St. Josemaria Institute

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The St. Josemaria Institute was est. in 2006 to promote the life and teachings of St. Josemaria.

10/16/2026

“Behold this Heart which has loved men so much…”

Through St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Our Lord called the Church to contemplate His Sacred Heart—a Heart that loves us with a love beyond measure.

St. Josemaria wrote: “The Heart of Jesus, the Heart of God made man, is the way to the Father.” -Christ is Passing By, no. 162

The Christian life begins by knowing that we are loved by Christ.

And once we know His love, we can begin to love Him in return.

Today, bring your heart to His.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

❤️‍🔥Read & Pray: St. Josemaria’s homily “Finding Peace in the Heart of Christ” invites us to contemplate the immense love and mercy revealed in the Sacred Heart of Jesus:
https://stjosemaria.org/finding-peace-in-the-heart-of-christ/

10/15/2026

What if prayer is simply this: being with Jesus?

St. Teresa of Avila described prayer as an “intimate sharing between friends” (St. Teresa of Jesus, The Book of Her Life, 8.5)—a time spent alone with the One who loves us and desires our friendship.

St. Josemaria taught us to approach Our Lord with that same confidence and simplicity:

“Our Lord is very close to us, and we should treat him as a friend, as a brother, as a father.” -Christ Is Passing By, no. 88

Prayer is not a matter of finding the perfect words. It is learning to live in God’s presence.

To speak with Christ honestly.
To listen to Him in silence.
To trust Him when we do not understand.
To bring Him our joys, our struggles, and our ordinary daily work.
And, above all, to learn to love Him and do His Will.

This is the friendship with Christ that St. Teresa and St. Josemaria so passionately encouraged: a friendship that does not remain only in our time of prayer, but transforms the way we live each moment.

Today, ask St. Teresa of Avila to help you grow in your friendship with Jesus—to seek Him, speak with Him, and remain close to Him throughout the day.

St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

Read more on today feast: https://stjosemaria.org/between-friends-the-feast-of-st-teresa-of-avila/

10/14/2026

“Days on retreat. Recollection in order to know God, to know yourself and thus to make progress. A necessary time for discovering where and how you should change your life. What should I do? What should I avoid?” -St. Josemaria Escriva, Furrow, no. 175

St. Josemaria encouraged people to set aside time each year for a spiritual retreat-to step away, become recollected, examine our lives before Christ, and begin again.

You don’t need the perfect time or place. Make time for God.

🙏 Take a spiritual retreat this month with the St. Josemaria Institute’s collection of free audio retreats. Find a quiet place. Listen. Pray. Let Christ speak to your heart.

🎧 Explore the Audio Retreats:
https://stjosemaria.org/audio-retreats/

Be still. Listen. Begin again.

10/13/2026

Are you willing to receive?

We often think so much of life is about doing, achieving, fixing, and controlling.

But God is always giving: His grace. His mercy. His love. His very presence.

This month, we’re reading “Fire & Light: Learning to Receive the Gift of God” by Fr. Jacques Philippe.

St. Josemaria reminds us to recognize God’s gifts throughout the day:

“Make it a habit to raise your heart to God, in acts of thanksgiving, many times a day… Thank Him for everything, because everything is good.” -St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, no. 268

The interior life begins with a heart that knows how to receive with gratitude.

Receive His grace.
Receive His will.
Receive this moment.
Receive His love.

10/12/2026

Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar!

Today we honor one of the Church’s oldest Marian devotions—Our Lady of the Pillar, whose feast is celebrated on October 12.

This devotion held a special place in St. Josemaria’s heart. He once said:

“My devotion to Our Lady of Pilar has always accompanied me: my parents, with their Aragonese piety, instilled it in my soul since I was a child.”

From his childhood in Barbastro, Spain. to his final years in Rome, St. Josemaria kept a deep and tender devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar.

St. John Paul II visited the shrine in 1982 and consecrated the country of Spain to Our Lady. During his visit, he recited the following prayer:

“Holy Virgin of the Pillar: increase our faith, strengthen our hope, revive our charity. Help those who suffer misfortune, those who suffer from loneliness, ignorance or hunger or lack of work. Strengthen the weak in faith. Arouse in the young an availability for a total surrender to God. Amen.”

