What do you think is the difference between poverty as lived by consecrated religious and the poverty of the impoverished? What do you think is similar?
For the non-consecrated, how is a Christian to find the balance between legitimately having riches and still live with a spirit of poverty?
Do you think that money is a “necessary evil”? Or do you think that there is a way for society to function without it? Or maybe you have other thoughts about it?
Dawn (guest): I’m finding each week to be going deeper and sometimes more challenging. Questions are not what I would think of myself…and this is a good thing!
Jan 1 2017, 7:30 PM
Katherine Mullin: Hi! I am A visitation sister from Mpls MN.
:31 PM
Lisa C: Poverty is one of those concepts that would be difficult to explain to a person who did not grow up Catholic, sort of like suffering.
Jan 1 2017, 7:31 PM
Lisa C: Hi Sister Katherine
Jan 1 2017, 7:31 PM
Lisa C: Hi Guests
Jan 1 2017, 7:32 PM
Guest1029 (guest): Hi this is Jessica I could not sign in under my username
Jan 1 2017, 7:32 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi Jessica- that happens sometimes Hi Sister!
7, 7:33 PM
Lisa C: Hi Carol Ann
Jan 1 2017, 7:33 PM
VisitationSiste: Poverty is not just a concept but a reality of life for many
, 7:33 PM
Lisa C: Yes, but we have to explain the concepPM
Katherine Mullin: You asked about Christmas at the monastery. We have a sister who had a stroke and she is 5 minutes away at a transitional care Unit. wWe spent Xmas Eve there with Sr,. Mary Margaret and we sang carols up and down her halls -with her with us! Special for us.
Jan 1 2017, 7:34 PM
Carol Ann: Is what the consecrated call poverty more akin to simplicity than to economic poverty?
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Lisa C: We live in a capitalist society and poverty is often the last thing people wish for.
Jan 1 2017, 7:35 PM
Katherine Mullin: Yes, Carol Ann, we live a very simple life among the poor in our city.
Jan 1 2017, 7:35 PM
VisitationSiste: in recent years this idea has taken hold, yes and is more how it is lived
Jan 1 2017, 7:35 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Hi SisterSusan ,Dawn , SisterKatherine ,Jessica, Lisa,,and CarolAnn ! God
36 PM
Lisa C: It is possibly because poverty in spirit is different from financial poverty. Popes are rich but poor in spirit.
Jan 1 2017, 7:36 PM
Dawn (guest): Hi Brian Happy New Year!
Jan 1 2017, 7:36 PM
Carol Ann: This simplicity is what allows the economically wealthy to still live the call to simplicity, even though they have weath
Jan 1 2017, 7:36 PM
Katherine Mullin: Hi, Brian, are you new like I am to the chat?
Jan 1 2017, 7:36 PM
VisitationSiste: S Katherine, you would be very clear in the difference between your simplicity and the way the neighbors live-maybe you could share that?
Jan 1 2017, 7:37 PM
Katherine Mullin: Who is the “Visitation Sisters”?
Jan 1 2017, 7:37 PM
VisitationSiste: Sr Susan Marie
Jan 1 2017, 7:37 PM
Guest1029 (guest): Are you saying that simplicity is prudence?
38 PM
Carol Ann: In one respect I am, in that we make prudent use of what we have. but it is more than that. 7:39 PM
Guest1029 (guest): I know I don’t want for anything, and know I will be provided for. Is this poverty of spirit? 39 PM
VisitationSiste: I always see poverty of spirit as dependence on God, not myself
Jan 1 2017, 7:39 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi Ruth
Jan 1 2017, 7:39 PM
Katherine Mullin: Those that come to our door are materially poor, very. We share everything we have with them, you might say. Last night Tony came for good. It was dark and cold. I went to our pantry and freezer and tony went off happy with a can of chili, a pizza and bread.
Jan 1 2017, 7:39 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Hi Sister Katherine ! This is a wonderful community that I have had great joy to be a part of ! Welcome !
