O LORD God almighty, I beseech Thee,
by the precious blood
which Thy Divine Son, Jesus, did shed on this day,
upon the tree of the cross,
especially from His sacred hands and feet,
deliver the souls in purgatory,
and particularly that soul for whom I am most bound to pray;
in order that I may not be the cause which hinders Thee
from admitting it quickly into the possession of Thy glory
where it may praise and bless Thee forever more.
O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee,
by the precious blood
which gushed forth from the sacred side
of Thy Divine Son Jesus
in the presence of and to the great sorrow
of His most holy Mother
deliver the souls in purgatory,
and among them all especially that soul
which has been most devout to this noble Lady;
that it may come quickly into Thy glory,
there to praise Thee in her,
and her in Thee,
through all the ages.
Episode 14 – St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, Pray for Us
Dr. Regis Martin
Discerning Hearts is honored to host the reflections of Dr. Regis Martin. Filled with profound insights, wisdom, and joy, he is one of the most trustworthy guides one can have on the spiritual journey.
For years Regis Martin, STD, has been regaling audiences about the mysteries of God and Church, most especially his students at Franciscan University of Steubenville where he teaches theology. Author of half-dozen or more books, including The Suffering of Love(Ignatius, 2006),The Last Things(Ignatius Press, 2011), Still Point (Ave Maria, 2012), The Beggar’s Banquet(Emmaus Road, 2012), Witness to Wonder (Emmaus Road, 2017) his work frequently appears in Crises and The Catholic Thing.
Body and Soul at Rest – Episode 9 – Freedom from Anxiety with Sonja Corbitt
Rest is not merely inactivity. Although it certainly includes leisure, rest involves the entire human person, in thoughts, emotions, body, and soul. In this episode we explore what the Bible means when it commands us to observe Sabbath rest.
LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice.
Listen (Receive the Word.)
O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.)
Could a neglect of keeping a proper Sunday observance be contributing to your unrest? What small steps can you begin taking today to make your Sundays more restful for yourself and your family?
V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)
Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin.
E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)
Heavenly Father, I ask that Your love flow upon me. May the Blood of Christ cover all wounds and restore all in me to wholeness and life. May the fire from Our Lady’s heart now enter me and anoint everything with the Holy Spirit and blind Satan. May St. Joseph wrap me with blessings and peace, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
“As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” – Jesus Christ, Matthew 25:40
We will not ultimately be judged by the wonderful feelings we have experienced in prayer, how many ecstasies we have had or even how many miracles we have worked or people we have healed, but how we have served God in the neighbor in need.
This little book How to Pray –A Practical Guide to the Spiritual life by David Torkington, was published by Our Sunday Visitor. It was written for those prepared to restructure their daily lives to make time for the prayer where they can be transformed by the love that only God can give.
In the foreword to this new book from OSV, “How to Pray: A Practical Guide to the Spiritual Life,” Sister Wendy Beckett wrote,
“There are no hideaways here, no excuses, but no alarming demands, either. Instead, Torkington seeks only to show us the truth, that truth that sets us free and convinces us that the yoke of Jesus is easy and his burden light. All we need is to understand and to choose. This book offers us the help we need to understand, and then the choice is ours.”
This is not your standard “prayer book” – it is not a compilation of Catholic prayers for you to just read. Rather, this is a series of 40 reflections on prayer intended to open you up to the transformation that is possible through prayer, through the love that God can give us through prayer.
Endorsement
“From here to eternity! For those drawn to contemplative prayer, David Torkington offers compelling clarity and common sense. Gentle kindness guides his practical counsel, and he is careful to help us see the solid principles in which he roots his insights. An authentic and reliable guard against counterfeits, his wisdom points to the heights and grounded-ness of the Catholic mystical tradition at a time when it is most needed.”
Dr. Anthony Lilles, STD: Associate Professor and Academic Dean of St John’s Seminary in Camarillo, as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the diocese 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.
