Fr. Donald Haggerty Archives - Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

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Reflection 14 – Prayerful Recollection and Divine Presence – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

Emotional consolation does not have to disappear from prayer. It is God’s choice whether he wants to grant it or not. But clearly it has to fade and eventually cease as a desired gratification in prayer. It is the longing for it that has to be burnt dry from our soul. This has sometimes been called a Carmelite rule of prayer. And yet often, even perhaps by them, it is little understood or accepted. But it is deleterious to ignore this rule and to expect differently from a loving God. His love may not coincide with our prior notions of love.

We should learn as we pray longer in silence that a dry longing for God is both inescapable and necessary. It is a necessity if we are to grow in faith, even if the experience is at first unwelcome. This necessity has two reasons. First, our desire in prayer turns toward someone beyond a clear grasp. Second, the dryness conveys a truth about an encounter with God. Aridity becomes a confirmation of God’s preference for concealment. His personal presence will always hide from us to some degree. The aridity in a sense corroborates this choice of God’s. The link between aridity and the divine concealment educates us in the paradox of prayer. Someone draws us from a source deep in our being, and yet gives no assurance of this. There is no tangible taste of a direct encounter, no diminishment of mystery. We come away from such prayer simply hungry and desirous. We are offering ourselves to a God of real personality.

A desire to love God, even if buried in prayer beneath a lack of feeling, is always carried outside of prayer and draws us in ways we do not easily notice. Even when not felt, the desire for God moves us in spontaneous, unplanned ways to actions that would otherwise not have been attractive. The desire to love him in prayer, even in dryness, intensifies a sensitivity to a God who is never absent, and who conceals quietly his presence when he has found an invitation from the first hour of a day.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 86-88). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsReflect on a time when distractions challenged your focus during prayer. How did you handle these distractions, and what did they teach you about your relationship with God?

Considering the passage, how might your understanding of prayerful recollection and attentiveness evolve to balance effort with surrender and discipline with love?

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP14 – Prayerful Recollection and Divine Presence – Deepening Prayer Beyond Comfort – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 13 – Awareness of God’s Presence in Prayer – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

The mind cannot think about God in prayer in a way that will ensure a contact between our soul and God. No thought in itself, even the thought that he is looking at us with love, brings him closer. Only a thought accompanied by a blind, passionate desire toward God can do so. And then we are not merely thinking about God.

A refinement of attention is necessary if we are to seek God from a greater silence in our soul. But this cannot be simply the discipline of a mental effort. If we are to find a richer silence in prayer, it is because Jesus Christ has taken greater possession of our inner life. He has a tighter hold upon us. Attention to God in prayer is inseparable from love for him. It is because of love that we listen better in the silence of prayer. With love we wait more patiently upon his divine voice. We come to know only by love that silence is the secret language he prefers when expressing his own love for us.

We must strike a balance in prayer between taking up a thought about God and striving for a real encounter with God. The encounter in love is the purpose of prayer. It goes beyond what engages the mind in prayer. Unfortunately we can place a thought of God before our mind as we might lay an object of interest on a table, where it lies still and unmoving, ready for viewing. On the other hand, there are thoughts which enhance the possibility of a loving encounter with God—that God seeks our soul, that he wants to give himself, that he abandons himself to us inasmuch as he is sought. These thoughts, when pondered, cannot remain fixed and immobile, examined simply as thoughts. They urge our soul to offer itself in turn, fearless and bold before God’s drawing attraction. God wants to give himself to us at this very hour. Unfailingly, this thought can enhance our own offering to God.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 84-86). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsHow can you differentiate in your own prayer life between merely thinking about God as an abstract concept and actively seeking a real, loving encounter with Him?

Consider the role that desire and love play in transforming your prayer from a mental exercise into a heartfelt communion with God.

In what ways can you cultivate a more profound silence and attention in your prayer to allow Jesus Christ to take greater possession of your inner life, thereby fostering a deeper relationship with God?

