In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Fourth Mansions Chapter 2 part 1 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:
1. Physical results of sensible devotion. 2. Effects of divine consolations. 3. The two fountains. 4. They symbolize two kinds of prayer. 5. Divine consolations shared by body and soul. 6. The incense within the soul. 7. Graces received in this prayer. 8. Such favors not to be sought after.
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.
Episode 24- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – We begin the study of the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church” Chap 3 Section 3
Episode 10 – Blessed John Henry Newman – His life, time and influence
In this episode, Dr. Reno examines Blessed John Henry Newman. We discuss the significance of his conversion and effect on intellectual and spiritual thought in the 19th century and today.
“Christian Apologetics with Dr. R. R. Reno” explores numerous facets of faith and reason in the life of the Church and the world. Grounded on the work of giants, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, Blessed John Newman, Blessed John Paul II, G. K. Chesterton, Blaise Pascal and Stephen Barr, Dr. Reno helps us to open our minds to make the journey to our hearts.
R. R. Reno is the editor at First Things: A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life, and Professor of Theology, currently on leave from Creighton University. His theological work has been published in many academic journals. Essays and opinion pieces on religion, public life, contemporary culture, and current events have appeared in Commentary and the Washington Post. In Fighting the Noonday Devil Reno suggests that putting ourselves at the disposal of what is real is what trains us for true piety. His other recent books include Genesis: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible and Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible.
It was truly a blessing to share this conversation with Laura Fanucci about the book she co-authored with her husband Franco entitled “Grieving Together: A Couple’s Journey through Miscarriage.” This is an important work and the best I have ever seen on the subject. Filled with tender, relatable situations and practical advice, “Grieving Together” is not only for couples who have experienced the loss of miscarriage, but also for those who love and minister to them.
You might feel, in the days and weeks after a miscarriage, like the Lord is anything but close.
Laura and Franco Fanucci understand. After struggling with infertility, they miscarried their third child in the first trimester. Later, their twin daughters were born prematurely and lived only a few days. Laura and Franco are here to tell you that, while your miscarriage is a deeply personal loss, you are not alone.
Grieving Together is written by a couple specifically for couples, understanding that both spouses have experienced a loss and grieve differently. Drawing from Catholic tradition and teaching, Laura and Franco gently guide you through:
The physical and emotional experiences of miscarriage – including help in making the hardest decisions
How couples respond to grief – and how to support each other
Turning to family, friends, and the Church – finding help and support from loved ones and your Church community
The future after miscarriage – where to go from here as a couple
Grieving Together is the book the Fanuccis had wished for after their miscarriage. Practical resources include Scripture, prayers, and official Catholic rites. It also speaks to the unique concerns of fathers, and includes many real-life stories from couples in many different circumstances.
In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Fourth Mansions Chapter 1 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:
1. Souls in the Third Mansions. 2. Insecurity of this life. 3. Our danger of falling from grace. 4. The Saint bewails her past life. 5. Our Lady’s patronage. 6. Fear necessary even for religious. 7. St. Teresa’s contrition. 8. Characteristics of those in the Third Mansions. 9. The rich young man in the Gospel. 10. Reason of aridities in prayer. 11. Humility. 12. Tepidity. 13. We must give all to God. 14. Our debt. 15. Consolations and aridities
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.
Dr. John-Mark Miravalle is truly a delight! “Beauty: What It Is and Why It Matters” has become my favorite book on this subject. It is has altered how look and listen to all things. I cannot recommend this book more highly! Don’t miss this compelling conversation.
Rich with the wisdom of Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, and St. John Paul II, these pages unpack perennial truths about beauty and rivet them into your soul, opening the eyes of your understanding to the beauty all around us.
Offering an abundance of accessible examples, author John Mark Miravalle demonstrates that beauty is neither in the eye of the beholder, nor for the cultivated, the dreamer, or the “hopeless romantic” alone. On the contrary, the ability to understand, recognize, and delight in beauty readies all souls for heaven—and makes it easier for us to get there.