John Paul II sincerely believed that we are so created that we can only discover the truth about ourselves when we give ourselves to another. He believed this from his own experience. He marveled how it was possible to meet someone and be so overwhelmed by their beauty that you should want to sacrifice everything for their sake, that this other person might thrive. In this he glimpsed not only the beauty of God’s plan for man and woman in marriage, but also the beauty of Christ’s love for each and every soul.
St. John Paul II
The communion Christ has come to share surpasses the fulfillment and mutual possession meant to be ours in the institution of marriage. When we see His beauty, we realize that the deepest joys shared in the marriage of man and woman only foreshadow a more wonderful communion that is to come.
Before the Beauty of His Face, even the sorrows and disappointments that we bear in our families, no matter how crushing, take on a new perspective. He who was abandoned and betrayed captivates us in His radiance even as we struggle with humiliation and resentment. Those who we thought we could never forgive, we find the courage to forgive whenever we glimpse Him gazing on us in love.
His beauty, the beauty of a love that holds nothing back, evokes a response from the deepest part of our being. For when our eyes are opened by faith in Him, we are moved to believe at once that Christ has perceived our beauty before the dawn of creation — and in perceiving it, brought it into being and offered His life in sacrifice for it, that each soul that believes in Him might know a greatness far beyond its power to surmise.
The Son who forever rejoices in the sheer goodness of His Father, rejoiced anew to make this known to all creation. He chose to do this through friendship with each of us – so that each of us participate in the revelation of glory the Father has given to His Son. This friendship and participation is nothing less than a dwelling in his presence – by faith in this life, and glory in the next. For this purpose and out of nothing, the Word of the Father summoned a beauty so deep in the human heart that, even when the human heart is diminished by sin, He has already resolved to sacrifice everything in order that all that is good, noble and true in it might not perish.
Nothing forces his loving sacrifice save the divine predilection for humble humanity that lives deep in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The Father is drawn by our plight to speak His Word into our difficult personal circumstances. With His Word, He breathes His Holy Spirit into us that we should have hope and thrive. In the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ journeys across the vast horizons of our hearts “like a Bridegroom coming from his tent, a champion running his course.” For what He finds most beautiful in us is that we are in His own image and likeness — creatures who are meant to mirror in time the love that He offers without reserve to the Father from eternity.
The work of redemption that He wrought on the Cross is about bringing to completion this intimate and faithful communion of sacrificial love for which we were created. He reveals the beauty of an unimpeded love on the Cross to capture our hearts so that we might finally be able to love without impediment. Though such a love seems so far beyond our limitations and sins, He offered his sacrifice for our sake in a way that allows us to participate in what He has done — and, in this, we become what we are meant to be: living sacrifices of love, the praise of His glory.
For more writings of encouragement visit Dr. Lilles’ “Beginning to Pray” blog
Anthony Lilles, S.T.D. is an associate professor and the academic dean of St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, CA as well as the founder/director of the St. John Paul Institute for Contemplative Culture. 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.
Discerning Hearts is honored to host the reflections of Dr. Regis Martin. Filled with profound insights, wisdom, and joy, he is one of the most trustworthy guides one can have on the spiritual journey.
For years Regis Martin, STD, has been regaling audiences about the mysteries of God and Church, most especially his students at Franciscan University of Steubenville where he teaches theology. Author of half-dozen or more books, including The Suffering of Love(Ignatius, 2006),The Last Things(Ignatius Press, 2011), Still Point (Ave Maria, 2012), The Beggar’s Banquet(Emmaus Road, 2012), Witness to Wonder (Emmaus Road, 2017) his work frequently appears in Crises and The Catholic Thing.
Body at Rest – Episode 8 – Freedom from Anxiety with Sonja Corbitt
The body has two systems of protection. The immune system fights inner threats, and the “fight or flight” system protects from external threats. Stress only becomes a serious physical problem when it moves from temporary to persistent or is aggravated by negative, fear-driven thoughts and emotion. Research shows that fear triggers known and measurable physical and chemical responses, throwing the body into a frantic, sick state.
