"Your Faith Anew!"

Your Faith Anew! exists to help souls grow in their knowledge of the Catholic Faith, strive to remain in a state of grace, and encounter the transforming joy of the Gospel. Its mission is simple yet eternal: to save souls, glorify God, and become saints.

Hosted by David Russell, this daily reflection podcast draws deeply from Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta—especially The Book of Heaven—guiding listeners into a deeper understanding of living in the Divine Will.

David is the author of four spiritually rich works: Magi Theology: The Essence of Illusion, The Little Magician – Discovers Bigger and Better, Our Pilgrimage with the Pilgrim Virgin, and his newest release, Our Mother in the Divine Will. With a lifelong fascination for the mystical, David discovered a profound connection between the art of illusion and deeper spiritual realities—an insight that inspired both his theological and children’s writings. His work Magi Theology received both the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur from the Diocese of Knoxville.

In 2010, David was introduced to the writings of Luisa Piccarreta, which deeply resonated with his own spiritual insights. This encounter helped shape the foundation of his ministry.

In 2017, he founded the Your Faith Anew! prayer and study group to help Catholics rediscover and fall in love with their Faith. At the heart of his message is this conviction:

“The Catholic Faith prepares us to receive the Gift of Living in the Divine Will—and this Gift enables us to live our Faith in a divine manner most pleasing to God.”

Join us daily as we seek not only to understand our Faith—but to live it fully, joyfully, and in union with the Divine Will.

Song: Buddy Comfort - vocals and guitar from the album, "Brother Sun, Sister Moon", www.buddycomfort.com

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"Your Faith Anew!"

"The Measure Is Christ"

September 02, 2026 • David Russell

0:00 | 12:37

NEW AUDIOBOOK! "LIVING IN DIVINE WILL - Returning to the Purpose of Our Creation" click here

September 2, 1899 – Volume 2

Luisa writes,

So, with this obedience, a little milder, it seemed that my heart, from dead, began to live again a little bit. But in spite of this, it did not cease to be tortured in a thousand guises; in fact, when obedience would see that the heart would stop a little longer in search for its Maker, almost wanting to rest in Him because its strengths were exhausted, she would swoop down on me and wound me all over with her claws. And then, having to repeat that refrain when blessed Jesus would make Himself seen: ‘Do not come, I cannot converse, for obedience does not want it’ - was this not the most atrocious and cruel martyrdom for me?

Then, as I was in my usual state, my sweet Jesus came and I manifested to Him the command received; and He went away. Only once, while I was saying to Him, ‘do not come, for obedience does not want it’, He told me: “My daughter, keep the light of my Passion ever before your mind, for in seeing my most bitter pains, yours will seem little to you, and in considering the cause for which I suffered so many immense pains, which was sin, your littlest defects will seem grave to you. On the other hand, if you do not reflect yourself in Me, the littlest pains will seem heavy to you, and you will hold grave defects as nothing.” And He disappeared.

After a little while, the confessor came, and when I asked him whether I was still to continue that obedience, he said to me: “No, you can tell Him whatever you want, and keep Him as much as you want.”

It seems that I have been set free now, and that I don’t have to deal so much with this warrior so powerful; otherwise, this time he would have become so strong as to give me death. However, he would have let me make a great gain, because I would have united myself to the Highest Good - forever, not at intervals; and I would have thanked him. Not only this, but I would have sung to him the canticle of obedience – that is, the canticle of victories; and then I would have laughed at all his strength…

But as I am saying this, a radiant and beautiful eye has appeared before me, with a voice saying: “And I would have united myself with you, and would have delighted in laughing, because that would have been my victory.”

And I: ‘O dear obedience… and after laughing together, I would have left you at the door of Paradise to say to you, “good-bye” - no longer “see you again”, to have nothing to do with you any more; and I would have been very careful not to let you in.’

– Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta

Buddy Comfort – vocals and guitar from the album Brother Sun, Sister Moon, www.buddycomfort.com, words and music by Donovan Leitch.

