Mystical Saints Archives - Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts: Recent Episodes
Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts
In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses The Prayer of St. John Paul II. He reflects on "Sign of Contradiction"
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September 17 is the feast of St. Hiildegard of Bingen. She lived from 1098-1179. A Benedictine Nun, at the age of 42, she was given visions and commanded rise up and cry out what she saw. She obeyed and produced a set of writings known today as Scivias.
Her first vision is of a hidden mountain, the mountain of God's throne, an iron mountain of immutable justice hidden in divine glory. A purifying Fear of the Lord contemplates this splendor. Not the kind of fear that pulls away to protect itself. Rather the kind of fear that is vigilant and sees the truth. Eyes which gaze with this holy fear can never be satisfied with the merely mediocre. They guard against every form of compromise. The glory they behold demands absolute allegiance, complete surrender, and total humility.
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St. Benedict, Listening and Discernment - The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints. In this episode, Dr. Lilles offers a general introduction to this series, the mystical key to discernment, and teaching of St. Benedict.
Dr. Lilles offers 4 key points we should keep in mind as we move forward in this series
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The Search for God
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Listening to God - Lectio Divina
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Conversion to God - Conversatio Morum
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Living with oneself and letting God fashion one into His image
Dr. Lilles offers 4 key points we should keep in mind as we move forward in this series
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The Search for God
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Listening to God - Lectio Divnia
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Conversion to God - Conversatio Morum
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Living with oneself and letting God fashion one into His image
The post BTP#30 St. Benedict, Listening, and Discernment – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
An Excerpt from today's posting and podcast: Catherine of Siena - passion for truth
She is an important figure for those who see a rediscovery of prayer as the force of renewal in the Church. Because she put her devotion to Christ first, she found herself with a spiritual mission to help restore the life and unity of Christ's body. Some of her efforts met with a little success. But as she approached her death at the age of 33, her lifetime of effort in building up the Church seemed to be in vain. Corruption, scandal, cowardice - and most of all indifference - seemed to infect the Church even more. (For more on her life, go tohttp://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03447a.htm.) Yet she never lost hope and she persevered in prayer. This is because she understood the love and mercy of God.
She was uneducated, but in 1377, by a miracle, she learned to write. Even so she retained secretaries to whom she dictated most of her thoughts. Her master work on the spiritual life is known as the Dialogues. These are conversations between her soul and God the Father. God the Father reveals his deep love for his Son and his plan to build up the Church. One of the beautiful aspects of this conversation is the Father's explanation for how each soul can come to know Jesus.
Christ is the bridge to the Father and we cross this bridge by allowing our hearts to be pierced by what the Lord has done for us. The passion of Christ reveals at once the truth about who God is and who we are in his sight. For her, among the greatest blocks to the spiritual life is ignorance. Knowledge of God and knowledge of self go hand in hand in progressing toward spiritual maturity. But the knowing is not simply an intellectual trip. It as the kind of knowing informed by the loving affection of a real friendship. The friendship she describes in tender terms evokes the deepest joys and sorrows all at once.....
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From Dr. Anthony Lilles' blog "Beginning to Pray"
"You have stood by me in my trials and I am giving you a Kingdom." This solemn declaration was made by the Lord even as He faced betrayal, denial, and abandonment - suffering these unto death. To enter into His Kingdom, we must follow Him down this same pathway. This means that we will face what He has faced. To enable us to follow Him, He must purify us and strengthen us to remain standing with Him even after our sin. To the degree that we are afraid of death, suffering, and sin, we are afraid also of His mercy. But His merciful love overcomes our fear. Accepting His mercy, we learn to see in our own life experience that sin, suffering and death ultimately do not stand between us and the love of God. Indeed, He has made of them a pathway.
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During Lent, we dedicate ourselves to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. These practices are simple ways of expressing our gratitude to Jesus for what He has done for us. This in fact is the very nature of penance. Penance is love which responds to mercy - and this love is not content with words, thoughts and feelings. This love needs to express itself in a prayer the cries from the heart, in sacrifice that really costs, and in little hidden acts of kindness which comfort those who most need it.