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP13 – Awareness of God’s Presence in Prayer – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 12 – Aridity in Prayer – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

Emotional consolation does not have to disappear from prayer. It is God’s choice whether he wants to grant it or not. But clearly it has to fade and eventually cease as a desired gratification in prayer. It is the longing for it that has to be burnt dry from our soul. This has sometimes been called a Carmelite rule of prayer. And yet often, even perhaps by them, it is little understood or accepted. But it is deleterious to ignore this rule and to expect differently from a loving God. His love may not coincide with our prior notions of love.

Aridity in prayer may strengthen a concentration of love in our soul, a sign of which is a deeper calm in prayer and a detachment from emotion. Or, if not, a kind of spiritual hypochondria can take over, a concern for how one feels that must be examined constantly. The fact is that we are being given a grace to forget ourselves when we feel nothing in prayer. Unfortunately, this is often misunderstood and we may retreat into a chronic petulance in prayer, always on the verge of complaint. It may be that many who pray never realize the grace present in aridity and simply treat it as a form of mild illness, waiting stoically for a better day.

A desire to love God, even if buried in prayer beneath a lack of feeling, is always carried outside of prayer and draws us in ways we do not easily notice. Even when not felt, the desire for God moves us in spontaneous, unplanned ways to actions that would otherwise not have been attractive. The desire to love him in prayer, even in dryness, intensifies a sensitivity to a God who is never absent, and who conceals quietly his presence when he has found an invitation from the first hour of a day.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 72, 75). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsHow can experiencing aridity in prayer deepen your understanding and experience of God’s love, and how might this influence your actions and attitudes outside of prayer, particularly in moments when you feel distant from emotional consolations in your spiritual life?

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP12 – Aridity in Prayer – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 11 – Deepening Prayer Beyond Comfort – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

The desire for an experience of God’s presence may bring us to prayer, but the same impulse, if not purified, will exact a later cost. If we become anxious for emotional consolation in prayer, a focus on self can begin to affect the life of solitary prayer. It becomes incidental to this whether an hour of prayer is consoling or dissatisfying. The habitual desire for a gratifying experience will turn prayer into a self-centered enterprise. Then, in one of the ironies of spiritual life, a soul that perseveres in prayer comes away from it more turned toward self than toward God. This desire for satisfaction in prayer leads many people simply to give up silent prayer. Indeed the abandonment of prayer in this manner by those who aspired to a serious prayer life is one of the more hidden tragedies in the Church.

Emotion incites the imagination. Religious emotion is no different. If we seem to feel God’s presence, the thought may arise that God must be near in that moment. But surely this perception under the sway of emotion appeals also to self-love. Is God actually closer then to the soul? Is he closer than in times of aridity? Perhaps not, although it can be hard to resist the thought. The error can be consequential if it means that we forsake a purer pursuit of God in his transcendent mystery in exchange for sporadic encounters with our own inflamed desire. A sobering corrective is to remember that God in his immensity cannot be contained, held down, possessed within the human heart.

Sometimes souls serious about spiritual life become demanding of affection and regard from others, desirous to draw others close to themselves. It is a flaw that may have a background in a prayer life that resisted purification. The connection is not difficult to perceive. Purification in prayer is self-emptying. Long aridity if undergone with perseverance burns away our desire for satisfaction. The dryness is a humbling deprivation. But some souls cannot bear this impoverishment. When prayer has settled into chronic dryness and God shows no closeness, the response may be to seek love from others. Instead of embracing poverty, we may react by becoming possessive and demanding of human affections. It is as though we seek to secure a confirmation of being loved which the life of prayer withholds. Finding ourselves needed by others grants a spiritual worth not being received in prayer. It is good to recall that in surrendering to God, we give ourselves to a real poverty. If we make no peace with our poverty in prayer, the pursuit of consolation in human relations may strongly attract us. Without our realizing it, being needed by others placates the anxious thought that God has chosen other souls for his greater love and we have been left behind.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 72, 75). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsHow can we cultivate a prayer life that is focused on seeking God for His own sake, rather than for the emotional consolations we may desire, and what steps can we take to embrace the spiritual poverty and dryness that may come, seeing them not as signs of God’s absence, but as opportunities for deeper union with Him?

