Videos on the Prayer of the Heart

Dear All,
Happy Easter,
Here is one of the first attempts....
we are looking forward to see much more...

Series on the Prayer of the Heart from Sister Donna D'Alia RSM, from our course. Well done sister, we hope to see more and more of these videos, excellent.

"This video is the first part of six videos focusing on Prayer of the Heart as St. Teresa of Avila taught us, especially in her book, Way of Perfection. tells us a little bit about St. Teresa of Avila, a Doctor of the Church, who wrote extensively on her experiences of Prayer of the Heart suitable for beginners through the most advanced stages of prayer which is mystical prayer."

"This video speaks about Prayer of the Heart and how to get started according to the way that St. Teresa of Avila would recommend based on her writings. It is good for beginners and those is used by those experienced in prayer. It is recommended for someone serious about the spiritual life who also prays regularly using the Scriptures.
Prayer of the Heart is a practice that lends itself to contemplation, which according to St. Teresa is "nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone whith him who we knnow loves us."
One can move on to 4 more videos that continues to explain the deepening of this prayer as explained in St. Teresa's book, the Way of Perfection."

"In this video we discuss the first part of Prayer of the Heart according to the writings of St. Teresa of Avila in Way of Perfection, Chapter 28. This first part of Prayer of the Heart she refers to as the Prayer of Recollection. In this chapter she talks about quieting our senses from distractions and how we can approach God in prayer."

"In this video we discuss the first part of Prayer of the Heart according to the writings of St. Teresa of Avila in Way of Perfection, Chapter 29. This first part of Prayer of the Heart she refers to as the Prayer of Recollection. In this chapter she talks more about quieting our senses from distractions. She speaks of God in terms of greatness and awe as well as closeness and intimacy. She begins talking about the Our Father and how it relates to Prayer of the Heart. "

"In this video we discuss the first part of Prayer of the Heart according to the writings of St. Teresa of Avila in Way of Perfection, Chapter 30. This first part of Prayer of the Heart she refers to as the Prayer of Recollection, the quieting of our senses from distractions. Now she moves on to speak about Prayer of Quiet, the part of our prayer when God begins to take over in our prayer. She continues to talk about the Our Father and how it relates to Prayer of the Heart."

"In this video we discuss the first part of Prayer of the Heart according to the writings of St. Teresa of Avila in Way of Perfection, Chapter 31. In this chapter, Teresa continues to talk about Prayer of Quiet, the second part of Prayer of the Heart. She gives wonderful images of God taking over in the soul which is very close to becoming united with him."

Fr Benedict Croell op did 3 videos on the Prayer the heart:



What is prayer? What does it mean to pray with the heart? In this first of three videos we begin to look more closely at a simple but modern diagram to consider the elements of prayer of the heart or what is commonly called contemplative or mental prayer. It is not a method or form...rather it is a way of looking at and analyzing a normative part of the ancient Christian Tradition that has nourished the souls of countless saints. It is the common denominator of the "inner aspect" of any prayer. God desires to be in communion with us. He continually invites us to respond to His invitation to open our hearts to his presence in our lives. We can pray in the same way as the greatest of saints! As we offer ourselves freely to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary makes up where our hearts are lacking (Part 2). John Cassian, the 5th C. monk & spiritual writer, utilizes an ancient example of this analysis in his 10th Conference (Part 3). Doctors of the Church, many saints and countless spiritual writers have given witness to this basic understanding of "prayer of the heart". Let these videos quickly enrich your understanding of prayer, and get on the "highway to God". He desires to know us, to heal us and to share His divine life with us.

What is prayer & what does it mean to pray with the heart? In this second of three videos we look at the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her unfailing ability to summarize the dispositions of our heart to draw us into mystical prayer with God. She renders beautiful whatever is lacking in us as we attempt to make a self-offering to God. We exercise our freedom by surrendering our lives to the Lord in a conscious offering towards God (lower section of diagram). This is a conscious act which moves us from an implicit to an explicit self-offering in exercise of our freedom. Understanding this act of prayer & actually doing it are two different things - so we must practice it repeatedly so as to develop the habit of prayer. The diagram of the theology of this movement (of prayer) helps us to consider the important part that Mary plays in contemplative prayer ("prayer of the heart"). We place into the hands of Mary all of our emotions, our memories, those parts of our lives which are wounded by original & personal sins. We will see in part 3 how St. John Cassian, the 5th C. monk & spiritual writer, utilizes an ancient example of this analysis in his 10th Conference. This kind of prayer brings me to the capacity to be able to bear God Himself! We were made for this communion! Let these videos quickly enrich your understanding of prayer, and get on the "highway to God". He desires to know us, to heal us and to share His divine life with us.

What is prayer & what does it mean to pray with the heart? In this last of three videos we make a short summary of the first 2 videos and then very simply consider John Cassian's 10th Conference as an ancient example of Prayer of the Heart. The 10th Chapter of Cassian's 10th Conference is entitled: Of the Method of Continual Prayer. He proposes the first verse of Psalm 70: "O God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me!" as THE phrase to set the dispositions of our heart to enter into contemplative prayer. Understanding this act of prayer & actually doing it are two different things - so we must practice it repeatedly so as to develop the habit of prayer. Cassian's suggestion is to use this verse as this initial self-offering to God as we saw in the diagram of the movements in prayer. This kind of prayer brings us to the capacity to be able to bear God Himself! We were made for this communion! Let these videos quickly enrich your understanding of prayer, and get on the "highway to God". He desires to know us, to heal us and to share His divine life with us. (Diagram & over all perspective on the Theology of Prayer of the Heart are from Professor Jean Khoury, Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome ...www.amorvincit.com)