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In this conversation, we discuss the significance of St. John of the Cross and his relationship with St. Teresa of Avila. Dr. Lilles will also shed some light on the relationship between the Carmelites and the Jesuits, as well as St. John of Avila.
The post BTP-Special St. John of the Cross with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Beginning to Pray Special appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
An excerpt:
Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity helps us open our hearts to the coming of Christ. On the twelfth day of her Last Retreat, she offers a reflection on "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Jesus has come to give us peace through opening up access to the Father's house.
Whoever sees Christ sees the Father, and to see this love is to find that for which our hearts most long. This seeing, this contemplation, this knowledge is by faith. Here, faith is no mere assent to a body of information but a contemplative reality that seeks the saving truth and savors it. Faith is an encounter with the One whom the truths of our faith bear to us, and we believe what the Church proposes to us because we want to know Him. Whoever has surrendered his personal existence in response to the surpassing totality of love revealed by Christ crucified, this soul has gained access to the Father's house, the freedom to go to our real spiritual home, the liberty that leads to our true peace.
Blessed Elisabeth sees the peace of Christ through the eyes of Saint Paul. Through the Blood of the Cross, the Lord leads all oppressive "Principalities and Powers" away "as captives, triumphing over them in Himself" (Col 2:15). Without the knowledge of Christ's love, our dignity is vulnerable to all kinds of dehumanizing forces. But with the surpassing love we know in Christ Jesus, we are free from every form of irrational oppression -- indeed, rather than rob of us dignity, the Lord permits all kinds of spiritual hardships only so that we might know the full extent of the greatness He calls us to and makes possible in our lives.
The post Faith Contemplates the Advent Mystery Because He Leads into Captivity All Powers by Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
BTP#33 St. Bernard and "On Loving God" (Part 3) - The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints. In this episode Dr. Lilles continues the discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux and his teachings found in "On Loving God".
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St. Hildegard and "Conversatio Morum - the Conversion of Life" - The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints
Benedictine Spirituality and Lectio Divina...a "way of being". In part one of this particular teaching, Dr. Lilles discusses the life St. Hildegard of Bingen and her expression of Benedictine teaching.
The post St. Hildegard and “Conversatio Morum – the Conversion of Life and the Iron Mountain” – The Mystery of Faith in the Wisdom of the Saints with Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
Dr. Lilles’ teaches that prayer is a battle between the Truth and the lie, and how our understanding affects how we are going to live. We need to be aware that there is a liar who is trying to drag us down. We need to understand creation and fall, which is brought forward by a ... Read more
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Dr. Anthony Lilles reads for us an article he originally published on his Beginning to Pray blog. Only the Love of God the Father Can Restore Us The moral and spiritual crisis of our time is a crisis in fatherhood – a refusal to allow the Father to love us and the lack of ... Read more
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An Excerpt:
The hymn of praise learned with the Suffering Servant on the Mount of Olives is shrouded in a mystery. It is against this mystery that therapeutic approaches to prayer should be discerned. Psychological or physical tantrums are silenced before the authentic cry of heart offered by the Son of Man. His love for his disciples and devotion to the Father challenges any consumerist attitude toward the things of God. His sorrow and spiritual poverty helps us feel the appropriate shame we ought to have over any gluttonous expectation for mental relief or euphoric experience. Against the dark terror Jesus confronts in prayer, spiritual consumerism can only be seen as limiting the freedom that our conversation with the Lord requires.
The Word made flesh baptized every moment of his earthly life in this kind of prayer. Every heart beat and every breath was so filled with zeal for the Father and those the Father gave Him, divine love ever exploded in His sacred humanity with resounding silence, astonishing signs, heart-aching wonders and words of wisdom which even after two thousand years still give the world pause. Each verse of the Gospels attempts to show us His self-emptying divinity boldly hurling His prayerful humanity with the invincible force of love to the Cross.
In Gethsemane we glimpse how the Son of Man availed Himself to these mysterious promptings of the Father's love, an unfathomable love that is not comfortable to our limited humanity. Unaided human reason cannot penetrate the divine passion that compelled Him into the solitude hidden mountains and secret gardens. His vigil on the Mount of Olives can only be understood as the culmination of the ongoing conversation to which He eagerly made His humanity vulnerable.
