BTP-LR1 The “Last Retreat” Day 1 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

From “Last Retreat Day 1” found in The Complete Works vol 1:

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.

BTP-LR2 The “Last Retreat” Day 2 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

From “Last Retreat Day 2” found in The Complete Works vol 1:

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.”

BTP-LR3 The “Last Retreat” Day 3 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Day 3 – 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 … Read more

BTP-LR4 The “Last Retreat” Day 4 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Day 4 – The Last Retreat by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity- Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor discuss the fourth day of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity’s 16‑day retreat. They reflect on how contemplative prayer is not about performing spiritual exercises to achieve a measurable outcome but … Read more

BTP-LR5 The “Last Retreat” Day 5 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Beginning to Pray: “The Last Retreat – Day 5 ” – “I saw a great multitude which no man could number. . . ” From “Last Retreat Day 5” found in The Complete Works vol 1: 12. “I saw a great multitude which no man could number. . . . These are they who have … Read more

BTP-LR6 The “Last Retreat” Day 6 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Beginning to Pray: “The Last Retreat – Day 6 ” – “That is the condition: we must be dead! ” From “Last Retreat Day 6” found in The Complete Works vol 1: 16. What a going out from self that implies! What a death! Let us say with St. Paul, “Quotidie morior.” 95 The great … Read more

BTP-LR7 The “Last Retreat” Day 7 pt. 1 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Beginning to Pray: “The Last Retreat – Day 7 pt 1 ” – “That is the condition: we must be dead! ” From “Last Retreat Day 7 pt 1” found in The Complete Works vol 1: 17. “Coeli enarrant gloriam Dei.” 101 This is what the heavens are telling: the glory of God. Since my … Read more

BTP-LR8 The “Last Retreat” Day 7 pt. 2 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Beginning to Pray: “The Last Retreat – Day 7 pt 2 ” – “Then my suffering is “a message which passes on the glory” of the Eternal” From “Last Retreat Day 7 pt 2” found in The Complete Works vol 1: 18. “Night to night announces it.” 106 How very consoling that is! My weaknesses, … Read more

BTP-LR9 The “Last Retreat” Day 8 pt. 1 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Beginning to Pray: “The Last Retreat – Day 8 pt 1 ” – “To be rooted and grounded in love” From “Last Retreat Day 8 pt 1” found in The Complete Works vol 1: 20. “And they do not rest day and night, saying, Holy holy , holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, … Read more

BTP-LR10 The “Last Retreat” Day 8 pt. 2 St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles

Beginning to Pray: “The Last Retreat – Day 8 pt 2 ” – “Adoration, ah! That is a word from Heaven!” From “Last Retreat Day 8 pt 2” found in The Complete Works vol 1: 21. “They fall down and adore, they cast down their crowns. . . .” First of all the soul should … Read more