Embrace a disciplined prayer life, focusing on deepening your relationship with God rather than seeking emotional comfort. View spiritual dryness as an opportunity for growth. Aim to purify your prayer intentions, seeking God for His own sake. Engage in acts of service to shift focus from self to others, embodying Christ’s selfless love.

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP11 – Deepening Prayer Beyond Comfort – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 10 – Longing in Aridity – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

The soul experiencing aridity would be more easily reconciled to this condition if it was not joined at times to an anxiety that God’s displeasure for some unknown reason was the cause of it. On the other hand, the purer longing for God beneath feelings is a refinement of the soul’s passion and a significant grace in prayer. Aridity exhausts over time an impulse to seek anything in prayer other than God himself. Desires may flare up, but they taper and fade into unimportance as a deeper passion for God more directly engages prayer. Everything less than God becomes simply a poor object for love, and a soul gradually realizes this. In one sense contemplative life from its inception is a routing of every spurious form of love. And it takes place initially through these purifications. The steady burn of aridity brings a new depth of passion and love to prayer. The soul’s longing turns more exclusively toward God in prayer when there is nothing other than God to draw desire.

Contemplative prayer has its source, then, in an intense passion for God. The strain of wanting God begins to permeate a life, overwhelming other desires. It is in one sense a kind of constraint upon desire, and a discontent within the soul. Prayer becomes a steady, unrelenting passion for someone not possessed, not near enough to be permanently enjoyed, someone who disappears again into hiding after every closer approach. Always a deeper longing in the soul remains unassuaged. Never to appease a quiet, unrelenting need for God, never to find God in a way that would release the soul from searching for him—this is the true measure of contemplative prayer. A notion of prayer that would overcome the concealment of God is deceived. The fire of the soul in prayer burns by not seeing. The flames of the soul’s desire for God are stoked in darkness. Without that fire the soul would flee the distant spaces. It would never know the naked passion for God found in the desert among the dry winds and the sands.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 65-66). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsReflect on a time when you felt a deep longing for God amidst spiritual dryness or aridity.

How did this experience strengthen or change your relationship with God?

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP10 – Longing in Aridity – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 9 – Dry Discomfort in Prayer – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

Contemplative life is initiated undramatically—one might say in a concealed, subtle, confusing manner. One symptom is a dry discomfort in prayer like the bodily ache of a fever that does not subside. The aridity contrasts with the prior experience of prayer, when a consoling sense of God’s presence was enjoyed. Now there is little felt contact with God, nothing savored in emotion. God seems to disappear more and more into hiding. Other symptoms as well seem incongruous as signs of a growth in prayer. A focused attention on Our Lord becomes difficult. Noisy distractions disturb prayer. Petty concerns interfere with prayer and replace quiet reflections about God. The gospel pages no longer offer vivid attraction. Anxious thoughts and unwelcome memories intrude, and the mind is unable to settle down. The struggle for an attentive silence and some serenity can burden an entire period of prayer. The sense of being alone, somehow separated from God, unable to pray, does not let up.

It may seem that something has gone spiritually wrong, that unfaithfulness and neglect have damaged relations with God. The general malaise, it is thought, must be due to offending God in some way. Wrongs committed, minor failures and mistakes, become exceedingly troubling. The insecurity spreads beyond prayer, causing at times scrupulosity. Firmer resolutions in virtue are made, but the confusion continues unrelieved. Vigilance in avoiding sin, more sacrifice and self-giving to others, penitential practices—nothing removes the insipid taste in prayer. The spiritual life becomes forced labor, an exercise of willpower out of proportion to ordinary tasks. Perseverance may keep a soul soldiering on. But it is likely to question its suitability for a serious pursuit of God.

