Dr. Lilles’ continues his Day of Recollection offered in April 2013.
In an age of great confusion and rejection of God, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Elisabeth of the Trinity and St. John Paul II find in Christ the reason for our hope. Starting with St. Therese’s devotion to the Holy Face expressed in living her life as an offering to merciful love, we will see how the pathway she pioneered was followed and further developed in the spiritual missions of St. Elisabeth of the Trinity and St. John Paul II. In particular, we will contemplate the relationship of mercy and hope that the Face of Christ helps us to see when hope and mercy are most needed so that we too can follow the path of mercy.
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 St. Elisabeth of the Trinity. After graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville, he completed licentiate and doctoral studies in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in Rome. In 2012, he published Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: a theological contemplation of prayer by Discerning Hearts. He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray”
Dr. Lilles’ continues his Day of Recollection offered in April 2013.
The renewal of mental prayer in 16th Century Spain is characterized by a rediscovery of the face of Christ in contemplation. Using passages from her life, we will consider how St. Teresa’s contemplation of the face of Christ developed during her conversion. We will compare this with the way St. John of the Cross pondered the face of Christ in the Spiritual Canticle. These saints help us see the mysterious Face of Christ, hidden in suffering and reflected in the secret of our faith, as the threshold and source for mystical prayer.
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 St. Elisabeth of the Trinity. After graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville, he completed licentiate and doctoral studies in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in Rome. In 2012, he published Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: a theological contemplation of prayer by Discerning Hearts. He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray”
Dr. Lilles continues his Day of Recollection offered in April 2013.
Here is the continuation of the first presentation which focuses on the Mystical Saints who can help us to gaze on the Face of Christ:
Anthony will introduce the saints who will guide us through our reflections: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Elisabeth of the Trinity and St. John Paul II. He also answers questions about methods of prayers, teaching others to pray, and how can one help restore the sense of the sacred to the mass and Eucharistic adoration.
St. John of the Cross
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
St. John Paul II
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. After graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville, he completed licentiate and doctoral studies in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in Rome. In 2012, he published Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: a theological contemplation of prayer by Discerning Hearts. He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray”
Episode 23 Beginning to Pray Special: “Let Your Face Shine on us and we shall be saved.”
Dr. Lilles’ offered a Day of Recollection in April 2013. We are blessed to have the presentations he gave that day in audio form. They are OUTSTANDING!
Here is Presentation 1:
Mental prayer, which is the prayer that searches the face of Christ, is a source of conversion. Beautiful truths about the incarnation and the paschal mystery come together in the face of Risen Lord who gazes on us with love. In the shadow of this love, we discover the freedom to turn ourselves to the Lord ever more completely. Our day begins with a meditation on the psalms which point the way to this prayer. We will introduce the saints who will guide us through our reflections: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Elisabeth of the Trinity and St. John Paul II.
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 benefitted from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity. After graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville, he completed licentiate and doctoral studies in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in Rome. In 2012, he published Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: a theological contemplation of prayer by Discerning Hearts. Married with two young adult children pursuing their careers and a teenager still at home, he has settled in family in Oxnard, California. He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray” Catholic blog spot.
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!
a posting which originally appeared on Dr. Lilles’ “Beginning to Pray” website
Jesus, the Risen Lord, is truly present in this moment. In the midst of difficulty or rest, sorrow or joy, He is with us, fully alive, more real than all the rest of reality combined. He is present with great humility and respect: asking as if He were a starving beggar, seeking as if He were the one who had lost something and knocking as if He had no right to enter. He is here, in this moment and in every moment, above all space and time, over all circumstance and trial, waiting for us to open the door.The Victor once and for all, He has been raised and set apart to judge the living and the dead, not in the distant future, but now in the present moment. Only those who are pierced to the heart by love can accept the judgment of His justice and truth, and how I long for my own heart to be pierced so that at last I might know that freedom of love that He alone can give.Spiritual freedom flows from His touch and even now He holds out His hands towards us. Those who believe in Him find forgiveness. Even as we confess our sins and repent of our rash judgments, He silences the voice of condemnation that cries against us.
