Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts » Dr. Anthony Lilles

From "Last Retreat Day 14" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 36. “It seems to me that all is loss since I have known the excelling knowledge of my Lord, Jesus Christ. For love of Him I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else rubbish that I may gain Christ, so as to be found in Him, not with my own justice but with the justice that comes from God through faith. What I want is to know Him, to share in His sufferings, to become like Him in His death. I pursue my course, striving to attain to what Christ has destined me for by taking hold of me; my whole concern is to forget what is behind and to strain forward constantly to what is ahead; I run straight to the goal . . . , to the prize of the heavenly vocation to which God has called me in Christ Jesus.” 212 The Apostle has often revealed the greatness of this vocation: “God,” he says, “has chosen us in Him before the creation of the world that we might be holy and immaculate in His presence in love. . . . We have been predestined by the decree

From "Last Retreat Day 14" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 36. “It seems to me that all is loss since I have known the excelling knowledge of my Lord, Jesus Christ. For love of Him I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else rubbish that I may gain Christ, so as to be found in Him, not with my own justice but with the justice that comes from God through faith. What I want is to know Him, to share in His sufferings, to become like Him in His death. I pursue my course, striving to attain to what Christ has destined me for by taking hold of me; my whole concern is to forget what is behind and to strain forward constantly to what is ahead; I run straight to the goal . . . , to the prize of the heavenly vocation to which God has called me in Christ Jesus.” 212 The Apostle has often revealed the greatness of this vocation: “God,” he says, “has chosen us in Him before the creation of the world that we might be holy and immaculate in His presence in love. . . . We have been predestined by the decree of

From "Last Retreat Day 13" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 32. “Instaurare omnia in Christo.” 194 Again it is St. Paul who instructs me, St. Paul who has just immersed himself in the great counsel of God195 and who tells me “that He has resolved in Himself to restore all things in Christ.” So that I may personally realize this divine plan, it is again St. Paul who comes to my aid and who will himself draw up a rule of life for me. “Walk in Jesus Christ,” he tells me, “be rooted in Him, built up in Him, strengthened in faith, growing more and more in Him through thanksgiving.” 196 33. To walk in Jesus Christ seems to me to mean to leave self, lose sight of self, give up self, in order to enter more deeply into Him with every passing moment, 197 so deeply that one is rooted there; and to every event, to every circumstance we can fling this beautiful challenge: “Who will separate me from the love of Jesus Christ?” 198 When the soul is established in Him at such depths that its roots are also deeply th

Beginning to Pray: "The Last Retreat - Day 12 " - “God has said: “Be holy, for I am holy.” 31. This is Christ’s work in every soul of good185 will and it is the work that His immense love, His “exceeding love,” 186 is eager to do in me. He wants to be my peace so that nothing can distract me or draw me out of “the invincible fortress of holy recolletion.” 187 It is there that He will give me “access to the Father” and will keep me as still and as peaceful in His presence as if my soul were already in eternity. 188 It is by the Blood of His Cross that He will make peace in my little heaven, so that it may truly be the repose of the Three. He will fill me with Himself; He will bury me with Him; He will make me live again with Him, by His life: “Mihi vivere Christus est!” 189 And if I fall at every moment, 190 in a wholly confident faith I will be helped up by Him. I know that He will forgive me, that He will cancel out everything with a jealous care, and even more, He will “despoil” me, He will “free” 191 me fr

Beginning to Pray: "The Last Retreat - Day 11 pt 2 " - “It is the whole Trinity who dwells in the soul that loves them in truth, that is, by keeping their word! From "Last Retreat Day 11 pt 2" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 28. But it is not enough just to listen to this word, we must keep it! 164 And it is in keeping it that the soul will be “sanctified in the truth,” and that is the desire of the Master: “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.” 165 To the one who keeps His word has He not made this promise: “My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home in him”? 166 It is the whole Trinity who dwells in the soul that loves them in truth, that is, by keeping their word! And when this soul has realized its riches, all the natural or supernatural joys that can come to it from creatures or from God Himself are only an invitation to reenter into itself in order to enjoy the substantial Good that it possesses, which is nothing else than God Himself. And thus it has, St. John of t

