https://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.png00Anthony Lilleshttps://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.pngAnthony Lilles2023-01-01 08:16:002024-03-30 11:43:37Eucharistic Revival - the Invasion of the Word
Faith comes by hearing, but who are we listening to? On my own first visit to Holy Transfiguration, this question rang through me. After a difficult experience in formation with another community, I was looking for someone I could trust. Abbot Boniface had founded a Byzantine Monastery in Redwood Valley, California, and someone suggested that I meet with him and seek his counsel. I wondered whether this would be a man I could trust and deeply hoped it was.
There is a crisis of fatherhood in the Church today, and our young people are paying the price. In a culture where fatherhood is mocked and men are not encouraged to be strong, it is countercultural and even counter-intuitive to make such an observation. Because we do not cultivate or honor fatherhood, the body of Christ is often lacking this essential gift, an irreplaceable mediation of the grace of Christ. Many ecclesial personalities suggest that they know Christ and may really believe that they do, but few know how to be spiritual fathers. There is little in our culture that encourages the cultivation of such manhood. So many, often without realizing it, project their own fancies onto Jesus instead – blind to true Light, we do not see rightly – and this is especially true of men who lack the courage that real fatherhood requires, who lack the conviction required for sacrificial love. Because they have never learned to be sons, they do not know how to be fathers. Blind themselves, at best they can offer only inaccurate guesses about God’s will and uncertain encouragement to vague ideals.
A true spiritual father, on the other hand, is able to see. Having learned to be a son, he knows how to contemplate, how to behold reality with confidence. He is able to listen in a manner that makes his whole being vulnerable to God – humble trust and obedience to the heavenly Father opens up such contemplation. He lives in gratitude because he knows that such vision has been bought for him at the price of Christ’s blood, and the freedom he now has to see is something he refuses to take for granted.
Because Jesus is the Word of the Father, we need men, such as these spiritual fathers, who will help us find the Lord so that we might learn how to live. We need another to help us welcome “the Light” who was “from the beginning.” Someone beyond ourselves needs to speak the Word into the whole of our humanity until everything human about us – our entire image and likeness to God – is translucent with the Light of Christ. Such is the role of a spiritual father: this man listens souls into being because he himself “keeps” the Word in his heart. Because he has welcomed the Light that shines in the darkness, he can listen to the suffering ache in this particular son or daughter. He can listen until he enters the aching truth of another – and because he yearns to unveil to them what they cannot see on their own. The light of Christ is mediated through a spiritual father who listens.
When a soul humbly seeks help, a true spiritual father tunes into this particular “end point” in eternity and carefully discerns this soul’s unrepeatable role the great symphony of creation. In order to realize such greatness – a soul needs to be taught to see, needs to be listened to, needs to manifest its pain to someone who will fight for it, protect it, and help it become what it is meant to be. In the order of nature, this is the work of a father – in the order of grace, this is the completely unmerited privilege of a spiritual father. In my case, I was encouraged to study theology in Rome and to become a teacher, but to do it as an act of faith. This was just the word I needed at the time, a spiritual direction even as I felt I was wondering aimlessly. I had a sense for how to serve God and confidence in the goodness of His work in the world.
Confidence, purpose and sense of identity is what Abbot Boniface offered me when I came to first came to Mt. Tabor. It is the very purpose that he founded Mt. Tabor – and when he offered it, the stream of spiritual fatherhood he chose to sanctify this mountain flowed from the caves of Kyiv. Indeed, as is the case of Ukraine, this monastery is at the head waters of the Russian river, looking out over lands once claimed by Russia. Just as faith flowed from those caves of Kyiv into Russia, so too does faith flow into California from this vantage point. The caves of Kyiv received the grace of monastic mysticism from Constantinople – and this heritage drew from the deep dug wells of desert fathers in Egypt. This great heritage found expression in the life of St. Symeon the Studite – who in turn formed St. Symeon the New Theologian. This happened at about the same time that Ukraine was first accepting the Gospel of Christ – and through this acceptance, the Russian people were evangelized by a monastic Church – a Church of spiritual Fathers. California in all its rejection of fatherhood and hatred for actual men needs a new evangelization – one that can only flow from spiritual fathers and the monastic tradition.
