The Gift of the Holy Spirit – A reflection by Dr. Anthony Lilles

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From Beginning to Pray authored by Dr. Anthony Lilles

Pentecost is a Feast of Love. It is the feast of the Canticle of Canticles where the Bridegroom comes to kiss his Bride. Today the Church cries out to her Bridegroom for a divine kiss, a kiss from the mouth of God. It is this kiss entrusted to frail humanity that makes all the difference in the world and in our lives. It is by this kiss that God discloses the depths of his love, that He surrenders His Holy Spirit to each of us in the most unique and particular way. It is the kiss God entrusts to humanity from the Cross.

The Holy Spirit is the life of the soul. He is the great gift that the Risen Lord breaths into the world. When lovers kiss, it is as if they are trying to breath their spirits into each other. Each wants the other to completely possess the gift of who they are. It is by way of a holy kiss that Christ breaths his Holy Spirit into the Church.

The whole Church and each of us as members of this mystical Body, through this same Gift, want to give everything we have to Christ and find in ourselves the power to do so and the inner conviction that we do not want to have it any other way. This is because with the Gift of the Holy Spirit we realize this is exactly the way God has loved us in Christ Jesus.

Wherever the Spirit blows, the most beautiful affections are ignited in our humanity. The Spirit of the Father and the Son moves us with a passion so sacred that it raises us up above ourselves. Such holy desires caused by the Fire of God in us allow us to participate in the very life of God.

The more humble we are, the more the kiss of Christ permeates the deep places of our hearts. He won the right to enter into these deep places, to breath his Holy Spirit into these depths, by emptying Himself until he became like us. In solidarity with our humanity, having embraced this most frail work of his creation to his Uncreated Nature in his Divine Person, He allowed himself be completely vulnerable to us – like a lover who attempts to disclose his love to the beloved. Spurned and rejected from the beginning, He would not give up on the friendship He yearned to share with us. He offered his kiss to a distrustful humanity by humbling Himself in the face of our pride and overcame our hostility to Him by his death. When we gaze on Him who died for us, always we see His arms are wide open, ready to embrace us. He waits to kiss us with the Gift of His Spirit whenever we allow our hearts to be pierced by his love.

Will we surrender to his kiss? Will we allow ourselves to be caught up in his love? True, the more we offer ourselves in love, we find ourselves dying to our old way of life. It is the pathway of surrender and trust. We are afraid of this — abandoning our old way of life leads somewhere with which we are not familiar. But the kiss of Christ is so beautiful, so life giving, it is worth this death a thousand times over. Let Him kiss you with the Kisses of his Mouth!

#04 The Second Rule – The Discernment of Spirits /w Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV – Video Podcasts

#04 The Second Rule -The Discernment of Spirits /w Fr. Timothy Gallagher, OMV from Discerning Hearts on Vimeo.

Episode 4 -The Second Rule:

In the persons who are going on intensely cleansing their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord, it is the method contrary to that in the first Rule, for then it is the way of the evil spirit to bite, sadden and put obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, that one may not go on; and it is proper to the good to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing, and putting away all obstacles, that one may go on in well doing.

For the other episodes in this series check out Fr. Timothy Gallagher’s “Discerning Hearts” page

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ROHC-V2 The Agony of Emotional Suffering – The Heart of Hope w/ Deacon James Keating Ph.D. – Video podcast

ROHC-V2 The Agony of Emotional Suffering – The Heart of Hope w/ Deacon James Keating Ph.D. from Discerning Hearts on Vimeo.

Heart of Hope Part 2 — The agony of emotional suffering and opportunities for deeper union with Jesus; the reason for pastoral ministry

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

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MM2 – A Marian Moment – Reflections on the Blessed Virgin Mary

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From the writings of St. Louis de Montfort

Every day from one end of the earth to the other, in the highest heights of the heavens and in the profoundest depths of the abysses, everything preaches, everything publishes, the admirable Mary! The nine choirs of angels, men of all ages, sexes, conditions and religions, the good and the bad—even the demons themselves, willingly or unwillingly—are compelled by the force of truth to call her “blessed.”

Prayer of St. Alphonsus Liguori:

I love you, Mary, my Mother, and I wish I could speak with a thousand tongues, so that all might know your greatness, your holiness, your mercy, and the love with which you love all those who love you.

ROHC-V1 The Cross Conquers Evil – The Heart of Hope w/ Deacon James Keating Ph.D. – Video podcast

ROHC-V1 The Cross Conquers Evil – The Heart of Hope w/ Deacon James Keating Ph.D. – Video podcast from Discerning Hearts on Vimeo.

Heart of Hope Part 1 – The role of the Cross in the Christian life, suffering, prayer and and how it conquers evil

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.

The “Heart of Hope” tackles a very tough subject…the gift of suffering in the Christian life. Deacon Keating guides us well.

You can obtain just the audio podcast, if you would prefer

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BTP#7 Heaven In Faith Day 4 Prayer 1 – Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity w/Dr. Anthony Lilles

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Episode 7 Beginning to Pray: “Heaven in Faith” Day 4 Prayer 1 – “We will come to him and make our home in him”

From “Heaven in Faith” found in The Complete Works vol 1:

13. “Dues ignis consumens,” Our God, wrote St. Paul, is a consuming Fire, that is a “a fire of love” which destroys, which “transforms into itself everything that it touches.” “The delights of the divine enkindling are renewed in our depths by an unremitting activity: the enkindling of love in a mutual and eternal satisfaction. It is a renewal that takes place at every moment in there eternally, and this is the silence in which, somehow, they have lost themselves.” “Freed from their prison, they sail on the Ocean of Divinity without any creature being an obstacle or hindrance to them.”