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Welcome. This is David Russell and your faith anew, daily reflections guiding you to live in the divine will. Today's reflection is from the Book of Heaven by the servant of God Louisa Picaretta, september second, eighteen ninety nine, volume two. Let us begin in the will and name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord Jesus, draw my eyes toward you. When I'm troubled by suffering, distracted by myself, or careless about sin, bring me beneath the light of your cross. Give me a tender conscience without fear, courage without pride, and a heart willing to receive everything from the Father's hands. May your love become the measure of my thoughts, my choices, and my desires. Amen. A reading from the letter to the Hebrews, chapter twelve verses three and four. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in Paragraph twenty fifteen. Spiritual progress entails the asesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes. He who climbs never stops going from beginning to begin, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows. Let us enter today's reading with our attention fixed upon Jesus and our hearts open to whatever he desires to reveal. Louisa writes So with this obedience a little milder, it seemed that my heart from dead began to live again a little bit. But in spite of this it did not cease to be tortured in a thousand guises. In fact, when obedience would see that the heart would stop a little longer and search for its maker, almost wanting to rest in him because its strengths were exhausted, she would swoop down on me and would wound me all over with her claws. And then having to repeat that refrain when blessed Jesus would make himself seen. Do not come, I cannot converse, for obedience does not want it. Was this not the most atrocious and cruel martyrdom for me? Then, as I was in my usual state, my sweet Jesus came, and I manifested to him the command received, and he went away. Only once while I was saying to him, Do not come for obedience does not want it, he told me, My daughter, keep the light of my passion ever before your mind, for in seeing my most bitter pains, yours will seem little to you, and in considering the cause for which I suffered so many immense pains, which was sin, your littlest defects will seem grave to you. On the other hand, if you do not reflect yourself in me, the littlest pains will seem heavy to you, and you will hold grave defects as nothing. And he disappeared. After a little while the confessor came, and when I asked him whether I was still to continue that obedience, he said to me No, you can tell him whatever you want, and keep him as much as you want. It seems that I've been set free now, and that I don't have to deal so much with this warrior so powerful. Otherwise, this time he would have become so strong as to give me death. However, he would have let me make a great gain, because I would have united myself to the highest good forever, not at intervals, and I would have thanked him. Not only this, but I would have sung to him the canical of obedience, that is, the canical of victories, and then I would have laughed at all his strength. But as I am saying this, a radiant and beautiful eye has appeared before me, with a voice saying, And I would have united myself with you, and would have delighted in laughing, because that would have been my victory. And I oh dear obedience, and after laughing together, I would have left you at the door of paradise to say to you goodbye, no longer see you again, to have nothing to do with you anymore, and I would have been very careful not to let you in. There is a remarkable change that takes place when we look steadily at Jesus Christ. Our circumstances may not change. The difficulty may remain difficult. The sacrifice may still cost us something. Yet what seemed enormous when measured against our own strength begins to look different when placed beside the love revealed on Calvary. This is not a call to pretend that suffering does not hurt. Christianity never asks us to become insensitive. Jesus Himself wept, suffered, and knew anguish. The cross tells us something far greater. Suffering can be entered with love, and when love enters suffering, suffering no longer has the final word. But there's another grace that comes from looking at Christ crucified. We begin to see sin differently. Before the cross, we discover both the seriousness of sin and the greater seriousness of divine mercy. We cannot look upon the love of Jesus and casually say that our choices do not matter, yet neither can we look upon him and conclude that our weakness places us beyond His mercy. The cross protects us from both presumption and despair. This is important for anyone seeking to live in the divine will. Living in God's will is not simply performing extraordinary acts for God. Often it begins much more quietly, allowing Jesus to become the measure of what matters. Instead of asking how difficult is this for me? We begin asking Jesus, how can I love you here? Instead of excusing a small infidelity because others would consider it insignificant, we ask, Jesus, is there something in my heart you want to make more completely yours? That is the freedom of a soul learning to live before God. We do not stare endlessly at ourselves, we look at Christ. And something beautiful happens there. His passion does not crush us beneath the weight of our inadequacy. It draws us out of ourselves. His wounds tell us what sin costs, but they also tell us how deeply we are loved. So today, whatever appears large in your life, bring it near the cross. And whatever appears too small to matter, bring that there too. Then remain with Jesus long enough for his love to restore the proper measure of everything. Let us pray. Jesus, crucified and risen Lord, keep my eyes upon you. When suffering fills my vision, remind me that I'm not carrying it alone. When I become careless about the small movements of my heart, awaken in me a deeper love for you. Give me neither fear of my weakness nor confidence in myself, but confidence in your grace. Father, I offer you my thoughts, desires, sacrifices, joys, and difficulties in union with Jesus. Let your divine will find no resistance in me, but teach me to receive each moment as a place where Christ can love, obey, forgive, and offer Himself in me. Jesus be my measure. Make my heart attentive to you, sensitive to grace, quick to return when I fail, and peaceful beneath the gaze of your mercy. May everything in me belong to you. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.