Jan 1 2017, 7:40 PM
Carol Ann: Ruth! Happy New ear
7:40 PM
Katherine Mullin: In what way ‘part of the community? :41 PM
Lisa C: Isn’t everyone dependent on God even if they do not know it? Maybe poverty of spirit is knowing it.
Jan 1 2017, 7:41 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Happy New Year Ruth ! Brian
Jan 1 2017, 7:41 PM
VisitationSiste: Good point Lisa
7, 7:41 PM
Katherine Mullin: People donate to us (we live on alms) and we buy , say Gracery cards and give them out , in a prudent w17, 7:42 PM
Guest1029 (guest): I think I understand now
Jan 1 2017, 7:42 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Amen Li
43 PM
VisitationSiste: I think witnessing another’s material poverty helps us re examine our own way of life and share more, leading to a greater simplicity3 PM
VisitationSiste: I think witnessing another’s material poverty helps us re examine our own way of life and share more, leading to a greater simplicity
Jan 1 2017, 7:43 PM
Carol Ann: Happy New Year, Dawn!
Jan 1 2017, 7:43 PM
Guest8190 (guest): Hi Everyone! It’s Judy. Happy New Year. I am sorry to be so late. My oven is on the fritz and my dinner was delalyed an hour. It’s a good thing that I did not have company.
Jan 1 2017, 7:43 PM
Ruth (guest): HI Lisa, Sr. Susan, Carol, and is that Sister Katherine? Not sure. And Dawn is here plus three ‘guests.’ I always delete the number upon my guest sign in and put my name in. I find it easier to keep track of who’s who with names.
Jan 1 2017, 7:43 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Wonderful Ministry Sister Katherine !
Jan 1 2017, 7:43 PM
Lisa C: People have a responsibility to have some wealth to take care of their family, as churches have to have some land and a building and a bank account to run a church or a school, but with poverty of spirit we can recognize when people need something and respond.
Jan 1 2017, 7:44 PM
Katherine Mullin: I think living poverty is a bit tricky for any religious, because we have support -community backing. So it is in living simply, without much that is one good way.
Jan 1 2017, 7:44 PM
Carol Ann: In the book Fire of God, John Michael Talbot talks alot about how our extras deprive the poor of their needs
Jan 1 2017, 7:44 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Happy New Year Judy !!!
Jan 1 2017, 7:44 PM
VisitationSiste: Before I was a consecrated nun I made a good salary but was able to help people in need, contributing on a weekly basis to help others meet their needs. Now those same persons buy small gifts for me because I no longer have the ability to do that individually for them and they are in a better position now
Jan 1 2017, 7:44 PM
Dawn (guest): Hi Judy! Happy New Year
Jan 1 2017, 7:44 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi Judy
Jan 1 2017, 7:45 PM
Carol Ann: Hi Judy! Happy New Year!
Jan 1 2017, 7:45 PM
Lisa C: Sr. Katherine, the community that supports you comes from God’s grace doesn’t it?
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Katherine Mullin: I underline what Lisa said, ” …in simple living, we can recognize what people need and respond. That is well said. 6 PM
Guest1029 (guest): I like that statement very simple
Jan 1 2017, 7:46 PM
Katherine Mullin: Yes, all is god’s grace and it is in realizing this that we can receive. Part of poverty is receiving.
Jan 1 2017, 7:47 PM
Ruth (guest): 8190 is Judy. Brian is? Ah 2145. And ?
Jan 1 2017, 7:47 PM
Lisa C: Today a man was begging where cars were stopped and I was noticing how few people were helping. I was wondering what makes some people react and others not.
Jan 1 2017, 7:47 PM
Guest1029 (guest): Did you stop?
Jan 1 2017, 7:48 PM
Katherine Mullin: Sr. S. Marie…that is so beautiful , that you let those you helped give back.
Jan 1 2017, 7:48 PM
Lisa C: I think it must be that some people let God work in them.