From these pages, you’ll learn:
• Why beauty is not just a matter of opinion
• The virtues we need to perceive beauty and to enjoy it
• How to determine whether an artwork is truly beautiful
• The respective roles of reason and emotion in appreciating beauty
• How the beauty of nature testifies to God’s existence . . . while rejection of God obscures nature’s beauty
With the help of these pages, you’ll receive fresh eyes to marvel again (or for the first time) at the beauty of nature, music, art, architecture, and, most importantly, the beauty of God, the fountainhead and exemplar of all things on earth that are beautiful.
Episode 9 – Dr. Stephen Barr’s “Modern Physics & Ancient Faith” part 2
In this episode Dr. Reno examines Faith and Reason through the work of Dr. Stephen Barr’s “Modern Physics and Ancient Faith” and enters into the concept of “Scientific Materialism”. part 2
“Christian Apologetics with Dr. R. R. Reno” explores numerous facets of faith and reason in the life of the Church and the world. Grounded on the work of giants, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Bonaventure, Blessed John Newman, soon-to-be Blessed John Paul II, G. K. Chesterton, Blaise Pascal and Stephen Barr, Dr. Reno helps us to open our minds to make the journey to our hearts.
R. R. Reno is the editor at First Things: A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life, and Professor of Theology, currently on leave from Creighton University. His theological work has been published in many academic journals. Essays and opinion pieces on religion, public life, contemporary culture, and current events have appeared in Commentary, and the Washington Post. In Fighting the Noonday Devil Reno suggests that putting ourselves at the disposal of what is real is what trains us for true piety. His other recent books include Genesis: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible and Sanctified Vision: An Introduction to Early Christian Interpretation of the Bible.
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”
Msgr. John A. Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest in the Diocese of Scranton. He was ordained on May 30, 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. Teresa of Calcutta. 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. He continues to serve as a retreat leader and director to bishops, priests and sisters and seminarians and other religious leaders around the world.
St. Isidore of Seville – The Doctors of the Church with Dr. Matthew Bunson
Born: c. 560 Cartagena, Spain
Died: 4 April 636 Seville, Spain
Dr. Matthew Bunson discusses St. Isidore of Seville, a Doctor of the Church often overlooked despite his significant contributions. Born around 560 and living till 636, he was a key figure in preserving classical learning during a turbulent post-Roman era.
Raised in a devout family, he became bishop of Seville following his brother Leander’s death. Isidore was known for his intellect, compiling extensive works including the influential “Etymologies,” an encyclopedia used for centuries. He was also a spiritual guide, advocating for church discipline and unity, notably combating Arianism. Isidore’s death in 636 was marked by his exemplary piety. Despite being somewhat overlooked, he was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1722.
His life and teachings continue to inspire, even earning him consideration as the patron saint of the internet due to his commitment to learning and perseverance.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
St. Isidore’s Contributions: Reflect on St. Isidore’s significant contributions to preserving classical learning and his role in shaping education during a turbulent era. How can his example inspire us to prioritize learning and intellectual pursuits in our own lives?
Family Influence: Consider the influence of St. Isidore’s devout family on his spiritual formation. How does the example of his family’s strong Christian faith encourage us to cultivate faith within our own families?
Spiritual Growth Through Adversity: Explore St. Isidore’s experience of spiritual growth through adversity, such as his relationship with his brother and his contemplative journey. How can we apply the lessons of patience, perseverance, and obedience to God’s will in our own spiritual lives?
Role as Bishop: Reflect on St. Isidore’s role as a bishop, his efforts to combat heresy, and his leadership in guiding the Church through a period of cultural and religious transition. How can we emulate his commitment to defending the faith and fostering unity within the Church?
Legacy and Patronage: Consider St. Isidore’s lasting legacy as a Doctor of the Church and his patronage, including his proposed patronage of the internet. How does his example of embracing new technologies and adapting to change challenge us to engage with the modern world while remaining faithful to our Christian values?
“To understand Isidore better it is first of all necessary to recall the complexity of the political situations in his time to which I have already referred: during the years of his boyhood he was obliged to experience the bitterness of exile. He was nevertheless pervaded with apostolic enthusiasm. He experienced the rapture of contributing to the formation of a people that was at last rediscovering its unity, both political and religious, with the providential conversion of Hermenegild, the heir to the Visigoth throne, from Arianism to the Catholic faith. Yet we must not underestimate the enormous difficulty of coming to grips with such very serious problems as were the relations with heretics and with the Jews. There was a whole series of problems which appear very concrete to us today too, especially if we consider what is happening in certain regions in which we seem almost to be witnessing the recurrence of situations very similar to those that existed on the Iberian Peninsular in that sixth century. The wealth of cultural knowledge that Isidore had assimilated enabled him to constantly compare the Christian newness with the Greco-Roman cultural heritage, however, rather than the precious gift of synthesis it would seem that he possessed the gift of collatio, that is, of collecting, which he expressed in an extraordinary personal erudition, although it was not always ordered as might have been desired.