The great calling for Mt. Tabor is not simply to be a shelter in the storm of secularism – but, as were the monasteries of Egypt, Constantinople and Kyiv, a school of spiritual fatherhood, a place where one can be a spiritual son, a place where men show one another the Light as brothers. It is not an ideal of “Prayer and work” but of “prayer and family” – of sobernost, solidarity, a union of hearts forged for the glory of God. Glory waits to be revealed by those who will seek the Son of the Father. For St. Symeon the New Theologian, one learns to see the Light of Christ through the mediation of a spiritual father — one needs a spiritual father to see the immaterial light of Trinitarian glory. Since the time of Abbot Boniface, Holy Transfiguration Monastery has helped form such men – and this is true even now.
https://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/IMG_6244.jpeg7681024Anthony Lilleshttps://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.pngAnthony Lilles2022-12-24 11:12:002024-03-30 11:43:39Spiritual Fatherhood in Northern California
Christ, the Word of the Father, commands those who believe in Him, “Do not be terrified.” If we stand in the face of war and insurrection is breaking our society apart, and fires and floods and storms and earthquakes threaten at every side, “Do not be terrified.” If false prophets predict utter catastrophe and declare the end of time, “Do not be terrified.” To be terrified is to be so seized with fear that you are not able to do anything or think of anything. But Christ commands us not to be terrified. This is because what He reveals is more powerful than natural or manmade disasters. Whatever the catastrophe – He is Lord and nothing can impede his power. With Him there is always a future for each person and for all of humanity – no matter what happens. This is why He declares that “before” any disaster that might befall us is His saving plan. Before the worse catastrophe that we might imagine, we should expect to be imprisoned, mocked, ridiculed, humiliated in all kinds of ways. Why does the Almighty God allow his beloved to suffer in this way? Because before all the threatening circumstances and misfortunes of life – and actually into these very realities – He has sent his beloved to provide a word of hope. He has sent his disciples, his faithful followers to witness to the exceeding love of God and to declare it so that those who might need it the most can find it where and when it seems absent. With the love of God revealed by Christ, even in total disaster and insurmountable hardship, a man can stand firm with hope – because this eternal love opens to horizons the exigencies of the moment cannot hold back. God’s love shatters the prison walls of rancor, strife, animosity, bitterness and disappointment. God’s love opens possibilities even in the face of grave injustice and horrific evil – a life line to those who are surrounded by death. God’s love sanctifies broken wombs and raises up to life those whose lives we have destroyed. God’s love pricks the conscience of the hardest heart and brings to repentance those everyone assumes are set in their ways. God’s love raises out of the narrow confines of the pressing moment, raises above the social conventions of every historical epoch, and breaks open the dams of human potential – for those who know this love remember what it means to be a human being. It is because of this love that Christ tells us, “Do not be terrified.”
https://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.png00Anthony Lilleshttps://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.pngAnthony Lilles2022-11-13 12:01:002024-03-30 11:43:39What has primacy over war, insurrection and natural disaster? Your witness to Christ
Even in this time of worry, confusion, and darkness there are tremendous signs of hope, including a renewed devotion to Our Lady and the power of the rosary. We place our trust in her promise at Fatima that “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
In that spirit, I’ll be helping to lead the Rosary online with the team of the Avila Foundation and thousands of other faithful from around the world on October 7, 2022, the feast of Our Lady of Rosary, beginning at 6:30 PM Central.