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Dr. Lilles' continues his Day of Recollection offered in April 2013.
In an age of great confusion and rejection of God, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity and John Paul II find in Christ the reason for our hope. Starting with St. Therese's devotion to the Holy Face expressed in living her life as a offering to merciful love, we will see how the pathway she pioneered was followed and further developed in the spiritual missions of Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity and Blessed John Paul II. In particular, we will contemplate the relationship of mercy and hope that the Face of Christ helps us to see when hope and mercy are most needed so that we too can follow the path of mercy.
The post BTP#26 “The Face of Christ: Radiance of Mercy and Sign of Hope” Beginning to Pray Special w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
Dr. Lilles' continues his Day of Recollection offered in April 2013.
The renewal of mental prayer in 16th Century Spain is characterized by a rediscovery of the face of Christ in contemplation. Using passages from her life, we will consider how St. Teresa's contemplation of the face of Christ developed during her conversion. We will compare this with the way St. John of the Cross pondered the face of Christ in the Spiritual Canticle. These saints help us see the mysterious Face of Christ, hidden in suffering and reflected in the secret of our faith, as the threshold and source for mystical prayer.
The post BTP#25 “The Face of the Bridegroom: Source of Mystical Prayer” Beginning to Pray Special w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
Episode 24 Beginning to Pray Special: "Gazing on the Face of Christ with the Saints"
Dr. Lilles' continues his Day of Recollection offered in April 2013.
Here is the continuation of the first presentation which focuses on the Mystical Saints who can help us to gaze on the Face of Christ:
Anthony will introduce the saints who will guide us through our reflections: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Elisabeth of the Trinity and St. John Paul II. He also answers questions about methods of prayers, teaching others to pray, and how can one help restore the sense of the sacred to the mass and Eucharistic adoration.
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Dr. Lilles' offered a Day of Recollection in April 2013. We are blessed to have the presentations he gave that day in audio form. They are OUTSTANDING!
Here is Presentation 1:
Mental prayer, which is the prayer that searches the face of Christ, is a source of conversion. Beautiful truths about the incarnation and the paschal mystery come together in the face of Risen Lord who gazes on us with love. In the shadow of this love, we discover the freedom to turn ourselves to the Lord ever more completely. Our day begins with a meditation on the psalms which point the way to this prayer. We will introduce the saints who will guide us through our reflections: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity and Blessed John Paul II.
The post BTP#23 “Let Your Face shine on us and we shall be saved” Beginning to Pray Special w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
From Beginning to Pray authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles Pentecost is a Feast of Love. It is the feast of the Canticle of Canticles where the Bridegroom comes to kiss his Bride. Today the Church cries out to her Bridegroom for a divine kiss, a kiss from the mouth of God. It is this ... Read more
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In this conversation, we discuss the significance of St. John of the Cross and his relationship with St. Teresa of Avila.
The post Talk 4 on St. John of the Cross “In the Footsteps of St. Teresa of Avila” – w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
In this conversation, we discuss the significance of St. Teresa of Avila, not only in the area of the interior life, but also who her effect and presence on the world stage. We discuss how vital mental prayer is in the spiritual life and for interior renewal.
The post Talk 3 on “In the Footsteps of St. Teresa of Avila” – A Discerning Hearts Pilgrimage w/ Fr. Giles Dimock OP & Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
In this conversation, we discuss what we can experience in ESCORIAL
The post Talk 2 on “In the Footsteps of St. Teresa of Avila” – A Discerning Hearts Pilgrimage w/ Fr. Giles Dimock OP & Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
Five hundred years ago, on March 28, a great mystic, founder, reformer, and doctor of the Church was born. From March 27 to April 6, 2015 you are invited to join Kris McGregor of Discerning Hearts on a spiritual journey through Holy Week and Easter in the footsteps of Saint Teresa of Avila in Spain. Fr. Giles Dimock O.P. will serve as Chaplain and Dr. Anthony Lilles will be our spiritual guide for this pilgrimage.
