Shadowing Practice: Consoling Jesus’ Sorrowful Heart - Thursday, October 29, 2026 - Learn English Speaking with Video
Choose a practice mode
Each mode opens a full-screen practice room.
65 sentences
If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.
1
This is Catholic Daily Reflections for Thursday of the 30th week in Ordinary Time.
2
Today's reflection is entitled, Consoling Jesus' Sorrowful Heart.
3
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
4
how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
5
But you were unwilling.
6
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
7
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
8
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
9
Luke 13, 34 -35.
10
In today's Gospel, Jesus laments Jerusalem's tragic history of persecuting the prophets sent by God to call his people back to fidelity.
11
The deaths of Zechariah and Isaiah stand out.
12
But the broader implication is that Jerusalem, the city of the temple and the seat of divine worship,
13
had often become the very place where divine truth was violently rejected.
14
In lamenting this, Jesus reveals his deep love for his people and foreshadows his own death at their hands,
15
which would also take place in Jerusalem.
16
Of note, Jesus' words drip with holy sorrow and compassion,
17
but also resolute clarity.
18
Though he offers a condemnation in the form of a prophetic warning
19
that the temple would ultimately be destroyed and the city overtaken by Romans in A .D.
20
70, his tone is one of loving lament, not vengeful retribution.
21
In many ways, Jesus' lament is that of a loving father mourning a wayward son,
22
How many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
23
Understanding this compassion in his sacred heart is especially helpful to us as we examine our own struggles with sin.
24
Though God is perfectly just,
25
his judgments are issued with a broken heart, not a violent one.
26
When you consider your sins, examine them through this lens.
27
See Jesus' sacred heart pierced with a sword of profound sorrow.
28
When we turn back to Him, we console Him and relieve
29
Him of that sorrow.
30
Though we can add nothing to God's greatness and glory on our own, we do have the capacity to fill
31
Him with joy when we repent and diligently strive to overcome sin in our lives.
32
Recognizing this spiritual reality is the highest form of the spiritual gift of fear of the Lord.
33
This gift of the Holy Spirit manifests itself in two ways.
34
First, fear of the Lord begins with what we traditionally call servile fear, that is, fear of punishment.
35
Consider, again, a son who obeys his father because he fears being punished.
36
This is a good beginning, but it is not the ideal.
37
The ideal form of fear of the Lord is filial fear, the fear of a loving son or daughter.
38
This fear does not avoid sin for selfish reasons, such as fear of punishment.
39
Rather, it leads us to avoid sin because we perceive the tender compassion in Jesus'
40
sacred heart and become vividly aware of the sorrow our sin inflicts upon Him.
41
What's more, we also see the joy we can give him by remaining faithful to his will.
42
Our love for him grows so strong that we are compelled to do all we can to give him joy.
43
His joy becomes ours, and we fear doing anything that would oppose that joy.
44
Though the gift of fear of the Lord primarily inspires us to console Jesus' heart,
45
it also enables us to extend his love toward others.
46
When this gift is alive in us,
47
we look at those around us with the same compassion and tenderness that Jesus expressed over Jerusalem.
48
We do not take their sins personally,
49
but share in the holy sorrow of Jesus' heart, longing for their conversion.
50
Reflect today on Jesus' sacred heart as He looks at you with sorrowful love.
51
Hear Him say, How often have I longed to gather you!
52
Let that invitation move you to turn away from all that saddens him and to cling to him with fidelity and love.
53
As you do, look also to those in your life who struggle with sin
54
and allow yourself to feel the same longing that Jesus has for them.
55
Be an instrument of his sacred heart toward others,
56
and you will ultimately share in his joy.
57
Let us pray.
58
Most compassionate Lord, you long for your children with the tenderest love,
59
desiring that we turn to you with all our hearts.
60
Please fill me with the gift of holy fear,
61
so that I may readily and wholeheartedly avoid all that grieves you.
62
Make me an instrument of your sacred heart toward others,
63
so that through me they may come to feel and know your loving care.
64
Jesus, I trust in you.
65
Thank you.
