How Do We Know God’s Will? Many people after discovering the faith soon realize that it is sometimes difficult to discern God’s will in a given situation. Most people think that knowing God’s will is impossible. After all, He gave us our natural capacity to reason and He has revealed Himself to us – so
To Satiate the Thirst of Jesus Editor’s Note: Dr. Anthony Lilles gives us a lot to consider during these hot summer months, especially for those of us who live with and/or serve the sick, suffering and dying. When we begin to pray, we implicate ourselves in the plight of others, especially those who are suffering.
Holy Fear We find in the writings of the great mystics, especially of those who have been recognized as “Doctor of the Church,” a certain unanimous consent concerning the importance of holy fear if we are to grow in our life of prayer. They have a sense that it is a fearful thing to stand
Alleluia! Christ is Risen! How are We Able to Hold Fast to Our Faith? He is Risen! In the midst of our busy lives, it is easy to be overwhelmed and to feel overcome by difficult circumstance. For those who strive to pray, Christ risen from the dead allows us to taste this only
Christ and the Confidence that Comes from the Holy Spirit Christ baptizes in the power of the Holy Spirit and his fire animates the Christian life with hope. The Holy Spirit who moved over the waters of creation, who overshadowed the Virgin Mary, who descended on Christ at his Baptism, who carried the Crucified’s last
The Lord is Coming – Take Him to your Heart “Take Him to your heart… keep Him in you as in a sanctuary… live with Him in intimacy.” This was advice offered to a new religious sister just beginning her life as a nun. The beauty of this message only fully discloses itself when we
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Mystical Rose The famous image and story of Our Lady of Guadalupe is an important part of the history of the evangelization of the Americas – a continent evangelized more quickly than any other in all of Church history. Mary appeared to a
Prayer and Purgatory: Thresholds to Glory Purgatory and prayer are both the thresholds to Glory. In both cases, the disciple of the Lord receives purification to live life to the full, to be free, to stand before God and, finally, to see his face. If we are not purified, healed, strengthened and taught how to
The Paradox of Holiness and Communion To be holy is to be set apart. To be in communion is to be in solidarity with one another. Prayer both sets us apart and establishes us in a deeper communion. It is a paradox. Although this mystery is not completely solvable, one hint is the relational dimension
The Life of Prayer: the sure path to freedom Christian prayer is a simple movement of the soul towards God. It is a movement of love, by which we cling to Him with the boldness of faith, trusting in his loving kindness. This movement of love is also a conversation, a heart to heart, in
That Loving Knowledge of God Although the Almighty is beyond the power of human understanding to grasp, Christians believe that knowing God’s Will is possible because Jesus, in his humanity offered for our sakes, has given us real access to God. The kind of knowledge the Risen Lord gives us is different than the merely
St Bernard and Coming to the Fullness of Love (Memorial of St Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church) St Bernard built a way of life that flowed from Chapter 73 of the Rule of St Benedict. In this final chapter, St Benedict urges monks to learn the discipline of the Christian life
Editor’s Note: Dr. Anthony Lilles recently made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the place, where tradition holds, St. James the Apostle, whose feast the Church celebrates on July 25th, is buried. In this post, Dr. Lilles reflects on his journey, and on pilgrimage in particular. On Corpus Christi, Father Piotr Mozdyniewicz and
For those struggling to pray, one challenge in prayer is entering into silence. It seems the moment one goes into a chapel or room or some other private place, a thousand thoughts and feelings suddenly flow. Sometimes, in fact, it is to find some relief from particularly painful feelings or haunting thoughts that we find
My original post on this topic was written when Catholic priests were especially singled out for severe and sometime even unjust criticism. The zeal and relish with which some impugned the priesthood in general went largely unanswered. There is also the broad supposition on the part of many that the priesthood is only about social
