Anthony Lilles

Anthony Lilles, STD, a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, completed his graduate and post-graduate studies in Rome at the Angelicum. His expertise is in Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity and the Carmelite Doctors of the Church. He is currently a professor of spiritual theology at St Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, CA. Previously he was a founding faculty member of St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, and afterwards an associate professor at St John’s Seminary for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In 2012, Discerning Hearts published his book “Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: A Theological Contemplation on Prayer,”. Through Emmaus Press, he and Dan Burke wrote “30 Days with Teresa of Avila”and Living the Mystery of Merciful Love: 30 Days with Therese of Lisieux. . And, his book “Fire from Above” was published in 2016 by Sophia Institute Press. Prof. Lilles assisted Dan Burke in founding the Avila Institute and the High Calling Program for priestly vocations. He podcasts at www.discerninghearts.com, offers retreats to religious communities, gives spiritual conferences and lectures on the Catholic Spiritual Tradition.

Articles By Anthony Lilles

Theology and Contemplative Prayer

Contemplative Prayer and Theology Contemplation needs scientific theology and theologians need contemplation.  Historically, contemplatives who have presumed otherwise unwittingly submitted themselves and those they influenced to all kinds of demeaning irrationality. At the same time, whenever theologians believe they can conduct their investigations without prayer, their body of scholarship becomes less capable of building up

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Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and Loving God

In the wisdom of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, there is great reason to be confident as we begin to learn to love God. He is not ignorant of the fact that most of us often fall short in our efforts to seek God and live according to His commands.  His exhortation stands, not on the

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Praying in Humility and Mercy

Is it possible to pray out of misery without falling into self-pity? The question, posed by one of our readers, indicates a grave evil confronted in prayer. Misery is the demeaning absence of God’s love, a love we have rejected. Without the love God created us to know, we are restless and in our restlessness

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Saint Catherine of Siena – the Key of Obedience

Saint Catherine of Siena spent her life encouraging a deeper obedience to God the Father.  Although the earthly life of this Doctor of the Church ended over six hundred years ago, her spiritual teaching has passed into the universal patrimony of the Church.  In particular, the personal relationship she enjoyed with the eternal Father through

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What is Spiritual Theology?

What is Spiritual Theology? There is a lot of diverse opinions on this topic.  Probably the best explanation is provided by Jordan Aumann, O.P., in his well-known Spiritual Theology. To best understand the conversation that he introduces, it is important to note that all the branches of theology, as a disciplined study of sacred doctrine, constitute

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I am with You Always: Encounters with the Risen Lord

“Behold, I am with you always unto the end of time.”  (Matthew 28:20) These last words of the Risen Christ to the Apostles before He ascended into heaven are words that live in our ongoing encounters with the Son of God today.  Because He has not abandoned us and is at work in the world,

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Saint Angela di Foligno: Resting in Crucified Love

“You are I and I am you.”  (Words spoken to Saint Angela di Foligno as recorded in Memorial, Chapter IX taken from Angela of Foligno: Complete Works, trans. Paul Lachance, O.F.M., in Classics of Western Spirituality, New York: Paulist Press (1993) 205.) These are words that Saint Angela di Foligno believed the Risen Lord addressed

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Finding the Splendor of Mercy in the Shadow of Humdrum Days

“Oh humdrum days, filled with darkness, I look upon you with a solemn and festive eye.” (Saint Faustina Kowalska, Diary, #1373) Saint Faustina Kowalska wrote these words in 1937 at the brink of falling into a very serious illness from which she would never recover.  She could not have known that this experience of darkness

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An Answer to a Question: What is Contemplation?

Recently, Dan received an interesting question and after we talked about it, I asked whether I might respond.  Here is the question: “Is the terminology for prayer different from Ignatian to that of Carmelite spirituality? I’m a Secular Carmelite and I just went on an Ignatian retreat. My understanding of contemplation was that it was

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The Glory of Christ Crucified

The Cross of Christ brings His glorious grace into the focus of contemplation. It is a difficult mystery to dwell on. The heart sometimes finds itself weary and sometimes even too discouraged to fix its gaze on the agony of the Lord. This is where frequent confession and humble examination of conscience can help the

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