Now You Know

Last Wednesday I flew to Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC.  I returned on Friday.  On Thursday and Friday I recorded twelve 25 minute audio and video programs designed to lead people through a "heart-centered" approach to the "Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius."  I recorded four talks each morning and two each afternoon.  It was a bit of a work-out but the material is so familiar to me that it went smoothly and easily.  It is a bit odd to present retreat material to a camera but knowing how people have reacted to it in the past helped.  The one problem was when I told humorous stories or jokes.  With no laughter, canned or live, I wasn't able to judge how long to wait before proceeding to the next point. 

The company for which I made these recordings is "Now You Know Media, Inc." and their catalog of lecture and retreat series is truly amazing.  They even have recordings of talks and conferences of Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton.  I'm not sure when my talks will be edited, packaged, and available but I'm glad to be able to offer to more people the opportunity to grow in their spiritual lives by means of both the "Spiritual Exercises" and Sacred Heart spirituality.

Retreating or Progressing?

I'm back from my annual eight day retreat and in reporting on it I can't help thinking about the word "retreat." It often carries negative connotations. Armies retreat when they are losing the battle. Going on a spiritual retreat, however, is just the opposite. I'd like to think of it as a way to make progress, to grow, or to move forward. Just the opposite of retreating. And this was certainly my experience of retreat this year.

God was very good to me, but that shouldn't be a surprise. God is always good and, when given the opportunity for quality time with us, He responds generously. My retreat was very blessed and I'll probably need a while to reflect upon all its graces.

First of all, because I was away from the city, my work schedule, and my alarm clock, I was blessed with great sleep. I must have needed it because it seems I'd go to bed around 10 PM and wake up around 7 AM every day. Secondly, I was able to take a walk after lunch every day and the meals I made for myself were pretty healthy. Since our praying spirits are enfleshed in bodies, these things--rest, exercise in fresh air, good food in moderation--contribute to helping one make a good retreat.

I followed what turned out to be a good schedule for prayer, with Mass at noon and holy hours at 9 AM, 11 AM, 4 PM, and 6 PM. In between I prayed the Breviary, cleaned the little house where I stayed, brushed snow off the car and shoveled a bit, did some other reading (back issues of "One," the magazine of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association), or prayed a Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Besides the Bible and the "Spiritual Exercises" of St. Ignatius, I used two other books that I highly recommend: 1) Fr. Michael E. Gaitley's "Consoling the Heart of Jesus: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius," and 2) Fr. Thomas D. Williams' "A Heart Like His: Meditations on the Sacred Heart of Jesus."

After my 7 PM supper I watched videos. Don't be scandalized. Here is a listing of the videos I saw: "The Island" (a Russian film about a monk who struggles with the memory a murder he thought he committed when he was a soldier in World War II); "The Pope: Life and Times of John Paul II"; "Sanctity Within Reach: Pier Giorgio Frassati" (an EWTN show about this beatified member of the Apostleship of Prayer); "Saint Therese of the Child Jesus: An Echo of the Heart of God" (a film that was created in 1997 in honor of the centenary of her death); "Clear Creek Abby: Living the Liturgy" (a promotion DVD from Benedictine monks in Oklahoma); "With God in Russia: The Story of Fr. Walter Ciszek"; "Solanus Casey: Priest, Porter, Prophet"; and "Servant of All: Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen".

I find following the stories of saintly people a good way to relax during retreat and so, in addition to those movies, at night before going to bed I began reading a book about a Jesuit who had been the director of the Apostleship of Prayer in Ireland. The book was published three years after his death in 1921 and it's called "Life and Work of Rev. James Aloysius Cullen, S.J." Fr. Mark Kirby, a friend and fellow blogger (Vultus Christi) loaned it to me last summer when I visited him in Tulsa.

It was a great retreat but I have to admit that for the last two days back in the office I've found a lot of work to "offer up."

Happy Feast!

Happy Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux! On October 15, 1885, when she was twelve years old, Therese enrolled in the Apostleship of Prayer and in 2004 she was officially named our co-patron. A good friend, Maureen O'Riordan, has written about this on her web site "Saint Therese of Lisieux: A Gateway." This web site is a treasure trove for anyone who is devoted to or even just curious about this young woman whom Pope St. Pius X called "the greatest saint of modern times."