Download App
Everything you need to speak fluently
AI PronunciationScore every sentence
IPA PracticeMaster every sound
VocabularyBuild your word bank
Vocab GameLearn while playing
Same Channel
C11
The Good Samaritan - Monday, October 5, 2026
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B26
Reflection 276: Seeing Without Accomplishing
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C12
The Interior Life in Action - Saturday, September 12, 2026
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
Praying to the Father in the Son — Sunday, July 5, 2026
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B24
Reflection 268: Pondering Death
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
C11
Producing Much Fruit - Monday, August 10, 2026
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B1Reflection 256: Doing Your Best
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B16
Reflection 260: The Enormity of Small Acts of Love
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C13
The Dawn of Salvation - Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Daily ConversationWorking Adults
B29
Reflection 257: The Long Term Plan of God
University StudentsWorking Adults
B24
Reflection 240: Sweetness or Bitterness in Life?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B16
Reflection 263: God as Your Helmsman in the Storm
TeensHigh School StudentsUniversity Students
B27
Reflection 262: The Rule of Love or Justice
University StudentsWorking Adults
B14
Reflection 241: Remedying Your Particular Sins
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B219
Reflection 244: Working Until the End of the World
University StudentsWorking Adults
B24
Momentary and Lasting Fulfillment - Thursday, August 27, 2026
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C1The Eternal Law of Love - Sunday, October 25, 2026
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B1Reflection 261: Jesus Hidden in Others
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
FOR YOU
Recommend Video
C11
199 sentences
Become Someone for Others - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
255 sentences
Ongoing Sin | Paul Washer
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
C13
70 sentences
ADVANCED ENGLISH STORY 💌A Heartbreaking Letter💌 B2 / C1
British AccentDaily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C14
56 sentences
How many people are in hell? | Bishop Robert Barron
Daily ConversationUniversity Students
C11
93 sentences
Today's Catholic Mass Readings and Gospel Reflection - Thursday, September 10, 2026
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
62 sentences
Why ‘turning the other cheek’ is fundamentally misunderstood | Bishop Robert Barron
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C12
169 sentences
If Jesus Returns Tonight
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C128 sentences
Importance of Suffering and Pain to Activate Passion | Chadwick Boseman
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
150 sentences
Why We Can't Save Those We Love
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
C11
149 sentences
Why Be Catholic and Not Just Christian?
Daily ConversationUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Consoling Jesus’ Sorrowful Heart - Thursday, October 29, 2026”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: fear, Jesus, sin, sacred, joy. This video has 65 sentences and 792 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:37. The speaker talks slowly, about 104 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 77% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| sacred adjective | /ˈseɪkɹɪd/ | Characterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use, especially, in a positive sense; consecrated, made holy. |
| gather verb | /ˈɡæðɚ/ | To collect normally separate things. |
| sorrow noun | /ˈsɑɹoʊ/ | unhappiness, woe |
| compassion noun | /kəmˈpæʃ.ən/ | Deep awareness of the suffering of others that people have to the point of them being motivated to relieve such states. |
| temple noun | /ˈtɛm.pl̩/ | A house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith. |
| ideal adjective | /aɪˈdi(ə)l/ | Pertaining to ideas, or to a given idea. |
| spiritual adjective | /ˈspɪɹɪt͡ʃuəl/ | Of or pertaining to the spirit or the soul. |
| sin noun | /ˈsɪn/ | A violation of divine will or religious law. |
| punishment noun | /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/ | The act (action) or process of punishing, imposing and/or applying a sanction, typically by an authority or a person in authority (for example: a parent or… |
| instrument noun | /ˈɪnstɹəmənt/ | A device used to produce music. |
| divine adjective | /dɪˈvaɪn/ | Of or pertaining to a god. |
| examine verb | /ɪɡˈzæmɪn/ | To observe carefully or critically to learn about someone or something. |
| tender adjective | /ˈtɛn.dɚ/ | Sensitive or painful to the touch. |
| console noun | /ˈkɑn.soʊl/ | A stand-alone cabinet designed to stand on the floor; especially, one integrated with home entertainment equipment, such as a TV or stereo system. |
| prophet noun | /ˈpɹɑ.fɪt/ | Someone who speaks by divine inspiration. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| stand out verb | To jut out, protrude (from a surface etc.). |
Pronunciation to watch
- The “th” sounds: gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, faithful /ˈfeɪθ.fl̩/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: compassion /kəmˈpæʃ.ən/, punishment /ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/, worship /ˈwɝ.ʃɪp/, conversion /kənˈvɝʒən/, reflection /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: primarily /ˈpɹaɪ.mə.ɹə.li/, invitation /ɪnvɪˈteɪʃən/, traditionally /tɹəˈdɪʃ.ə.nə.li/, violently /ˈvaɪ(ə)ləntli/, implication /ˌɪmpləˈkeɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like sacred, gather, sorrow.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.