Jan 1 2017, 7:48 PM
Lisa C: Yes, guest
Jan 1 2017, 7:48 PM
Guest2145 (guest): We must be willing to receive in order to teach others to receive MJesus !
Jan 1 2017, 7:48 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy)In answer to the first question: the poverty of the impoverished is usually a state of having little, and lacking even some of the necessities of life. They frequently long for that which they do not have. Their poverty is a poverty imposed by their circumstances which is different from the poverty of the consecrated religious
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Ruth (guest): Good observation Judy.
Jan 1 2017, 7:50 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) The poverty of the consecrated religious is a state of being satisfied with what one has and not being emotionally attached to what is had. The person does not seek to acquire things that are dsired; only things that are needed. They exercise trust in Divine Providence to see to their needs. And their poverty is chosen, not imposed.
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Dawn (guest): I can not think of quote bu St Mother Teresa speaks of a poverty not so much materially but of lovePM
Katherine Mullin: In our neighborhood, our neighbors give and receive, even though they have little. We got a christmas card from a couple who can hardly read or write, but they obtained a card for the sisters and came over with it. Very touching…
Jan 1 2017, 7:51 PM
Lisa C: When Jesus sent the disciples out, He told them not to take anything with them. 52 PM
Ruth (guest): I’d been thinking, too, that the poverty of a religious is VOLUNTARY; it gives freedom. The poverty of the destitute is a usurping of their freedom, especially if they work hard, by those who earn their money more easily.
Jan 1 2017, 7:52 PM
Katherine Mullin: Dawn, your reference to M. teresa, say more of her ‘poverty of love’…..
:52 PM
Guest2145 (guest): I no that I wandered many years through many addictions and that was real poverty to me ! Others prayed for me and gently brought me back to Jesus ! There is no real poverty when we are with Jesus Forever !!!
Jan 1 2017, 7:52 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) Yes Dawn, St. Teresa is right, there is a poverty of love. She means that many people have no one who loves them or cares for them. like the destitute to whom she ministered on the streets of Calcutta. Also the orphans for whom she cared.
Jan 1 2017, 7:53 PM
Dawn (guest): I quick search….“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” Mother Teresa
Jan 1 2017, 7:54 PM
Carol Ann: Yes, some consecrated to Missionary work take nothing with them still, but those called to different types of work still have some material possessions. The missionary must be ready to travel, so carries nothing. The apostolic “home missionary” must have some things things to meet the needs of those around them, and to sustain themselves, as St Paul said and did when he worked as a tentmaker so as not to burden those to whom he was preaching
Jan 1 2017, 7:54 PM
Katherine Mullin: guest 2145. Thank you for that perspective. In Jesus we have all. And you becasue of you background must know that so well.
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VisitationSiste: I remember a famous priest, educated etc once said that one with material advantages and education cannot experience true poverty but I disagree- all it takes is a mental relapse or break, a functionlessness, and one can become poor
Jan 1 2017, 7:56 PM
Katherine Mullin: I must leave you all. thank you for including me. We have night prayer now. It was a joyous day for us, becasue our Vis Srs from across the river joined us for pryaer, fun anhd games all aftenoon.
Jan 1 2017, 7:56 PM
VisitationSiste: For the non-consecrated, how is a Christian to find the balance between legitimately having riches and still live with a spirit of poverty?
Do you think that money is a “necessary evil”? Or do you think that there is a way for society to function without it? Or maybe you have other thoughts ab
Jan 1 2017, 7:56 PM
Katherine Mullin: Bye!
Jan 1 2017, 7:57 PM
VisitationSiste: Thanks for being here!!
Jan 1 2017, 7:57 PM
Carol Ann: Bye Sister!
Jan 1 2017, 7:57 PM
Dawn (guest): Bye Sr Katherine!
7, 7:58 PM
Carol Ann: Because of where I live and my line of work, I come across many who are materially wealthy (ad many who are not). it is always easy to tell those to whom money is just a tool.
Jan 1 2017, 7:58 PM
VisitationSiste: continue with this one?
