe that the joy of life consists in a titillation of the flesh, but see that love is sacrificial; and when you make a Holy Hour, then you will begin to understand that the real rock is Peter, and the gates of hell shall not prevail.”

“Everyone, make the Holy Hour, and you will discover as you leave the divine Presence that if you move among people in the world, they will say of you as the maid said of Peter, ‘You have been with Christ.’ And then at the end of a lifetime spent in adoration of the Lord, and in love of the Blessed Mother, of the Blessed Sacrament, when you come before the Lord do you know what He will say to you? He will say, ‘I heard my Mother speak of you.'”

“The secret (to my preaching) is that I have never in fifty-five years missed spending an hour [daily] in the presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. That’s where the power comes from. That’s where sermons are born.”

Click here for The Urgent need daily hour Fulton Sheen – pdf

WHY MAKE A HOLY HOUR? By Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Here are ten reasons.

1. It is time spent in the presence of Our Lord Himself. If faith is alive,  no further reason is needed….

2. In our busy lives, it takes considerable time to shake off the “noonday devils,” the worldly cares, that cling to our souls like dust….

3. Our Lord asked for it. “Had you no strength, then, to watch with me even for an hour?”….

4. The Holy Hour keeps a balance between the spiritual and the practical….

5. The Holy Hour will make us practice what we preach….

6. The Holy Hour helps us make reparation for the sins of the world and for our own sins. When the Sacred Heart appeared to St. Margaret Mary, it was His Heart, and not His head, that was crowned with thorns. It was Love that was hurt. Black Masses, sacrilegious communions, scandals, militant atheism—who will make up for them?….

7. It reduces our liability to temptation and weakness. Presenting ourselves before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is like putting a tubercular patient in good air and sunlight. The virus of our sins cannot long exist in the face of the Light of the world….

8. The Holy Hour is a personal prayer….

9. Meditation keeps us from seeking an external escape from our worries and miseries….

10. Finally, the Holy Hour is necessary for the Church…. To abide with Christ is spiritual fellowship, as He insisted on the solemn and sacred night of the Last Supper, the moment He chose to give us the Eucharist: “You have only to live on in me, and I will live on in you” (John 15:4). He wants us in His dwelling: “That you, too, may be where I am” (John 14:3).

 Below is the full version of the abbreviated text above.

Here are ten reasons.

1. It is time spent in the presence of Our Lord Himself. If faith is alive, no further reason is needed.

2. In our busy lives, it takes considerable time to shake off the “noonday devils,” the worldly cares, that cling to our souls like dust. An hour with Our Lord follows the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35). We begin by walking with Our Lord, but our eyes are “held fast” so that we do not “recognize him.” Next, He converses with our soul, as we read the Scriptures. The third stage is one of sweet intimacy, as when “he sat down at table with them.” The fourth stage is the full dawning of the mystery of the Eucharist. Our eyes are “opened,” and we recognize Him. Finally, we reach the point where we do not want to leave. The hour seemed so short. As we arise, we ask: “Were not our hearts burning within us when he spoke to us on the road, and when he made the Scriptures plain to us?” (Luke 24:32).

3. Our Lord asked for it. “Had you no strength, then, to watch with me even for an hour?” (see Matt. 26:40). The word was addressed to Peter, but he is referred to as Simon. It is our Simon nature that needs the hour. If the hour seems hard, it is because “the spirit is willing enough, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).

4. The Holy Hour keeps a balance between the spiritual and the practical. Western philosophies tend to an activism in which God does nothing, and man everything; the Eastern philosophies tend to a quietism in which God does everything, and man nothing. The golden mean is in the words of St. Thomas: “action following rest,” Martha walking with Mary. The Holy Hour unites the contemplative to the active life of the person. Thanks to the hour with Our Lord, our meditations and resolutions pass from the conscious to the subconscious and then become motives of action. A new spirit begins to pervade our work. The change is effected by Our Lord, who fills our heart and works through our hands. A person can give only what he possesses. To give Christ to others, one must possess Him.

5. The Holy Hour will make us practice what we preach. “Here is an image,” he said, “of the kingdom of heaven: there was once a king, who held a marriage feast for his son and sent out his servants with a summons to all those whom he had invited to the wedding; but they would not come” (Matt. 22:2–3). It was written of Our Lord that He “began to do and to teach” (Acts 1:1). The person who practices the Holy Hour will find that when he teaches, the people will say of him as of the Lord: “All … were astonished at the gracious words which came from his mouth” (Luke 4:22).

6. The Holy Hour helps us make reparation for the sins of the world and for our own sins. When the Sacred Heart appeared to St. Margaret Mary, it was His Heart, and not His head, that was crowned with thorns. It was Love that was hurt. Black Masses, sacrilegious communions, scandals, militant atheism—who will make up for them? Who will be an Abraham for Sodom, a Mary for those who have no wine? The sins of the world are our sins as if we had committed them. If they caused Our Lord a bloody sweat, to the point that He upbraided His disciples for failing to stay with Him an hour, shall we with Cain ask: “Is it for me to watch over my brother?” (Gen. 4:9).

7. It reduces our liability to temptation and weakness. Presenting ourselves before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is like putting a tubercular patient in good air and sunlight. The virus of our sins cannot long exist in the face of the Light of the world. “Always I can keep the Lord within sight; always he is at my right hand, to make me stand firm” (Ps. 15:8). Our sinful impulses are prevented from arising through the barrier erected each day by the Holy Hour. Our will becomes disposed to goodness with little conscious effort on our part. Satan, the roaring lion, was not permitted to put forth his hand to touch righteous Job until he received permission (Job 1:12). Certainly, then, will the Lord withhold serious fall from him who watches (1 Cor. 10:13). With full confidence in his Eucharistic Lord, the person will have a spiritual resiliency. He will bounce back quickly after a falling: “Fall I, it is but to rise again, sit I in darkness, the Lord will be my light. The Lord’s displeasure I must bear, I that have sinned against him, till at last, he admits my plea, and grants redress” (Micah 7:8–9). The Lord will be favorable even to the weakest of us, if He finds us at His feet in adoration, disposing ourselves to receive divine favors. No sooner had Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor, humbled himself before his Maker than God sent a special messenger to his relief, telling him that “even now he is at his prayers” (Acts 9:11). Even the person who has fallen can expect reassurance if he watches and prays. “They shall increase, that hitherto had dwindled, be exalted, that once were brought low” (Jer. 30:19).