The return each day to silent prayer in this condition means to face the discomfort of silence. There can be a strong temptation to give up prayer or to find some activity in silent prayer to counter frustration. A more superficial prayer can be adopted which discards the effort of listening in silence to God. One might opt, for instance, to spend time in prayer simply reading. In that case the dryness and distraction may lift to a degree because they are less noticed. This may seem to restore relations with God. It would be a poor exchange, however, a step backward. The soul would forfeit a grace it was beginning to taste of a deeper thirst for God. The thirst of the soul for God is stronger in the desert. It is easy, nonetheless, to run for the shade.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 59-60). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsHow can the experience of spiritual dryness and desolation, as described in the passage, serve as an invitation to deepen one’s relationship with God, rather than as a sign of spiritual failure or distance from Him?

Consider how the challenges of contemplative prayer might be understood as part of the journey towards a more profound faith and trust in God’s presence, even when He seems most absent.

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP9 – Dry Discomfort in Prayer – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 8 – Understanding God Through Unknowing – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic PodcastsThis way of knowing God in darkness has been called a knowledge by unknowing, as confusing as that phrase initially sounds. It reflects the paradox of deeper relations with God in prayer. A sense of separation and distance from God may for a while intensify in prayer rather than an experience of closer contact with him. The divine mystery can become more dense and unfathomable as mystery. Deeper relations with God may accentuate how unknowable God is. We may seem to know less of God than previously. Yet this is not a backward regression into real ignorance, nor an absence of knowledge. The soul advances by more intense faith and love deeper into truth. It realizes with acute sharpness that the nature of God exceeds comprehension, that he is beyond reflection. To touch the edge of that awareness is not to arrive at a conclusion after a sequence of thoughts. God as someone still unknown seizes the soul in prayer, without an understanding of how this takes place. The truth of God as still unknown cuts like the blade of a knife the sinews of the mind.

There is something else in this knowledge of God. It takes hold of consciousness unlike other forms of knowledge. This knowledge of God does not pass thresholds to particular moments of clarity andapprehension. It is not a knowledge that builds by accumulation. It cannot be examined for its weight and significance. It has rather a qualitative effect, in a subtle manner. Knowledge of God permeates attention and influences perception. God’s living presence becomes a background to daily vision. God is watching and protecting and inviting. The different mode of awareness is a form of knowing, a kind of perpetual anticipation felt toward someone unseen and expected.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 47-48). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsIn your personal journey of faith, have you ever experienced moments where God seemed more unknowable and distant in prayer, yet you felt your relationship with Him deepening?

How does the concept of ‘knowledge by unknowing’ resonate with your experiences of God’s presence in your life, particularly in times of spiritual dryness or darkness?

Reflect on how this paradoxical understanding might influence your perception of faith, prayer, and the presence of God in your daily life.

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP8 – Understanding God Through Unknowing – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 7 – Faith and Mystery – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

There is an irony about faith stressed by Saint John of the Cross. It reflects the truth of God’s concealment even as he is sought with greater fervor. While more intense faith deepens certitude in the soul, it also brings darkness to the mind. The latter does not mean that doubts arise, nor that irresolvable questions intrude into prayer. Questions would imply a curiosity, a seeking of one’s intelligence after God. Rather, as faith advances, the certitude of faith increases. But precisely then a strange dullness of mind may permeate our thought of God in prayer. This peculiar blunting of thought about God can become familiar in prayer. At first it makes no sense; nor can it be overcome. An insight is necessary, and the recognition of a pattern. An impotence of thought before the mystery of God often precedes an act of deeper love for God in prayer. Difficulty in thinking about God, rather than simply a frustration, becomes a provocation to love. Our mind’s incapacity for the plenitude of God becomes a condition for the advancement of our soul’s love for God. In the dark certitudes of faith, in shadows that are alive with his presence, love seeks God blindly, with more intense longing.