We will have more on this pilgrimage in the days ahead. We begin with this conversation with Dr. Lilles. For more information visit our page dedicated to pilgrimage at: www.pilgrimage.discerninghearts.com
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Dr. Lilles' teaches that prayer is a battle between the Truth and the lie, and how our understanding affects how we are going to live. We need to be aware that there is a liar who is trying to drag us down. We need to understand creation and fall, which is brought forward by a particular vision given to, doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard of Bingen. She helps us appreciate the "stench" of evil. Evil is the absence of something good in us, it is darkness. Christ is the Light which illuminates our hearts and the world.
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In this episode Dr. Lilles discusses the nature of prayer. The use of "methods" or "techniques" is cautioned by Dr. Lilles. The relationship with the person of Jesus Christ is paramount. He discusses the struggles in prayer and the real "enemies" which assaults us in prayer. He points to the experience and teachings of St. Anthony of the Desert, who battled the irrational spirits opposed to our relationship with God. Dr. Lilles then relates that teaching to the places of "death" which confront our lives today, the importance of naming the irrational "spirit" and using the "Word of Truth" to fight the battle.
The post BTP#35 Identifying and Battling the “Irrational Spirits” – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
In this episode Dr. Lilles discusses the writing of his book, "Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: A Theological Contemplation of Prayer". What is a "mystic" and what is the particular calling of Carmelite spirituality is also addressed. St. Therese, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity are highlighted.
The post BTP#34 “Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden” pt 1 – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
Here's an excerpt from Anthony's posting:
Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity is a witness to the primacy of contemplation in the life of the Church and the mystical wisdom contemplation releases into human history. This is the wisdom that understands how God is present in both the public square as well as in the intimacy of our hearts. Today, when the whole world needs this wisdom renewed, the Church celebrates her feast day and invites us to consider her powerful spiritual doctrine.
She wrote a famous prayer to the Holy Trinity that has helped many contemplatives recover devotion to the Divine Persons in their life of prayer. This work is cited to support the Catechism of the Catholic Church's teaching on the Divine Works and the Trinitarian Missions. The teaching itself is that God calls every individual to a great and beautiful purpose, to become a dwelling place for His presence in the world:
The ultimate end of the divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity, 'If a man loves me,' says the Lord, 'he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him' (CCC 260).
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Dr. Lilles' continues his discussion on St. Bernard of Clairvaux, "The 12 Steps of Humility and Pride" and "On Loving God"
The post BTP#32 St. Bernard, the 12 Steps to Humility and Pride, On Loving God – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.
Dr. Anthony Lilles offers us a tremendous reflection based on a particular passage found in St. Faustina's diary, #1373. He shares what it meant when she wrote it in the context of the world in 1937, and what it now means in the world in 2013. But more than that, he helps us to see how we can live this out in our everyday lives.
From the Diary of St. Faustina:
1373 O humdrum days, filled with darkness, I look upon you with a solemn and festive eye.
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When Prayer Feels Wasted - a reflection with Dr. Anthony Lilles
An excerpt:
For the Christian, the tired sorrow of unanswered prayer has been made open to an explosive beatitude. The Word of the Father made this painful cry His own when He implicated Himself in our sin. In this, the Suffering Servant found a way so that we would not have to suffer our plight alone - our wounds are healed by His.
His last wordless cry of abandonment revealed His life's project: He dared to offer with love to the Father His every breathe and heartbeat from first to last so that every human hardship might be completely enveloped in divine mercy. Now, by faith, His project can become our project. Because His offering to the Father was perfect in love, the Savior of the world fills our dying weakness with the secret freshness of new life whenever we offer it to Him with even the tiniest effort of solidarity. When prayer seems unanswered, the One who cried to the Father for love of us from crib to Cross is allowing us an opportunity to share in the salvific work of His own prayer.
Like the myrrh, the tears and the kisses that once anointed the feet of Jesus, prayer wasted on God for our brothers and sisters, for spouse and children, and even for ourselves, always takes on cruciform proportions - dimensions that extend from one horizon to the other, from height to depth, from what is visible to what cannot be seen. If such prayer weeps over abandonment, disappointment, frustration, injustice, inadequacy, failure, voids and weakness - such prayer also boldly cleaves with gratitude to the invincible hope that none of this can separate us from that astounding love revealed by the Risen Lord.
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