Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. James Perez, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “The Way of Trust and Love: A Retreat Guided By St. Therese of Lisieux” by Fr. Jacques Philippe.
Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “The Way of Trust and Love”
The fact that we can’t save ourselves is something we acknowledge in words, but in fact we find it very hard to accept. We’d all like to be saved by our own efforts, to be strong and robust, to boast about our successes, to shine in other people’s eyes, even on the spiritual level. Worldly people want to be highly regarded because they have luxurious cars, expensive watches, designer clothes, professional prestige, and go around with beautiful people. As good Christians, we may want to stand out for our virtues, charisms, experience, and sound judgment. Then we consider that we are on the right path. But in fact we’re in danger of ending up with exactly the same mindset as the worldly people described above. Very often, without realizing it, we have a worldly outlook on the spiritual life: self-fulfillment, self-affirmation, expansion of ego, etc. And spiritual pride, we must be aware, is sometimes more destructive than social, worldly pride.
Fr. James Perez, LC, joins Donna for this series
We cannot be saved by what we do; we can only be saved by grace, when God’s freely given love comes, takes hold of us, and transforms us, sometimes gently and progressively, but sometimes in a spectacular way. In general, the transformation is fairly slow and progressive, without our always being able to notice the action of grace.
Philippe, Jacques (2012-06-07). The Way of Trust and Love – A Retreat Guided by St. Therese of Lisieux (Kindle Locations 445-454). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For over twenty years he served the Church in Northern Colorado where he joined and eventually served as dean of the founding faculty of Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Through the years, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful have benefited from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.
The pulse of life within my wrist / A fallen snow, a rising mist / There is no higher praise than this / And my soul wells up / O my soul wells up / Yes my soul wells up with hallelujahs.
Oh praise Him all His mighty works / There is no language where you can’t be heard / Your song goes out to all the earth / Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! / O hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, 52 he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”
Song in the Bible
Song of Creation
Job 38:6-7, The angels sang at the creation of the cosmos.
Psalm 19:1-4, All creation sings praise simply by being what it was made to be.
Zephaniah 3:17, God Himself sings and dances (“rejoices”) over His people in a new, spiritual creation.
(NAB-A) The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you,
(NJB) Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you,
(RSV-CE) The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing
“Rejoice” is translated from a Hebrew word, a primitive root; properly to spin around (under the influence of any violent emotion), that is, usually rejoice…: – be glad, joy, be joyful, rejoice.
The Hebrew word means to “spin around under violent emotion,” or basically to dance. So Zep 3:17 is more accurately translated as, “Yahweh your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His Love, He will dance over you with singing.”
“My spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” (Luke 1:47).
Song of the Soul
Luke 1:46-55, Mary’s Magnificat
Psalms – a psalm is a song
Song of Songs, the song of all songs, the song of the soul and God
Song 8:10, “Then I became in his eyes as one who found peace.” Peace means consummation in this context, and it is found in His song of fire-love for you (8:6, 10).
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 63, Israel is the priestly people of God, “called by the name of the LORD”, and “the first to hear the word of God”, the people of “elder brethren” in the faith of Abraham.
CCC 877, In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as “the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy.”
LOVE the Word(TM) is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice. This week’s LOVE the Word(TM) exercise is based on an Thomistic* personality approach. Go on! Try it!
Listen (Receive the Word)
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Ps 19:1-4).
Observe (Connect the passage to recent events.)
Study carefully these verses of praise, themselves a song, like the Magnificat.
Who and what is this psalm about?
Where and when does this song take place?
Why and how is praise occurring?
Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)
Who, what, where, when, why and how, do you want to thank and praise God for right now?
Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)
Lord, you are my beloved, and I am yours…there is no higher praise than this…hallelujah…
*LOVE the Word(TM) exercises, vary weekly according to the four personalities, or “prayer forms,” explored in Prayer and Temperament, by Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey: Ignatian, Augustinian, Franciscan, and Thomistic.
Benedict XVI, Pope. Holy Men and Women Of the Middle Ages and Beyond (p. 185). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.
This audio recording is taken from writings of Pope Benedict XVI found in “Holy Men and Women of the Middle Ages and Beyond” published by Ignatius Press. For the text of this recording and for an incredible selection of other lives reflected upon by Pope Benedict XVI, following the link provided to obtain the book. We thank Ignatius Press for granting Discerning Hearts permission to produce this audio recording.
Fr. Andrew Apostoli does a tremendous job covering all the varied aspects of the events of Fatima and the call of Our Lady of Fatima. He conveys the “immaculate” heart of the message, as well as tackling the “controversies” that have plagued the events over the years. Because of the prophetic nature of her messages, Our Lady of Fatima has been the subject of much controversy and speculation. In this book, Father Andrew Apostoli carefully analyzes the events that took place in Fatima and clears up lingering questions and doubts about their meaning. He also challenges the reader to hear anew the call of Our Lady to prayer and sacrifice, for the world is ever in need of generous hearts willing to make reparation for those in danger of losing their way to God.
“As was so dramatically obvious during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Fatima in May, 2010, Our Lady’s apparitions in 1917 remain powerfully compelling for us today. There she was an evangelist, calling us to prayer, conversion of heart, and penance, pointing to Jesus and repeating her words at Cana, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’ This book brings it all home.” -Most Reverend Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York
“For us, Fatima is a sign of the presence of faith, of the fact that it is precisely from the little ones that faith gains new strength, one which is not limited to the little ones but has a message for the entire world and touches history here and now, and sheds light on this history . . . Even now there is tribulation, in every conceivable form, and power threatens to trample down faith. Even now, then, there is a need for the answer about which the Mother of God spoke to the children at Fatima.” -Pope Benedict XVI
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30th 1953, by the late Bishop William J. Hafey, D.D. at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Scranton, PA. Msgr. Esseff served a retreat director and confessor to St. Mother Teresa. He continues to offer direction and retreats for the sisters of the missionaries of charity around the world. Msgr. Esseff encountered St. Padre Pio, who would become a spiritual father to him. He has lived in areas around the world, serving in the Pontifical missions, a Catholic organization established by St. Pope John Paul II to bring the Good News to the world especially to the poor. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and continues to serve as a spiritual director for the Institute. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.