In any case, his nagging worry not to overlook anything that human experience had produced in the history of his homeland and of the whole world is admirable. Isidore did not want to lose anything that man had acquired in the epochs of antiquity, regardless of whether they had been pagan, Jewish or Christian. Hence, it should not come as a surprise if, in pursuing this goal, he did not always manage to filter the knowledge he possessed sufficiently in the purifying waters of the Christian faith as he would have wished. The point is, however, that in Isidore’s intentions, the proposals he made were always in tune with the Catholic faith which he staunchly upheld. In the discussion of the various theological problems, he showed that he perceived their complexity and often astutely suggested solutions that summarize and express the complete Christian truth. This has enabled believers through the ages and to our times to profit with gratitude from his definitions. A significant example of this is offered by Isidore’s teaching on the relations between active and contemplative life. He wrote: “Those who seek to attain repose in contemplation must first train in the stadium of active life; and then, free from the dross of sin, they will be able to display that pure heart which alone makes the vision of God possible” (Differentiarum Lib. II, 34, 133: PL 83, col 91A). Nonetheless, the realism of a true pastor convinced him of the risk the faithful run of reducing themselves to one dimension. He therefore added: “The middle way, consisting of both of these forms of life, normally turns out to be more useful in resolving those tensions which are often aggravated by the choice of a single way of life and are instead better tempered by an alternation of the two forms” (op. cit. 134; ibid., col 91B).
Isidore sought in Christ’s example the definitive confirmation of a just orientation of life and said: “The Saviour Jesus offers us the example of active life when during the day he devoted himself to working signs and miracles in the town, but he showed the contemplative life when he withdrew to the mountain and spent the night in prayer” (op. cit. 134: ibid.). In the light of this example of the divine Teacher, Isidore can conclude with this precise moral teaching: “Therefore let the servant of God, imitating Christ, dedicate himself to contemplation without denying himself active life. Behaving otherwise would not be right. Indeed, just as we must love God in contemplation, so we must love our neighbour with action. It is therefore impossible to live without the presence of both the one and the other form of life, nor can we live without experiencing both the one and the other” (op. cit., 135; ibid. col 91C). I consider that this is the synthesis of a life that seeks contemplation of God, dialogue with God in prayer and in the reading of Sacred Scripture, as well as action at the service of the human community and of our neighbour. This synthesis is the lesson that the great Bishop of Seville has bequeathed to us, Christians of today, called to witness to Christ at the beginning of a new millennium.”
Dr. Matthew E. Bunson is a Register senior editor and a senior contributor to EWTN News. For the past 20 years, he has been active in the area of Catholic social communications and education, including writing, editing, and teaching on a variety of topics related to Church history, the papacy, the saints and Catholic culture. He is faculty chair at Catholic Distance University, a senior fellow of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, and the author or co-author of over 50 books including The Encyclopedia of Catholic History, The Pope Encyclopedia, We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI, The Saints Encyclopedia and best-selling biographies of St. Damien of Molokai and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
Episode 23- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – We begin the study of the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church” Chap 3 Section 1 & 2
In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Fourth Mansions Chapter 2 part 1 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:
For other audio recordings of various spiritual classics you can visit the Discerning Hearts Spiritual Classics page
Episode 24- Regnum Novum: Bringing forth the New Evangelization through Catholic Social Teaching with Omar Gutierrez – We begin the study of the “
It was truly a blessing to share this conversation with Laura Fanucci about the book she co-authored with her husband Franco entitled “Grieving Together: A Couple’s Journey through Miscarriage.” This is an important work and the best I have ever seen on the subject. Filled with tender, relatable situations and practical advice, “Grieving Together” is not only for couples who have experienced the loss of miscarriage, but also for those who love and minister to them.
