Five Minutes with Tony Agnesi

A wise rabbi once said that the world is sustained by three things, by justice, by truth and by peace. When justice is done, truth is served and peace is achieved. In this podcast, Tony discusses the way to peace. Scripture: “Kindness and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss. Truth will spring from the earth; justice will look down from heaven.” Psalm 85:10-11 Quote: “At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.” –Martin Luther King, Jr. Reflections: What are you doing to support peace? Where do we find the leaders to show us the way to peace? What are you doing to promote social justice?

Every day, as I read Psalm 95 to begin the divine office, the phrase, “enter into my rest” seems to jump off the page. What is this rest that God speaks of? What did the Israelites do to fail to enter into it? And, more importantly, what can we do to enter into God’s rest? In this podcast, Tony discusses Enter into my rest. Scripture: Forty years I loathed that generation; I said: “This people’s heart goes astray; they do not know my ways.” Therefore I swore in my anger: “They shall never enter my rest.” –Psalm 95:10-11 Therefore, let us be on our guard while the promise of entering into his rest remains, that none of you seem to have failed. –Hebrews 4:1 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.” –Ephesians 2:8-9 “Encourage yourselves daily while it is still “today,” so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.” — Hebrews 3:13 “For in fact we have rece...

Hard times, we are all going to have them. And, some of us get through them better than others. Others don’t do so well. They suffer openly, have a negative destructive attitude and feel that their happiness has been shortchanged. In this podcast, Tony discusses hard times. Scripture: “Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:7 Quote: “Suffering has to come because if you look at the cross Jesus has his head bending down. He wants to kiss you. And he has his arms opened wide. He wants to embrace you. When you feel miserable inside look at the cross. Suffering, pain, sorrow, humiliation, feelings of loneliness, are nothing but the kiss of Jesus, a sign you have come so close he can kiss you.Suffering, pain, humiliation – this is the kiss of Jesus!” – Blessed Theresa of Calcutta “Life is not the way it’s supposed to be, it’s the way it is. The way you cope is what makes the difference.” –- V...

In this podcast, Tony discusses giving thanks as an important element of Christianity.  He uses the beautiful writings of St. Rose of Lima to better understand God’s amazing grace.  The feast of St. Rose of Lima is celebrated this Saturday, August 23rd. Quote: “If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within itself, how many joys and delights! No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when they are distributed to men.”   –From the writings of St. Rose of Lima “ Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: ‘Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men t...