Here are some questions that will guild our reflection: What does it mean that God dwells in us? Jesus prayed to the Father: “I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:23). How might we connect these words of the Lord with this present reflection? Saint Paul said “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). At the end of time all will come to know Jesus is Lord (though, not all will choose Jesus as Lord). What might this teach us about conversion and the necessity of having both knowledge of God and a living faith?
Consider the questions from the opening of this reflection. How do you find Jesus in your everyday life?
Judy K: Here we are, gathered in His Name, seeking Him.
Mar 22 2015, 7:05 PM
Dawn L: perhaps He is in our midst
Mar 22 2015, 7:05 PM
Judy K: And He told us that if we ask, seek and knock, we will find Him.
Mar 22 2015, 7:05 PM
Lisa C: Definetly
Mar 22 2015, 7:06 PM
Judy K: No doubt about it. Where two or three are gathered in His Name, He is in their midst.
SrSusan (guest): We are all nurturing each other and finding the Lord within each one of us- the indwelling.
7:13 PM
Judy K: H-m-m-m! A segue into our topic for tonight.
Mar 22 2015, 7:14 PM
SrSusan (guest): Yes- a very powerful meditation -and one so needed I think
14 PM
Mar 22 2015, 7:15 PM
Judy K: I loved thinking about this tonight. What it means is told to us by Paul in 1 Cor. 3:16–“Do you not know that you are temples of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you.!
Mar 22 2015, 7:15 PM
SrSusan (guest): To truly see Jesus in one another- we need to see Him in ourselves
2015, 7:16 PM
Lisa C: Mother Susan that is really hard when we are so imperfect7:17 PM
Lisa C: I should maybe not say we
Mar 22 2015, 7:17 PM
Lisa C: I
Mar 22 2015, 7:17 PM
SrSusan (guest): If Jesus lives within, the HOLY CORE of us is perfect- because it is HIM
7:17 PM
Lisa C: I can feel Him there, but I cannot feel good enough
Mar 22 2015, 7:17 PM
Judy K: Baptism infuses us with God’s own life thus making us His temples. Eucharist unites us with Him even more intimately since His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus is flowing through our veins.
19 PM
SrSusan (guest): Yes Judy. Beautiful. Lisa, it’s like brushing away dust- or scrubbing the floor- it will shine with hard work
Mar 22 2015, 7:19 PM
SrSusan (guest): and His Grace does most of it
Mar 22 2015, 7:19 PM
Lisa C: An image just came to me….He is a King and chose to be born in a stable, so I guess I am ok not being a palace
7:19 PM
Judy K: At the Easter Vigil, we used to sing the words “We have put on Christ, in Him we have been baptized, Alleluia.
Mar 22 2015, 7:19 PM
SrSusan (guest): Lisa great image
Judy K: We have been clothed in Christ, like the white garment which we receive at Baptism. I imagine Him as a cloak wrapped all around me. How warm and wonderful He is!
7:22 PM
Lisa C: How do we see Jesus in other people when they are not being kind to us
Mar 22 2015, 7:22 PM
SrSusan (guest): Has there been a time in your lives when His dwelling in you was particularly evident?
Mar 22 2015, 7:22 PM
Karen P: Hello everyone! I think this is a great topic and one I can learn a lot from. I’m sorry I was slow in entering – I was having trouble on my computer, but I think I have the internet connection now.
Mar 22 2015, 7:22 PM
Lisa C: YES Mother, this lent
Lisa C: Mother Susan Marie, also in times of great despair He has been very evident. This lent there is no despair, but He is here very strongly
Mar 22 2015, 7:24 PM
SrSusan (guest): WE have to picture Jesus wrapping his arms around sinners and refer that person immediately to the care of the Lord when we are badly treated
2015, 7:24 PM
SrSusan (guest): I find Him dwelling in me sometimes by His action through me- words that I did not know I was going to say-7:25 PM
Karen P: I think it is easier to see Jesus in others than to see Him in myself. There are times when I think I feel His presence, but not as often as I would like.