8. The Holy Hour is a personal prayer. The person who limits himself strictly to his official obligation is like the union man who downs tools the moment the whistle blows. Love begins when duty finishes. It is a giving of the cloak when the coat is taken. It is walking the extra mile. “Answer shall come ere cry for help is uttered; prayer find audience while it is yet on their lips” (Isa. 65:24). Of course, we do not have to make a Holy Hour—and that is just the point. Love is never compelled, except in hell. There love has to submit to justice. To be forced to love would be a kind of hell. No man who loves a woman is obligated to give her an engagement ring, and no person who loves the Sacred Heart ever has to give an engagement Hour. “Would you, too, go away?” (John 6:68) is weak love; “Art thou sleeping?” (Mark 14:37) is irresponsible love; “He had great possessions” (Matt. 19:22; Mark 10:22) is selfish love. But does the person who loves His Lord have time for other activities before he performs acts of love “above and beyond the call of duty”? Does the patient love the physician who charges for every call, or does he begin to love when the physician says: “I just dropped by to see how you were”?

9. Meditation keeps us from seeking an external escape from our worries and miseries. When difficulties arise, when nerves are made taut by false accusations, there is always a danger that we may look outwards, as the Israelites did, for release… From the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, word was given you: “Come back and keep still, and all shall be well with you; in quietness and in confidence lies your strength. But you would have none of it; To horse! you cried, We must flee! and flee you shall; We must ride swiftly, you said, but swifter still ride your pursuers” (Isa. 30:15–16). No outward escape, neither pleasure, drink, friends, or keeping busy, is an answer. The soul cannot “fly upon a horse”; he must take “wings” to a place where his “life is hidden away … with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3).

10. Finally, the Holy Hour is necessary for the Church. No one can read the Old Testament without becoming conscious of the presence of God in history. How often did God use other nations to punish Israel for her sins! He made Assyria the “rod that executes my vengeance” (Isa. 10:5). The history of the world since the Incarnation is the Way of the Cross. The rise of nations and their fall remain related to the kingdom of God. We cannot understand the mystery of God’s government, for it is the “sealed book” of Revelation. John wept when he saw it (Rev. 5:4). He could not understand why this moment of prosperity and that hour of adversity. The sole requirement is the venture of faith, and the reward is the depths of intimacy for those who cultivate His friendship. To abide with Christ is spiritual fellowship, as He insisted on the solemn and sacred night of the Last Supper, the moment He chose to give us the Eucharist: “You have only to live on in me, and I will live on in you” (John 15:4). He wants us in His dwelling: “That you, too, may be where I am” (John 14:3).

Source: “The Holy Hour Prayer Book: Could You Not Watch One Hour With Me” By Fulton J. Sheen, shared with permission of the publisher, Al. J. Smith of www.bishopsheentoday.com

ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN, HIS HOLY HOUR AND “LITTLE LI”

A few months before his death, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was interviewed on national television. One of the questions was:  “Bishop Sheen, you have inspired millions of people all over the world.  Who inspired you to make a Holy Hour every day?

Bishop Sheen responded that it was not a Pope, a cardinal, another bishop, or even a priest or a nun. It was a little Chinese girl of eleven years of age.

He explained that when the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory near the Church.  After they locked him up in his own house, the priest was horrified to look out of his window and see the Communists proceed into the Church, where they went into the sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle.

In an act of hateful desecration, they took the ciborium and threw it on the floor with all of the Sacred Hosts spilling out. The priest knew exactly how many Hosts were in the ciborium:  thirty-two. When the Communists left, they either did not notice, or didn’t pay any attention to a small girl praying in the back of the Church who saw everything that had happened.

That night the little girl came back. Slipping past the guard at the priest’s house, she went inside the Church. There she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred. After her holy hour she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion.  The little girl continued to come back each night to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue.

On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second host, she accidentally made a noise and woke the guard who was sleeping. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the priest as he watched grief-stricken from his bedroom window.

When Bishop Sheen heard the story he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament everyday of his life.  If this frail, little child could give testimony and witness to the world concerning the real and wonderful Presence of her Savior in the Blessed Sacrament, then the Bishop was absolutely bound by all that was right and true, to do the same. His sole desire from then on was to bring the world to the burning Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The little girl martyr of the Eucharist, “Little Li, showed the Bishop what true courage and zeal really are; how faith can overcome all fear, and how true love for Jesus in the Eucharist must transcend life itself.

What is hidden in the Sacred Host is the glory of His love. The sun in the sky is symbolic of the Son of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is why most monstrances are in the form of a sunburst. As the sun is the natural source of all energy, the Blessed Sacrament is the supernatural source of all grace and love. The Blessed Sacrament is JESUS, the Light of the world.

Click here for the flyer – Archbishop Sheen, his holy hour and “Little Li” – pdf

Sources:

AN EXCERPT ON THE HOLY HOUR FROM Treasures in Clay – The Autobiography of Fulton J. Sheen

“I resolved also to spend a continuous Holy Hour every day in the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament…The Holy Hour. Is it difficult?

Sometimes it seemed to be hard; it might mean having to forego a special engagement, or rise an hour earlier, but on the whole it has never been a burden, only a joy….

The purpose of the Holy Hour is to encourage a deep personal encounter with Christ. The holy and glorious God is constantly inviting us to come to Him, to hold converse with Him, to ask for such things as we need and to experience what a blessing there is in fellowship with Him…

l have found that it takes some time to catch fire in prayer. This has been one of the advantages of the daily hour. It is not so brief as to prevent the soul from collecting itself and shaking off the multitudinous distractions of the world.

Sitting before the Presence is like a body exposing itself before the sun to absorb its rays. Silence in the Hour is a tete-a-tete with the Lord.

In those moments one does not so much pour out written prayers, but listening takes its place. We do not say: ‘Listen, Lord, for Thy servant speaks’, but ‘Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.’”

The Holy Hour

“Neither theological knowledge nor social action alone is enough to keep us in love with Christ unless both are proceeded by a personal encounter with Him. Theological insights are gained not only from between two covers of a book, but from two bent knees before an altar. The Holy Hour becomes like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the world.”

– Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

HOW TO MAKE A HOLY HOUR (FOR LAITY) by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“Let nothing hinder thee from praying always; and be not afraid to be justified even to death for the rewards of God continue forever. Before prayer prepare thy soul; and be not as a man that tempt God” (Sir. 18:22–23, Douay-Rheims).

Prayer is the lifting of our soul to God unto the end of perfectly corresponding to His holy will. Our Divine Lord, describing His mission, said: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me .. . the Father, that I should lose nothing of what he has given me, but that I should raise it up on the last day” (see John 6:38–39). “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, to accomplish his work” (see John 4:34). To correspond to the divine will, we must, first of all, know it, and secondly, have the grace and strength to correspond with it, once it is known. But to attain these two gifts of light for our minds and power for our wills, we must live on terms of intimate friendship with God.

This is done through prayer. A prayerful life is, therefore, one lived in conformity with the holy will of God as a prayerless life is a life of self will and selfishness. There is an element of prayer common to Jews, Protestants, and Catholics—namely, belief in God. More than half of the prayers, for example, which a priest says in his Divine Office, are taken from the Old Testament. In relation to all three—that is, Jews, Protestants, and Catholics—a Holy Hour will, therefore, be understood as one hour a day spent in meditating on God and our eternal salvation. This Holy Hour can be made anywhere.

For Catholics, however, the Holy Hour has a very special significance. It means a continuous and unbroken hour spent in the presence of Our Divine Lord in the Eucharist…. In the case of priests and religious, it is suggested that they make this Holy Hour in addition to their usual recitation of the Divine Office and Holy Mass. This Holy Hour will be spent in prayer and meditation. A distinction is here made between the two, with the emphasis on the latter. By prayer, we here understand the recitation of formal prayers, generally composed by a person different from him who prays. “Could You Not Watch One Hour with Me?”

The psalms represent one of the highest forms of vocal prayer and are common to Jews, Protestants, and Catholics. Other vocal prayers include the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Creed, the Confiteor, Acts of Faith, Hope, and Charity, and thousands of other prayers found in
religious books. There are three kinds of attention in vocal prayer: (1) to the words, lest we say them wrong; (2) to their sense and meaning; and (3) to God and the intention for which we pray. The last kind of attention is essential to vocal prayer. But the principal purpose of these Holy Hour meditations is the cultivation of mental prayer, or meditation. Very few souls ever meditate; they are either frightened by the word or else were never taught its existence. In the human order, a person in love is always conscious of the one loved, lives in the presence of the other, resolves to do the will of the other, and regards as his greatest jealousy being outdone in the least advantage of self-giving. Apply this to a soul in love with God, and you have the rudiments of meditation. Meditation is, therefore, a kind of communing of spirit with spirit, with God as its object. Without attempting to set down the formal aspects of meditation, but to make it as intelligible as possible to beginners, the technique of meditation is as follows:

  1. We speak to God. We begin by putting ourselves in the presence of God. For those who make the Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament, there must be a consciousness of our presence before the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Naturally, there are varying degrees of intimacy with persons. In a theater, there are hundreds present but little or no intimacy between them. The intimacy deepens to the degree that we establish conversation with one or more of them, and according as this conversation springs from a common interest. So it is with God. Prayer, then, is not a mere asking for things, but an aiming at a transformation; that is, a becoming “conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29, KJV). We pray not to dispose God to give us something, but to dispose ourselves to receive something from Him: the fullness of divine life.
  2. God speaks to us. Activity is not only on the human side but also on the divine. A conversation is an exchange, not a monologue. As the soul wills to draw near God, God wills to draw near the soul. It would be wrong to monopolize a conversation with friends; it is more wrong to do so in our relations with God. We must not do all the talking; we must also be good listeners. “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth” (1 Kings [1 Sam.] 3:9, KJV). The soul now experiences the truth of the words “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (see James 4:8). All during the meditation, it will conceive devout affections of adoration, petition, sacrifice, and reparation to God, but particularly at the close of the meditation. These affections or colloquies are to be offered preferably in our own words, for every soul must love God in its own way, and God loves each soul in a particular manner. In the beginning, the soul attracted to Jesus by some impulse of grace, comes to Him, filled with natural thoughts and aspirations, and very ignorant of the supernatural. It understands neither God nor itself. It has a few intimate relations with the Divinity outside of itself and within itself, but it begins to converse with Jesus. If it persists in the frequentation of His company, the Lord gradually takes an ever-increasing share in the conversation and begins to enlighten the soul. In its contemplation of the mysteries of faith, He aids it to penetrate beneath the words and facts and symbols, hitherto known but superficially, and to grasp the inner sense of the supernatural truths contained in these facts or words or symbols. The Scriptures are gradually opened to the soul. The well-known texts begin to acquire a new and deeper meaning. Familiar expressions convey a knowledge, which the soul wonders never to have before discovered in them. All this new light is directed towards giving a fuller and more perfect comprehension of the mysteries of our faith, which are the mysteries of the life of Jesus.

Click to access How-to-Make-a-Holy-Hour-Fulton-Sheen.pdf

HOW TO FIND CHRISTMAS PEACE by Archbishop Fulton Sheen

“I am asking you, every single day of your life without any exception, to make a continuous hour of adoration in the Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament… because we live in a demonic age, the time has come to take seriously this Holy Hour. It is the only thing our Blessed Lord ever asked us to do, ever asked directly of His disciples: ‘Can you not stay awake one hour with Me?'”

“How to find Christmas peace in a world of unrest? You cannot find peace on the outside but you can find peace on the inside, by letting God do to your soul what Mary let Him do to her body, namely, let Christ be formed in you. As she cooked meals in her Nazarene home, as she nursed her aged cousin, as she drew water at the well, as she prepared the meals of the village carpenter, as she knitted the seamless garment, as she kneaded the dough and swept the floor, she was conscious that Christ was in her; that she was a living Ciborium, a monstrance of the Divine Eucharist, a Gate of Heaven through which a Creator would peer upon creation, a Tower of Ivory up whose chaste body He was to climb ‘to kiss upon her lips a mystical rose.”

