Advertise on podcast: Dr. Anthony Lilles - Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor reflect on St. Francis of Assisi’s dream of knighthood, his first misunderstanding of God’s call, his encounter with the leper, and the grace by which Christ begins to teach him wisdom. The post LOF4 – The Dream of Knighthood and the Grace of Wisdom – St. Francis of Assisi: His Life and Spirituality with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Before his conversion, God was already at work in young St. Francis. Dr. Anthony Lilles explores his gifts, struggles, dream and emerging vocation. The post LOF3 – God at Work in the Young St. Francis – St. Francis of Assisi: His Life and Spirituality with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Dr. Anthony Lilles explores how St. Bonaventure presents St. Francis as a living witness to Christ, guiding believers through Scripture, the Eucharist and a life of joyful repentance. The post LOF2 – A Living Witness to Christ – St. Francis of Assisi: His Life and Spirituality with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Begin a new series with Dr. Anthony Lilles as St. Bonaventure introduces the life, spirituality and enduring witness of St. Francis of Assisi. The post LOF1 – Introducing St. Francis Through St. Bonaventure – St. Francis of Assisi: His Life and Spirituality with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Finding Joy and Hope in Challenging Times – Advent Reflections w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts Dr. Anthony Lilles, focusing on Pope Benedict XVI’s writings,  discusses how illness, physically or emotionally, during Advent can be a unique spiritual opportunity. He emphasizes that suffering and difficulty can be a form of divine visitation, offering ... Read more The post Finding Joy and Hope in Challenging Times – Advent Reflections with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Unveiling the Light of St. Nicholas – Advent Reflections with Dr. Anthony Lilles Dr. Anthony Lilles offers a captivating exploration of the spiritual significance of St. Nicholas through the reflections of Pope Benedict XVI. St. Nicholas, known for his generosity and kindness, serves as a model of Christ’s light, especially during Advent. His actions, rooted ... Read more The post Unveiling the Light of St. Nicholas – Advent Reflections with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Advent #2 – Embracing Hope and Presence – Advent Reflections w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts In this episode of the Discerning Hearts podcast, Dr. Anthony Lilles focuses once again on the profound insights of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) from his work “Seeking God’s Face.” The episode explores the concept of ... Read more The post Embracing Hope and Presence – Advent Reflections w/ Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

From "Last Retreat Day 14" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 36. “It seems to me that all is loss since I have known the excelling knowledge of my Lord, Jesus Christ. For love of Him I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else rubbish that I may gain Christ, so as to be found in Him, not with my own justice but with the justice that comes from God through faith. What I want is to know Him, to share in His sufferings, to become like Him in His death. I pursue my course, striving to attain to what Christ has destined me for by taking hold of me; my whole concern is to forget what is behind and to strain forward constantly to what is ahead; I run straight to the goal . . . , to the prize of the heavenly vocation to which God has called me in Christ Jesus.” 212 The Apostle has often revealed the greatness of this vocation: “God,” he says, “has chosen us in Him before the creation of the world that we might be holy and immaculate in His presence in love. . . . We have been predestined by the decree of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we may be the praise of His glory.” 213 37. But how do we respond to the dignity of this vocation? This is the secret: “Mihi vivere Christus est! . . . Vivo enim, jam non ego, vivit vero in me Christus. . . .” 214 We must be transformed into Jesus Christ; again it is St. Paul who teaches me this: “Those whom God has foreknown, He has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.” 215 It is important then that I study this divine Model so as to identify myself so closely with Him that I may unceasingly reveal Him to the eyes of the Father. First of all, what did He say when He came into the world? “Here I am, O God, I come to do your will.” 216 I think that this prayer should be like the bride’s heartbeat: 217 “Here we are, O Father, we come to do your will!” The post BTP-LR20 – Day 14 – Part 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

