BTP22 – St. Catherine of Siena: Passion for Truth – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast

An Excerpt from the Beginning to Pray Blog site:

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.

The gift of tears, so central to early Dominican spirituality, is a beautiful part of this description. She presents those holy affections as the only proper response to the great love revealed in Christ crucified. These tears move us away from sin and into the very heart of God. She describes this as a journey that begins with kissing the feet of Jesus and entering into his wounded side. For her, intimacy with the Lord is always through the Cross and informed by a profound gratitude and humility.

CP12 – Aridity in Prayer – Reflections from Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty – Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

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AR-SP2- THE GIFT OF HOLINESS AT CHRISTMAS w/ Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B., PhD.

This reflection was given during a special advent evening of prayer and meditation service at St. Margaret Mary’s Church, in Omaha, NE

CWC8 – The Wellsprings of Prayer – Communion with Christ with Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast

The “wellsprings” where Christ awaits us. Responding at the moment when the subtle interior movements of the Holy Spirit calls to us. The Word of God becomes a place of encounter. The danger of Scripture becoming all academic. People are converted when the Word approaches them as living. The liturgy is also a place of encounter. The heart as an “altar” in the liturgy.

CWC7 The Will To Pray – Communion with Christ with Deacon James Keating- Discerning Hearts Podcast

Episode 7 – Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – The will to pray. To listen, to search, to see Him…to become prayer ourselves. You know are progressing by the fruit of your life. The parish as the “school of prayer” The pastor as teacher of prayer, the spiritual father. The disordered demands we may place on the priest. What is the remedy?

CWC6 – The Reception of Grace – Communion with Christ with Deacon James Keating

Episode 6- Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – How we receive prayer. The reception of grace and the great gift of memory. Through prayer, heaven begins. Prayer is a battle…it isn’t easy. Western culture is a “culture of distraction”. We need to receive the coming of God when it enlights upon us.

CWC5 – Ask, Seek, Knock – Communion with Christ: Practical Prayer w/ Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Episode 5- Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – ” How did I ever live without prayer?” A sustained communion with Christ is the beginning of heaven. “Ask..seek…knock”. Are you knocking to receive a relationship or are you knocking to get more stuff? Are you seeking to surrender and entrust or are you seeking to satisfy more of a passing desire or mood? Even in our coming to prayer Jesus wants to purify our motive for doing so. The challenge of entering into deep prayer which leads to the great maturity of prayer.

CWC4 – God’s Longing for Us – Communion with Christ: Practical Prayer w/ Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Episode 4- Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer –   Deacon Keating continues his reflections on the last things said by Jesus on the Cross and Mary as a teacher of prayer.  The Blessed Virgin Mary is the wellspring of interiority because she held all the mysteries in her heart.  Deacon Keating discusses God’s longing for us and allowing God to pray in us.  “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”…is it more that we have abandoned God?  Sin looks like crucifixion.  The final words.

CWC3 – Praying Always – Communion with Christ: Practical Prayer w/ Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Episode 3- Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – Jesus is the primary teacher of prayer.  How can we pray “always”?  How do we become “prayer”?  Jesus was conscious that all things flow from the Father. He teaches us how to pray to the Father.  Deacon Keating speaks of praying in the name of Jesus and “receiving” God in our hearts.

CWC2 – A Foretaste of Heaven – Communion with Christ: Practical Prayer w/ Deacon James Keating – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Episode 2-Communion with Christ – Practical Prayer – We have lost are fear of going astray and being unfaithful within. We must be aware of the spirits, personal or impersonal, that can get into us. We can get tangled up in many different influences in prayer. That is why it so important to have a director, a guide, to help us navigate in this journey and to test those spirits. Jesus is the model of prayer. “He learns to pray from His mother”. (see below). The witness of the community. His prayer springs from a secret source and He wishes to share it with us. All prayer is foretaste of heaven.