 

ARCHBISHOP FULTON SHEEN AUDIO & VIDEO RECORDINGS & MATERIALS

Disclaimer

Beatification is the Church’s declaration that a person is definitely in heaven, but even beatified or canonized saints were human and made mistakes on earth. Clearly, Bishop Sheen made one very serious mistake in one of his over 60 books. This book was called “Footprints in a Darkened Forest”. Sheen referred to it in his “Desert Prayer video” and some lectures on evolution in the 1960s-70s promoting Teilhard’s “Mass of the world”. We do not recommend or promote those and they are not, to our knowledge, listed below or on this webpage. When Sheen wrote that controversial book, he was clearly misinformed and suffered the same confusion of thought which was prevalent amongst some theologians (apparently Ratzinger too before his conversion) after Vatican II; but that does not mean that Sheen himself was a heretic or died as a heretic. Investigative reporter, Christine Niles, published a video on this issue.  Our Apostolate accepts the Catholic Church’s stance against the heretical writings of Teilhard de Chardin – they are on the Church’s banned books list, which remains in force, because they contain grave errors/heresies. We recommend these educational articles by our co-founder, a canon lawyer  Msgr. Vincent Foy, who had the highest academic record of his 1939 priestly ordination class:

List with categories, themes, some descriptions

The Sheen Catechism

Listen Online
Catholic Catechism Series – Part 1 – Philosophy of Life

Philosophy of Life

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 2 – Conscience

Conscience

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 3 – God in Search of Man

God in Search of Man

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 4 -Human Freedom

Human Freedom

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 5 – Good and Evil

Good and Evil

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 6 -Christ Foretold

Christ Foretold

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 7 – Miracles

Miracles

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 8 – New Testament Revelation

New Testament Revelation

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 9 – Divinity of Christ

Divinity of Christ

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 10 – Humanity of Christ

Humanity of Christ

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 11 – The Blessed Trinity

The Blessed Trinity

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 12 – The Mother of Jesus

The Mother of Jesus

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 13 – Christ in the Creed – Birth

Christ in the Creed – Birth

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 14 – Suffering, Death and Resurection

Suffering Death and Resurrection

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 15 – Ascension

Ascension

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 16 – Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 17 – Church – Body of Christ

Church – Body of Christ

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 18 – Peter – Vicar of Christ

Peter – Vicar of Christ

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 19 – Authority and Infallibility

Authority and Infallibility

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 20 – Communism and the Church

Communism and the Church

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 21 – Original Sin and Angels

Original Sin and Angels

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 22 – Original Sin and Mankind

Original Sin and Mankind

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 23 – Effects of Original Sin

Effects of Original Sin

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 24 – Sanctifying Grace

Sanctifying Grace

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 25 – Sacraments

Sacraments

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 26 – Baptism

Baptism

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 27 – Confirmation

Confirmation

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 28 – Holy Eucharist As Sacrament

Holy Eucharist As Sacrament

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s Fulton Sheen Catechism Lesson 28 from his 1965 A Catholic Catechism series focuses on the Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament, teaching that it serves as the vital spiritual nourishment for the Christian soul. [1, 2]
Key Teachings on the Eucharist as a Sacrament
  • Spiritual Nourishment: Just as physical food sustains bodily life, the Eucharist sustains and grows the divine life of grace received in Baptism. [1]

  • The Mystery of Communion: Fulton Sheen often described communion through the ladder of life—chemicals become plants, plants become animals, animals become human, and through the Eucharist, humans transform into the life of Christ. [1]

  • Real Presence: The bread and wine are transformed through transubstantiation into the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. [1]

  • Source of Transformation: Partaking in the sacrament intimately unites the believer to Christ’s redemptive act and fortifies them against sin. [1, 2]
Catholic Catechism Series – Part 29 – Holy Eucharist As Sacrifice

Holy Eucharist As Sacrifice

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s Lesson 29 of his Catholic Catechism series, [“Holy Eucharist as Sacrifice”], explains that the Mass makes Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary truly present through the separate consecration of the bread and wine. [1, 2]
Key Teachings of Lesson 29
  • The Re-presentation of Calvary: Sheen teaches that the Mass is not a new or bloody sacrifice, but the unbloody re-presentation and actualization of Christ’s single, eternal sacrifice on the cross. [1]

  • The Significance of the Double Consecration: The separate consecration of the bread (His Body) and the wine (His Blood) mystically re-enacts the separation of Christ’s blood from His body, which is the very definition of His physical death on Calvary. [1]

  • The Three Acts of the Mass: Sheen outlines the internal participation of the believer in the Mass as offering oneself alongside the gifts, dying mystically with Christ, and rising to new divine life through Holy Communion. [1]

  • The Law of Transformation: Communion requires us to be transformed into Christ, moving upward from physical life to spiritual life, mirroring how lower forms are assimilated into higher forms in nature until we live fully in Christ. [1]

You can listen to or watch this specific installment through archives like Fulton Sheen TV or audio commentary tracks covering The Catholic Catechism by Bishop Sheen. [1, 2]

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 30 – The Mass

The Mass

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 31 – Sin

Sin

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 32 – Sin and Penance

Sin and Penance

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 33 – Penance

Penance

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 34 – Sacrament of the Sick

Sacrament of the Sick

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 35 – Holy Orders

Holy Orders

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 36 – Marriage

Marriage

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 37 – Marriage – Sacrament

Marriage-Sacrament

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 38 – Sex is a Mystery

Sex Is A Mystery

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 39 – Birth Prevention

Birth Prevention

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 40 – Marriage Problems

Marriage Problems

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 41 – Commandments – Part 1

Commandments – Part 1

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 42 – Commandments – Part 2

Commandments – Part 2

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 43 – Law of Love – Total Commitment

Law of Love -Total Commitment

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 44 – Death and Judgement

Death and Judgement

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 45 – Purgatory

Purgatory

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 46 – Heaven

Heaven

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 47 – Hell

Hell

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 48 – Mother of Jesus

Mother of Jesus

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 49 – Prayer

Prayer

Catholic Catechism Series – Part 50 – World, Soul and Things

World – Soul and Things 

A Retreat for Everyone

Listen Online

1.  Misunderstanding the World
Misunderstanding the World
2.  Jesus the Eternal Priest
Jesus the Eternal Priest
3.  The Drama of the Mass
The Drama of the Mass
4.  Memorial of the Cross
Memorial of the Cross
5.  The Denial of Sin
The Denial of Sin
6.  Triple Transference
Triple Transference
7.  Persevering Prayer
Persevering Prayer
8.  The Incarnation
The Incarnation
9.  The Passion of Christ Continues
The Passion of Christ Continues
10.  The Power of the Resurrection
The Power of the Resurrection
11.  The Betrayal of Judas
The Betrayal of Judas
12.  Mary Mother and Spouse
Mary Mother and Spouse
13.  The Hour of Testing
The Hour of Testing
14. The Fall and Conversion of Peter
The Fall and Conversion of Peter