I’d love to have you join us for this free live event, “The Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” You will need to register in advance to receive the link to join in. Here’s where to sign up:https://www.tickettailor.com/events/avilafoundation/707728/r/cc
https://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.png00Anthony Lilleshttps://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.pngAnthony Lilles2022-09-30 09:26:002024-03-30 11:43:39Rosary Crusade on October 7, 2022 - you are invited!
Mary leads into a deep Eucharistic Silence. With the support of Joseph, she presents the mystery of Christ presence in the world – it is a real presence, a mysterious presence that communicates such glory as would transform the deepest center of humanity if only we welcomed Him. With the support of Apostolic ministry, in Knock the ministry of the Apostle John, she teaches the truth about Her Son’s presence – so that we might enter into the silence that receives Him, that accepts Him, that makes a home for Him. This is why those who visit the Gable at Knock feel her presence with them when they go into adoration – she follows them into this Eucharistic moment that we might behold the Lamb.
https://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.png00Anthony Lilleshttps://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.pngAnthony Lilles2022-09-23 02:52:002024-03-30 11:43:39Our Lady of Knock
Christ’s crucified and risen humanity is the threshold in the Heart of God. Catastrophe unfolds in all social conventions that we once relied on, but in this sacred place, we are secure. Alienated, lost and ashamed, our true homeland is just a prayer away. Through His Mystical Body, the Good Shepherd reaches out to touch us and His voice echoes in our hearts. Through His Body and Blood, the Eucharistic Lord manifests and communicates inexhaustible treasures, riches we have secretly desired but never dreamed would be suddenly lavished upon us. Knocking at the door of our hearts, the Divine Pilgrim offers real connection, true understanding, meaningful love.
Gazing at us and searching our depths, this True Friend comes to us in warmest vulnerability. Uncreated Wisdom of God, He understands us in ways that we do not understand ourselves. The Man of Sorrows, He empathizes with our weakness and offers to heal the most painful wounds. The Rejected One, He challenges us to the very core of our being. The Revelation of the Mercy of the Father, the Healer convicts us, not to shame, but to forgive and to give a new beginning. Such is the threshold into the deep things of God – not one that we cross as much as does God out of inexhaustible compassion. He opens the gate, reaches through the portal with outstretched hands, and revealing His wounds for our sake, He offers His Heart.
Even as this yet unrecognized pilgrim walks with them, there are some who seek religious experience or else attempt great feats of spiritual industry. They want results and attain what their hearts seek. These achievements provide momentary relief and a sense of accomplishment. But as accomplishments limited to space and time, they are too limited for the heart. Too far beneath its dignity, the heart aches for something that is beyond its own power to achieve, for a Someone who alone can satisfy.
Even as this mysterious stranger questions their deepest fears, there are others who turn to created spiritual forces to gain security or find power. By degrees of deception, they are trapped into the realm of created things. Whatever power we grasp for has power over us. Apart from God, the passing splendors of this life only stir lust, covetousness, and pride, fanning fires that will burn with destructive force for all eternity. Thus, the Lamb who was slain humbly calls out in harmonies that shake the foundation of the world, that shatter self-made strongholds and that cast down false altars of the heart. Like a violent earthquake, the suddenness of the truth is unveiled and the opportunity to freely choose comes with shocking clarity. Blessed are they who He has moved to tears in this moment, for such tears quench fires unworthy of the heart’s greatness.
Even as this mysterious Guest breaks bread before them, there are also some who want to give their lives to the One who they love. Even these find in their hearts such attachments, grievances, wounds and burdens that they are confounded. They cry night and day over their own sins and the sins of their dearest loved ones, and they wait for their Deliverer. They know that they will be measured by their own measure, so they humbly let go. The forgive and seek forgiveness. They stop trying to measure and they surrender – for a measureless love dawns upon them. In this Uncreated Light, they know that their hope does not disappoint and they long to see His Face.
https://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.png00Anthony Lilleshttps://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.pngAnthony Lilles2022-09-11 15:08:002024-03-30 11:43:39The Threshold into the Heart of God
In deep silences, the Lord speaks into our hearts even when everything around us falls apart. Our weakness shouts at us and all we see is failure. A cacophony of shame and accusation, fear and doubt assails us. The voices of those who disdain us would be bad enough – but our own self-accusation seems to shake our core. How might we find Him, the One for who our hearts most long, our Savior and Deliverer when we are trapped and there seems no way out? Yet His voice is not silent. It whispers in gentle patience, inviting us out of chaos and into prayer.
