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
If you want your dream to be, build it slow and surely. Small beginning greater and heartfelt work grows purely.
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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 eighth, nineteen oh four, volume six. 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 in the hidden places of my heart. When something within me resists your grace, give me the strength to choose you. Teach me that true freedom is not found in following every desire, but in becoming free enough to love you completely. May my human will surrender lovingly to your divine will, so that your life may reign more fully in me. Amen. A reading from the Book of Proverbs, chapter sixteen, verse thirty two The patient are better than warriors, and those who rule their temper better than the conqueror of a city. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in paragraphs seventeen thirty one Freedom is the power rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one's own responsibility. By free will one shapes one's own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness. It attains its perfection when directed toward God are beatitude. There are victories in the spiritual life that no one sees. They happen within the soul, when we could follow ourselves, but instead freely choose God. Louisa writes This morning, since my most sweet Jesus was not coming, I went through a very hard time. I did nothing but repress and force myself, and I said to myself, What am I still here for? What is the value for me of this repressing myself continuously? While I was thinking of this, he came like a flash and said to me repressing one's self is worth more than acquiring a kingdom. And he disappeared. Some of the greatest victories of our lives will never be noticed by another person. There may be no applause, no visible accomplishment, and perhaps not even the satisfaction of knowing that we have done something important. The victory may simply be this. Something within us wanted to move in one direction. God was calling us in another, and by grace we chose him. Proverbs gives us a remarkable image. The person who rules his own spirit accomplishes something greater than the warrior who captures a city. Why? Because there is a kingdom within us where an important battle is continually being fought. Who will rule my choices? Our emotions can be powerful. Our preferences can become demanding. Pride can insist upon being recognized. Resentment can ask to be entertained. Discouragement can tell us to give up. Even small inconveniences can awaken that familiar desire to have things our own way. But none of these things has to rule us. The catechism teaches that God has given us freedom, the ability to act deliberately and take responsibility for our actions. And this means our freedom has an extraordinary purpose. It gives us the ability to give ourselves to God. This is especially important when we speak about living in the divine will. God does not want to eliminate our human will as though it were something worthless. He created it. He gave us freedom so that we could freely love Him. The beauty of surrender is that we could choose ourselves, but instead we choose Jesus. That changes the way we can look at interior struggles. Suppose someone irritates us. Immediately something within us wants to react. Perhaps we want to answer sharply, defend ourselves, replay the offense, or carry resentment throughout the day. But then Grace whispers give this to me. And suddenly an ordinary moment becomes sacred. We can say within ourselves Jesus, my human will wants this, but I want you more. I place this choice in your divine will. No one else may ever know that anything happened. But Jesus knows that is the hidden victory. And these little victories gradually form the soul. Every time we surrender something to Christ, our freedom becomes less governed by impulse and more available to love. This is not merely self control, it is self gift. And there is an important difference. Christian holiness is not simply becoming strong enough to master ourselves. It is becoming free enough to belong completely to Jesus. Living in the divine will takes that surrender even deeper. Instead of merely asking, what should I do? The soul begins to pray. Jesus, how do you want to live this moment in me? Then patience is no longer merely my patience. Forgiveness is no longer merely my effort. Obedience is no longer merely something I force myself to do. I invite Jesus to live his patience, his forgiveness, his obedience, and his love in me. My human will does not disappear, it gives its consent. And perhaps this is one of the most beautiful uses of human freedom to continually place it back into the hands of the one who gave it to us. The world celebrates the person who conquers something outside himself. Jesus sees another kind of conquest. He sees the moment when a soul could have chosen resentment but chose mercy, could have chosen pride but chose humility, could have insisted upon its own way, but surrendered, could have turned inward, but instead said Jesus, you choose, you act, you live in me. No one may applaud, no one may even know, but in that hidden place of the soul, the human will has opened the door to the divine will, and the kingdom of God has gained a little more ground within us. Let us pray. Jesus, you know every movement of my heart. You see the struggles no one else sees, the desires that pull at me, the moments when I want my own way, and the quiet choices that cost more than anyone could ever know. Thank you for giving me the gift of freedom. Today I give that freedom back to you in love. When impatience rises within me, Jesus, be patient in me. When resentment appears, forgive in me. When pride wants to defend itself, humble yourself in me. When discouragement tells me to stop, continue your work in me. And when my human will wants to take control, remind me gently that there is something far greater than getting my own way. Letting you have yours. Jesus, I place my will within your divine will. Pray in me, love in me, act in me, live your life in me. May every hidden choice become an offering, every surrender become an act of love, and every interior victory make more room for your kingdom within my soul. And when no one else sees the victory, let it be enough that you do. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.