Life is Worth Living

(#5 and #7 in this section are the same show on compassion)
1.  Life is Worth Living – Altruism- The Evolution of Love
Altruism- The Evolution of Love
2.  Life Is Worth Living – Angels
Life is Worth Living – Angels
3.  Life Is Worth Living – Character Building
Life is Worth Living – Character Building
4.  Life Is Worth Living – Children-Burdens or Joy
Life is Worth Living – Children-Burdens or Joy
5.  Life Is Worth Living – Collective Life or Collective Death
Life is Worth Living – Compassion for Human Life
6.  Life Is Worth Living – Communism and Russia
Life is Worth Living – Communism and Russia
7.  Life Is Worth Living – Compassion for Human Life
Life is Worth Living – Compassion for Human Life
8.  Life Is Worth Living – Content with Sawdust Brains
Life is Worth Living – Content with Sawdust Brains
9.  Life Is Worth Living – Cure for Selfishness
Life is Worth Living – Cure for Selfishness
10.  Life Is Worth Living -Does Capitalism Still Exist
Life Is Worth Living -Does Capitalism Still Exist
11.  Life Is Worth Living – Fears and Anxieties
Life Is Worth Living – Fears and Anxieties
12.  Life Is Worth Living – For Better or Worse
Life Is Worth Living – For Better or Worse
13.  Life Is Worth Living – Freedom
Life Is Worth Living – Freedom
14.  Life Is Worth Living – Guilt
Life is Worth Living – Guilt
15.  Life Is Worth Living – Happiness Is A Rainbow
Life Is Worth Living – Happiness Is A Rainbow
16.  Life Is Worth Living – How Men and Women Love Differently
Life Is Worth Living – How Men and Women Love Differently
17.  Life Is Worth Living – How Mothers Are Made
Life Is Worth Living – How Mothers Are Made
18.  Life Is Worth Living – How To Be Unpopular
Life Is Worth Living – How To Be Unpopular
19. Life Is Worth Living – How To Improve Your Mind
Life Is Worth Living – How To Improve Your Mind
20. Life Is Worth Living – How To Talk
Life Is Worth Living – How To Improve Your Mind
21. Life Is Worth Living – Human Emotions and Passions
Life Is Worth Living – Human Emotions and Passions
22.  Life Is Worth Living – Inferiority Complex
Life is Worth Living – Inferiority Complex
23.  Life Is Worth Living – Is Self Expression Always Wrong
Is Self Expression Always Wrong
24.  Life Is Worth Living – Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Delinquency
25.  Life Is Worth Living – Lesson In Economics
Lesson In Economics
26.  Life Is Worth Living – Macbeth
Macbeth
27.  Life Is Worth Living – Meet A Perfect Stranger-Yourself
Meet A Perfect Stranger – Yourself
28.  Life Is Worth Living – Misplaced Infinite
Misplaced Infinite
29.  Life Is Worth Living – Morticians of God
Morticians of God
30.  Life Is Worth Living – My Four Writers
My Four Writers
31.  Life Is Worth Living – Nice People-Awful People
Life is Worth Living – Nice People – Awful People
32.  Life Is Worth Living – Pax Sovietica
Pax Sovietica
33.  Life Is Worth Living – Psychology of the Rat Race
Psychology of the Rat Race
34.  Life Is Worth Living – Reparation
Reparation
35.  Life Is Worth Living -Sexual Degeneration
Sexual Degeneration
36.  Life Is Worth Living – Should Parents Obey Their Children
Should Parents Obey Their Children
37.  Life Is Worth Living – Social Problems
Social Problems
38.  Life Is Worth Living – Something Higher
Something Higher
39.  Life Is Worth Living – Suffering
Suffering
40.  Life Is Worth Living – Tensions in Marriage
Tensions in Marriage
41.  Life Is Worth Living – The 30th Parallel
The 30th Parallel
42.  Life Is Worth Living – The Glory of the Soldier
The Glory of the Soldier
43.  Life Is Worth Living – The Greatest Trial In History
The Greatest Trial In History
44.  Life Is Worth Living – The Infinity Of Littleness
The Infinity Of Littleness
45.  Life Is Worth Living – The Meaning of Love, The Meaning of Christmas
The Meaning of Love, The Meaning of Christmas
46.  Life Is Worth Living – The Need to Think and Reason
The Need to Think and Reason
47.  Life Is Worth Living – The Philosophy Of Communism
The Philosophy Of Communism
48.  Life Is Worth Living – The Pre-Christian World
The Pre-Christian World
49.  Life Is Worth Living – The Psychology Of The Irish
The Psychology Of The Irish
50.  Life Is Worth Living – The Role of Communism and the Role of America
The Role of Communism and the Role of America
51.  Life Is Worth Living – The Story of Fatima
The Story of Fatima
52.  Life Is Worth Living – The United Nations
The United Nations
53.  Life Is Worth Living – The Value of Incompatibility
The Value of Incompatibility
54.  Life Is Worth Living – The World In Which We Live
The World In Which We Live
55.  Life Is Worth Living – Three Degrees Of Intimacy
Three Degrees Of Intimacy
56.  Life Is Worth Living – Three Times In A Nation’s History
Three Times In A Nation’s History
57.  Life Is Worth Living – To Spank or Not To Spank
To Spank or Not To Spank
58.  Life Is Worth Living – War As Judgement Of God
War As Judgement Of God
59.  Life Is Worth Living – What Did I Do To Deserve This
What Did I Do To Deserve This
60.  Life Is Worth Living – What Holds Us Together
What Holds Us Together
61.  Life Is Worth Living – Who Am I – The Stranger Within
Who Am I, The Stranger Within
62.  Life Is Worth Living – Why Work Is So Boring
Why Work Is So Boring
63.  Life Is Worth Living – Woman At The Well
Woman At The Well
64.  Life Is Worth Living – Women as Objects not Persons
Women as Objects, not Persons
65.  Life Is Worth Living – Women Who Do Not Fail
Women Who Do Not Fail