From "Last Retreat Day 11 pt 1" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 27. “The Lord brought me into a spacious place, because He was gracious toward me. . . .” 159 The Creator, seeing the beautiful silence which reigns in His creature, and gazing on her wholly recollected in her interior solitude, is enamored of her beauty and leads her into this immense, infinite solitude, into this “spacious place” sung of by the prophet, which is nothing else but Himself: “I will enter into the depths of the power of God.” 160 Speaking through his prophet, the Lord said: “I will lead her into solitude and speak to her heart.” 161 The soul has entered into this vast solitude in which God will make Himself heard! “His word,” St. Paul says, “is living and active, and more penetrating than a two edged sword: extending even to the division of soul and spirit, even of joints and marrow.” 162 It is His word then that will directly achieve the work of stripping in the soul; for it has this particular characteristic, that it effects a

From "Last Retreat Day 10 pt 2" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 26. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” “God,” says St. Dionysius, “is the great solitary.” 153 My Master asks me to imitate this perfection, to pay Him homage by being a great solitary. The divine Being lives in an eternal, immense solitude. He never leaves it, though concerning Himself with the needs of His creatures, for He never leaves Himself; and this solitude is nothing else than His divinity. So that nothing may draw me out of this beautiful silence within, I must always maintain the same dispositions, the same solitude, the same withdrawal, the same stripping of self! If my desires, my fears, my joys or my sorrows, if all the movements proceeding from these “four passions” 154 are not perfectly directed to God, I will not be solitary: there will be noise within me. There must be peace, “sleep of the powers,” 155 the unity of being. “Listen, my daughter, lend your ear, forget your people and your father’s house, and the Ki

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor explore the spiritual insights of Day 10 from St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s The Last Retreat and the command “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” which St. Elizabeth understands as a call to live in the eternal present—a mode of existence modeled on God the Father’s unchanging love and divine solitude. The post BTP-LR13 – Day 10, pt. 1 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

From "Last Retreat Day 9 pt 2" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 23. Speaking to Abraham God said: “Walk in My presence and be perfect.” 134 This then is the way to achieve this perfection that our Heavenly Father asks of us! St. Paul, after having immersed himself in the divine counsels, 135 revealed exactly this to us when he wrote “God has chosen us in Him before the creation of the world, that we might be holy and immaculate in His presence in love.” 136 It is also by the light of this same saint that I will be enlightened so that I might walk without deviating from this magnificent road of the presence of God on which the soul journeys “alone with the Alone,” 137 led by the “strength of His right arm,” 138 “under the protection of His wings, without fearing the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the evil that stalks in darkness, nor the attacks of the noonday devil. 139 24. “Strip off the old man in whom you lived your former life, “ he tells me, “and put on the new man, who has be

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor explore the ninth day of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s "Last Retreat," focusing on the divine call to holiness. The post BTP-LR11 – Day 9, pt. 1 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Day 8, Part 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor reflect on paragraph 21 of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s Last Retreat, focusing on the soul’s journey into adoration and silence. St. Elizabeth describes adoration as a silent, ... Read more The post BTP-LR10 – Day 8, pt. 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Dr. Anthony Lilles reflects on Day 7 of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity’s Last Retreat, delving into the mystery of suffering, self-emptying, and divine union. The post BTP-LR8 – Day 7, pt. 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor reflect on the seventh day of The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Dr. Lilles explains how Elizabeth sees the soul as a “heaven” that proclaims the glory of God, drawing from Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” The post BTP-LR7 – Day 7 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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.  More... The post Lent – You Have Stood By Me with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Day 5 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor discuss St. Elizabeth’s eschatological vision rooted in the Book of Revelation, where she contemplates the heavenly liturgy and the hidden spiritual reality taking place even now around the throne of ... Read more The post BTP-LR5 – Day 5 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

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. More... The post Lent – Praying from the Heart with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Join Dr. Anthony Lilles as he offers Lent: St. Bernard's Vision of Humility and Pride , a reflection a Discerning Hearts Podcast The post Lent: St. Bernard’s Vision of Humility and Pride – Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

That Great Silence in Storms Midst by Dr. Anthony Lilles The beauty of these 40 days of Lent is that every hardship and trial can be made into an offering of love. If we keep our course, whether anxiety or frustration, disappointment or heartbreak, hidden in the exigencies of the moment is a sacrament, a ... Read more The post That Great Silence in Storms Midst – Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

The Redeemer and the Gift of Lent From Beginning to Pray  Each of us has a great task … that of becoming who God made us to be. Were we without sin, this task would still be impossible for us, left to our own resources and abilities. For indeed, the Lord created us in His ... Read more The post The Redeemer and the Gift of Lent – Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor discuss the fourth day of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s 16‑day retreat. They reflect on how contemplative prayer is not about performing spiritual exercises to achieve a measurable outcome but about surrendering one’s own control and expectations to welcome God’s transformative love. The post BTP-LR4 – Day 4 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.