Category Archives: Prayer

Don’t Do a Thing

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

My Eight-Day Retreat: Part 2 “I don’t enjoy praying for a whole hour,” I admitted to Father Roshan on the third morning of my eight-day retreat. His eyes widened for half a second. But he didn’t question me. He just … Continue reading →

Posted in Ignatian Spirituality, Prayer, Praying with the Imagination, Reflections | Tagged abide, Daniel Ladinsky, Esther Hizsa, God's love, Hafiz, Just Sit There Right Now, Luke 12:22-31, Luke 7:36-50, prayer retreat, spiritual direction, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 2 Comments

Encompassed with Love

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

Hi fellow pilgrims, In the next five posts, I will share with you some of what I experienced on my eight-day retreat. I will be posting them on Mondays and Fridays from now until August 17. As you begin, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Ignatian Spirituality, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged 8-day prayer rereat, God with us, Ignatian prayer retreat, Isaiah 43:1-3, Nan C. Merrill, Psalm 139, Psalm 23, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 1 Comment

DIY Prayer Retreat #11: Releasing Reality

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

Hi everyone, I led our contemplative groups’ monthly retreat in June and this is what I used. For instructions and guidelines to help you lead a DIY, check here. May you be blessed as you open yourself to God in … Continue reading →

Posted in Prayer, Prayer Retreat Outline, Reflections, Resource | Tagged Alana Levandoski, Anthony de Mello, awareness, Bark Cabin Natural Area, Coco Love Alcorn, Esther Hizsa, Felix Culpa, John Philip Newell, Nicholas A Tonelli, pilgrimage, Reza, Sounds of the Eternal: A Celtic Psalter, spiritual director, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Steve Bell, Sunrise, Susanne Nilsson, The River, Vulcan Stream | Leave a comment

How My Suffering is Ending My Suffering

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

In my post “Releasing Reality,” I referred to Anthony de Mello’s counsel to let our suffering end our suffering. How does that work? Suffering reveals my siren gods. It reveals the alluring attachments that toss me about. Suffering helps me notice … Continue reading →

Posted in Mindfulness, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged 2 Peter 1:3, Anthony de Mello, attachments, awareness, Coco Love Alcorn, Esther Hizsa, Herbert James Draper, Luke 5:1-11, Matthew 7:9-11, Psalm 16, Psalm 17:15, Psalm 27:13, Richard Rohr, spiritual direction, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, suffering, The Naked Now, The River, Ulysses and the Sirens | Leave a comment

Life below the Surface

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

Saturday morning at the annual SoulStream partner gathering at Sorrento, Lorie Martin, our retreat facilitator, invited us to enter the meeting room in silence. Pictures of creation were scattered over two long tables. She asked us to choose an image that … Continue reading →

Posted in Creation, Mindfulness, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged Anthony de Mello, awareness, Choose Love, Esther Hizsa, Grace upon Grace, Invited, John 10:10, Living from the Heart, Lorie Martin, SoulStream, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, The Next Dawn | 4 Comments

I Love You More than Anything

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

I love You more than anything. And when I am in my right mind I know this to be true But You know it all the time. —Rob Des Cotes If actions speak louder than words, mine wouldn’t say I … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Ignatian Spirituality, Overeating, Prayer, Reflections, Rob Des Cotes, Spiritual Direction | Tagged 1 John 4:19, Elya Bergen, Esther Hizsa, Ignatian Spirituality, Ignatius of Loyola, Imago Dei Communities, Jesus with the children, John20:19-22, Michael O'Brien, Principle and Foundation, Rob Des Cotes, SoulStream, spiritual director, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Spiritual Exercises | Leave a comment

God’s Demonstrative Love

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.–John 12:3 (NIV) In Meeting Jesus in John, … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Prayer, Reflections, Wednesday Lunch Club | Tagged anointing of Jesus, Esther Hizsa, Giotto di Bondone, gratitude, James Martin, Jesus washes disciples' feet, John 12:3, John 13: 2, Meeting Jesus in John, spiritual director, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver | 1 Comment

All of Me

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Esther Hizsa

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope,” I read in The Message and was comforted because that’s exactly where I was. But the beatitude didn’t end there. It went on to say, “With less of you, there is more … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged Daniel Novta, Esther Hizsa, half a flower, lent, Martha Carlough, Matthew 5:3, Meeting Jesus in John, Salzburg Cross, spiritual direction, spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, St. John the Evangelist | Leave a comment

Autumn Leaves

Posted on November 10, 2017 by Esther Hizsa

Sometimes I’m a bull in a china shop. No matter how cautiously I tread, I break a family heirloom or someone gets cut by shards of glass. I regret the mayhem I’ve caused and feelings of insecurity rise up. Will … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty of Spirit, Prayer, Reflections | Tagged Autumn Bench, Autumn Colors, change, Courtyard Japanese, Esther Hizsa, Garden, insecurity, Jim Choate, Johnny Sears, letting go, loss, Markus Stöber, peaceful-jp-scenery (busy), spiritual director Burnaby, spiritual director Vancouver, Transformation | 2 Comments

Silently Blooming

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Esther Hizsa

It’s this time of year, when the nights are long and the days cold and rainy, that I begin to accompany people through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises Retreat in Daily Life. These retreatants embark on a nine-month journey with Christ, asking … Continue reading →