Love, Marriage and Children

Listen Online
1.  Christian Marriage – An Overview
Christian Marriage – An Overview
2.  Christian Marriage – As A Sacrament
Christian Marriage – As A Sacrament
3.  Christian Marriage – Sex Is A Mystery
Christian Marriage – Sex Is A Mystery
4.  Christian Marriage – Birth Prevention
Christian Marriage – Birth Prevention
5.  Christian Marriage – Marriage Problems
Christian Marriage – Marriage Problems
6.  Marriage – For Better or Worse
Marriage – For Better or Worse
7.  Marriage – The Importance of Personal Prayer
Marriage – The Importance of Personal Prayer
8.  Marriage – The Value of Incompatibility
Marriage – The Value of Incompatibility
9.  Marriage – Tensions in Marriage
Marriage – Tensions in Marriage
10.  Marriage – How Men and Women Love Differently
Marriage – How Men and Women Love Differently
11.  Marriage – Husband and Wife as Symbol of Christ and His Church
Marriage – Husband and Wife as Symbol of Christ and His Church
12.  Marriage – How Husband and Wife are Sacrament and Sacrifice
Marriage – How Husband and Wife are Sacrament and Sacrifice
13.  Love – Human Love
Love – Human Love
14.  Love – Three Kinds Of Love
Love – Three Kinds Of Love
15.  Love – What Love Is
Love – What Love Is
16.  Love – Three Words For Love
Love – Three Words For Love
17.  Love – Women as Objects, not Persons
Love – Women as Objects, not Persons
18.  Children – Burden or Joy
Children – Burdens or Joy
19.  Children – Character Building
Children – Character Building
20.  Children – Should Parents Obey Their Children
Children – Should Parents Obey Their Children
21.  Children – To Spank or Not To Spank
Children – To Spank or Not To Spank
22.  Children – Juvenile Delinquency
Children – Juvenile Delinquency
23.  Children – Love and Sex – Talk to Young People
Children – Love and Sex – Talk to Young People
24.  Motherhood – How Mothers Are Made
Motherhood – How Mothers Are Made

Meditations on the Passion of Christ

Listen Online
01 – Passion Week – Palm Sunday, Desecration of the Temple
Passion Week – Palm Sunday, Desecration of the Temple
02 – Passion Week – Last Supper and The Agony
Passion Week – Last Supper and the Agony
03 – Passion Week – Christ Before the Courts
Passion Week – Christ Before the Courts
04 – Passion Week – Death March to Jerusalem, Mary Magdalene and Judas
Passion Week – Death March To Jerusalem, Mary Magdalene and Judas
05 – Last Words – 1st Word, Am I Sick or a Sinner?
7 Last Words – 1st Word, Am I Sick or a Sinner
06 – Last Words – 2nd Word, How Do I Take Pain?
7 Last Words – 2nd Word, How Do I Take Pain
07 – Last Words – 3rd Word, Do I Need the Feminine in Religion?
7 Last Words – 3rd Word, Do I Need the Feminime in Religion
08 – Last Words – 4th Word, Did Christ think of Atheists?
7 Last Words – 4th Word, Did Christ Think of Atheists
09 – Last Words – 5th Word, Do I Need a Love Beyond Love?
7 Last Words – 5th Word, Do I Need a Love Beyond Love
10 – Last Words – 6th Word, Should I Come Down From The Cross?
7 Last Words – 6th Word, Should I Come Down from the Cross
11 – Last Words – 7th Word, Do I Have Any Scars?
7 Last Words – 7th Word, Do I Have Any Scars
12 – Good Friday Talk 1977 – Part 1
Good Friday 1977 – Part 1
13 – Good Friday Talk 1977 – Part 2
Good Friday 1977 – Part 2
14 – Good Friday Talk 1978
Good Friday 1978
15 – The Continuing Passion
The Continuing Passion of Christ
16 – The Crucifixion and the Meaning of the Resurrection
The Crucifixion and the Meaning of the Resurrection

Prayer, Suffering and The Spiritual Life

Listen Online
1. Fools for Christ’s Sake
Fools for Christ’s Sake
2.  Foundation of Sanctity
Foundation of Sanctity
3.  How God Has Reconciled Us To Himself
How God Has Reconciled Us To Himself
4.  How to Improve our Spiritual Life
How To Improve Our Spiritual Life
5.  Human Love
Human Love
6.  Kenosis 1
Kenosis 1
7.  Kenosis 2
Kenosis 2
8.  Love and Sex – Talk to Young People
Love and Sex – Talk to Young People
9.  Old Pots
Old Pots
10.  Our Cross
Our Cross
11.  Our Father
Our Father
12.  Personal Prayer
Personal Prayer
13.  Pots of Earthware
Pots of Earthware
14.  Prayer and Meditation
Prayer and Meditation
15.  Skolops – Thorns In The Flesh
Skolops – Thorns In The Flesh
16.  The Choice – Our Father
The Choice – Our Father
17.  The Continuing Incarnation
The Continuing Incarnation
18.  The Continuing Passion of Christ
The Continuing Passion of Christ
19.  The Continuing Resurrection
The Continuing Resurrection
20.  The Continuous Holy   Hour

The Continuous Holy Hour
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen‘s continuous Holy Hour was a daily 60-minute commitment of silent prayer and Eucharistic adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, which he maintained faithfully for 60 years from his ordination in 1919 until his death in 1979. [1]
What the Daily Holy Hour Involves
  • The Practice: Spending one continuous, uninterrupted hour every day in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord. [1, 2]

  • The Routine: Sheen often began with Scripture reading, followed by silent meditation, intercession for the Church and the world, and praying the Rosary. [1]

  • The Purpose: He described it as an “hour of companionship” with Christ that mysteriously transforms the heart and provides the spiritual strength needed for daily life. [1, 2]

Origins and Impact

  • The Promise: Sheen made the resolution to keep a daily Holy Hour on the day of his ordination as a young priest. [1]

  • The Secret of His Priesthood: He frequently stated that he did not know how he could live without it, calling it “the hour that makes my day”. [1]

