Description: This week Dan and Melissa lay out the importance of making a solemn commitment to God as a step to building a successful prayer life. 

 Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• How do we discern God's voice from our own during prayer?
• How can we add spiritual reading to a busy schedule?
• Why is making a solemn commitment to God important in the spiritual life?
• What is the best way to go about making this commitment?

Resources: 

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis
• Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence by Father J.P. Caussade, S.J.
• Soul of the Apostolate by Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: This week Dan and Melissa explain the three sacred elements necessary to progress most successfully in prayer.

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• Heeding the advice of the saints by establishing three key elements to one's prayer life will vastly improve his or her prayer experience.
• These three key elements include sacred time, space and attention.
• What is the best time of day to pray?
• Why is a sacred space important to one's prayer life?
• Will challenges occur even when we are dedicated to deepening our relationship with God? If so, how can we overcome these challenges?

Resources:

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: This week Dan and Melissa provide the layout for a successful experience in prayer by introducing discovery prayer (or lectio divina).

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• The spiritual doctors of the Church describe mental prayer as being essential to a successful prayer life.
• By praying discovery prayer with the Gospels, one will encounter Christ, who transforms the soul.
• Discovery prayer consists of reading, reflecting, responding, resting and resolving.
• What are the sacred elements of prayer?

Resources:

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: Praying is not reserved only for holy souls. All souls need prayer to bring them to the heights of holiness. On this episode of Divine Intimacy Radio, Dan and Melissa stress that the most crucial element of beginning a prayer routine is to pray!

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• If someone wants to establish a lasting, meaningful prayer life, he must jump in and get started.
• A common misunderstanding is that one must be holy in order to start a meaningful prayer life when the opposite is true. One must start a prayer life first in order to be holy.
• Reading countless books on prayer is not a substitute for prayer. 
• Beginning a prayer routine is difficult, but as one practices and learns, it becomes easier and more enjoyable.

Resources: 

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: Dan and Melissa explore the reality of God's desire for a deep, lasting relationship with each individual soul.

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• What does it mean to say that God "thirsts" for us? How is this reality possible?
• The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that God seeks to meet us at the well, longing to give us living water so that our thirst might be forever satisfied.
• Who is it that places the desire for God in our souls?
• God will always bring to completion what He has put into motion.

 Resources: 

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 2560
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: What is prayer? This week Dan and Melissa debunk the popular idea of prayer only as a means of attaining what we want. 

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• What is prayer?
• How do the saints describe a healthy, meaningful prayer life?
• How can we avoid treating God like a vending machine?
• What is the result of a deep prayer life?

 Resources: 

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: This week Dan and Melissa explore the depth of God's love for each and every soul He created and how this eternal love draws each of us to prayer.

Topics/Questions covered in the show: 

• What is the importance of realizing God's personal love in one's life?
• How should we respond to this deep, personal love?
• Why is prayer a matter of justice?
• Why does God deserve our prayers?

Resources:

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: Why should we pray? This week Dan and Melissa dive into Dan's new book on prayer titled, Into the Deep: Finding Peace through Prayer and begin to discuss the importance of establishing a real, meaningful, lasting relationship with God.

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• Why pray?
• How can we grow closer to God if we do not spend meaningful time with Him?
• Prayer leads us to holiness.

Resources:

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: This week, Dan and Melissa discuss the enemy's plan of attack on the soul.

 Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• How can one discern his or her vocation properly in accordance with God's will? 
• How can we quickly overcome spiritual desolation?
• The enemy watches us closely and attacks us at our weakest spiritual point. 
• How can we fortify our defenses against the enemy and succeed in virtue?
• How can we recognize our root sin?

Resources:

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• The Discernment of Spirits by Father Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V.
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Navigating the Interior Life by Dan Burke
• Spiritualdirection.com Recommended Resources
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.

Description: Dan and Melissa address Rule 13 on the enemy's plan to keep us quiet during spiritual desolation.

Topics/Questions covered in the show:

• What is Rule 13 of the Discernment of Spirits?
• Is there ever a time when a soul matures to the point of no longer experiencing spiritual desolation?
• How can a soul discern between experiencing suffering and desolation?
• The importance of making known the temptations of the enemy to combat his power over the soul.
• To whom should one reveal his or her spiritual battles, temptations, or desolation?

Resources: 

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• The Discernment of Spirits by Father Timothy Gallagher, O.M.V.
• Into the Deep: Finding Peace Through Prayer by Dan Burke
• Spiritualdirection.com Recommended Resources
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. — please leave your name, location and question.