Maureen and I have corresponded for a couple years and last June, while I was in Philadelphia, we met, had dinner, and talked about St. Therese, of course. Maureen wrote an excellent article entitled "Saint Therese and the Sacred Heart of Jesus" for the U.S. Apostleship of Prayer's web site and a Spanish translation of it can be found on her web site where one can also find an article entitled "St. Therese and the Apostleship of Prayer." Maureen's site has loads of pictures and videos as well as articles about St. Therese's parents, Louis and Zellie Martin who were beatified in 2008.

Also, the Catholic Truth Society in Great Britain published an excellent booklet of Maureen's--"Prayer for Priests with St. Therese of Lisieux." It's a Novena that consists of excerpts from St. Therese's letters to priests and seminarians. Information about ordering a copy can be found on the home page of Maureen's web site.

Lastly, my daily YouTube video for today features a reflection on St. Therese, the youngest and most recently named Doctor of the Church.

So, enjoy the feast, and the feast of information you'll find at "Saint Terese of Lisieux: A Gateway."

Fr. William Doyle, S.J.

Several years ago, shortly after becoming the U.S. director of the Apostleship of Prayer, I was talking with a cloistered Carmelite Sister of the Monastery of Our Lady of Providence in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. She had a present for me, something that she had treasured for a long time. She felt that I would appreciate some extra heavenly help in my mission of promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and so she gave me two items: a leaflet from the 1930's with a picture and favorite sayings of Fr. William Doyle, S.J. and a badge which contained a tiny piece of his clothing. I had never heard of Fr. Doyle and she shared with me some books from the convent's library. Since then Fr. Doyle has been my traveling companion and I depend upon his prayers, as well as those of Fr. John Hardon, S.J. and Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J., as I try to fulfill the mission that I have been given by the Society of Jesus.

Today is the 93rd anniversary of the death of Fr. Doyle who was killed on the battlefields of Flanders during World War I. I reflected on him today in my daily YouTube video and I would encourage anyone who wants to find out more about this great Jesuit to go to a new blog, "Remembering Fr. William Doyle, S.J."

Great Publicity

The Apostleship of Prayer has received some great publicity recently, and as a result we are receiving phone calls from around the country. I've always felt that what we are doing is important and good, and that if we could only get the word out, more and more people would respond, joining us in offering up their lives to God one day at a time and praying for the Holy Father's two monthly intentions.


A media organization called "Rome Reports" recently aired a two minute piece that included an interview with our international director, Fr. Claudio Barriga, S.J. This video has in turn been picked up by other web sites.


Journalist and author, Tim Drake, interviewed me recently for the National Catholic Register. I first heard about Tim when I worked in the Twin Cities and a spiritual directee of mine told me about a book he had written entitled "There We Stood, Here We Stand: 11 Lutherans Rediscover Their Catholic Roots." Shortly after this I met Tim's father-in-law who makes regular retreats at Demontreville, the Jesuit Retreat House in Lake Elmo, MN. Finally, a few years later, I met Tim himself at the annual conference of the Institute on Religious Life. The interview we had begins with my vocation story and moves to the Apostleship of Prayer. It's entitled "The Art of Offering It Up."


We don't know how many people consider themselves members of the Apostleship of Prayer, but Fr. Barriga estimates that there are 50 million of us around the world. With publicity like this, I don't think it's unrealistic to think that we will be adding millions more to that number.

The Real Thing

In my last blog entry, about the football pilgrimage, I talked about the desire within the human heart for transcendance, and that if we do not fill our hearts with that for which they were created, we will fill them with all sorts of substitutes. So, for what were our hearts created? St. Augustine put it well: "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You." We're made for union with God. Our hearts exist to be united and filled with the Heart of Jesus.

A Jesuit friend sent me a link to a video about a group of Carmelite Sisters in Spain who just finished a retreat with Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, the Capuchin Friar who is the official preacher for Pope Benedict XVI and the papal household.

I can't help using good Ignatian discernment of spirits here. The pilgrimage to Lambeau was exciting but now it's over and done. The video of the Carmelite Sisters was exciting and is over but has left an afterglow of joy and consolation. If St. Ignatius were here, he'd say that those Carmelites have the real thing.

St. Patrick's in Scottsdale

After giving a parish mission talk at St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic Church this morning, I drove to a neighboring parish, St. Patrick's. Carol Campbell, who manages the parish's web site, has been posting the Apostleship of Prayer daily reflection YouTube videos. We took the opportunity of my visit there to film a brief word. You can see it at the following link:

http://spwvideo.blogspot.com/