He has suffered death and passed through hell to restore peace to our troubled consciences because He did not create us for self torment. He has come Himself because He alone has the power and authority to liberate us from such a hellish burden. In Him, we discover that the power of misery is not absolute and that evil does not have the last word. Darkness vanishes before His light. He reigns unconquered and invites us to join Him.
Who will separate us from His love? Who can prevent us from living the life that He has come to give? Worldly powers could not silence Him. Suffering could not diminish Him. Death could not contain Him. Every knee is bent before Him and every head is bowed in His presence. He rules forever at the right hand of the Father.
Against all falsehood, he shines forth forever true. Though winds of false teachings and all kinds of myths seem to hold sway, He is a sure anchor, a safe-harbor in the storm. In the midst of a changing sea of confusion, He stands as the sure reference point of life and every decision. In the midst of rancor and contention, whether within our hearts or in our communities, He is the only true source of peace.
The Word of the Father is the Love that is stronger than death. He is Truth unvanquiahed. He is the living waters of the deep dug well of salvation. He calls in whispers that thunder in our hearts. He gazes on us with love though we have done nothing to deserve it. He hopes in us and rejoices when we raise our eyes to Him if only for a moment. The Lord of Life longs for us to share our hearts with Him freely and to share His heart with us completely in that moment which will have no end.
Day 1 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles
Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor discuss St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s Last Retreat, written during her final illness. In this reflection, Elizabeth expresses her desire to know nothing but Christ, embracing suffering as a path to union with Him. She sees contemplation as a transformative encounter, where deeper knowledge of Jesus leads to becoming more like Him. Elizabeth’s vocation as “Laudem Gloriae” (Praise of Glory) reflects her call to glorify God through suffering, prayer, and silence. Her insights remain relevant, especially through practices like Eucharistic adoration and silent scriptural meditation, which open the heart to Christ’s wisdom.
St. Elizabeth presents the Blessed Virgin as the one who most profoundly understood Christ, making her a model and mother in the spiritual life. Connecting this to St. John Paul II’s teaching on Mary’s maternal mediation, she leads us to embrace the cross. Suffering is an inevitable part of Christian life, but through trust in Christ and the intercession of Mary, it becomes a means of revealing God’s glory. St. Elizabeth’s example demonstrates how even in profound weakness, one can offer everything to God, making suffering a pathway to divine love.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
Embracing Christ in Suffering: St. Elizabeth of the Trinity teaches that suffering can be a path to deeper union with Christ—how can you embrace your own trials with faith rather than resistance?
Contemplation as Transformation: Elizabeth describes mystical prayer as a way of forgetting everything but Christ—how can you cultivate silence and stillness in your daily life to grow in deeper awareness of His presence?
The Role of Mary in Spiritual Growth: Elizabeth points to the Blessed Virgin as the one who most deeply understood Christ—how can you entrust your spiritual journey to Mary and allow her to guide you closer to her Son?
Living as a Praise of Glory: Elizabeth saw her vocation as glorifying God in all circumstances—how can you offer your daily life, even in suffering, as a praise of God’s glory?
The Power of Surrender: Elizabeth’s words reflect a total surrender to God’s will—what attachments or fears keep you from fully trusting in God, and how can you begin surrendering them today?
1. “Nescivi.” 1 “I no longer knew anything.” This is what the “bride of the Canticles ” sings after having been brought into the “inner cellar.” 2 It seems to me that this must also be the refrain of a praise of glory on this first day of retreat in which the Master makes her penetrate the depths of the bottomless abyss so that He may teach her to fulfill the work which will be hers for eternity and which she must already perform in time, which is eternity begun and still in progress. 3 “Nescivi”! I no longer know anything, I do not want to know anything except “to
know Him, to share in His sufferings, to become like Him in His death.” 4 “Those whom God has foreknown He has also predestined to become confirmed to the image of His divine Son,” 5 the One crucified by love. When I am wholly identified with this divine Exemplar, 6 when I have wholly passed into Him and He into me, then I will fulfill my eternal vocation: the one for which God has “chosen me in Him ” 7 “in principio,” the one I will continue “in aeternum” when, immersed in the bosom of my Trinity, I will be the unceasing praise of His glory, Laudem gloriae ejus.