Jan 1 2017, 7:58 PM
VisitationSiste: For the non-consecrated, how is a Christian to find the balance between legitimately having riches and still live with a spirit of poverty?
8 PM
Guest1029 (guest): I would understand that having wealth but no possession of it?
Jan 1 2017, 7:58 PM
Guest1029 (guest): To understand that it is not something that owns you?
Jan 1 2017, 7:59 PM
Ruth (guest): I’ve been seeking the answer to that question, Sr. Susan, since I was about 14 or 15 years old.
Jan 1 2017, 7:59 PM
Carol Ann: Many of the wealthy i meet treat money as a tool, not as part of their personality
Jan 1 2017, 7:59 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) The second question was about non-consecrated persons and how do they find a balance between having legitimate riches and still live with a spirit of poverty. . I think that such people can have wealth but not be attached to it so as to be unwilling to share with those who are in need. They also must take care not to hoard their possessions
Jan 1 2017, 7:59 PM
Ruth (guest): Read books on the Beatitudes. Visited the Community of the Beatitudes in Denver.
Jan 1 2017, 7:59 PM
Dawn (guest): To understand that all we have is a gift to us
Jan 1 2017, 7:59 PM
Lisa C: We have to maintain a home, church, school, etc. with money, but still see God’s child in those in need and respond to their needs when we can.
Jan 1 2017, 7:59 PM
Ruth (guest): I’m not sure that I’ve even come close to the answer yet.
Jan 1 2017, 8:00 PM
Carol Ann: I have heard of them, Ruth. I think they are like the community i am in
Jan 1 2017, 8:01 PM
Ruth (guest): Some say that the POVERTY of which the N.T. speaks is not “JUST” poverty of spirit.
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Ruth (guest): Where is your community Carol Ann? M
Carol Ann: It is based at Little Portion Hermitage on the monastic side (Arkansas) but I am in the Domestic Expresson, which is literally everywhere PM
Ruth (guest): That it means real, physical deprivation. That’s why Jesus showed an “option for the poor.”
Jan 1 2017, 8:03 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) Jesus Himself does speak of poverty of spirit in the Beatitudes. But, in the New Testament there are many people who live in a state of real poverty.
Jan 1 2017, 8:03 PM
VisitationSiste: Someone who has lived true material poverty and then joined religious life would probably be able to explain the difference too
Jan 1 2017, 8:03 PM
Ruth (guest): Ah yes, now I remember your having spoken of that before. And you would like to be in the Monastery.
8:04 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Please continue to pray for Harry the man with triplet 3 year old sons . E xtroidinary man who I believe could be a Saint one day . He has extroidinary gifts of reaching young people who are in real poverty spiritually . He is Hindu but with our every conversation I feel that he is coming closer to Christ . I gave him open invitation to join me at early mass ! He said that he would come . He and his wife have decided to stay inUnited States . Keep praying for Him ! He is committed to starting a non-profit
Jan 1 2017, 8:04 PM
Carol Ann: I did grow up in material poverty during a portion of my childhood. one dress, one school uniform. not much food on the table. the monastery i visited was wealthy materially by comparison
Jan 1 2017, 8:05 PM
Ruth (guest): Even the rendering of the Beatitudes is different if you compare Matthew and Luke, for example. Matthew uses the expression “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
Jan 1 2017, 8:05 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) Brian you doing an awesome work of evangelization with your friend.
Jan 1 2017, 8:05 PM
Ruth (guest): But if I remember correctly, Luke says, Blessed are the Poor.
Jan 1 2017, 8:06 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (judy) In Matthew, it is Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Jan 1 2017, 8:06 PM
Ruth (guest): And Jesus often refers to the difficulty of a Rich Man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
6 PM
Lisa C: I think the Bible does talk about real poverty too Matthew 19:21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” PM
Lisa C: Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Jan 1 2017, 8:07 PM
VisitationSiste: Many early religious congregations were in dire poverty in the beginning but then grew out of it to a more sustainable level.