Loneliness haunts us and alienation from even our closest friends when all our hopes are dashed. How true it is that we discover our true friends in the midst of crisis! In such times, those who we assumed would be most steadfast disappoint us. We feel abandoned and misunderstood – or else the object of someone’s misguided charity project. Some actually want to relieve the plight and really do attempt to protect the dignity of the soul steeped in such misery … how few they are! Yet even these cannot bridge the abyss that yawns between the suffering soul and the rest of humanity. Such is death – this is what it means to be placed in the tomb.
Here, in this deepest darkness, the Word of the Father seems most absent. It is as if He let out his last wordless cry and breathed His last. At this moment, my soul and His soul are closest – united in the terrible mystery of death. This is where a new kind of whisper enters our hearts – a gentle movement so subtle that one never recognizes it until afterward. For there is a love that is stronger than death even if I cannot feel it. There is a reason for hope even if my mind cannot find it or my feel it. This is because He is with me always — even in the shadow of death, even as waves of weakness engulf me.
Prayer’s power in human weakness reaches a perfection in total disaster and complete failure. Only those who have been gripped with acute anxiety and suffer utter catastrophe know this power. It is a power Christ shares with His closest friends, those who He trusts most of all. If you are such a soul, know that your feeblest act of faith and most humble effort to love makes space for God to reveal His life giving glory in a dying world – through your smallest sacrifice, life giving splendor reaches out where it is most needed. Christ Himself accomplished his greatest work when He was annihilated on the Cross — our salvation, and by faith your suffering is an extension of His saving work, raising up all human life in times when it is most needed.
https://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.png00Anthony Lilleshttps://avila-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Avila-Institute-logo-1.pngAnthony Lilles2022-09-04 07:56:002024-03-30 11:43:40Prayer's Power in Human Weakness
We need to find the gaze of Christ. His look of love changes everything – but until we find it, a whole horizon of hope is hidden when we need it most. Everything else is passing, even the great empires of our times. It is difficult to write about this gaze in the midst of political collapse, but God does not stop acting even in the midst of so much uncertainty. In the face of a whole cacophony of conflicting cultural narratives, it is easy to be distracted in curiosity: with all this bad news, is there any good news? With everyone grasping for control even as the world spins out of control, let us remain focused on what God is doing.
The Bridegroom does not grasp or enter into competition for our attention. The Eternal Son does not need to caste dispersion on those who disagree with Him. He is not limited to act by only the most sensational display of power. Instead, the Savior of the Word is solemnly present in silent hidden majesty. He prefers to act as would an artist – with delicate, painful subtly. So does He bring the work that has begun in us to perfection. His sovereignty undaunted – the Lord reigns in peace even as heaven is at war and the earth unaware of its peril.
What of evil and the calamities that surround us? The Word who holds in being all things knows that nature has turned against those He loves because they have turned against nature. No anger but regret over the plight we have brought on ourselves. But more than the disorder of nature against humanity and humanity against nature, the Bridegroom grieves over His Bride – the wolves who attack her will not avoid HIs judgment. Those are destined for mill-stones who think that He has not made her holy and immaculate. Like lighting flash He comes to shatter the safe conventions that those without reverence presume to rely on. Woe to them who playing politics and power stand in His Way.