Judy K: Frequently during the Mass, during the Consecration, my heart will beat very hard and tears fill my eyes recognizing His presence in the Eucharist and therefore in me.
5 PM
SrSusan (guest): That’s a true grace, Judy
Mar 22 2015, 7:25 PM
Lisa C: The more often I go to Communion the longer I feel His presence and peace
Mar 22 2015, 7:26 PM
Karen P: Mother Susan, I would agree that when I see Him in myself it is usually after the fact of some action that seemed to come from somewhere other than me.
15, 7:26 PM
Judy K: But I have to confess that I am not conscious of seeing Him in others very often, if at all. PM
Judy K: This is a a grace for which I must ask.
Mar 22 2015, 7:27 PM
Karen P: I think I see Him in others when I see them doing some very compassionate act or having much more patience in a difficult situation than I can imagine myself ever having.
Mar 22 2015, 7:27 PM
Dawn L: one morning after leaving Mass, I entered a store. a man, homeless I think, was standing at the counter struggling to count out his change.
Mar 22 2015, 7:27 PM
SrSusan (guest): That’s honest! Begin with imagining how He created that person with deep love; even if they are behaving badly It is hard
, 7:28 PM
Lisa C: So many thoughts hard to type
Mar 22 2015, 7:28 PM
Dawn L: I took my place behind him. a group of boys walked in and began taunting him to hurry. I saw a flower and a nickle on the floor beside this man, and imagined he had dropped them.
Mar 22 2015, 7:29 PM
SrSusan (guest): It is almost a state or a disposition we need to be open to- to nourish within ourselves. It is pure truth that God dwells in persons A great one to read is Archbiship Martinez retreats to Conchita
Mar 22 2015, 7:36 PM
Lisa C: This time there was a wooden door with wide planks…it was gray. I opened it and there was a large room and about 8 feet from the door was Jesus. He was standing with His arms out asking me to come to Him and …
7:36 PM
Karen P: Would Christ indwelling within us take the same expression with all of us, or would we recognize Him through the various gifts we are each endowed with? Or are the gifts entirely different and only of the Holy Spirit?
Lisa C: I looked at His face and I had never seen a face like it. He was so perfect and nothing about Him was out of place….and seeing Him gave me such peace…unbelievable peace…..I cannot express what it was like
Mar 22 2015, 7:38 PM
SrSusan (guest): I think life’s missions vary so the expression might vary but HE is the same everywhere for all time
Mar 22 2015, 7:38 PM
Lisa C: and then he put his arm to the side and gestured for me to go to a large table in the room
Mar 22 2015, 7:38 PM
SrSusan (guest): What a gift Lisa
, 7:38 PM
Ruth (guest): Interesting questions. I think I once knew a woman in who the indwelling was so clear that one could not help but recognize His presence in her.
Mar 22 2015, 7:38 PM
Dawn L: such beautiful dream Lisa
PM
Ruth (guest): Interesting questions. I think I once knew a woman in who the indwelling was so clear that one could not help but recognize His presence in her.
Mar 22 2015, 7:38 PM
Dawn L: such beautiful dream Lisa
Mar 22 2015, 7:39 PM
Lisa C: and at the table were men wearing grey and brown clothing with beards and curly hair and I think they were the apostles
Mar 22 2015, 7:39 PM
Judy K: Mother, I just ran into the living room to check my bookcase and found a book entitled “Irresistibly Drawn to the Eucharist” Conchita’s “most beautiful writings on the Eucharist.” I was deeply moved by the book. I must revisit it.
Mar 22 2015, 7:39 PM
Dawn L:
Mar 22 2015, 7:39 PM
Lisa C: But Jesus was so amazing so perfect so calm so wonderful
Mar 22 2015, 7:39 PM
SrSusan (guest): Yes Conchita is a great mystic and her words soak into one’s soul
Mar 22 2015, 7:39 PM
Karen P: It seems that we experience Him in different ways around us, but that there are ways of recognizing Him because He is who He is. His peacefulness and the way He looks at us with love.