Anthony Lilles, S.T.D., has served the Church and assisted in the formation of clergy and seminarians since 1994. Before coming to St. Patrick’s, he served at seminaries and houses of formation in the Archdiocese of Denver and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The son of a California farmer, married with young adult children, holds a B.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville with both the ecclesiastical licentiate and doctorate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the Angelicum). An expert in the writings of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and the Carmelite Doctors of the Church, he co-founded the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation and the High Calling Program for priestly vocations. He also founded the John Paul II Center for Contemplative Culture, which hosts symposiums, retreats, and conferences. In addition to his publications, he blogs at www.beginningtopray.com .
Day 2 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles
Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor explore St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s retreat writings, particularly her reflections on interior silence and self-possession in Christ. St. Elizabeth describes how true peace comes from gathering one’s interior faculties through silence and surrendering them to God. She highlights the significance of the phrase Nihi, meaning “I no longer know anything but Him,” illustrating the soul’s complete focus on God despite external turmoil or inner struggles. Drawing from Carmelite spirituality, holy recollection fosters this unity with God, allowing the soul to become a vessel for divine grace and harmony.
The transformative power of suffering and trials gives us a chance to use them as opportunities for deeper union with God rather than obstacles to peace. Dr. Lilles connects Elizabeth’s teachings to the experiences of Mary Magdalene and the contemplative example of Mary of Bethany, emphasizing the need to choose “the one thing necessary”—a heart undistracted by worldly concerns. He also recounts Elizabeth’s personal battle with suffering in her final days, showing how her unwavering focus on Christ enabled her to endure spiritual and physical affliction with profound trust. This episode offers a compelling call to embrace silence, recollection, and surrender as pathways to deeper intimacy with God.
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
The Call to Interior Silence: How can you cultivate a habit of holy recollection in your daily life to remain more present to God?
Self-Possession in Christ: In what ways do distractions, emotions, or external pressures pull you away from maintaining a prayerful awareness of Christ?
The Meaning of Nihi: What does it mean for you personally to surrender everything to God and say, “I no longer know anything but Him”?
Suffering as an Opportunity for Grace: How can trials and hardships in your life be seen as invitations to deeper union with Christ rather than obstacles to peace?
Learning from Mary Magdalene: What aspects of Mary Magdalene’s transformation and devotion inspire you to grow in your own relationship with Christ?
The Role of Holy Recollection in Spiritual Growth: How can you incorporate moments of silent prayer and reflection into your daily routine to foster greater intimacy with God?
Trusting in God’s Hidden Presence: When God feels distant or silent, how can you strengthen your faith and remain steadfast in trust?
The Soul as a Throne of the Holy Trinity: What steps can you take to align your thoughts, emotions, and desires more fully with God’s will so that your soul becomes a dwelling place for His presence?
5. It is the same for the soul that has entered into the “fortress of holy recollection”: the eye of its soul, opened in the light of faith, discovers its God present, living within it; in turn it remains so present to Him, in beautiful simplicity, that He guards it with a jealous care. Then disturbances from without and tempests from within may arise; its self-esteem may be wounded: “Nescivi”! God may hide Himself, withdraw His sensible grace: “Nescivi .” Or, as St. Paul writes: “For love of Him I have forfeited everything.” Then the Master is free, free to flow into the soul, to give Himself “according to His measure.” And the soul thus simplified, unified, becomes the throne of the Unchanging One, since “unity is the throne of the Holy Trinity.”