Dr. Lilles reviews teachings on poverty, humility, and, in particular, friendship, which are all found in a broad overview of the first 18 chapters of “The Way of Perfection.” We also discuss the value of the virtues and the importance of the “good example” in St. Teresa’s writings. All of this will be essential to her foundational teachings on contemplative prayer.
Saint Teresa Painting Convento de Santa Teresa Avila Castile Spain.
Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of Saint John’s Seminary in Camarillo as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. For over twenty years he served the Church in Northern Colorado where he joined and eventually served as dean of the founding faculty of Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary in Denver. Through the years, clergy, seminarians, religious and lay faithful have benefited from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity.
FG#12 – The Way of Trust and Love Ep 1 – Fountains of Grace: Reflections on contemporary spiritual classics with Donna Garrett
Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. James Perez, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “The Way of Trust and Love: A Retreat Guided By St. Therese of Lisieux” by Fr. Jacques Philippe.
Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “The Way of Trust and Love” page 9
This is what Thérèse said:
Fr. James Perez, LC, joins Donna for this series
You know, Mother, that I have always desired to be a saint, but alas, I have always realized, when I compared myself to the saints, that there is between them and me the same difference as exists between a mountain whose summit is lost in the skies, and the obscure grain of sand trodden underfoot by passers-by. Instead of getting discouraged, I said to myself: “God could not inspire us with desires that were unrealizable, so despite my littleness I can aspire to holiness. It is impossible for me to grow up, I must put up with myself as I am , with all my imperfections; but I want to find how to get to Heaven by a little way that is quite straight, quite short: a completely new little way. We are in an age of inventions; now one doesn’t have to make the effort to climb up a stairway in rich people’s houses, because an elevator does the work much better. I too would like to find an elevator to lift me up to Jesus, for I am too little to climb up the steep stairway of perfection.” Then I looked in the holy books for some sign of the elevator that I desired, and I read these words that had come forth from the mouth of Eternal Wisdom: “Whoever is VERY LITTLE let him come to me” [Proverbs 9: 4]. So I came, guessing that I had found what I sought. Wishing to know, O my God, what you would do for a little child who answered your call, I continued my search and this is what I found: “As a mother caresses her baby, so I will comfort you; I will carry you at my breast and rock you in my lap” [Isaiah 66: 13, 12]. Ah! never had such tender, melodious words come to rejoice my soul; the elevator that would lift me up to Heaven is your arms, O Jesus! To reach perfection, I do not need to grow up. On the contrary, I need to stay little, to become more and more little. O my God, you have surpassed my expectations, and I wish to sing of your mercies.For other episodes in the this series click here “Fountains of Grace w/Donna Garrett“
FG#14 – The Way of Trust and Love Ep 3 – Fountains of Grace: reflections on contemporary spiritual classics with Donna Garrett Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. James Perez, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “The Way of Trust and Love: A Retreat Guided By St. Therese of Lisieux” by Fr. Jacques Philippe.
Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “The Way of Trust and Love”
We began to look more deeply into humility in the previous chapter. I think a good definition of humility may be this: being in the right relation to ourselves, which enables us to be in the right relation to God and to other people; relating to ourselves according to the truth of what and how we are. One of its essential aspects , as we have seen, is peacefully accepting our weakness and inner poverty.
Fr. James Perez, LC, joins Donna for this series
If we accept ourselves as we are, we also accept God’s love for us. But if we reject ourselves, if we despise ourselves, we shut ourselves off from the love God has for us, we deny that love. If we accept ourselves in our weakness, our limitations, it will also be easier for us to accept other people. Often, quite simply, we can’t get along with other people because we can’t get along with ourselves . We have all experienced this at some point. Sometimes we are unhappy with ourselves because we’ve made mistakes or fallen into a fault that humiliates us, so we are really annoyed with ourselves. That makes us bad-tempered and even aggressive with others. What does this mean? Just that we make others pay for our difficulty in accepting our own inner poverty. Not accepting our limitations, we take it out on other people … This reaction is very common, and obviously unfair and contrary to the truth. Most of our conflicts others are nothing more than a projection of the conflicts we are having with ourselves. The opposite is also true. The more we accept ourselves as we are and are reconciled to our own weakness, the more we can accept other people and love them as they are.
FG#15 – The Way of Trust and Love Ep4 – Fountains of Grace: reflections on contemporary spiritual classics with Donna Garrett Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. James Perez, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “The Way of Trust and Love: A Retreat Guided By St. Therese of Lisieux” by Fr. Jacques Philippe.
Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “The Way of Trust and Love”
Whatever our personal limitations and situations, we can all love right where we are: in the kitchen, the bathroom, the office— it makes no difference. What the Church needs most is genuine love. We attach too much importance to externals, actions, and visible effectiveness, whereas all that counts, all that really bears fruit in the Church, is the truth and purity and sincerity of love; that is what we should ask God for most of all and put into practice.
Fr. James Perez, LC, joins Donna for this series
Philippe, Jacques (2012-06-07). The Way of Trust and Love – A Retreat Guided by St. Therese of Lisieux (Kindle Locations 731-734). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
You can find “The Way of Trust and Love” here
Dr. Lilles discusses the “Living Water” as described by St. Teresa of Avila “The Way of Perfection.” We also discuss the nature of mystical prayer.