Mar 22 2015, 7:40 PM
SrSusan (guest): I think it mite be more than a dream Lisa- or rather a dream with a message of great reality for you. Thank you for sharing this
Mar 22 2015, 7:40 PM
Lisa C: The way I felt for both was so amazing that I know it was Hi
Mar 22 2015, 7:40 PM
Lisa C: Him
:41 PM
Judy K: Yes, Lisa thank you for sharing this with us. It is so beautiful.
Mar 22 2015, 7:41 PM
Karen P: I think your dreams were an amazing way to encounter Jesus!
Mar 22 2015, 7:41 PM
SrSusan (guest): You can never forget it! It is imprinted in you
42 PM
Lisa C: Joseph saw an angel
Mar 22 2015, 7:42 PM
SrSusan (guest): I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:23
Mar 22 2015, 7:42 PM
Ruth (guest): Joseph dreamed, and then he went into action — for Mary and Jesus
Lisa C: Thank you all for not thinking I am crazy
Mar 22 2015, 7:43 PM
SrSusan (guest): You are blessed
, 7:43 PM
Karen P: Dreams have been used as a means for God to speak to us throughout the Bible. The ones that I think have God in them have a definitely different impression about them thamn just every day dreams.
Mar 22 2015, 7:43 PM
Ruth (guest): Lisa, I’ve just laughed at that last remark.
Mar 22 2015, 7:46 PM
Judy K: Mother, the connection between these words and this reflection might be that we are called to a life of continuing conversion and metanoia, burning toward the Lord in love and reverential awe. We must know Him, not just about Him, although we must know about Him–His life, His deeds and teachings-but they must go from our “heads” to our “hearts” in a faith that is living and active (like His word) leading us to live, act and speak as He does.
Mar 22 2015, 7:46 PM
Ruth (guest): Do you understand more, now, Lisa?
Mar 22 2015, 7:46 PM
Lisa C: maybe Ruth
5, 7:46 PM
Karen P: I think God loves painting the world with many colors and that is one more way that I think He speaks to each of us. 7:47 PM
SrSusan (guest): burning with love as we are turning to Him!
Mar 22 2015, 7:47 PM
Ruth (guest): Yes, Sr. Susan I was thinking the same thing.
Mar 22 2015, 7:47 PM
Karen P: I think you hit it correctly when you said we need to move it from our heads to our hearts, Judy. I think that takes Him working in us to accomplish!
Mar 22 2015, 7:47 PM
Lisa C: Like fire yes
Mar 22 2015, 7:47 PM
Lisa C: but not painful fire
Mar 22 2015, 7:48 PM
SrSusan (guest): Jesus wants the love between His Father and Himself to be in us- thru the Holy Spirit I think that happens
9 PM
SrSusan (guest): There was an Orthodox monk who said something like ‘we are to become fire” :49 PM
Judy K: Oh how I desire to be on fire with love for Him. But I think that the Lord allows me to experience that kind of fire when I am giving a talk. I guess He wants me to be on fire for others rather than for myself.
Mar 22 2015, 7:49 PM
Ruth (guest): Some people seem to have a deep, natural faith, maybe the result of good health and lots of healthy touch from good parenting.
Lisa C: The Sacred Heart burned with fire and He gave a bit of it to St. Margaret Mary
Mar 22 2015, 7:50 PM
Judy K: I think that kind of faith is a pure gift from the Lord.
Mar 22 2015, 7:50 PM
Ruth (guest): Some, like me, have what I call trickle down Faith. Starts with thinking and then praying and then living as if one believes, and then by the Grace of God, believing.
