Interior Pentecost of the Heart

Sometimes we struggle to find heroic lay people to emulate. The stories of many Saints and much spiritual literature describe the spiritual lives of consecrated and/or ordained Christians. But, what about the rest of us, the remaining 99.9% of the Church, do we have any hope for holiness? Vatican II answers in the affirmative with the universal call to holiness (Lumen Gentium 39). Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida,... Read More

Theology and Contemplative Prayer

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 the holiness of the Church.... Read More

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 quality of our own initiative, but on God.   Saint Bernard of Clairvaux proposes that God Himself is the cause of loving God: [God] is both... Read More

Aridity and Progress – Divine Intimacy

Presence of God – O Lord, help me to seek for You and to unite myself to You, even through the aridity and powerlessness of my spirit. MEDITATION 1. Even without the presence of the physical or moral causes which we have mentioned before, it is possible to pass from a state of sensible fervor to one of absolute aridity. This happens by the direct work of God which makes it impossible for the soul to pray with the help... Read More

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 we are inclined to mistake our own bloated egos for God.  The gravity of such self-occupation is a perilous... Read More

Why I Kneel

Genuflect: late Latin genuflectere, from Latin genu, knee, and flectere, to bend. 1 a. to bend the knee. b. to touch the knee to the floor or ground especially in worship. The first time I went to Mass, in trembling and fear, I was shocked to see people kneeling. In the middle of Los Angeles, in the middle of the day. I felt like I’d stumbled upon a group of folks sitting on the toilet, or having sex. Right out there... Read More

Aridity – Divine Intimacy

Presence of God - O Lord, help me to be faithful to You, so that the spirit of prayer will not be extinguished in me through my own fault. MEDITATION 1. At the beginning of a more intense spiritual life the soul usually enjoys a sensible fervor which makes spiritual exercises easy and agreeable. Good thoughts, sentiments of love, and outpourings from the heart arise spontaneously. To be recollected and alone with God in... Read More

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 just one unified science.  This is true even if this single scientific... Read More

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 a complete gift with no activity on our part. However, the director defined... Read More

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 practice of mental prayer – which is a humbled gaze of the heart on the mercy of God. Oftentimes,... Read More

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