From "Last Retreat Day 14" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 36. “It seems to me that all is loss since I have known the excelling knowledge of my Lord, Jesus Christ. For love of Him I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else rubbish that I may gain Christ, so as to be found in Him, not with my own justice but with the justice that comes from God through faith. What I want is to know Him, to share in His sufferings, to become like Him in His death. I pursue my course, striving to attain to what Christ has destined me for by taking hold of me; my whole concern is to forget what is behind and to strain forward constantly to what is ahead; I run straight to the goal . . . , to the prize of the heavenly vocation to which God has called me in Christ Jesus.” 212 The Apostle has often revealed the greatness of this vocation: “God,” he says, “has chosen us in Him before the creation of the world that we might be holy and immaculate in His presence in love. . . . We have been predestined by the decree of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we may be the praise of His glory.” 213 The post BTP-LR19 – Day 14 – Part 1 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

From "Last Retreat Day 13" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 32. “Instaurare omnia in Christo.” 194 Again it is St. Paul who instructs me, St. Paul who has just immersed himself in the great counsel of God195 and who tells me “that He has resolved in Himself to restore all things in Christ.” So that I may personally realize this divine plan, it is again St. Paul who comes to my aid and who will himself draw up a rule of life for me. “Walk in Jesus Christ,” he tells me, “be rooted in Him, built up in Him, strengthened in faith, growing more and more in Him through thanksgiving.” 196 33. To walk in Jesus Christ seems to me to mean to leave self, lose sight of self, give up self, in order to enter more deeply into Him with every passing moment, 197 so deeply that one is rooted there; and to every event, to every circumstance we can fling this beautiful challenge: “Who will separate me from the love of Jesus Christ?” 198 When the soul is established in Him at such depths that its roots are also deeply thrust in, then the divine sap streams into it199 and all this imperfect, commonplace, natural life is destroyed. Then, in the language of the Apostle, “that which is mortal is swallowed up by life.” 200 The soul thus “stripped” of self and “clothed” 201 in Jesus Christ has nothing more to fear from exterior encounters or from interior difficulties, for these things, far from being an obstacle, serve only “to root it more deeply in the love” 202 of its Master. Through everything, despite everything, the soul can “adore Him always because of Himself.” 203 For it is free, rid of self and everything else; it can sing with the psalmist: “Though an army encamp against me, I will not fear; though war be waged upon me I will trust in spite of everything; for Yahweh will hide me in the secrecy of His tent” 204 and this tent is nothing else but Himself. I think that is what St. Paul means when he says: “be rooted in Jesus Christ.” The post BTP-LR18 – Day 13 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Beginning to Pray: "The Last Retreat - Day 11 pt 2 " - “It is the whole Trinity who dwells in the soul that loves them in truth, that is, by keeping their word! From "Last Retreat Day 11 pt 2" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 28. But it is not enough just to listen to this word, we must keep it! 164 And it is in keeping it that the soul will be “sanctified in the truth,” and that is the desire of the Master: “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.” 165 To the one who keeps His word has He not made this promise: “My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home in him”? 166 It is the whole Trinity who dwells in the soul that loves them in truth, that is, by keeping their word! And when this soul has realized its riches, all the natural or supernatural joys that can come to it from creatures or from God Himself are only an invitation to reenter into itself in order to enjoy the substantial Good that it possesses, which is nothing else than God Himself. And thus it has, St. John of the Cross says, a certain resemblance to the divine Being. 167 “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” St. Paul tells me “that He works all things according to the counsel of His will,” 168 and my Master asks me also to pay Him homage in this regard: “to do all things according to the counsel of His will.” Never to let myself be ruled by impressions, by the first impulses of nature, but to let the will gain self-mastery. . . . And for this will to be free, it must be, in the expression of a pious writer, “enclosed in God’s will.” 169 Then I will be “moved by His Spirit,” 170 as St. Paul says. I will do only what is divine, only what is eternal, and, like my Unchanging One, I will live even here below in an eternal present. The post BTP-LR16 – Day 11, pt. 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

