Phil Hill

Catholic spiritual formation rooted in Scripture, Tradition, and the saintly masters of the interior life.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

https://t.co/rFaAotN3Gb

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

You cannot purify a motive by inspecting it until it's clean. Trying to leads to anxiety and paralysis. Motives are always mixed. You purify them by acting and offering the mixed thing, not by waiting for a pure one. Waiting for a pure motive is the pride's influence, demanding to be better than a creature gets to be.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

This is along the lines of something I was reflecting on myself today. You are not alone in this struggle. A couple of quotes I pulled today:

"I find it easier and safer to direct many others than I do to guide myself." — St. Bernard

"The sole danger lies in following one's own judgment." — St. John Climacus

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

Your prayer life reveals a lot about the state of your soul.

Neglecting prayer cuts off one of our chief sources of grace, making the fall into sin far easier. Sin, in turn, restricts our capacity to receive that grace, making prayer feel harder and more distant.

Perseverance in prayer is what breaks sin's hold on us, opening us to a grace our own effort could never produce.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

Prayer doesn’t have to always be serious and heavy.

God told Sr. Marie of the Trinity, “It’s easier to find laborers to work, than children to play.”

“Spend time freely with God just for the joy of being together.” -Fr. Jacques Philippe.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

St. John of the Cross asked whether it matters if a bird is held by a thin thread or a heavy rope. His answer was no. Either way the bird can't fly.

We tend to think our smaller attachments don't count as long as we're not enslaved to something serious.

But the thread is still a bond. The bird is still grounded until it's broken. And if you can't break the thinner thread, there is no way you are breaking the heavier rope.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

Even good work done for the right reasons should be examined regularly. Intentions can keep looking good long after something else has begun to take root underneath them.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

The health of civilization is inseparable from the health of the Church’s interior life.

If we notice an increase of decay in society, it is an indication of increased decay within the Church.

To reverse the trend, we must examine and root it out beginning with ourselves.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

@catholicreveals Thank you! I will watch this a little later.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

Do not be true to yourself….

When your self is broken and disordered.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

@catholicreveals Same here. I'll have to see if I can find that video. I took a class from him last year on the foundations of prayer which was excellet. He is doing great work.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

This is a good examination to do at least once or twice a year. The first time I asked this was when I discovered I had completely lost my faith when a decade earlier I experienced very clear spiritual encounters of both holy and diabolical origins.

In a gift of immense grace, the Holy Spirit showed me the exact moment I abandoned pursuit of God for the world. That began the difficult journey back. And I've been amazed at reflecting in later examinations at how far God has brought me over time from my little actions.

I highly recommend the practice!

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

@MassCurer 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

You don't need clarity about the path ahead, only the faith to take the next step.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

We will continue to struggle in our mission or perhaps to even discover it, if the water in our well is dry.

The apostles who were ordained to spread the gospel, preached with little fruit to show until their 10 day retreat before Pentecost.

If they required such attention to the interior life after living so close to Christ, how much more do we?

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

A preacher endowed with learning but of only mediocre piety may be able to paint a picture of Christian Truth that will stir souls, bring them a little closer to God, even increase their faith. But if one is to fill souls with the life-giving savor of virtue, he must first have tasted the true spirit of the Gospel and made it enter into the substance of his own life by means of mental prayer.
-Jean-Baptiste Chautard

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

When we ask God to change our circumstances to bring us more comfort, we should be thankful when He does not grant this request.

To grant this would be to strengthen the hold this world has on our hearts. Preventing us from moving on to the better world that awaits us.

[Phil Hill @InteriorisVitae]

@catholicreveals Well put. He is the water that fill our wells.