What is really happening when it feels like God is distancing Himself from us in our prayer lives? Join Dan Burke and Melissa Elson as they speak with Connie Rossini about Fr. Jacques Philippe's book, Time for God and the transition from meditation to contemplation.

Topics/Questions Covered in the Show:

• How is prayer progressive in its nature?
• Our goal with prayer is union with God.
• Why do most people have trouble understanding the transition from meditation to contemplation?
• When God offers us consolations, we can begin to attach feelings to prayer, which can be problematic.
• In the Ignatian tradition St. Ignatius says that when you are in consolation, the key to being appropriately oriented is humility, and when in desolation, it's trust because we can falsely attribute the graces we receive to our good actions.
• God is always working on our souls during our prayer time.
• How does God work in our souls if we can't feel it?
• What does Fr. Philippe mean when he talks about having been “wounded by God” rather than necessarily being healed?
• God always keeps us seeking. The closer we get to God, the more distant we feel.
• What is the "passive night of the senses"?
• Why shouldn't we seek a "spiritual high" in prayer?

Resources:

• Spiritualdirection.com - website
• EWTN Global Catholic Radio
• Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation
• EWTN Religious Catalogue - online
• Time for God by Fr. Jacques Philippe
• Authentic Contemplative Prayer - Connie Rossini's Facebook Group
• The Contemplative Rosary by Dan Burke and Connie Rossini
• Is Centering Prayer Catholic? by Connie Rossini
• "The Avila Summit" Information and Registration
• Text "summit2018" to 38470 to save $50 on registration to The Avila Summit.
• Contemplative Provocations by Fr. Donald Haggerty
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23 - USCCB Bible link
• Questions? Send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 818-646-7729. Please leave your name, location, and question(s).