Even still, His love is patient and does not waver. He knows that the Heart of the Father aches over how we have squandered ourselves on what is far below our dignity and He knows how the Father waits for us to come to our senses and turn towards home. Even as we take our first step, the Trinity pulls up divine robes and runs as if forgetful of all sacred dignity – to us who still reek with pigsty. God runs not to shame or scold, but to welcome and embrace, to bring home.
Thus, the Word made flesh rebukes the fever of sin and every form of diabolical praise. Out of love for the Father, the Great High Priest even gently rebukes us for wanting Him to stay where we are in our present life circumstance instead of following Him where the Father sends Him – for He leads to our true home, to the things that are above, to the Holy of Holies. Not God of the familiar, convenient and comfortable, if we will follow Him into the Heart of the Father, even in times such as these, we will live in such astonished amazement – flooded forever by overflowing fullnesses of meaning and exceeding goodness. Here is the true source of peace – and the only hope for our people, our children. Our Father’s love, a divine love no nation’s nihilism can ever overcome, is unleashed here and now in the gaze of Christ – what freedom and greatness awaits those who dare to glance into those eyes.
The Rosary opens a threshold to sacred memories in the heart of the Church, mysteries from the heart of Our Lady that the whole Church should ponder with her. If you have not taken time to make this prayer part of your daily routine, it is a good time to begin. From the Sign of the Cross and the Creed through each Our Father and ten Hail Mary’s, the beads of the Rosary remind your hands to surrender in prayer and the gentle repetition on the lips help the heart recall the goodness of God even in the midst of anxiety. In a secular world where active efforts are made to sideline what is sacred, the Rosary is a threshold to holy Mysteries, a portal that opens into the very heart of God.
For those who would like to take a course on the rosary –
The portal into deep silence requires silencing of memories and curiosity. This is because when we enter into a sacred place, we must set aside worldly cares. It is not that the world holds us back – for indeed, God created the world to reveal his glory. But it is the case that we put the secular before the sacred and pay homage to things that are quite beneath our dignity. To silence oneself before the sacred is to allow God to raise oneself up from the concerns that are below so that we might receive His love from above. We need to unbind ourselves from things and people who bog us down so that we can raise those we love to God even as He lifts up our hearts. In this deep silence, the most noble desires of the heart, even as they die, are raised up reordered with new life, with undying joy.
This rule seems harsh – but on the Cross Jesus gave up His own Mother to achieve our salvation and the glory of the Father. Renunciation and self-denial enters this place of invincible love and keeps us there. The Cross is the portal, the threshold into this deep silence — a stillness in which God communicates His love in such a way that not only our own life but the whole world is transformed.
In the face of all the political rancor of our time, the temptation is to believe the cultural powers and political forces have the upper hand. If people unleash aggression against their own bodies, their own sexuality, their very gender, we should not be surprised that they will also act with irrational hostility toward their own institutions, countries and even the Church. If there are such people in those the world, we should never be scandalized to find them in the Church as well. Yet there is something more powerful than the lure of power, riches and honor. A still small voice rings out above the cacophony of anxious efforts to control humble humanity and even the Church. Those who let this voice into their hearts know a freedom that cannot be oppressed, that no amount of calculation can predict or control. Under the silence of the Cross one discovers how to welcome this irresistible truth – for the renunciation that love makes goes beyond the hostility of the heart.
This renunciation is not heartless or cold. It is tender and painful and beautiful. It tastes that sacred sorrow that alone finds eternal beatitude. The love of Mary for her Son and of her Son for his Mother was not diminished by this letting go – instead, their love for one another bore fruit for the whole world. So it is with us when we subordinate all our other relationships to the plan of God for our lives. We discover a deeper silence – a place of welcome and hospitality toward God in our hearts, a sacred place that aches in great stillness for His coming. Those who find this place have entered into the deepest truth about being a man before God – about being male and female before Him. By giving the Lord the first fruits of our attention and devotion, He unleashes power in our family to pour out His love in ways we otherwise could never imagined.
