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"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 Hidden Grace of Perseverance"

September 22, 2026 • David Russell

0:00 | 12:41

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

September 22, 1899 – Volume 2

Luisa writes,

I felt a nail stuck in my heart because of the words spoken yesterday by sweet Jesus, and He, always benign with this miserable sinner, to relieve my pains, came and, all compassion for me, told me: “My daughter, do not want to afflict yourself any longer. Know that everything I make you write, either about virtues or in the form of similes, is nothing but making you portray yourself, and the perfection which I made your soul reach.”

Oh, God! What a great repugnance I feel in writings these words – because what He says does not seem true to me. I feel I still don’t understand what virtue and perfection is, but obedience wants it so, and it is better to croak than having to deal with her; more so, since she has two faces: if one does as she says, she assumes the appearance of a lady, and caresses you like a most faithful friend – even more, she promises you all the goods that are in Heaven and on earth; but then, as soon as she detects a shadow of difficulty against her, immediately, without letting herself be noticed, one goes about looking at her and finds her a warrior in the act of arming his weapons to wound you and destroy you. Oh, my Jesus, what kind of a virtue is this obedience, that makes one tremble at the mere thought of her?

Then, while Jesus was saying those words to me, I told Him: ‘My good Jesus, what good is it for my soul to have so many graces, if then they embitter my whole life, especially because of the hours of your privation? In fact, understanding Who You are, and of Whom I am being deprived, is a continuous martyrdom for me. So, they serve me for nothing but to make me live continuously embittered.’

And He added: “When a person has tasted the sweetness of a food and then is forced to take the bitter, in order to remove that bitterness he doubles his desire to taste the sweet, and this does much good to that person, because if he always tasted the sweet, without ever tasting bitterness, he would not take the sweet into great consideration. But if he always tasted bitterness, without knowing the sweet, by not knowing it, he would not even desire it; therefore, both one and the other do good. So it is good for you also.” And I: ‘My Jesus, most patient in bearing a soul so miserable and ungrateful – forgive me. It seems to me that this time I want to investigate too much.’ And Jesus: “Do not be disturbed; it is I Myself who raises these difficulties in your interior, to have the occasion to converse with you, and also to instruct you in everything.”

– 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 twenty 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. Jesus, draw me close to you today. Quiet, whatever resists your grace within me. Give me a heart willing to remain with you when prayer is easy and when it is difficult, when your presence seems near, and when I must walk simply by faith. May your will find no closed door within me. Amen. A reading from the Book of Sirach, chapter two verses one six. My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of adversity. Cling to him, do not leave him, that you may prosper in your last days. Accept whatever happens to you. In periods of humiliation, be patient, for in fire gold is tested, and the chosen in the crucible of humiliation. Trust in God, and He will help you. Make your ways straight and hope in Him. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraph twenty seven thirty one. Another difficulty, especially for those who sincerely want to pray, is dryness. Dryness belongs to contemplative prayer when the heart is separated from God with no taste for thoughts, memories, and feelings, even spiritual ones. This is the moment of sheer faith clinging faithfully to Jesus in his agony and in his tomb. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. If dryness is due to the lack of roots, because the word has fallen on rocky soil, the battle requires conversion. There are moments in the spiritual life when God invites us beyond what we can understand and teaches us the deeper freedom of trusting him. Loisa writes I felt a nail stuck in my heart because of the words spoken yesterday by sweet Jesus, and he, always benign with this miserable sinner, to relieve my pains, came and all compassion for me, told me. My daughter, do not want to afflict yourself any longer. Know that everything I make you write, either about virtues or in the form of similes, is nothing but making you portray yourself and the perfection which I made your soul reach. Oh God, what a great repugnance I feel in writing these words, because what he says does not seem true to me. I feel I still don't understand what virtue and perfection is, but obedience wants it so, and it is better to croak than having to deal with her more so since she has two faces. If one does, as she says, she assumes the appearance of a lady, and caresses you like a most faithful friend. Even more, she promises you all the goods that are in heaven and on earth. But then as soon as she detects a shadow of difficulty against her, immediately without letting herself be noticed, one goes about looking at her and finds her a warrior in the act of arming his weapons to wound you and destroy you. Oh my Jesus, what kind of a virtue is this obedience that makes one tremble at the mere thought of her? Then, while Jesus was saying those words to me, I told him My good Jesus, what good is it for my soul to have so many graces if then they embitter my whole life, especially because of the hours of your privation? In fact, understanding who you are and of whom I am being deprived is a continuous martyrdom for me. So they serve me for nothing but to make me live continuously embittered. And he added When a person has tasted the sweetness of a food and then is forced to take the bitter, in order to remove the bitterness, he doubles his desire to taste the sweet, and this does much good to that person, because if he always tasted the sweet without ever tasting bitterness, he would not take the sweet into great consideration. But if he always tasted bitterness without knowing the sweet, by not knowing it, he would not even desire it. Therefore, both one and the other do good, so it is good for you also. And I my Jesus, most patient in bearing a soul so miserable and ungrateful, forgive me. It seems to me that this time I want to investigate too much. And Jesus do not be disturbed. It is I myself who raises these difficulties in your interior, to have the occasion to converse with you and also to instruct you in everything. One of the surprises of the spiritual life is discovering that closeness to God does not always feel like closeness to God. Some days prayer comes easily. We sense the Lord's presence, and following him seems almost natural. Other days are different. Prayer feels dry. Faithfulness requires effort. We know what God asks, but our emotions seem to lag behind our will. Those moments can become especially fruitful because they teach us to love God for Himself. There is a difference between loving the consolation God gives and loving the God who gives the consolation. This is why dryness does not necessarily mean that something has gone wrong. The catechism recognizes dryness as part of the life of prayer. At such times, faith becomes more deliberate. We remain before Jesus not because we receive an immediate spiritual reward, but because He is worthy of our trust and love. And our yes becomes less dependent upon circumstances. That matters deeply when we desire to live in the divine will. Our surrender cannot depend upon whether today feels spiritually satisfying. We give ourselves to God because He is God and because we belong to Him. Perhaps today you feel close to Jesus. Thank Him. Perhaps today you feel almost nothing. Give Him that too. You don't need to manufacture devotion or create spiritual feelings. Simply remain available to grace. Sometimes one of the purest prayers a soul can offer is Jesus, I'm still here. There is great love in that simple act of faith. And perhaps that quiet faithfulness is exactly where Jesus is waiting to meet you. Let us pray. Jesus, I adore you simply because you are Lord. When I experience your consolation, let me receive it gratefully. When I cannot feel your nearness, keep my heart faithful. I give you my understanding and the things I cannot understand, my confidence and my weakness, my desire to follow you and even the resistance I sometimes find within myself. In your divine will, take my simple yes and unite it to your perfect obedience to the Father. Teach me to remain with you. May my prayer become less concerned with what I receive and more consumed with loving you. Jesus, whether the road is bright or hidden from me, I place myself in your hands. You are enough. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.