Anthony Lilles, S.T.D., has served the Church and assisted in the formation of clergy and seminarians since 1994. Before coming to St. Patrick’s, he served at seminaries and houses of formation in the Archdiocese of Denver and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The son of a California farmer, married with young adult children, holds a B.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville with both the ecclesiastical licentiate and doctorate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome (the Angelicum). An expert in the writings of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity and the Carmelite Doctors of the Church, he co-founded the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation and the High Calling Program for priestly vocations. He also founded the John Paul II Center for Contemplative Culture, which hosts symposiums, retreats, and conferences. In addition to his publications, he blogs at www.beginningtopray.com .
10. Here faith, the beautiful light of faith appears. It alone should light my way as I go to meet the Bridegroom. The psalmist sings that He “hides Himself in darkness,” 59 then in another place he seems to contradict himself by saying that “light surrounds Him like a cloak.” 60 What stands out for me in this apparent contradiction is that I must immerse myself in “the sacred darkness” 61 by putting all my powers in darkness and emptiness ; then I will meet my Master, and “the light that surrounds Him like a cloak ” will envelop me also, for He wants His bride to be luminous with His light, His light alone, “which is the glory of God.”
We would like to offer heartfelt thanks to
Miriam Gutierrez for providing for us “the voice” of Blessed Elizabeth for this series
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 benefitted from his lectures and retreat conferences on the Carmelite Doctors of the Church and the writings of Blessed Elisabeth of the Trinity. After graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville, he completed licentiate and doctoral studies in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in Rome. In 2012, he published Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: a theological contemplation of prayer by Discerning Hearts. Married with two young adult children pursuing their careers and a teenager still at home, he has settled in family in Oxnard, California.For other episodes in the series visit the Discerning Hearts page for Dr. Anthony Lilles
21. “They fall down and adore, they cast down their crowns. . . .” First of all the soul should “fall down,” should plunge into the abyss of its nothingness, sinking so deeply into it that in the beautiful expression of a mystic, it finds “true, unchanging, and perfect peace which no one can disturb, for it has plunged so low that no one will look for it there.” 116
Then it can “adore.” Adoration, ah! That is a word from Heaven! It seems to me it can be defined as the ecstasy of love. It is love overcome by the beauty, the strength, the immense grandeur of the Object loved, and it “falls down in a kind of faint” 117 in an utterly profound silence, that silence of which David spoke when he exclaimed: “Silence is Your praise!” 118 Yes, this is the most beautiful praise since it is sung eternally in the bosom of the tranquil Trinity; and it is also the “last effort of the soul that overflows and can say no more . . .” (Lacordaire). 119
“Adore the Lord, for He is holy,” 120 the Psalmist says. And again: “They will adore Him always because of Himself.” 121 The soul that is absorbed in recollection of these thoughts, that penetrates them with “this mind of God” 122 of which St. Paul speaks, lives in an anticipated Heaven, beyond all that passes, beyond the clouds, beyond itself! It knows that He whom it adores possesses in Himself all happiness and all glory and, “casting its crown” before Him as the blessed do, it despises self, loses sight of self, and finds its beatitude in that of the adored Being, in the midst of every suffering and sorrow. For it has left self, it has “passed” 123 into Another. It seems to me that in this attitude of adoration the soul “resembles those wells” of which St. John of the Cross speaks, 124 which receive “the waters that flow down from Lebanon,” and we can say on seeing it: “The impetus of the river delights the City of God.” 125
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. After graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville, he completed licentiate and doctoral studies in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in Rome. In 2012, he published Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: a theological contemplation of prayer by Discerning Hearts. Married with two young adult children pursuing their careers and a teenager still at home, he has settled in family in Oxnard, California.
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 St. Elisabeth of the Trinity. After graduating from Franciscan University of Steubenville, he completed licentiate and doctoral studies in spiritual theology at the Angelicum in Rome. In 2012, he published Hidden Mountain, Secret Garden: a theological contemplation of prayer by Discerning Hearts. He is the author of the “Beginning to Pray”
ourselves to the Lord ever more completely. Our day begins with a meditation on the psalms which point the way to this prayer. We will introduce the saints who will guide us through our reflections: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Elisabeth of the Trinity and St. John Paul II.
