In The First Letter of John, St. John says it succinctly: “God is love” (1 John 4:8.16). God is both tender and intense love! “Of all human words with their richness and their limitations, it is this word, love, that gives the best idea of the mystery of God the Trinity” (Dictionary of Biblical Theology;…

Because “God is love” and He desires me to experience the profundity of His love, there is an essential, sacred work that needs to take place within me. In particular this is true for one called to be a contemplative intercessor. This work is “a profound spiritual transformation which God works within [me] by means…

My heart has been created to experience the most exclusive intimacy with God, and my desire for God is “written” in my heart. I have both been created by God and for God, and God never ceases to draw me to himself (see Catechism of the Catholic Church # 27). The depth of my human…

In the previous teaching we began to mention the “ferocious flames” of God’s love. The God of love is the God of fire; for, love’s “flames are a blazing fire”, and “stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion” (Songs 8:6B). True love is both unyielding and uncompromising. God is an…

In the previous teaching we spoke of the “vehemence” of God’s burning love, and how He “conquers” my heart through an over abundance of love. God wants to stretch my desire and thirst for Him, thus bringing forth a greater capacity for receiving His love. More and more as my “soul is converted into the…

Jesus is the love of God en-fleshed in our human nature. Hence, his life—especially his self-offering on the cross—reveals in the most profound way both what true humanity looks like and what the essence of authentic human love is: “The sacrifice of the cross—the laying down of one’s life for others—is the definitive model for…

Jesus was the first to exercise victim love, and he did so for all of humanity when “he gave himself up for us with a wonderful love” (Roman Missal, “Preface for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus”, p. 358). Now, he invites us to no longer live for ourselves but rather to participate intimately with…

Contemplative, communal intercessory prayer is a mystical ministry within the Mystical Body of Christ, where we offer spiritual sacrifices made acceptable by our union with Jesus in the presence of our “Father who sees what is hidden” (Mt. 6:18). The Roman Missal of the Catholic Church tells us that Jesus, “is the true and eternal…

There are four foundational realities that must be experienced in the formation of an effective intercessor: 1) love; 2) relationship; 3) identity; and 4) mission. We have been sketching around the theme of love in several teachings already. It is important to understand that love is always the root and foundation for the other three…

God’s first priority with each of us is a personal relationship—an intimate relationship of two hearts sharing one love—a relationship that penetrates the deep levels of my soul. In one’s formation as a contemplative intercessor relationship is not one thing among others. Rather, it is everything! Everything hinges upon my entering into this deep, loving,…