Greater certitude in faith while undergoing an impotence of thought might seem incompatible. Or it might sound as though one is embracing convictions that have no reasonable basis. In fact, however, this link is consistent with the nature of faith’s assent to Christian revelation. Revealed truths of the Catholic faith are presented in the clear, precise language of doctrinal propositions. As statements employing concepts they can be understood, and we assent in faith to them. Nonetheless the truths these propositions affirm constitute inexhaustible mysteries. They concern the reality of God in ways that ultimately stretch beyond our comprehension. The propositions of faith are intelligible as true statements and essential to the act of believing. At the same time, however, the expression in human language of the revealed truth is inept for grasping who God really is. This is a cause of tension in our experience of faith. The clarity of a doctrinal proposition can deflect our mind from fully realizing the ultimate transcendence of the mystery it is affirming. The actual mystery may diminish in wonder to the degree it is encountered in words that offer a semblance of comprehension. A corrective is called for. Understanding what we believe, even in limited manner, is of course necessary. But another aspect of believing is equally important. When faith deepens, it is precisely the mystery in God that must animate the soul’s search. Encounter with the personal mystery of God must become the soul’s dominant need.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 47-48). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsHow does the experience of “darkness” or “dullness” in thinking about God during prayer challenge you to deepen your relationship with God, not through intellectual understanding alone but through a more profound love and trust in the mystery of His presence?

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

The post CP7 – Faith and Mystery – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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Reflection 6 – Awareness of His Presence – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

When a person concludes any period of theological study with a sharper awareness of the mysteries in Catholic faith, mysteries not reducible to explanations in words, it is surely because the soul prayed during this time. A real encounter with God in prayer accompanied the effort of intellectual work.

A correct conceptual idea about God is not the same as a true thought about God. The former may be an accurate doctrinal affirmation or an insightful theological clarification. A true thought of God, however, includes an awareness of his presence in the current hour. It is easy to take up an idea about God while oblivious to the reality of his actual presence in the present moment. But a recognition of his presence is always more decisive for relations with him. How easy, however, to reverse the importance and seek a satisfaction regarding God that feeds only the intellect’s need.

Some of the finer spiritual intuitions can be received only in a humble incomprehension. Only an act of surrender to God uncovers these truths. His personal kindness and solicitude toward one’s soul, for instance, is never the discovery simply of a probing reflection. The deeper realization takes place more likely as a sudden, unexpected surprise, usually after a period of searching for God. Afterward, this certitude of God’s love retains an indecipherable element, still unexplained and unknown in some manner. It can never be subject to analysis. It is not recovered simply by returning to a thought. Only further submissions to God bring once again the awareness of his very personal care.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 37-38). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsHow can we cultivate a deeper awareness of God’s presence in our daily lives, beyond intellectual understanding, to experience His personal care and solicitude in the midst of our Lenten journey?

Reflect on a moment in your life when you experienced a deep, perhaps unexpected sense of God’s love and presence. How did this encounter challenge or enrich your understanding of faith beyond intellectual comprehension?

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

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Reflection 5 – Seeking God Beyond Understanding – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

The mystery of a personal God is the source of prayer. But because his divine mystery is beyond our conception, we are likely to experience a certain strain in our reflections on his nature and truth. God seems at times to parry off our attempts to understand him, resisting our effort to take hold of him in a moment’s fragile thought. Behind this may be God’s refusal to be reduced to an item of mere thought and observation. He desires to be personally sought in love. Without love animating our seeking, no effort of thought alone gets nearer to him. What may be surprising, however, is that our passion for God can increase as we encounter his greater mystery. This spiritual passion may flame up after pondering a truth of God has, for a time, frustrated our mind. After the struggle of thought, we must accept a silencing of thought before the concealed face of God.

