Of Spiritual Desolation. I call desolation all the contrary of the third rule, such as darkness of soul, disturbance in it, movement to things low and earthly, the unquiet of different agitations and temptations, moving to want of confidence, without hope, without love, when one finds oneself all lazy, tepid, sad, and as if separated from his Creator and Lord.
Because, as consolation is contrary to desolation, in the same way the thoughts which come from consolation are contrary to the thoughts which come from desolation.
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel
Chapter 19
The Effects of this Fourth State of Prayer—Earnest Exhortations to those who have attained to it not to go back nor to cease from Prayer, even if they fall—The great Calamity of going back
The Life
St. Teresa of Jesus,
of the Order of Our Lady of Carmel.
Written by Herself.
Translated from the Spanish by
David Lewis.
Third Edition Enlarged
Today we celebrate not only the feast of St. Anthony of Padua but also the 89th birthday of Msgr. Esseff, who takes the time to reflect on his special relationship with this great saint.
Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Ignatius Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 2006, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission
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. Msgr. Esseff assisted the founders of the Institute for Priestly Formation and serves 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.
Msgr. Esseff reflects on the true meanings of happiness and joy. What does it really look like? How can we live a life of happiness and joy? Msgr. Esseff discusses the beatitudes and forgiveness and the keys to a proper understanding. What is true humility? How much the Father loves you!
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 Blessed 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 Bl. 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.
To obtain a copy of Msgr. Esseff’s book byvisiting here
Episode 1 of our series begins with a discussion on the life of the Ven. Mary Ward, (23 January 1585 – 30 January 1645), an English Catholic Religious Sister and whose activities led to the founding of the Congregation of Jesus (the order which Sr. Gill Goulding belongs) and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, better known as the Sisters of Loreto, which have both established schools around the world.
From “A Church of Passion and Hope – Mary Ward”
A recusant heritage and a disciplined faith formation nurtured a deep encounter with Christ for Mary Ward. This intimacy was the foundation for her progressive discernment and grounded her ecclesial disposition, which was particularly characterized by: courage, faithfulness, generosity and confident freedom in the Lord. It is a passionate love of God that drives her endeavors and is manifest in the manner of her obedience which embraces suffering for the fruitfulness of her mission in the service of the Church.
Ven. Mary Ward
Sr. Gill Goulding, member of the Congregatio Jesu [IBVM/Loretto] is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Spirituality at Regis College in the University of Toronto. Alongside her work as a theologian, she undertakes a ministry of spiritual direction and retreat work. She is the author of several books and numerous articles that deal with the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, the Theology of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI and Ignatian spirituality. In 2012, she was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a theological expert to the Synod on the New Evangelization.
To obtain a copy of the book on which this series is based visit here
“Gill Goulding, C.J. invites readers to move beyond a debilitating polarization in the Church and to adopt an ecclesiology of communion. She presents the ecclesial disposition of St Ignatius of Loyola, rooted in love for Christ, alive to the inseparable union between Christ and the Church, and aware that to love Christ is to love the Church – the real, concrete, hierarchical, “institutional” Church, the people of God, the spouse of Christ infused by His Spirit. Goulding’s love for the Church is evident in all she writes and suffuses the exposition with warmth. One cannot read this book without feeling the call to communion in the Church. A Church of Passion and Hope also serves to highlight an underemphasized part of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises – the Rules for Thinking (sentir) with the Church – a valuable contribution to Ignatian writing and practice.” ―Fr Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V., Saint Clement Eucharistic Shrine, USA
An awareness of the social dimension of human life is an important principle in understanding Christian morality, especially in light of the great emphasis on individualism in our society. The social aspect of what it means to be human is revealed in the natural inclination we have to seek social interaction and establish community. This awareness serves as a moral foundation for an attitude of solidarity with each other and leads to a dedication to social justice for everyone. Our Gospel commitment to Christ’s Kingdom of love, justice, and mercy always includes advocating and supporting fairness for all. God calls us to form community and to correct both the symptoms and causes of injustice that rip apart the solidarity of a community.
