How can this reflection be a fitting critique of the health-and-wealth prosperity gospel that plagues our culture?
2. Reflect upon these words 1 John 2:17: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever..”
3. Where in your life are your “eyes bigger than your stomach,” or where do you find yourself falling into the trap of what Saint Francis has described above?
May 28, 7:28 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) I have one comment to make before we start our chat material. In the third paragraph of this reflection, St. Francis says that he “would not even have people wish for more wit or better judgment.” I think that most of us could use better judgment if we were perfectly honest and I certainly do not regard a desire for better judgment as a frivolous one.
May 28, 7:28 PM
- VisitationSiste: Good point
- May 28, 7:29 PM
- VisitationSiste: I thought the overall sense of the chapter tho was relevant because we all tend at one point in our lives to look at the road not travelled, etc
Lisa C: Do we always know what is frivolous right away? I think sometimes we have to think about it for a while to know. , 7:32 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): In answer to the first question, the health and wealth prosperity gospel so popular today can lead to a desire for financial abundance and numerous temporal goods. Rather we should find peace and contentment in what we have and us such things for good purposes.
May 28, 7:32 PM
VisitationSiste: Maybe we need to define frivolous, because in general I tend to think of it as something not serious, but thatmay not ne the ssense here
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Lisa C: Confused,
May 28, 7:33 PM
Lisa C: The sense of StF?
May 28, 7:33 PM
VisitationSiste: Basically I have missed the health and wealth movement- being in the Monastery- non-issues- even health
34 PM
Jessica (Guest): I feel like I will not be happy unless….. M
VisitationSiste: That is already faulty I imagine if we trulhave our hearts set in God28, 7:37 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Happiness not a guarantee in life , but Joy can be a permanent state if we accomplish our Beloved’s Will with great fidelity.
May 28, 7:38 PM
Lisa C: Life is a mix of happy and sad
38 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) We all need to remember that happiness is something that comes from within ourselves. Ideas, people and things cannot make us happiness. We must find our happiness within ourselves and in our relationship. Only in Him can we find true happiness. 39 PM
Jessica (Guest): I wish do do Gods will everyday, but like Francis de Sales said, how can I accomplish something today that simply cannot be done today? I am in debt and am diserning religious life.
May 28, 7:39 PM
Lisa C: Even Jesus, who always did the will of the Father, must have been sad about dying
May 28, 7:39 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Thank you Sister. It’s Ruth. I typed in my name as usual but it stayed with the number this time.
9 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Hello ,all. No i am not Brian — Maria is my name and Iam rather new to chat rooms. Yeah, it’s kinda fun.
May 28, 7:39 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Hi Ruth!
May 28, 7:39 PM
Lisa C: Hi Ruth, Brian, Maria
, 7:41 PM
VisitationSiste: God’s Will is revealed day by day- so if it is not your time yet to be a religious, take St Jane for a spiritual companion; she had to wait too
May 28, 7:41 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): thanks for the warm welcome
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Jessica (Guest): It is the ebook diserning with St. Jane.
May 28, 7:44 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): I am looking forward to the Sacred Heart Novena.
May 28, 7:44 PM
VisitationSiste: OH yes- that’s great you are using it- hope it helps- but again, the timing is always God’s and His timing is perfect
May 28, 7:45 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): How does discernment differ from sound judgement? And why should we not seek it? How else can we do what the Lord is asking us to or even BE who he wants us to be?
May 28, 7:45 PM
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VisitationSiste: Our Sacred Heart novena in BKLYN starts June 15
May 28, 7:46 PM
Lisa C: Jessica, there is also the Sacred Heart First Friday novena
May 28, 7:46 PM
Lisa C: That novena comes with the amazing promises of the Sacred Heart
May 28, 7:46 PM
Jessica (Guest): I would love that! PLease tell me where to go!
May 28, 7:47 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Do you have any special celebration for the Feast of the Visitation?
May 28, 7:47 PM
VisitationSiste: Sound judgement enters into discernment but the spiritual aspect of discernment, the search for God’s Will in His delicate ways, with spiritual direction can lead us in unexpected ways
May 28, 7:47 PM
VisitationSiste: Yes of course Mass
May 28, 7:47 PM
VisitationSiste: sometimes a special prayer service, spiritual reading
May 28, 7:47 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): And now is the time for the Pentecost Novena.
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Guest6424 (Guest): I’m surmising that there are folks interested in becoming Visitation Nuns here?
May 28, 7:47 PM
Jessica (Guest): Yes
May 28, 7:48 PM
Lisa C: http://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/promises-of-the-sacred-heart-of-jesus.html
9 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): I have not, alas, been able to find a spiritual director. I’m relying
May 28, 7:50 PM
VisitationSiste: Not easy, that’s true
May 28, 7:50 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): On the Holy Spirit and deep prayer.