It is a sign, perhaps, that our passion for God is intensifying in prayer. It is not long before we realize that great satisfactions do not await our intellect as we pursue the knowledge of God. The contrary is the evident rule. Every truth about God, embraced after labored reflection or in a swift insight, is soon perceived to extend beyond what we have grasped in thought. A backlash of incomprehension follows every deeper insight we receive about God in prayer. The incomprehension is often the greater grace, more than the knowledge we may have gained of God. It protects us from resting in an intellectual comfort as the fruit of prayer, and thereby halting our search for God. Other times an intuition is given. The search to know God, the perpetual incompletion of this quest, teaches a deeper truth about the God of love who has become a man. We discover for ourselves how quickly an infinite light overwhelms every lesser light. Every glimpse of his truth draws us into a more piercing awareness of how little we still know. We realize he is known even in his human Incarnation as the beloved one who stretches always beyond our understanding.

Haggerty, Donald. Contemplative Provocations: Brief, Concentrated Observations on Aspects of a Life with God (pp. 37-38). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

Discerning Hearts Daily Contemplative PromptsHow can embracing the mystery and incomprehensibility of God, rather than seeking intellectual satisfaction, transform your relationship with Him during this Lenten season, and how does this challenge invite you to deepen your love and passion for God?

Obtain a copy of the book here

A great many religious people undertake a serious dedication to prayer. They are moved by a longing for a deeper encounter with God that beckons them as a distant light at night on the sea. Yet far fewer become true contemplative souls, for it is difficult to continue the quest for God in the face of many obstacles.

For those who are spiritually courageous and full of desire for God, this book will provoke them to persevere in this ultimate adventure in life-the more complete discovery of the living God. Thematically unified by the notion of God’s ultimate transcendence to our limited human knowledge, this work offers a rich profusion of insights on the life of prayer and the pursuit of God.

A key to spiritual growth is the understanding that the hiddenness of God becomes a paradox in the experience of a soul seeking him wholeheartedly. Rather than enjoying a more intimate familiarity with God, the soul advancing in prayer is likely to experience more intensely the concealment of God. This surprising truth undergirds true contemplative prayer. It is a reason why every contemplative soul, and every saint, is inflamed with a never satisfied thirst for God.

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SJC21 – Parting Advice: Loss of Self for the Greater Love – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts PodcastIn this series Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the depths of prayer as explored by St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church.

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

The last counsel regarding solitude is not directed simply to physical solitude in a monastery. The desire of Saint John of the Cross is to see the soul detached and empty, no longer dependent for security or any other interest upon the outside world. “You should deem everything in the world as finished. . . . Pay no heed to the things out in the world, for God has already withdrawn and released you from them. . . . It is very fitting for you to desire to see no one and that no one see you” (CR 7, 8).

Naturally, duties may require dealings with the world, but the religious man should remain focused on a task, not seeking to entertain himself by contact with the outside world. An inner solitude must be cultivated that remains separated from indulgence in unnecessary interests of curiosity. Saint John of the Cross urges the Carmelite Brother to take care with his thoughts so that a solitary fixation on God may be uninterrupted as much as possible. “This is very necessary for inner solitude, which demands that the soul dismiss any thought that is not directed to God” (CR 9). This last counsel is too much for most of us surely in our circumstances of distraction and busy occupations. But let us not be too dismissive. A forgetfulness of worldly concerns has the reward of bringing a soul mysteriously into the proximity with God in the midst of common occupations. We can assume that Saint John of the Cross was speaking from his own experience, as evidently he did on every page of his works.

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 357-358). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series, visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here.

You find the book on which this series is based here

The post SJC21 – Parting Advice: Loss of Self for the Greater Love – St. John of the Cross with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

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SJC20 – Suffering for Love of a Crucified Beloved – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts PodcastIn this series Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the depths of prayer as explored by St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church.

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

Certainly an atmosphere of great challenge pervades the writings of Saint John of the Cross. It is possible that the recurring accent on purification, interior trials, dissatisfaction in prayer, or the wounds of love in certain sections of Saint John of the Cross’ writings has a jarring or intimidating effect. His attention to painful experiences may seem to propose a spirituality of endless burdens and impossible endurance. From our perspective, this focus may be too excessive. It is not that we lack struggles and tribulations. Who does not experience them?