  • Writings: His reflections and structured guides for this practice are compiled in works like The Holy Hour Prayer Book and recalled in his autobiography, Treasure in Clay. [1, 2]
21.  The Crucifixion and the Meaning of the Resurrection
The Crucifixion and the Meaning of the   Resurrection
22.  The Daily Holy Hour

The Daily Holy Hour
23.  The Holy Hour

The Holy Hour
24.  The Meaning of Suffering
The Meaning of Suffering
25.  The Resurrection
The Resurrection
26.  The Rosary
The Rosary
27.  Three Kinds of Love
Three Kinds Of Love
28.  Three Words for Love
Three Words For Love
29.  Treasures and Pots
Treasures and Pots
30.  Trusting in God
Trusting In God
31.  Understanding the Trials of This World
Understanding the Trials of This World
32.  Wasted Lives – Their Necessity
Wasted Lives-Their Necessity
33.  Wasting Your Life
Wasting Your Life
34.  What Has Happened to Our Spiritual Lives
What Has Happened To Our Spiritual Lives
35.  What Love Is
What Love Is
36.  The Choice
The Choice

The Spirituality of St. Terese of Lisieux

The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 1 – Our Call to Holiness
Our Call to Holiness
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 2 – The Path to Holiness and God
The Path to Holiness and God
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 3 – Love’s Delay
Love’s Delays
 The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 4 – The Mystery of Death
The Mystery of Death
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 5 – Mystery of Suffering
Mystery of Suffering
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 6 – Her Little Way
Her Little Way
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 7 – Gift of Self to God
Gift of Self to God
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 8 – The Diabolic
The Diabolic
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 9 – Imitation of Christ
Imitation of Christ
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 10 – Virtue of Humility
Virtue of Humility
The Spirituality of St. Therese – Talk 11 – The Precious Blood

The Precious Blood

Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s reflection “11 – The Precious Blood” is the final installment of his 11-part series on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, recorded in 1973 at a Carmelite church in Dublin to mark the centenary of her birth. [1, 2]
Core Themes of the Talk
  • The Reality of Guilt and Sin: Sheen opens by addressing how modern society attempts to deny or rationalize sin, frequently reducing genuine moral guilt to a mere psychological sickness. [1]

  • The Necessity of Redemption: He emphasizes that true spiritual healing requires confronting sin and recognizing the absolute necessity of Christ’s shedding of blood for the remission of sins and reconciliation with God. [1]

  • Union with Christ’s Suffering: Drawing deeply on St. Thérèse’s spirituality of offering and love, Sheen connects the Precious Blood of Jesus to the Christian call to share in His redemptive suffering, echoing Thérèse’s willingness to “wear garments dyed with blood” to console the heart of Jesus. [1]

Background on the Series

  • Context: The 11 talks were later compiled and published as Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s St. Thérèse: A Treasured Love Story.

  • The “Little Way”: Throughout the series, Blessed Fulton Sheen highlights how St. Thérèse’s simple path transforms ordinary, daily duties into profound acts of divine love and sacramental living. [1]

Various Subjects

Listen Online
1.  Action and Contemplation
2.  Activism and Intense Spirituality
3.  Authority and Infallibility
4.  Betrayal and Forgiveness
5.  Christ the King
6.  Christ Center of the World
7.  Christian Humor
8.  Christ – Priest and Victim
9.  Confession Talk To Children
10.  Culture of Death – The Approach of Midnight
11.  Do We Need Confession
12.  Freedom and License
13.  Judas
14.  Mary and The Mass
15.  Our Holy Mother The Church
16.  Parables of the Lost
17.  Psychotic and Neurotic Spirituality
18.  Satan and Evil
19.  Simon Peter
20.  Sin and Guilt
21.  Sin Is In The Blood
22. The Best of the Humor of Archbishop Sheen
23. The Church
24.  The Demonic Today
25.  The Fall and Conversion of Peter
26.  The Forgiveness of Sin
27. The Holy Ghost
28.  The Holy Spirit – Our Unifying Principle
29.  The Holy Spirit
30.  The Meaning of the Mass
31.  The Nemesis of Mediocrity
32. The Problem with the Church Today
33. The Truth About Sin
34.  The Woman I Love
35.  The Woman I Love 2
36.  The Woman In Sin
37. Theology Of The Holy Spirit
38.  To American Soldiers – The Centurions of Rome

39. Tribute To Pope Paul IV

What a Priest Should Be

Listen Online
 1. Men Called By God

Talk 1 – Dublin Retreat

 2. What it Means To Be A Priest

Talk 2- Dublin Retreat

 3. Imitating Christ’s Obedience

Talk 3 – Dublin Retreat

 4. Undoing The Devil’s Work

Talk 4 – Dublin Retreat

 5. Being Ambassadors In Society

Talk 5 – Dublin Retreat

 6.

Watching One Hour With Him : Talk 6 – Dublin Retreat
Key Themes of the Talk
  • The Hour of Reparation: Sheen contrasts the “hour of evil” (the dark forces moving against Christ) with the “Holy Hour” of prayer and victimal union with the Cross, presenting Eucharistic adoration as a direct counter-offensive against modern sin and anti-love. [1]

  • Companionship, Not Perfection: He famously shared his own human struggles—including occasionally falling asleep during his holy hour—reminding listeners that the practice is about showing up for Jesus rather than performing a flawless devotional task. [1]

  • The Secret of the Priesthood: Having promised on his ordination day to make a daily Holy Hour, Sheen maintained the commitment for 60 years, viewing it as the vital anchor that sustained his entire ministry and media apostolate. [1, 2, 3]
 7. Meditating On The Crucifixion