May we, too, learn from St. Josemaria to turn to Mary with the trust and simplicity of children—and allow her to lead us always closer to Christ.

🙏Read more about today’s feast:
https://stjosemaria.org/our-lady-of-the-pillar/

Our Lady of the Pillar, pray for us!

10/11/2026

“Tell those invited: ‘Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready; come to the feast.’” -Matthew 22:4

The Gospel reminds us that God is constantly inviting us closer to Him. He has prepared a banquet for us, yet how easily we become distracted by the demands, worries, and attractions of this world.

The interior life begins when we learn to recognize God's invitation and make room for Him.

St. Josemaria writes: “You have got to be a ‘man of God,’ a man of interior life, a man of prayer and sacrifice. Your apostolate must be the overflow of your life ‘within’.” -The Way, no. 961.

God wants our whole heart. He invites us to live every day in His presence, not simply to give Him an occasional moment.

Today, make time to answer His invitation.

📖 Want to grow in friendship with Christ? Explore St. Josemaria's The Way, a collection of brief points for prayer and reflection that can help us bring God into the ordinary details of daily life.

Discover The Way through the St. Josemaria Institute: https://stjosemaria.org/the-way-a-spiritual-classic/

10/10/2026

What can Mary teach us about the interior life?

Everything.

“Mary sanctifies the ordinary, everyday things… What a blessed ordinariness, that can be so full of love of God!” — St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By, no. 148

Mary teaches us that holiness is not found only in extraordinary moments. Her hidden life was filled with love for God—in prayer, in work, in family life, and in the simple duties of each day.

The interior life means learning to see the presence of God in those same ordinary moments.

Mary, Mother of God and Refuge of Sinners, teach us to sanctify the ordinary with love and to remain close to Jesus throughout the day.

10/09/2026

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Champion!

Mary shows us what it means to say yes to God; not just once, but every day.

St. Josemaria writes:

“Our mother is a model of correspondence to grace. The Virgin did not merely pronounce her fiat; in every moment she fulfilled that firm and irrevocable decision. So should we.”
— St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By, no. 173

Mary’s fiat was a lifelong response of trust and love. She teaches us to recognize God’s invitations in the ordinary moments of our own lives—and to respond generously.

Is it an impossible ideal to imitate the Immaculate Virgin as St Josemaria would have us do? “For nothing will be impossible for God.” — Luke 1:37

May Our Lady of Champion teach us to say yes to God with deep faith and love.

📚Read here about responding with Our Lady to God’s calling in your life! https://stjosemaria.org/fulfilling-the-fiat/

Our Lady of Champion, pray for us!

10/08/2026

Do you have a spiritual game plan?

The interior life doesn’t grow by chance.

It grows when we make room for God—in prayer, the sacraments, and the ordinary moments of each day.

St. Josemaria reminds us: “We should all be contemplatives in the middle of the world, seeking God in the things and events of each day.” -Christ is Passing By, no. 126

The work. The interruption. The difficult person. The joy. The disappointment.

All of it can become a meeting place with God.

But we need a plan. “You need an interior life and a plan of life.” (The Way, no. 76)

📖 GO DEEPER: Towards Holiness: A Spiritual Game Plan offers practical guidance for building a faithful plan of life inspired by St. Josemaria: https://stjosemaria.org/plan-of-life/

10/07/2026

🌹 Beginning today, the month of October is dedicated to a special series of meditations on the Rosary on the St. Josemaria Institute Podcast!

The Rosary is not simply a prayer we recite, it is an invitation to enter more deeply into the life of Christ with Our Lady.

In this new four-part series of meditations, Fr. Donncha guides us through the mysteries of the Rosary, helping us to contemplate the life of Jesus through the eyes and heart of Mary.

October 6 — The Glorious Mysteries
October 13 — The Joyful Mysteries
October 20 — The Sorrowful Mysteries
October 27 — The Luminous Mysteries

Take some time to slow down, pray, and contemplate the mysteries of Christ with Mary. May these reflections help us to pray the Rosary with greater faith, love, and recollection as well as discover Christ more fully in our ordinary lives.

Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us!

🎧 Subscribe and listen to the series from the St. Josemaria Institute: https://stjosemaria.org/podcast/

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Downers Grove, IL
60515

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http://www.stjosemaria.org/

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