Yet our own thought may be that matters of trial and difficulty should be kept to a minimum and brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible. For many people, even of strong religious conviction, the common experiences of fatigue and pain compete with the pursuit of pleasures and comforts. We often find a way to compensate ourselves with worldly enjoyment if for a time we have faced trial and difficulty. Perhaps we do not ponder the Gospel deeply enough. Suffering for the sake of a profound love of God can be a neglected notion in our understanding of love, though clearly not for Saint John of the Cross: “Let Christ crucified be enough for you, and with him suffer and take your rest, and hence annihilate yourself in all inward and outward things” (SLL 92). That kind of advice is not commonly heard at any time in the Church.

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (p. 317). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series, visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here.

You find the book on which this series is based here

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SJC19 – Wounds of Love – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts PodcastIn this series Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the depths of prayer as explored by St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church.

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

The concealment of God’s presence, mysteriously near to our soul, yet known only by love, is at the heart of contemplation. The hidden presence of God is a truth of inescapable provocation, never fully lifted or overcome in a lifetime, showing many variations in the experience of a soul. Sometimes the hidden presence of God is stronger in the silence of prayer; other times it is met outside prayer in the sudden opportunity for sacrifice or in the disguised face of Jesus hiding in a poor person. God as elusive, hiding behind shadows, speaking in quiet whispers, disappearing from sight even in the encounter with him, is all a realization of greater faith. His presence has no predictable quality and offers no promise of an easy recognition. Shadows and darkness can become for lengthy periods the ordinary ambiance of prayer. When the darkness stretches over time and is greater, the thought of God’s withdrawal can trouble souls in their silent prayer, despite how close they may be to God.

The contemplative paradox of darkness as the setting for a very personal contact with God implies a need at times for reassurance. This comes as we deepen a calm certitude of faith in prayer and continue to long for our Lord in love and yield to him in surrender. All the while, over years of committed daily prayer, God works to bring a soul to a greater surrender to his mysterious personal love.

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 290). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series, visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here.

You find the book on which this series is based here

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SJC18 – Perseverance in Prayer – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts PodcastIn this series Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the depths of prayer as explored by St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church.

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

What, then, of the feelings of love that may be experienced in prayer? Are they to be denied or mortified? Ignored or renounced? Saint John of the Cross writes that they should be treated simply as secondary factors in prayer, incidental in importance. The awareness of an inflamed undercurrent of love in the will is far more significant, because it is the deeper truth. Yet it may not be encountered in an experiential manner for its deeper truth. Nonetheless, in a receptive response to a longing for God deep within the soul, this reality of love is fostered. The mistaken approach, on the other hand, is to allow a search for feelings in prayer to dominate the exercise of prayer.

For many people, feelings can become a coveted item in prayer as well as a source of continual frustration and instability—a possessive need for a satisfaction that is somehow felt and then becomes the measure of prayer, a habit hard to relinquish. Feelings of love, delightful as they may be, ought to be only a means to recognizing the more inaccessible reality of love operating at hidden layers of depth in the will and in the soul. The greater truth takes place in the unseen “cavern” of the will as it undergoes a profound “soul desire” for God. There is in every contemplative life a need, at least for a time, to release the soul from the pursuit of feelings in order to embrace this deeper recognition. Love in the will, rather than any feeling, is the much deeper truth in prayer and in contemplation.

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 275-276). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here

You find the book on which this series is based here

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SJC17 – The Will in Prayer Inflamed by Pure Love – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts PodcastIn this series Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the depths of prayer as explored by St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church.