We would like to offer heartfelt thanks to Miriam Gutierrez for providing for us “the voice” of Blessed Elizabeth for this series

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles

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.

BTP#5 Heaven In Faith Day 3 Prayer 1 – Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity w/Dr. Anthony Lilles

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Episode 5 Beginning to Pray: “Heaven in Faith” Day 3 Prayer 1 – “We will come to him and make our home in him”

From “Heaven in Faith” found in The Complete Works vol 1:

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 through love”!

We would like to offer heartfelt thanks to Miriam Gutierrez for providing for us “the voice” of Blessed Elizabeth for this series

For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles

St. Agnes of Bohemia, the princess saint…In Conversation with Sr. Joan Mueller

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St. Agnes of Bohemia is one of my favorite saints and it has a lot to do with Sr. Joan Mueller, the master storyteller. St. Agnes was the great admirer and then great friend of St. Clare. Her tale is as dramatic and compelling as any novel written. The text below is a brief overview of her life, but do yourself a favor and listen to the great tale as told by Sr. Joan.

Agnes of Bohemia (1211-1282)
nun of the Order of St. Clare

from Wikipedia

Agnes, daughter of Premysl Otakar I, king of Bohemia and Queen Constance, the sister of King Andrew II of Hungary, was born in Prague in 1211. Since childhood she was involved in projects of engagement treated independently of his will, for convenience dynastic and political speculations.

Agnes was the youngest daughter of Bohemian king Premysl Otakar I, making her a descendant of Saint Ludmila, another Bohemian patron saint. Agnes’s mother was Constance of Hungary, who was the sister of King Andrew II of Hungary, so Agnes was an elder cousin of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

When she was three years old, Agnes was entrusted to the Cistercian order at Trzebnica to be educated. The monastery had been founded by Hedwig, the wife of Duke Henry I the Bearded of Silesia. Agnes was engaged to Hedwig and Henry’s son Boleslav. After Boleslav died, Agnes returned to Prague at the age of six.

Arranged marriages

At the age of eight, she was engaged to Henry, son of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. Henry was ten years old and had just been crowned Henry VII of Germany, King of the Romans. According to custom, Agnes should have spent her childhood at her future husband’s court, so they could develop a friendship, as well as learn the language and culture of her new country. Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily, had his court in Palermo, while his son Henry, now the German king, was being brought up in Germany at the archbishop Engelbert’s residence in Cologne.

It was decided to send Agnes to the court of Leopold VI of Babenberg. But Leopold wanted Henry to marry his own daughter Margaret. The wedding of Agnes and Henry was cancelled after six years of engagement. Like other noble women of her time, Agnes was a valuable pawn in the marriage game. In 1226 her father Otakar went to war against the Babenbergs as a result of the broken engagement. Otakar then planned for her to marry Henry III of England, but this was vetoed by the Emperor, who himself was interested in marrying Agnes.

Religious works

Agnes refused to play any more part in a politically arranged marriage. She decided to devote her life to religious works, with the help of Pope Gregory IX. She became a member of the Franciscan Poor Clares, a religious order founded by Saint Clare of Assisi (with whom she corresponded for over two decades but never met in person). On land donated by her brother, Wenceslaus I, she founded the Hospital of St. Francis (ca. 1232-33) and two convents where the Franciscan friars and Clare nuns who worked at the hospital resided. This religious complex was one of the first Gothic buildings in Prague. Taking the vow of poverty, she cooked for and took care of the lepers and paupers personally, even after becoming the Mother Superior of the Prague Clares in 1234.

The Franciscan brotherhood working at the hospital was promoted as an individual order, the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star by Pope Gregory IX in 1252. The Convent of St. Agnes (Klášter sv. Anežky) fell into decline after the Hussite Wars and was abolished in 1782. Restored in the 1960s, the convent is now a branch of the National Gallery in Prague, featuring 19th-century Czech paintings.

Pope John Paul II formally canonized Blessed Agnes few days before the Velvet Revolution, a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the authoritarian government. . – wikipedia

Here is Sr. Joan Mueller, with her wonderful way, of offering us more on the life of St. Agnes of Bohemia

Chap 22 – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Mp3 audio

THE WAY OF PERFECTION
By
St. Teresa of Avila

Chapter 22

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For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

Explains the meaning of mental prayer.

For other audio chapters of
“The Way of Perfection”

THE WAY OF PERFECTION
by
ST. TERESA OF AVILA
Translated & Edited by
E. ALLISON PEERS
from the Critical Editon of
P. SILVERIO DE SANTA TERESA, C.D.

Chap 23 – The Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila – Mp3 audio

THE WAY OF PERFECTION
By
St. Teresa of Avila

Chapter 23

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For the pdf containing the complete text and footnotes click here

Describes the importance of not turning back when one has set out upon the way of prayer. Repeats how necessary it is to be resolute.

For other audio chapters of
“The Way of Perfection”

THE WAY OF PERFECTION
by
ST. TERESA OF AVILA
Translated & Edited by
E. ALLISON PEERS
from the Critical Editon of
P. SILVERIO DE SANTA TERESA, C.D.