Jan 1 2017, 8:07 PM
Guest2145 (guest): God is reaching one more extroidinary soul ! We all are doing this everyday in every way ! We are all unprofitable servants of the Lord !!!
Jan 1 2017, 8:07 PM
Ruth (guest): I think that the “life style” Jesus had made it necessary for a disciple to “travel light.”
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Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) In Matthew 25, Jesus is telling of the last judgement when we will be judged on how we have met the needs of others–feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty. clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless. These are certainly in dire poverty.
Jan 1 2017, 8:09 PM
Lisa C: In “The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics” Blessed Mother keeps giving what she has to the poor.
Jan 1 2017, 8:09 PM
Carol Ann: The needs of the itinerant missianary are very different than that of the home missioner, but both practice simpicity and poverty
Jan 1 2017, 8:09 PM
Ruth (guest): And yet even soldiers, nowadays, are expected to carry 70 lb duffels of supplies and equipment with them in the dessert.
Jan 1 2017, 8:09 PM
Lisa C: Ruth, we carry necessities. We could not live in the dessert without our things.
Jan 1 2017, 8:10 PM
Ruth (guest): Maybe that’s partly because they cannot count on the “hospitality” of the occupied regions.
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VisitationSiste: The quandary I dealt with as a new religious and poverty was that if I were to teach in the school for ex I needed stuff to do that.
Jan 1 2017, 8:12 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Remember the poor widow who threw in everything she owned in collection ! This was action of complete Trust in God ! She knew God would provide her every need ! Great Faith !
Jan 1 2017, 8:13 PM
Ruth (guest): Yes, you were in Afghanistan, weren’t you. A good Scout is prepared — for whatever comes. But a pilgrim, for example, one walking from someplace in France to St. James Cathedral in Spain, COULD get by with remarkably little. But the pilgrim can — or at least could — count on a free meal or two each day and a place to lie their heads, at least most of the time.
Jan 1 2017, 8:13 PM
Lisa C: Mother, the school did not supply things?
Jan 1 2017, 8:13 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) Hitting on question 3: Money is not a necessary evil. It is the love of money that is evil. In our society, money is necessary in order to survive, to have the necessities like food, clothing, shelter, medicine. It would take a change to a barter system for goods and services to make money unnecessary.
Jan 1 2017, 8:14 PM
Ruth (guest): That is really a shame, Sister, if the teaching supplies were not readily available.
15 PM
Ruth (guest): I remember scrounging for things, too, to teach science. In Kentucky there were some five or six broken microscopes. I made four usable ones out them.
Jan 1 2017, 8:16 PM
Dawn (guest): Sr….the quandary being while you were growing in one aspect, detachment or vow of poverty, here you were in situation where you needed ?
Jan 1 2017, 8:16 PM
VisitationSiste: I guess whaT I am trying to say is that poor people are not expected to do middle class- educated jobs while they are poor. But a poor religious is expected to minister on a professional level
Jan 1 2017, 8:16 PM
Lisa C: Ruth, the desert has extremes of hot and cold 130-50 degrees. Soldiers need tents , eye protection for dust storms, sleeping bags for cold, bullet proof vest, helmet, water, food, night vision googles, medical supplies….etc.
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Guest2145 (guest): Mother Theresa complete Trust in God provided everything the people she needed to provide for those she was called to serve !
Jan 1 2017, 8:17 PM
Ruth (guest): In Germany, I could not afford the street cars and subways and my bicycle was stollen.
Jan 1 2017, 8:18 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) That is a quandry, Mother. It seems to me that since you have a vow f poverty, the school itself should supply your teaching need
:18 PM
Dawn (guest): yes Brian…I perceive she experienced a complete abandonment to trust in God
Jan 1 2017, 8:18 PM
Lisa C: God does supply things sometimes, and other times people are stranded….for example Haiti keeps getting hit
Jan 1 2017, 8:19 PM
Ruth (guest): Poor Haiti!