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

It can be useful initially to recall the operation of inclination in the will, the first operation of the will, as described in chapter 5. The will by its natural inclination, in or out of prayer, seeks the satisfaction of taking possession of what it desires. This natural inclination plays a crucial role in prayer. The possibility in prayer is that on certain days the delight of consolation can be received in the course of prayer. This satisfaction, which may be graced, nonetheless can detour the soul from a pure pursuit of God if it becomes the primary desire sought in prayer. The desire for a spiritual taste or feeling, as Saint John of the Cross repeats often in his writings, may replace the far greater need to turn our desire fully and exclusively toward God himself in a great surrender to him. In a letter to a Carmelite nun in Córdoba written at almost this same time in July of that same year, he writes: “To possess God in all, you should possess nothing in all. For how can the heart that belongs to one belong completely to the other?” (L17). The pure desire for God himself has to be a consuming need for a soul that would love God with intensity. Secondary desires for experiences of satisfaction in prayer must be understood as an inferior pursuit.

This teaching entails further insights and challenges. Nothing that can be enjoyed as a satisfaction in prayer should be interpreted as taking hold of God, just as no knowledge of God received in prayer is equivalent to comprehending the actual truth of God. No taste of the presence of God in prayer removes the inaccessibility of God in his divine nature to the human soul’s immediate experience. To think otherwise is to be deceived. It is necessary, then, not to halt at any experience of satisfaction in prayer as though a possession of God had been enjoyed in this delight. On the contrary, the soul must accept that the deeper truth of prayer extends always beyond any experience in prayer. The inclination of the will in prayer should remain ever desirous for God himself without arriving, as it were, at a destination in some satisfaction. In truth, a pure desire for God never arrives at a final satiation in this life, but rather is inflamed increasingly over time with an intensifying desire for God. If we enjoy some delight in prayer on any day, this experience does not convey the deeper truth of prayer, which is often concealed within unseen layers of the soul.

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 270-271). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here

You find the book on which this series is based here

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SJC16 – Longing for God’s Love – St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation with Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts PodcastIn this series Fr. Donald Haggerty and Kris McGregor discuss the depths of prayer as explored by St. John of the Cross, the Mystical Doctor of the Church.

An excerpt from St. John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation

The ease with which contemplation can take place when a soul is accustomed to approach God with a deeper surrender of itself is evident in this passage. The great obstacle to the soul at this time, on the other hand, as mentioned already, lies in an excessively conscientious approach to prayer that resists adaptation. And in a real sense, this involves a lack of surrender to God. The conscientiousness to “do prayer” as taught in one’s training is not necessarily a virtue; it actually can be a fault that makes a soul reluctant to alter its ways. The person may have become accustomed for many months, sometimes for years, to fill a silent time of prayer with an imaginative gaze on the Gospel or in searching for spiritual insights. The familiarity of the method has trained the person to seek satisfaction in the acquisition of new thoughts or in the enjoyment of some felt sense of loving God. The virtuous resolutions that may conclude such prayer give the time of prayer a sense of a purposefulness. For many souls, it becomes very hard to accept that a prayer less active, less searching, a prayer more inconclusive, more open-ended, can be an advancement in prayer. The suggestion to remain quiet seems to invite the laziness of non-activity into prayer and to yield fruitless results.

As we have mentioned, these souls, if they are receiving contemplative graces, are the fervent and dedicated people of the spiritual life. They are people who do give themselves generously in charity and to the will of God. They work hard and spend themselves. Otherwise, the grace of contemplation would not be occurring. But it is precisely this conscientiousness that can work against them at this time. They are not acclimated to a more receptive acceptance of subtle graces from God. If the person can trust inwardly and allow the soul to follow its deeper instinct of love, as described in the fifth sign, then the door opens to the graced inner desire to seek nothing but to love God in prayer. Unfortunately, an active mentality may tend for a time to resist the “apparent” abandonment of concrete fruits from its prayer. Such a soul may prefer, as Saint John of the Cross comments, to do over and over again what has been done and completed already. The aversion can be strong to doing what is thought to be doing nothing. Yet how mistaken this may be. Saint John of the Cross employs a striking image: removing the rind from a piece of fruit, so that it is ready to eat, and then trying to peel it once again…

Haggerty, Donald. Saint John of the Cross: Master of Contemplation (pp. 196-197). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.

For more episodes in this series visit Fr. Haggerty’s Discerning Hearts page here

You find the book on which this series is based here

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