Mar 22 2015, 7:50 PM
Lisa C: I should say burns with fire
Mar 22 2015, 7:51 PM
Lisa C: not burned
Mar 22 2015, 7:51 PM
SrSusan (guest): Abba Joseph, a desert father, was approached by Abba Lot, who informed him that he had kept his rule of prayer, fasted, purified his thoughts, and lived peaceably—what more could he do? Abba Joseph held out his hands toward heaven, fingers extended, and said, “You can become fire.” Each fingertip blazed like a candle. Abba Joseph’s point was that the younger monk could be set ablaze by the Holy Spirit.
Ruth (guest): Remember Easter Monday: Did not our hearts burn within us as he walked with us?
Mar 22 2015, 7:52 PM
Karen P: Don’t our hearts burn within us when we are sharing the Good News with others? I think that is when I feel on fire for the Lord!
Mar 22 2015, 7:52 PM
Judy K: That’s exactly what I meant, Karen.
Mar 22 2015, 7:52 PM
Ruth (guest): They were going the wrong way — to Emause (spelling?) AWAY from Jerusalem. But as soon as they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, they headed back to Jerusalem.
Judy K: But I wonder if I might need to lead a more sacrificial life, placing myself upon a fire to burn out more of my self so that I can be wholly open to the fire of the Lord.
Mar 22 2015, 7:54 PM
Lisa C: It makes me say why me
Mar 22 2015, 7:54 PM
SrSusan (guest): You are good disciples of the Lord- sharing your faith and feeling the fire of His love!
7:55 PM
SrSusan (guest): In past terms Judy purification?
Karen P: I was at a discernment sharing a few weeks ago, and there was a picture of Jesus in the room that really caught me. It was like His eyes would not leave mine and as you said, Mother Susan, the room seemed to momentarily disappear when I looked into His gaze.
15, 7:55 PM
Lisa C: Thank you for saying that, Mother Susan Marie, I was a little afraid to share them and did not know whether I should
Mar 22 2015, 7:56 PM
SrSusan (guest): He wants our YES so much
56 PM
Judy K: Perhaps a greater emptying of myself. PM
Ruth (guest): Yes, sharing with other people of Faith is important. Once long ago, when was feeling very alone with my new Faith I feared that I would one day not have the strength to remain faithful. God made a personal promise to me: I will always give your the friends you need to remain faithful.
Mar 22 2015, 7:57 PM
SrSusan (guest): Jesus too had a kenosis, self-emtying
5, 7:57 PM
Karen P: I think one of the reasons we are all coming into this room is to try to leave more of ourselves behind and find more of Jesus within us. It is encouraging to know that we are not alone in that seeking, but I think we would seek even if we did have to do so alone.
Lisa C: But Karen I think we cannot be alone if Jesus is with us
Mar 22 2015, 7:58 PM
Amy Cochran: Hello!
15, 7:59 PM
Judy K: And His meant dying upon a cross. I come back to Paul’s “I have been crucified with Christ and the life I live now is not my own but Christ lives in me.” But I keep on wondering if I have been truly crucified.
Mar 22 2015, 7:59 PM
Judy K: Hi Amy.
Mar 22 2015, 7:59 PM
Amy Cochran: hijudy
7:59 PM
Dawn L: AH, yes Karen! over the weeks here, I have had grace to see things in myself that were in the way. not always a good feeling but a very nesessary one.
Mar 22 2015, 7:59 PM
Karen P: We are never alone in that sense. But I think sometimes we forget that when we feel alone and not supported by the humans around us. That is one of the times when I turn to Jesus and feel Him more strongly – when I feel alone within the human world.
, 8:00 PM
SrSusan (guest): Judy- He will do the work of drawing you to His Cross
Amy Cochran: imagine the one day when you will be standing alone with Christ at the point of death, looking into his eyes.
Mar 22 2015, 8:01 PM
Dawn L: sometimes, alienation can be a good thing. it can make us cling more fervently to God, for really…what else is there to do?
Mar 22 2015, 8:01 PM
Ruth (guest): Sometimes I can feel His presence; sometimes I cannot. My faith must not depend upon my feelings.