Jan 1 2017, 8:19 PM
Lisa C: All over crazy things happen, the refugees in Syria and Iraq…they really are stranded
Jan 1 2017, 8:20 PM
Carol Ann: I think there have been many fundraisers to help supply some of the needed equipment. Schools in poor areas don’t get as much money as schools in wealthy district if their money comes from property taxes
Jan 1 2017, 8:20 PM
Lisa C: Sometimes God does not supply everything material
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Lisa C: He is doing something for their souls, but it must be very hard for them to understand
Jan 1 2017, 8:20 PM
Ruth (guest): And I might not have been able to complete my residency in psychiatry were it not for the generosity of a couple of Hatian physicians who were willing to “share” their “line” (what the training program budgets to pay a doctor) with me.
1 PM
Lisa C: He may be doing something for our souls too, by seeing how we respond PM
VisitationSiste: As far as needing money, as Judy said, there needs to be some system in place for exchange of goods
Jan 1 2017, 8:22 PM
Lisa C: I think Catholic Charities accepts goods
Jan 1 2017, 8:22 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) I must say that God heaped many blessings on me this Christmas through the unexpected generosity of a number of friends. I am humbled by their love and caring and was able to get some things that I would probably not have able to get otherwise. But over and above all, Jesus gave me Himself and He is by far the greatest gift of all. How grateful I am to Him for His total self giving to us on the cross and in the Eucharist and in moments of special prayer.
Jan 1 2017, 8:22 PM
Ruth (guest): And that is one of the reasons I find it hard to even imagine being a contemplative. People in need need prayer AND action and things.
Jan 1 2017, 8:22 PM
Lisa C: Sometimes they sell them though
Jan 1 2017, 8:23 PM
VisitationSiste: St Francis: He is poor in spirit whose heart is not filled with the love of riches, whose mind is not set upon them. The halcyon builds its nest like a ball, and leaving but one little aperture in the upper part, launches it on the sea, so secure and impenetrable, that the waves carry it along without any water getting in, and it floats on the sea, superior, so to say, to the waves. And this, my child, is what your heart should be–open only to heaven, impenetrable to riches and earthly treasures.
Jan 1 2017, 8:23 PM
Guest2145 (guest): God has been building relationships with hundreds of churches in the United States in Haiti for many many years ! Through these great sufferings the Church has been theret to help rebuild every time and the Faith of the People is growing in amazing ways !
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Carol Ann: Seek ye first the kigdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto unto you. 24 PM
Lisa C: How can we help people who are stranded, besides prayer?
Lisa C: It seems like the US always went to help in situations like Syria, but now we do nothing.
Jan 1 2017, 8:25 PM
Ruth (guest): I love that story of the halcyon. Open to the heavens while floating on rough waters — even if it is a naturalists mistake.
Jan 1 2017, 8:25 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Build a Bridge any way you can with God’s guidance !
Jan 1 2017, 8:26 PM
Ruth (guest): Sharp response.
Jan 1 2017, 8:26 PM
Ruth (guest): A friend in Germany is teaching German to refugees.
Jan 1 2017, 8:27 PM
Lisa C: Refugees who get to a safe place are ok, but what about the ones who cannot leave?
Ruth (guest): My Lake Placid parish wanted to sponsor a couple of Syrian families. We ran into so many government hurdles/obstacles that the plan fizzled out. To everyones disadvantage, I’d say.
Jan 1 2017, 8:28 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) Ruth you say that you cannot even imagine being a contemplative. The contemplative vocation has not been given to you. However, you, like all of us, must develop a contemplative aspect of our lives or we will not have the strength to serve the People of God. We cannot give what we do not have. One of the things most needed in our world is a relationship with the Lord, which is missing to so many people. Unless we have a contemplative dimension to our lives we will be unable to aid them in acquiring
Jan 1 2017, 8:28 PM
Guest8190 (guest): such a relationship.
Jan 1 2017, 8:29 PM
Guest2145 (guest): The remnant always seems to find a way to keep God’s Love flowing in an impossible situation !!!