Neck, shoulder, head, and back problems are exoskeletal and nervous system issues – structural issues. In the Bible they are related to the will, the “structure” that human life and existence are built on. When we willfully step out from under the protective, authoritative structure God has put into place, we often experience symptoms in these areas, such as migraines, muscle aches, back problems, and insomnia. Here’s how to re-order the structure of your life by re-ordering your will.
LOVE the Word™ is a Bible study method based on Mary’s own practice.
Listen (Receive the Word.)
O | Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.)
Did you gain any insight through this episode on migraines, neck and back pain? On the complications and messes in your marriage and family?
V | Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.)
Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin.
E | Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!)
Heavenly Father, I ask that Your love flow upon me. May the Blood of Christ cover all wounds and restore all in me to wholeness and life. May the fire from Our Lady’s heart now enter me and anoint everything with the Holy Spirit and blind Satan. May St. Joseph wrap me with blessings and peace, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen + (Prayer for Inner Healing, Deliverance Prayers for the Laity, Fr. Ripperger)
“Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” – Saint John Damascene
There is no such thing as private prayer in the Christian tradition, even though the people praying may be totally alone in their own home, in the local church, or in the furthest reaches of the most distant desert. They are united with all those who are in the family of Christ.
This little book How to Pray –A Practical Guide to the Spiritual life by David Torkington, was published by Our Sunday Visitor. It was written for those prepared to restructure their daily lives to make time for the prayer where they can be transformed by the love that only God can give.
In the foreword to this new book from OSV, “How to Pray: A Practical Guide to the Spiritual Life,” Sister Wendy Beckett wrote,
“There are no hideaways here, no excuses, but no alarming demands, either. Instead, Torkington seeks only to show us the truth, that truth that sets us free and convinces us that the yoke of Jesus is easy and his burden light. All we need is to understand and to choose. This book offers us the help we need to understand, and then the choice is ours.”
This is not your standard “prayer book” – it is not a compilation of Catholic prayers for you to just read. Rather, this is a series of 40 reflections on prayer intended to open you up to the transformation that is possible through prayer, through the love that God can give us through prayer.
Endorsement
“From here to eternity! For those drawn to contemplative prayer, David Torkington offers compelling clarity and common sense. Gentle kindness guides his practical counsel, and he is careful to help us see the solid principles in which he roots his insights. An authentic and reliable guard against counterfeits, his wisdom points to the heights and grounded-ness of the Catholic mystical tradition at a time when it is most needed.”
Dr. Anthony Lilles, STD: Associate Professor and Academic Dean of St John’s Seminary in Camarillo, as well as the academic advisor for Juan Diego House of Priestly Formation for the diocese 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.
In this episode, Dr. Lilles discusses the Sixth Mansions Chapter 9 part 1 of the “Interior Castle” which covers:
THIS CHAPTER SPEAKS OF THE MANNER IN WHICH GOD COMMUNICATES WITH THE SOUL BY IMAGINARY VISIONS. STRONG REASONS ARE GIVEN FOR NOT DESIRING TO BE LED IN THIS WAY; THIS IS VERY PROFITABLE READING.
1. The jewel in the locket. 2. The simile explained. 3. The apparition explained. 4. Awe produced by this vision. 5. False and genuine visions. 6. Illusive visions. 7. Effects of a genuine vision. 8. Conviction left by a genuine vision. 9. Its effects upon the after conduct. 10. A confessor should be consulted. 11. How to treat visions. 12. Effects of seeing the face of Christ. 13. Reasons why visions are not to be sought. 14. The second reason. 15. Third reason. 16. Fourth reason. 17. Fifth reason. 18. Sixth reason. 19. Additional reasons. 20. The virtues are more meritorious than consolations. 21. Fervent souls desire to serve God for Himself alone.
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.
For other audio recordings of various spiritual classics you can visit the 