May 28, 7:50 PM
Lisa C: Maria, ask the Holy Spirit to send a director
May 28, 7:50 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Where do you live, Jessica?
May 28, 7:51 PM
VisitationSiste: and eventually, whatebver you are choosing, the other people have a role to play too
May 28, 7:51 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Maria, that is a problem for me, too, ever since my dear Sister Charlotte died, about six years ago now. In cities it was easier.
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Jessica (Guest): I go to St. Anns in Bethany Beach, DE
May 28, 7:52 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Would Sister be willing to do direction over the phone, as i live in
May 28, 7:52 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): another state
53 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Are there any monasteries of either monks or nuns in your area? Sometimes you can find a spiritual director there.
May 28, 7:53 PM
VisitationSiste: One could try that with a trained and certified director
May 28, 7:53 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): I’ve prayed about it and asked a few priests, and asked them for recommendations, and have not hesitated to travel an hour and a half. Still, the closest thing to “spiritual direction” I am getting these days is from here and from books.
:53 PM
Jessica (Guest): I am looking though my diocese.
May 28, 7:54 PM
VisitationSiste: I am happy to talk with you but I am not a director with any credentials
May 28, 7:54 PM
VisitationSiste: One’s soul must be guided with care
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Ruth, I say the same thing to you as I did to Jessica. Are there any monasteries near you. Sometimes you can find a director there.
): Have you ever been a mistress of novices or postulants, Sister?
May 28, 7:56 PM
Jessica (Guest): I will look into that thank you.
May 28, 7:57 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): The credentialed spiritual directors here tend to be heretical and
May 28, 7:57 PM
VisitationSiste: Yes I was
May 28, 7:57 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): left wing! not helpful!
7 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): And I am an “Associate” of the Sisters of St. Joseph. We have monthly meetings, and do share on spiritual topics, but somehow it feels a bit too shallow for me. I don’t know the right word but thou I recommit yearly, it is a long way from a perfect “fit” for me. PM
VisitationSiste: There is an Association of St Francis de Sales that is solid but even making a retreat at a Monastery would give more depthM
Guest2940 (Guest): Judy, I know of no monasteries in the region. When I moved to Saranac Lake I thought there was a Carmelite Monastery here, but it had recently moved to the lower Hudson region. PM
VisitationSiste: What about the Salesian Cooperatorsa Judy? How does that work re direction?
May 28, 8:00 PM
Lisa C: I find it is easier to see God in wilderness.
May 28, 8:00 PM
Lisa C: Maybe I am contemplative
May 28, 8:01 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) It is up to the individual to seek a director. I don’t know if everyone has one. I have had one here at the Shrine for a little over a year and he is a gem.
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Guest5452 (Guest): (JUdy) I have usually chosen a director based on the quality of his homilies. I prefer a priest as I want my confessor and director to be the same person. There are those who say that they should be two different persons, but I feel that if the confessor and director are the same person, they get to know you much better that either alone.
May 28, 8:04 PM
VisitationSiste: Could “our eyes be bigger thanour sstomach” even as regards direction?
Lisa C: Mother, I was thinking that if God wants us to have one He will send one.
May 28, 8:05 PM
Lisa C: Did not know if I should say it.
May 28, 8:05 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Yes. Lisa. I am of that same opinion.
May 28, 8:05 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Interesting way of putting it,
May 28, 8:06 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Sister.
May 28, 8:06 PM
Lisa C: God would not leave us desolate if we are seeking Him.
May 28, 8:06 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): I wonder exactly what that would mean? I’
6 PM
Lisa C: He will send what we need when we need it.
May 28, 8:06 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) RE: question 2– In reflecting on 1 John 2:17, I think of things that I wanted in days gone by and even had them, but those desires have faded away. I am more likely to “seek first the Kingdom of God” for I desire to be with Him for all eternity.
May 28, 8:06 PM
Lisa C: All we need to do is ask for it
May 28, 8:06 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): ve been so blessed in the past, with good spiritual directors/companions.
8 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Lisa, somehow I know you are right. Years ago, when I was worried about my single life and many moves, the Lord promised me personally that I would always have the friends I need to remain faithful to Him.
May 28, 8:09 PM
VisitationSiste: As we grow spiritually our desires narrow and point to Him
9 PM
Lisa C: We always have Blessed Mother to direct us to Him
May 28, 8:09 PM
Lisa C: We always have the Holy Spirit
May 28, 8:09 PM
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VisitationSiste: Can we be too eager even to know the will of God, and not wait on Him?
May 28, 8:12 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi Carol
2 PM
Lisa C: Yes, Mother
May 28, 8:12 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Question 3, about the eyes bigger than your stomach, or falling into the trap St. Francis described. This is not exactly what St. Francis described, but at times I find myself spending a lot of time watching You Tube videos about cloistered relitious life, ceremonies of reception of the habit or professing first or perpetual vows. While I know that I am not called to that life, I feel a strong connection when I watch such videos. Maybe I am living vicariously through them.
