Fr. Timothy Gallagher, Dr. Anthony Lilles, Fr. Donald Haggerty, Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B, Fr. Thomas McDermott O.P., Dr. Matthew Bunson, Dr. R. R. Reno, Deacon James Keating, Archbishop George Lucas, Msgr. John Esseeff and so many other Catholic Spiritual leaders and teachers/catechists offer the best teachings in the rich Catholic Spiritual/Discernment tradition. From lives of the saints to the basics of Catholic Social teaching, from the Sacred Liturgy to prayer in everyday moments of our lives, we walk to together as we fulfill our call to "be saints in the making". By the renewal of our minds, we form ourselves so that we "may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." (Rom 12:2)
https://www.discerninghearts.com/catholic-podcasts/
SJ2 – Joseph and His King – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts Podcast
Episode 2 – Joseph and His King – “St. Joseph and His World”
In this episode, Mike Aquilina and Kris McGregor explore the various religious and political figures prevalent in Israel at the time of St. Joseph. Chief among those leaders is the infamous figure of King Herod the Great.
An excerpt from St. Joseph and His World:
In Judea at the time, there were three dominant factions to pit against each other.
The Sadducees, the descendants of Zadok, were the clerical caste, from whom the high priest had formerly been chosen. They were wealthy and largely materialist in their approach to religion. They disbelieved in angels and the afterlife. They recognized only the five books of Moses, the Torah, as Scripture.
The Pharisees were a lay movement that emphasized the meticulous observance of the Law. They supplemented the statutes of Moses with other regulations based on customs and oral tradition. They recognized as authoritative, in addition to the Torah, the Prophets, the Psalms, and sacred writings of Israel.
The Essenes were a group of pious separatists, founded probably when the Seleucids deposed the legitimate high priest and replaced him with his brother. They considered themselves the keepers of the traditional, priestly, sacrificial faith, and they awaited a messiah (or perhaps two messiahs) who would restore the integrity of Israel’s religious institutions. The Essenes had a contemplative community in the Judean desert.
Aqualina, Mike. St. Joseph and His World (p. 22). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
For more episodes in this series visit – St. Joseph and His World with Mike Aquilina page
You can find the book on which this series is based here
Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics, the study of the early Church Fathers.[1] He is the executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a Roman Catholic research center based in Steubenville, Ohio. He is a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. He is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including The Fathers of the Church (2006); The Mass of the Early Christians (2007); Living the Mysteries (2003); and What Catholics Believe(1999). He has hosted eleven television series on the Eternal Word Television Network and is a frequent guest commentator on Catholic radio.
Mike Aquilina’s website is found at fathersofthechurch.com
Other Mike Aquilina series’ found on Discerning Hearts:
Roots the Faith
The Resilient Church
Villains of the Early Church