Mar 22 2015, 8:01 PM
SrSusan (guest): “The Son of God is nailed to a cross and who put Him there? Without a doubt it was love. Now since it is certain that he died out of love for us the least we can do for Him is to live by loving.” Saint Francis de Sales
Mar 22 2015, 8:01 PM
Judy K: Hi Sister Mary Robert!
Mar 22 2015, 8:01 PM
Karen P: I feel like Jesus has been pursuing me for a long time. I don’t want Him to have to work so hard at that anymore. I want to run to Him.
8:01 PM
Lisa C: Ruth I do not think that we always feel His presence
Mar 22 2015, 8:01 PM
Amy Cochran: Go to Him
Amy Cochran: Times when you don’t feel Him is where your relationship with Him, and your faith grows
Judy K: Then let go and run to Him Karen!! As St. Pope John Paul II said so many times, “Do not be afraid.”
3 PM
Ruth (guest): Recently as part of the meditations recommended as a part of the OREMUS course we were asked to picture someone — God — loving us, especially eye to eye. PM
Judy K: That would truly bring tears to my eyes.
Mar 22 2015, 8:04 PM
Amy Cochran: Do you notice sometimes how people huddle together in a church sometimes, because there is a love of Jesus but a fear, although devout, of the divine
8:04 PM
Karen P: Ruth, I know that I can’t depend on my feelings in relation to knowing that I have faith – He is always there whether I feel Him or not. Still there are times when I do feel His presence and I treasure those times and remember them when I am in those periods of not feeling. I call the not feeling times – my time in the desert and the times when I do feel Him my mountaintop experiences. And I am very often at some point in between.
Mar 22 2015, 8:04 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: “Since we know that Jesus Christ, true God, has loved us even so far as to suffer death for us,..ah, is not this to have our hearts under the press…and to feel love pressed out of them,” SFdS say in TLG.
05 PM
Lisa C: I think when anyone dies and sees Him they will accept Him then….He is irresistable
Mar 22 2015, 8:05 PM
Karen P: I am also doing Oremus, and it has been good to be reminded to think about God gazing on us in love. I think often of gazing at Him in love, but it is so nice to be reminded that He is also gazing at us.
PM
Mary Roberta Viano: So true, Karen: Love is actively willing the good of another, not necessarily feeling the emotion we connect with loving someone.
Mar 22 2015, 8:06 PM
Amy Cochran: Nice, Sister
Mar 22 2015, 8:07 PM
Ruth (guest): Yes, I recognize that, too, Karen, and Lisa; I am not criticizing. I am grateful for a few “mountain top” experiences
07 PM
Lisa C: Isaiah 45 22
“Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.
23
By myself I have sworn,
my mouth has uttered in all integrity
a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear.
Mar 22 2015, 8:07 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: That’s why I like the Italian phrase for “to love,” which is “voler bene,” i.e. to want the good of the one loved.
Mar 22 2015, 8:08 PM
Lisa C: Romans 14:11
It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
Mar 22 2015, 8:08 PM
Karen P: Judy – I am seeking Him more and more and much of the fear has dropped away. Of course, the fear was often that I was not worthy to run to Him, and I need to constantly remind myself that Christ paid the price and I am worthy to be called His beloved!
Mar 22 2015, 8:08 PM
Ruth (guest): Jesus Christ is Lord!
Mar 22 2015, 8:09 PM
Lisa C: If God has infinite mercy how can He not save everyone? Especially since Blessed Mother is praying for all souls?
M
Amy Cochran: Christ did not come to judge, but to redeem us of our sins
Mar 22 2015, 8:09 PM
Judy K: Because they do not want to be saved. They choose not to love God, and He will not force them to love Him.
Mar 22 2015, 8:10 PM
Lisa C: Judy when they see Him they will change their mind
Mar 22 2015, 8:10 PM
Karen P: I didn’t think you were criticizing, Ruth. I also feel often as you described the idea of trickle down faith. Head first then acting my way into believing then finding I do believe.