May 28, 8:12 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (judy) Perhpas it fills some kind of need that I can’t identify.
May 28, 8:13 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Good reminder, Lisa. I call upon the Blessed Mother often to keep me on the right path to her Son. And to apply the merits of all that I do and suffer to share in the redemptive act of her Son.
May 28, 8:13 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (JUdy) Hi Carol Ann!
May 28, 8:13 PM
Carol Ann: Hi Judy, Hi Sr. Susan
:15 PM
VisitationSiste: I understand that Judy- when there is something we admire but can’t have watching the video, like resading a book about it, satisfies that need somehow
May 28, 8:15 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): How long is long to wait on the Lord for a clear direction?
May 28, 8:15 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Waiting on the Lord. Yes. Important. But I am so slow that I think he is often waiting on me!
7 PM
Lisa C: something I didn’t know and wanted to find, but then I realized that God is very simple….we just need to be loving to all
May 28, 8:17 PM
Lisa C: He is not complicated
May 28, 8:17 PM
VisitationSiste: We can’t box Him in, so until an answer is clear- with saints sometimes it took very long before all was truly understood
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VisitationSiste: but we stay in relationship by asking, waiting and praying
May 28, 8:18 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Monastic Life is profoundly counter-cultural for most people in the 21st century. It is not an easy decision to make.
May 28, 8:19 PM
Carol Ann: To,attempt monk in the world is very counter cultural too, and in somecways, even less understood
M
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Isn’t it possible that the Lord is waiting on all of us? Let’s face it, we are all slow to respond to certain things, or are deficient in things without being aware of it. But He is always patiently waiting for us and giving us clues along the way. Sometimes it is something we read, hear in a homily, see in a movie–He can use so many ways to get through to us. And His patience is amazing.
May 28, 8:21 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Carol Ann, I am a “Monk in the world but not of it” so iknow what you mean!
May 28, 8:21 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): There is something very attractive about Monastic Life, but I guess I fear that I would not fit in. I want family. But another dysfunctional family is unlikely to be better than my having to struggle alone to accept my “broken” self.
May 28, 8:21 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Our Father is already out on the road, arms outstretched, waiting to embrace us.
23 PM
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) Ruth, have you ever the read the book “The World is my Cloister” by John Michael Talbot? It might give you some insights into yourself. PM
Carol Ann: That is a fabulous book–we recommend it to people enquiring into BSC both monastic and domestic branches4 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): Beautiful, Judy. Yes, we must immerse ourselves in the Father’s lovPM
Guest2940 (Guest): No I have read some other books y JMTalbot but not that one. And I have Sr. Joan Chittister’s: Monastery of the Heart. PM
VisitationSiste: See how many ways He provides to be with Him!
May 28, 8:27 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): I am so grateful that His presence surrounds us, is in us, and longs to be active in the hearts of all.
May 28, 8:27 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Deep, gentle Silence is a great Teacher.
May 28, 8:27 PM
VisitationSiste: So if we hunger for Him, there are many ways to find Him
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VisitationSiste: See how many ways He provides to be with Him!
May 28, 8:27 PM
Guest2940 (Guest): I am so grateful that His presence surrounds us, is in us, and longs to be active in the hearts of all.
May 28, 8:27 PM
Guest6424 (Guest): Deep, gentle Silence is a great Teacher.
May 28, 8:27 PM
VisitationSiste: So if we hunger for Him, there are many ways to find Him
Guest5452 (Guest): (Judy) I recall a book entitled “Prayer is a Hunger.” The name of the author escapes me and I do not recall what he says in the book. But the title says it all. Prayer is an expression of our hunger for God. We would probably not pray if we did not experience this hunger. But our prayer is the hunger. Mother, looks like you and I are on the same track.
VisitationSiste: Yes!
Lisa C: God be praised!
VisitationSiste: So carry on the conversation-
Guest2940 (Guest): I’
Guest6424 (Guest): Hunger for God/
Guest5452 (Guest): (
Carol Ann: And prayer allows Him to transform us
Guest2940 (Guest): Hunger.
Carol Ann: I can relate to that!
Guest2940 (Guest): Judy,
Guest5452 (Guest): (
Guest6424 (Guest): Right Judy.
Carol Ann: You too,
Guest5452 (Guest): (
Carol Ann: I am so sorry,
Guest2940 (Guest): When I used to visit my grandmother in New Bedford,
Guest5452 (Guest): (
Guest5452 (Guest): (
Carol Ann: How long to hold on to that hope for a miracle when a ship is later and later
Carol Ann: There is so much to share with him
Guest2940 (Guest): Interesting that you know the date and the cause of his death;
Guest6424 (Guest): Ascension Sunday:
Carol Ann: God bless you both.
Guest6424 (Guest): Peace and Joy in you to others.
Guest2940 (Guest): Have a good week.
Carol Ann: Good night!