PODCAST | Spiritual Reading for Your Interior Life
In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo reflects on St. John the Baptist to show how, like the saint, we can become active listeners of the Word in our hearts. In particular, this talk aims to persuade you to embrace a lifestyle where there is room for meditation on Sacred Scripture and spiritual reading, such as the lives of the saints and spiritual classics, that can help us grow in our interior lives.
Among the recommendations in this talk are three steps to get started on your spiritual reading plan:
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- Make Time: Each day set aside time for spiritual reading (10-15 minutes) and Biblical reading (5-10 minutes).
- Take Notes: As you are reading or when you finish, write down what strikes you and what moves you. Also, start writing a list of passages from the Bible that you can frequently take to your prayer – make a top 100 list!
- Practice: What are you going to put into practice— a resolution, a goal, or a small sacrifice— that day (or the next) from your reading?
Rev. Javier del Castillo
Fr. Javier del Castillo is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and currently serves as President of the St. Josemaria Institute. He earned a degree in electronic engineering and moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, where he was ordained a priest in 2005 and earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2007. He worked as a chaplain in high schools in the Washington, D.C. and Chicago areas for several years, offering spiritual accompaniment to students, parents, and teachers. From 2015 on, he served as the vicar of Opus Dei in the midwest; he was appointed regional vicar of the United States in 2022. He became vicar of the United States and Canada in 2024, following the restructuring of the regions, until his appointment as Vicar General in April 2025.