Mar 22 2015, 8:10 PM
Amy Cochran: Guilt plays an important role; it’s mentioned so many times in the psalms
Mar 22 2015, 8:11 PM
Ruth (guest): Lisa, see Word on Fire, Fr. Barron, on “Are there many people in Hell?”
Mar 22 2015, 8:11 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: I like what SFdS says about our loving Jesus: “When we have placed our love in Jesus Christ, we have thereby placed our spiritual life in Him. Now He is hidden in God in heaven, just as God was hidden in Him while He was here on earth.For this reason our life is hidden in Him, and when He appears in glory, our life and our love will likewise appear with Him in God.” (TLG)
:11 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: I like the idea of my puny little love being surrounded and sustained by Christ’s BIG LOVE!
Mar 22 2015, 8:12 PM
Ruth (guest): Many Souls, I think was in the title.
Mar 22 2015, 8:12 PM
Judy K: Lisa, I hope that you are right. But I think that some people may even hate God and that it is so ingrained in them, that they will not bend.
2 PM
Lisa C: Judy, with God all things are possible
Mar 22 2015, 8:12 PM
Amy Cochran: Souls choose to go to hell. God doesn’t cast them there
Mar 22 2015, 8:12 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: Right, Judy. We are the ones who chose hell, when we refuse God.
2015, 8:12 PM
Karen P: I read something last night about Hell being the separation from God and that if there was no hell, everyone would have no choice but to believe and that God wants us to come to Him freely. So we continue to pray that people will find God and choose Him even if they don’t.
Lisa C: and God is my Father and I am asking my Father to do it PM
SrSusan (guest): Before 2 of us were quoting “Jesus is Lord” How is He Lord for each of us PM
Mary Roberta Viano: God created us with freedom to choose. If we choose not to love Him, we condemn ourselves.
Mar 22 2015, 8:15 PM
Lisa C: Ones who chose not to love Him do not know Him
Mar 22 2015, 8:15 PM
Karen P: I also pray that the whole world will become believers. But I know that God will not force them. God is love and He lets us make our own choices even when it hurts Him that we don’t choose Him.
Mar 22 2015, 8:15 PM
Lisa C: Once they know Him they will
Karen P: For me, He is Lord because He did as God promised. He came so that I might be saved eternally out of His great love for me. He is Lord over all creation and loved me enough to take my place rather than have me see eternal death.
Mar 22 2015, 8:16 PM
Lisa C: Why are the Christians referred to as first fruits of the Spirit?
Mar 22 2015, 8:16 PM
Lisa C: Why are they not called fruits of the Spirit?
2 2015, 8:17 PM
Lisa C: I think because there will be other fruits later.
Mar 22 2015, 8:17 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: because Christians were the first to accept that Christ is Lord.
015, 8:17 PM
Lisa C: The church is working to save souls.
Mar 22 2015, 8:17 PM
Lisa C: We suffer to save other souls
, 8:17 PM
Lisa C: There will be more
Mar 22 2015, 8:18 PM
Karen P: And having accepted Christ, we now are called to share that Good News with others where we will bear more fruit with the Holy Spirit working through us.
8 PM
Judy K: Because the first Christians were the first products (fruits) of the redemption of the Lord. This also distinguishes them from the Fruits of the Spirits spoken of by Paul in his epistle. :19 PM
Dawn L: sometimes, a person can not see.perhaps life circumstances, or not hearing the Good News. they are blinded, so they do not realize they are refusing love. well, yes that is where our prayers…many prayers needed for conversion of souls
Mar 22 2015, 8:19 PM
Lisa C: Sorry if I am being too enthusiastic about the power of Jesus…but I cannot help thinking that if He came to save everyone that it will fail to happen some how.
Mar 22 2015, 8:19 PM
Judy K: Um, Fruits of the Spirit–one Spirit.