The Most Reverend George J. Lucas leads the Archdiocese of Omaha.
We wish to thank the USCCB for the permissions granted for use of relevant material used in this series. Also we wish to thank Matt Wilkom for his vocal talents in this episode.
8. … “Each incident, each event, each suffering, as well as each joy, is a sacrament which gives God to it; so it no longer makes a distinction between these things; it surmounts them, goes beyond them to rest in its Master, above all things. It “exalts” Him high on the “mountain of its heart,” yes, “higher than His gifts, His consolation, higher than the sweetness that descends from Him.” “The property of love is never to seek self, to keep back nothing, but to give everything to the one it loves.” “Blessed the soul that loves” in truth; “the Lord has become its captive
We would like to offer heartfelt thanks toMiriam Gutierrez for providing for us “the voice” of Blessed Elizabeth for this series
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 Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity.
O Holy Spirit, Divine Consoler!
I adore you as my True God.
I offer You my whole heart,
and I render You heartfelt thanks
for all the benefits You have bestowed upon the world.
You are the author of all supernatural gifts
and enriched the Blessed Virgin Mary,
the Mother of God,
with all favors,
I ask you to visit me by Your grace and Your love,
and grant me the favor
I so earnestly seek…
State your request here…
O Holy Spirit,
spirit of truth, come into our hearts:
DAY ONE
O Holy Spirit,
bestow upon us Your seven holy gifts.
Enlighten our understanding that we may know You.
Give us wisdom that Your will may be clear to us
and that we may accept it.
Grant us the gift of counsel
that we may always perceive what is right.
Fortify us that we may always be capable
of fulfilling Your Divine Will.
Inspire us with the spirit of learning
that we may be able to penetrate more deeply
into the truths that You have revealed.
Let our hearts be steeped in the spirit of childlikeness
that we may bring You joy.
Let us have proper fear of God
that we may never grieve You
or wander from the path of goodness. Give us the fulness of Your gifts
that we may glorify You.
Look with compassion upon us,
O Holy Spirit,
and grant us the favor we seek in this novena…
State your request here…
if it be in accordance with Your Holy Will.
Come, O Holy Spirit,
fill the hearts of your faithful,
and kindle in them the fire of Your love.
But there was another dominant reality in the ancient Church. It is something that appears just as often in the archaeological record and in the paper trail of the early Christians. That something is martyrdom. Persecution.
Martyrdom occupied the attention of the first Christians because it was always a real possibility. Shortly after Christianity arrived in the city of Rome, the emperor Nero discovered that Christians could provide an almost unlimited supply of victims for his circus spectacles. The emperors needed to keep the city’s populace amused, and one way to do so was by providing spectacularly violent and bloody entertainment.
The Christians’ moral code made them none too popular with their neighbors, so the pagan Romans were more than willing to cheer as the Christians were doused with pitch and set on fire, or sent into the ring to battle hungry wild animals or armed gladiators. It was all in a day’s fun in ancient Rome. Over time, Nero’s perverted whims settled into laws and legal precedents, as later emperors issued further rulings on the Christian problem. Outside the law, mob violence against Christians was fairly common and rarely punished.
The Christians applied a certain term to their brothers and sisters who were persecuted and killed. They called them “martyrs”—which means, literally, “witnesses in a court of law.” And to the martyrs they accorded a reverence matched only by their reverence for the Eucharist.
Heart of Hope Part 4 – The healing hand of Christ, seeing the will of God, and how we suffer love. The tale of the two criminals on the cross next to Christ on Gologotha.
Deacon James Keating, PhD, the director of Theological Formation for the Institute for Priestly Formation, located at Creighton University, in Omaha, is making available to ”Discerning Hearts” and all who listen, his series of programs entitled “The Heart of Hope”.
This series explores the work of suffering in the Christian life and how God can use it to transform the heart of the individual and the world.
You can obtain just the audio podcast, if you would prefer
Today we celebrate not only the feast of St. Anthony of Padua but also the 89th birthday of Msgr. Esseff, who takes the time to reflect on his special relationship with this great saint.
From “A Church of Passion and Hope – Mary Ward”
