BTP13 – Heaven In Faith: Day 7 Prayer 1 by St. Elizabeth of the Trinity – Beginning to Pray with Dr. Anthony Lilles – Discerning Hearts Podcasts

Summary: <br> Episode 13 – “Heaven in Faith”  Day 7 Prayer 1  – “God chose us in Him before creation, that we should be holy and immaculate in His presence, in love.” <br> In this episode, Dr. Anthony Lilles and Kris McGregor discuss the rich teachings of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, particularly focusing on the concept of contemplative prayer and its transformative power. They delve into Elizabeth’s writings, highlighting her emphasis on the Holy Trinity and the inner life of God as foundational to understanding prayer and dealing with sin.<br> Elizabeth’s teachings invite listeners to slow down, make prayer a priority, and enter into the loving gaze of God and the primacy of contemplation in the Christian life, wherein believers are called to behold and participate in the eternal love and harmony of the Trinity. This contemplative approach transcends mere intellectual understanding and involves a deepening relationship with God through faith and love.<br> The ancient understanding of truth is something to behold rather than solve; the transformative nature of encountering the truth of God’s love. They discuss how contemplative prayer helps individuals confront their brokenness and sinfulness, leading to self-awareness and a deeper reliance on God’s grace for transformation and healing, and the profound gift of contemplative prayer in opening hearts to God’s presence, fostering spiritual growth, and enabling believers to live more fully in accordance with God’s love and truth.<br> <br> From “Heaven in Faith: Day 7 Prayer 1”:<br> 22. “God chose us in Him before creation, that we should be holy and immaculate in His presence, in love.”<br> “The Holy Trinity created us in its image, according to the eternal design that it possessed in its bosom before the world was created,” in this “beginning without beginning” of which Bossuet speaks following St. John: “In principio erat Verbum.” In the beginning was the Word; and we could add: in the beginning was nothing, for God in His eternal solitude already carried us in His thought. “The Father contemplates Himself” “in the abyss of His fecundity, and by the very act of comprehending Himself He engendered another person, the Son, His eternal Word. The archetype of all creatures who had not yet issued out of the void eternally dwelt in Him, and God saw them and contemplated them in their type in Himself. This eternal life which our archetypes possessed without us in God, is the cause of our creation.”<br> 23. “Our created essence asks to be rejoined with its principle.” The Word, “the Splendor of the Father, is the eternal archetype after which creatures are designed on the day of their creation.” This is “why God wills that, freed from ourselves, we should stretch out our arms towards our exemplar and possess it,” “rising” above all things “towards our model.” “This contemplation opens” the soul “to unexpected horizons.” “In a certain manner it possesses the crown towards which it aspires.” “The immense riches that God possesses by nature, we may possess by virtue of love, by His dwelling in us and by our dwelling in Him.”“It is by virtue of this immense love” that we are drawn into the depths of the “intimate sanctuary” where God “imprints on us a true image of His majesty.” Thus it is, thanks to love and through love, as the Apostle says, that we can be holy and immaculate in God’s presence, and can sing with David: “I will be unblemished and I will guard myself from the depths of sinfulness within me.”<br> Elizabeth of the Trinity. The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity, vol. 1 (featuring a General Introduction and Major Spiritual Writings) (Elizabeth of the Trinity Complete Work) (pp. 103-104). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.<br> <br> Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions<br> <br> <br> * Reflecting on Prayer Priority: How does Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity’s emph...