Mar 22 2015, 8:19 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: Christ said, “He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. (John 15:5)
:20 PM
Karen P: I also believe that the day will come when the whole world will come to Christ, Lisa. I just don’t know when. It is in God’s time, and in the meantime, we carry the message and pray a lot for others.
Mar 22 2015, 8:21 PM
Guest7131anne (guest): Hi, it’s anne.
SrSusan (guest): Christ has won the victory but we all need to catch up with Him
Mar 22 2015, 8:22 PM
Karen P: Mother Susan, is it because Christ is indwelling within us that we feel so strongly about bringing others to know Him
22 PM
SrSusan (guest): Yes and the Holy Spirit is urging you on
Lisa C: Sometimes the HS feels like strong wind
Mar 22 2015, 8:23 PM
Amy Cochran: When you have found the greatest treasure, of course you want to share it
Mar 22 2015, 8:23 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: I think we acknowledge Christ as Lord, when we acknowledge that “the beginning, progress and end of whatever good we do depend on His mercy.” (SFdS in TLG)
M
Mary Roberta Viano: So true, so by Christ’s mercy we can witness to Him even more during that Jubilee Year!
Mar 22 2015, 8:25 PM
Judy K: Mother, you ask us where we seek Jesus. I primarily seek Him in His word, in Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, in prayer and reflection. I need to look within myself more–I am not sure if it has really travelled from my head to my heart. Yet the idea that I am His temple makes my heart sing. I don’t generally look for (seek) Him in others, but sometimes He does make Himself known in others. I need to remember that there is no place where Jesus is not.
6 PM
Ruth (guest): I find it interesting that we — or I anyway — may not even know what mercy is. If God is all merciful, why do “bad things happen to good people” — over, and over, and over again? PM
Mary Roberta Viano: It’s like Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who saw Jesus in the dying there in India.
Mar 22 2015, 8:26 PM
Karen P: You said that well, Judy. I also need to remember more often that He is dwelling in me and I should be pure and holy vessel for Him.
PM
Ruth (guest): Maybe it is because we think what is painful or unpleasant or frustrating contains within it a hidden mercy.
Mar 22 2015, 8:27 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: But we become holy only when we are wholly given to others in service, don’t you think?
Mar 22 2015, 8:27 PM
SrSusan (guest): Mercy is related to forgiveness- but “bad things” are a mystery within life
Mar 22 2015, 8:27 PM
Judy K: His mercy is shown in His ever present help in coming to aid them in all these trials. He gives what we are capable of enduring and He is with us all the way.
22 2015, 8:27 PM
Lisa C: Bad things happened to Jesus too…
Mar 22 2015, 8:28 PM
Karen P: When evil people do bad things to others, it does provide us an opportunity to be Christ’s hands and show compassion to others.
8:28 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: Yes, Mother, in fact we know it’s through the cross that we come to that mercy.
Mar 22 2015, 8:28 PM
SrSusan (guest): As Jesus forgave
8:28 PM
Lisa C: We can unite our suffering to Jesus’ suffering
Mar 22 2015, 8:28 PM
Dawn L: sometimes God allows very painful things as it may be the only way to get someones attention…bishop Sheen
:28 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: Christ said we, His followers, can never avoid the cross.
Mar 22 2015, 8:28 PM
Karen P: Yes, Sr. MR, I do think so. And I need to continue to give myself more and more to others.
Mar 22 2015, 8:28 PM
Ruth (guest): Yes, Lisa. I remind myself quite often that nails through his hands and feet must’ve really been frustrating!
9 PM
Lisa C: Ruth and He had a choice to accept it us medically, as he died on the cross.
Mar 22 2015, 8:30 PM
Lisa C: Jesus accepted the suffering because it was the will of His Father to save us
Mar 22 2015, 8:30 PM
Ruth (guest): Yes, Lisa.
Mar 22 2015, 8:30 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: and, mysteriously, the only way He could save us was through the cross – hard to understand.