:30 PM
Dawn (guest): well said, Judy… todays world and situations of poverty and war..
Jan 1 2017, 8:30 PM
Ruth (guest): Sister, I wanted to say, I understand your frustration while being expected to perform professionally without the tools. NYS now requires physicians to use special software to send prescriptions directly to pharmacies. The license, software, computers, i phones (yes, you need to use two devices simultaneously for controlled substances) are more costly than what I typically, even when I was doing well, took in.
2 PM
VisitationSiste: It is not so much the supplies as the comparison- a poor person can just be poor but a poor religious has to be a professional. how can a professional be poor, existentially?
Jan 1 2017, 8:32 PM
VisitationSiste: Anyway, I have to go but I wish you a blessed week, new year and hope to connect again next week or sooner by email, if anyone wishes. Prayers for you
33 PM
Ruth (guest): Like Paul, in order to give away my services — professional services to those in need (and I let Medicaid and Medicare take care of the ones who were eligible), I had to earn my money from time to time elsewhere. The injury and illness struck me. I am not sorry I did what I did, but it is way harder than I thought it would be to be generous and live “outside the box” of life-style expectations of a physician.
Jan 1 2017, 8:33 PM
Carol Ann: Thank you Sr! Happy New Year!
Jan 1 2017, 8:33 PM
Dawn (guest): thank you Sr Susan, God bless you
Jan 1 2017, 8:34 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) It occurs to me that we all are spiritually poor in some way. Perhaps we lack in trust. Perhaps we fail in studying our faith, or in reading spiritual works. Perhaps we are not as committed to prayer as we could be. You can think of others as well.
Jan 1 2017, 8:34 PM
Lisa C: Happy New Year, God bless
Jan 1 2017, 8:34 PM
Guest2145 (guest): By serving God with all your Heart ! That is what you are doing everyday SisterSusan ! You are an inspiration to me !
Jan 1 2017, 8:35 PM
Guest8190 (guest): (Judy) Wishing many blessings for each of you in this New Year. And for our world, may this be the year that peace returns. Let us pray for that intensely.
Jan 1 2017, 8:36 PM
Guest2145 (guest): Happy New Year Everybody ! God Love You All! Brian
Jan 1 2017, 8:36 PM
Carol Ann: Amen! Have a blessed week!
Jan 1 2017, 8:36 PM
Ruth (guest): Sister, you are in my thoughts and prayers. It must be sooo hard figuring out how to care for your family of elderly sisters . . . . and on a shoestring.
Jan 1 2017, 8:37 PM
Dawn (guest): Judy, I am still pondering what you wrote. If we are wondering what can we do in this world, the most important necessary thing is say yes, to grow in closeness to our Lord. This is the thing which will help others.
Jan 1 2017, 8:37 PM
Ruth (guest): God bless you, each and every one. May the New Year bring many good surprises.
Jan 1 2017, 8:38 PM
Carol Ann: Walk closely with Him, listening for His voice, and each moment you will know what to do
Jan 1 2017, 8:38 PM
Dawn (guest): Happy New Year everyone, thank you , God bless you all!
Jan 1 2017, 8:39 PM
Dawn (guest): Amen.
Jan 1 2017, 8:40 PM
Carol Ann: Ruth, I hear what you are saying about health industry these days. I see it all the time.
Jan 1 2017, 8:40 PM
Carol Ann: they expect the impossibe!
Jan 1 2017, 8:41 PM
Ruth (guest): Lisa, I just saw your 8:31 message. I have looked into that. . .
Jan 1 2017, 8:44 PM
Ruth (guest): Carol Ann, for most doctors in clinics it is possible, but I am not at all sure that it improves care, when the doctor has to keep her nose in a computer instead of talking face-to-face with the patient, and just hand-jotting down a few brief notes. It’s the insurance industry and the health care INDUSTRY that run the “style” of medicine we experience today.
Jan 1 2017, 8:45 PM
Carol Ann: The computer stuff is mandated by ACA and CMS. The insurance industry has other problems