Talk 7 – Dublin Retreat

 8. The Suffering Mother Of The Church

Talk 8 – Dublin Retreat

 9. Offering The Sacrifice Of The Mass

Part 9 – Dublin Retreat

 10. Carrying The Trinity in Our Lives

Talk 10 – Dublin Retreat

 11. Casting The Shadow Of Christ

Talk 11 – Dublin Retreat

 12. Counselling And Preaching The Gospel

Talk 12- Dublin Retreat

 13. Loving Our Mother The Church

Talk 13 – Dublin Retreat

 14. Receiving The Gift Of Celibacy

Talk 14 – Dublin Retreat

 15. Driving Out Devils

Talk 15 – Dublin Retreat

 16. Piercing The Two Hearts

Talk 16 – Dublin Retreat

17. Priests and Why God Chose You

Priests and Why God Chose You

18. Understanding What It Means To Be A Priest

Understanding What It Means To Be A Priest

19. Priests and Serving Society

Priests and Serving Society

20. Priests The Holy Hour and Fighting Evil
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen strongly linked the priest’s Holy Hour to a direct spiritual battle against evil, warning that we live in a increasingly “demonic age”. According to his writings, compiled in treatises like [On the Demonic], the daily hour of adoration is not just a peaceful meditation, but a non-negotiable defensive armor for the clergy. [1, 2, 3]
1. The Holy Hour as the “Hour of Evil” Companion:
Sheen pointed out that when Jesus requested the Holy Hour in Gethsemane (“Could you not watch one hour with me?”), he did so precisely during the “hour” of evil and betrayal. [1]
    • The Gethsemane Defection: Sheen observed that because the Apostles fell asleep three times during that dark hour, they eventually panicked, fled, and Peter denied Christ. [1]
    • Staying Awake: For a priest, making the Holy Hour is a conscious choice to “stay awake” with Christ to make up for the sin, betrayal, and dark forces active in the world. [1]

2. A Sovereign Remedy Against Demonic Vices:
Sheen taught that modern society is engineered for constant interruption, secular distraction, and moral erosion. [1]
    • Expelling the World: He wrote that a full, continuous hour is required because “it takes that long to divest ourselves of the world”.
    • The Daylight Effect: He compared bringing a fractured soul before the Blessed Sacrament to exposing a sick patient to fresh air and sunlight: “The virus of our sins cannot long exist in the face of the Light of the world.” [1]

3. Protection Against Leaving the Priesthood:
One of Sheen’s most famous and bold claims regarding spiritual warfare was the absolute protective power of the Eucharist over a priest’s vocation. He firmly asserted: [1, 2, 3]
“I have never known a priest, a brother, or a sister, who left the Church who made a daily hour. And there will never be one because they live so close to Him, and He will not let them go.”

4. Sheen’s Three Core Counter-Weapons:
To fully combat spiritual darkness, Sheen instructed priests and the faithful to anchor their Holy Hour in three specific divine protections: [1]
  1. The Holy Name of Jesus: Invoking His name makes Christ immediately present “in battle formation”.
  2. The Precious Blood of Jesus: The ultimate cleansing power over sin.
  3. Devotion to Mary: Sheen noted that Satan uniquely terrifies the Virgin Mary because her absolute purity means she never surrendered to him. Bringing Marian devotion into the Holy Hour aligns the priest with the Woman appointed to crush the serpent’s head. [1]
21. The Priest and Christ’s Words from the Cross – Part 1

The Priest and Christ’s Words from the   Cross – Part 1

22. The Priest and Christ’s Words from the Cross – Part 2

The Priest and Christ’s Words from the   Cross – Part 2

23. Priests and Preparing for Holy Mass

Priests and Preparing for Holy Mass

24. The True Power of God in the Life of a Priest

The True Power of God in the Life of a   Priest

25. Priests and Reflecting Christ in Society

Priests and Reflecting Christ In Society

26. Priests – Counseling and Preaching

Priests – Counseling and Preaching

27. Priests and Our Holy Mother The Church

Priests and Our Holy Mother The Church

28. Becoming the Priest We Are Called to Be

Becoming the Priest We Are Called to Be

29. First the Spiritual Then Take Action

First the Spiritual Then Take Action

30. The Priest The Holy Hour and the Heart of Christ

The Priest The Holy Hour and the Heart of  Christ
“The Priest, the Holy Hour and the Heart of Christ” is a profound spiritual reflection and retreat conference by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, part of his classic instructional series on the life and identity of Catholic clergy, [What a Priest Should Be]. [1, 2]
Core Themes of the Conference
  • The Heart of the Priest: Sheen emphasizes that a priest is configured directly to Christ (alter Christus), called not merely to do active work or administrative tasks, but to share in the sacrificial victimhood of Jesus. [1]
  • The Power of the Holy Hour: The daily, continuous hour of Eucharistic adoration before the Blessed Sacrament was famously described by Sheen as “the hour that makes my day” and the “secret of my power”. For Sheen, it is an act of divine companionship rather than rigid activity. [1, 2, 3]
  • Tuning into the Sacred Heart: Spending uninterrupted time before Christ in the Eucharist allows the priest to align his own heart, temptations, and ministry with the burning love and redemptive suffering of the Sacred Heart of Christ.
31. Acting In Persona Christi

Acting In Persona Christi

32. Ambassadors of Christ

Ambassadors of Christ

33. Becoming a Different Man

Becoming a Different Man

34. Changes in Spirituality

Changes in Spirituality

35. Eucharist – Christ Present For Us

Eucharist – Christ Present For Us

36. Christ – Priest and Victim

Christ – Priest and Victim

37. Getting to the People

Getting to the People

38. My Role in Reconciliation

My Role In Reconciliation

39. Preaching

Preaching

40. Priest Victim In The Mass

Priest Victim In The Mass

41. Representative Character of the Priest

Representative Character of the Priest

42. Restoring the Vineyard

Restoring the Vineyard

43. The Church Today

The Church Today

44. The Daily Holy Hour

The Daily Holy Hour
45. The Enduring Freshness of the Wounds of Christ

The Enduring Freshness of the Wounds of   Christ

46. The Lord Asks For One Hour

 The Lord Asks For One Hour
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s meditation “The Lord Asks for One Hour” is a powerful reflection on Eucharistic Adoration and Jesus’s poignant question to the apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Could you not watch one hour with me?” [1, 2, 3]
Core Message of the Meditation
  • Not a Devotion, but Sharing in Redemption: Sheen famously emphasized that the Holy Hour is not merely a routine devotional practice, but an active sharing in Christ’s work of redemption and an act of reparation against the darkness of the world. [1, 2]

  • Companionship Over Activity: Christ did not plead for an hour of busy labor or bustling ministry; He asked for an hour of pure, personal companionship. [1]

  • The Conflict of “Hour” vs. “Day”: Drawing from Scripture (particularly the Gospel of John), Sheen contrasted the “day” which belongs to God with the “hour” which often belongs to evil and human weakness. Spending this designated hour with the Lord helps anchor the soul against worldly noise and temptation. [1, 2]

47. Triple Transference

Triple Transference