Mar 22 2015, 8:30 PM
Lisa C: Yes, Sr MR, it was suffocating as His weight came down on his lungs
Mar 22 2015, 8:31 PM
Ruth (guest): He perceived the Will of the Father.
Mar 22 2015, 8:31 PM
Lisa C: Then he had so stand on His feet with the nails to breath
Lisa C: It was way more agonizing than we can ever imagine 5, 8:32 PM
Karen P: Being crucified was a particularly painful and cruel way to suffer and die. He said yes to do the will of His Father. It makes me think that I should be willing to say yes much more to things that may be unpleasant but would benefit others without thinking of my own convenience.
Mar 22 2015, 8:32 PM
SrSusan (guest): Only One Who loved us could endure it- with Love and forgivenes
3 PM
Lisa C: Jesus knew this even before it happened, that is even more amazing that He had to live with knowing it
Mar 22 2015, 8:33 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: SFdS on our crosses: “The cross He sends you He has considered with His all knowing eyes,…warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.”
Mar 22 2015, 8:33 PM
Lisa C: Blessed Mother knew too
Mar 22 2015, 8:33 PM
Judy K: Karen,what you say about being Christ’s hands is so true. Yesterday I saw a video about a beautiful crucifix that has been committed to a watery grave by the people who had it carved as a memorial for their son who died. It arrived from Italy with its arms broken. The parents had another one sculpted. I was reminded of the story about the statue that was found in Germany (I believe) after the war. Its hands were missing and the townspeople elected to leave the statue without the hands. It has an inscription
Mar 22 2015, 8:34 PM
Lisa C: Imagine knowing that would happen to your child
PM
Mary Roberta Viano: What unfathomable love that we’ll soon be reading about in Christ’s Passion!
Mar 22 2015, 8:34 PM
Judy K: to the effect that we are called to be his hands. I wish that that crucifix in the sea would be raised and given a similar inscription.
Mar 22 2015, 8:34 PM
Guest7131anne (guest): I saw the video also, Judy. It’s in Michigan.
35 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: I want my heart to be stretched to love a little more like Christ did!
Mar 22 2015, 8:35 PM
Ruth (guest): I’d like to believe that, Sr. MR but I’ve known people who could bear no more . . . who’ve committed suicide. (Thankfully not my patients!)
!)
Mar 22 2015, 8:35 PM
Karen P: Christ’s passion always makes me feel so ashamed that I needed Him to do this for me, but so very blessed and grateful that He did all at the same time.
Mar 22 2015, 8:36 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: Let’s pray this week for strength to help carry one another’s crosses!
Mar 22 2015, 8:36 PM
Mary Roberta Viano: All the best to you during this last week before Holy Week! G’night!
Mar 22 2015, 8:36 PM
Dawn L: that is a blessed prayer Sr Mary. thank you
Karen P: And a special prayer that God would personally touch those who are thinking of suicide. That is such a horrible place to be when you feel there is not other way out.
Mar 22 2015, 8:37 PM
Judy K: I sometimes am overcome with a wonder that the entire congregation is not weeping at the reading of the Passion. Have we become so desensitized to the reading over the years? Or are we just as cold as those who called for Jesus’ death?
Mar 22 2015, 8:37 PM
Ruth (guest): Judy, there was one like that in the chapel of the Missionarinnen Christi in Munich, Germany.
Mar 22 2015, 8:37 PM
SrSusan (guest): Yes. Blessed week- and hopefully will be here on Palm Sunday
Mar 22 2015, 8:37 PM
Dawn L: God bless you, Mother Susan. Thank you
Mar 22 2015, 8:38 PM
Karen P: Blessings to all this week. Keep up our prayers for country and the prayer wall in the middle east and the prayer to help us carry each other’s crosses! Prayer does make a difference! Good night to all!
Mar 22 2015, 8:38 PM
SrSusan (guest): Good night!