From "Last Retreat Day 11 pt 1" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 27. “The Lord brought me into a spacious place, because He was gracious toward me. . . .” 159 The Creator, seeing the beautiful silence which reigns in His creature, and gazing on her wholly recollected in her interior solitude, is enamored of her beauty and leads her into this immense, infinite solitude, into this “spacious place” sung of by the prophet, which is nothing else but Himself: “I will enter into the depths of the power of God.” 160 Speaking through his prophet, the Lord said: “I will lead her into solitude and speak to her heart.” 161 The soul has entered into this vast solitude in which God will make Himself heard! “His word,” St. Paul says, “is living and active, and more penetrating than a two edged sword: extending even to the division of soul and spirit, even of joints and marrow.” 162 It is His word then that will directly achieve the work of stripping in the soul; for it has this particular characteristic, that it effects and creates what it intends, 163 provided however that the soul consents to let this be done. The post BTP-LR15 – Day 11, pt. 1 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

From "Last Retreat Day 10 pt 2" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 26. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” “God,” says St. Dionysius, “is the great solitary.” 153 My Master asks me to imitate this perfection, to pay Him homage by being a great solitary. The divine Being lives in an eternal, immense solitude. He never leaves it, though concerning Himself with the needs of His creatures, for He never leaves Himself; and this solitude is nothing else than His divinity. So that nothing may draw me out of this beautiful silence within, I must always maintain the same dispositions, the same solitude, the same withdrawal, the same stripping of self! If my desires, my fears, my joys or my sorrows, if all the movements proceeding from these “four passions” 154 are not perfectly directed to God, I will not be solitary: there will be noise within me. There must be peace, “sleep of the powers,” 155 the unity of being. “Listen, my daughter, lend your ear, forget your people and your father’s house, and the King will become enamoured of your beauty.” 156 It seems to me that this call is an invitation to silence: listen . . . lend your ear. . . . But to listen we must forget “our father’s house,” that is, everything that pertains to the natural life, this life to which the Apostle refers when he says: “If you live according to the flesh, you will die.” 157 To forget “your people” is more difficult, I think, for this people is everything which is, so to speak, part of us: our feelings, our memories, our impressions, etc., the self, in a word! We must forget it, abandon it, and when the soul has made this break, when it is free from all that, the King is enamored of its beauty. For beauty is unity, at least it is the unity of God! The post BTP-LR14 – Day 10, pt. 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor explore the spiritual insights of Day 10 from St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s The Last Retreat and the command “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” which St. Elizabeth understands as a call to live in the eternal present—a mode of existence modeled on God the Father’s unchanging love and divine solitude. The post BTP-LR13 – Day 10, pt. 1 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.

From "Last Retreat Day 9 pt 2" found in The Complete Works vol 1: 23. Speaking to Abraham God said: “Walk in My presence and be perfect.” 134 This then is the way to achieve this perfection that our Heavenly Father asks of us! St. Paul, after having immersed himself in the divine counsels, 135 revealed exactly this to us when he wrote “God has chosen us in Him before the creation of the world, that we might be holy and immaculate in His presence in love.” 136 It is also by the light of this same saint that I will be enlightened so that I might walk without deviating from this magnificent road of the presence of God on which the soul journeys “alone with the Alone,” 137 led by the “strength of His right arm,” 138 “under the protection of His wings, without fearing the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the evil that stalks in darkness, nor the attacks of the noonday devil. 139 24. “Strip off the old man in whom you lived your former life, “ he tells me, “and put on the new man, who has been created according to God in justice and holiness.” 140 This is the way set forth; we have only to strip off self to follow it as God wills! To strip off self, to die to self, to lose sight of self. It seems to me the Master meant this when He said: “If anyone wants to follow Me, let him take up his cross and deny himself.” 141 “If you live according to the flesh,” the Apostle also says, “you will die, but if you put to death in the spirit the works of the flesh, you will live.” 142 This is the death that God asks for and of which it is said: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 143 “O death,” says the Lord, “I will be your death”; 144 that is: O soul, my adopted daughter, look at Me and you will forget yourself; flow entirely into My Being, come die in Me that I may live in you! The post BTP-LR12 – Day 9, pt. 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcast appeared first on Discerning Hearts Catholic Podcasts.