Chatting about: Change

: Psalm 18:2-3 leads us to pray: “I love you, LORD, my strength, LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold!” What does the contrast of the changing nature of the world compared to God’s eternal and unchanging nature teach us? Why is this so important? When we approach God, St. James tells us that we “should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.” How doe

 

 

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): How does this image tie into the above point that St. Francis is trying to make?
In the often topsy-turvy situation of our world, we can tend to feel like God has no definitive plans for us, and that He too shifts like the sands of the sea. What are ways that we can keep trust that God is an anchor in all our storms?
Bonus question: Hebrews 13:8 reminds us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” If God becomes flesh, how does He not change?

 

(Judy Soon we will experience the change of seasons again. Good lead in to our chat tonight. Quest. 1. The changing nature of the world compated with God’s eternal and unchanging nature teaches us not to place our hopes on the things of this world, always in a state of flux. Rather our hope must rest in the goodness and love of God Who lovs us ans wants only what is best for us, that which leads us to Him. 37 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) It is important because of we do not have this focus,. we can easily lose our wat as things around us constantly change. PM

VisitationSiste: I was mentioning I was reading a book on psalm 91 about God being our refuge. It says we must not only think if Him as shelter and refuge but literally call out to Him to make it effective– or something like that

 

Aug 13, 7:41 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) And look what happened to Peter. He got caught up in the winds and waves and lost his footing. But notice how Jesus puts out His hand to pick him up. Jesus always holds out His hand to support us in our needs.

Aug 13, 7:41 PM

Carol Ann: Yes, He is always there, waiting to help us, but we must ask Him so that He can act.

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Dawn (Guest): Peter called out to him…Lord save me! , 7:42 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): I took particular attention today to Psalm 56 ! Verse 3 Raise me up when I am most afraid , I put my trust in you ; 2 PM

Carol Ann: step out in faith and know that He will provide. I had to do that this week!

 

Aug 13, 7:43 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) How so?

Aug 13, 7:43 PM

Dawn (Guest): Mother, do you read the Grail Psalter?

Aug 13, 7:43 PM

VisitationSiste: There were miracles cited esp from the Battle of Dunkirk in WW2 where troops prayed out loud to God and were not hit

 

Aug 13, 7:43 PM

VisitationSiste: No Not Grail the breviary one

 

 

Carol Ann: I’ve been waiting to get a new used car from a coworker, waiting for some special money to come. it didn’t come, didn’t come, didn’t come. we were both tired of it. Finally this week he said, just pay me what you can and I will hold the title until the rest comes. I heard a feeling inside me say, step out in faith. So I wrote a check for 100 more than i thought i could afford and gave it to him. the money came the next morning!

 

Aug 13, 7:46 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): Great Song – When I hold on to my Faith , Jesus you are holding on to me

Aug 13, 7:46 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) Our God is an owesome God!

Aug 13, 7:46 PM

Carol Ann: I have been so protected this year, from the accident, to the discovery of the eye problems and two surgeries, to having to move on a moment’s notice…..all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well!

 

Aug 13, 7:46 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) awesome

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VisitationSiste: Amazing! Wonderful faith!

 

Aug 13, 7:48 PM

Carol Ann: I sit at Mary’s feet and ponder all these things in my heart

 

Aug 13, 7:48 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) Gregory Norbet has a song “Only in God” Only in God is my soul at rest, in Him comes my salvation; He only is my rest, my hope and my salvation. My stronghold, my savior,I shall not be afraid; My stronghold, I shallnot be alone.

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Carol Ann: John Michael Talbot has a song like that too. And the old Glory and Praise hymnals we used back in the late 70’s and early 80;s. the message never grows old. Just like our Savior’s faithfulness

 

3, 7:50 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) Truly Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Aug 13, 7:50 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): Amen !!!

Aug 13, 7:51 PM

Carol Ann: I’m feeling very consoled today, can you tell?

 

Aug 13, 7:52 PM

Ruth (Guest): U

Question 2 about doubting. Doubting puts us into a state of confusion such as that created by a vicious storm which causes driving winds and surging, swirling waves. We feel at the mercy of this storm and see that it possibly could such us into the maelstrom and keep us from the ever faithful and stilling of God. It is like a tornado which picks up everything in its path, tosses it around, and then drops it far from its original locationQuestion 2 about doubting. Doubting puts us into a state of confusion such as that created by a vicious storm which causes driving winds and surging, swirling waves. We feel at the mercy of this storm and see that it possibly could such us into the maelstrom and keep us from the ever faithful and stilling of God. It is like a tornado which picks up everything in its path, tosses it around, and then drops it far from its original location

Aug 13, 7:55 PM

Lisa C: I feel blessed to be brought up in the Church and received the gift of faith and wonder why some get it and some do not. It is hard to think that we could lose faith and just be out there without asking Jesus to help us.

Aug 13, 7:56 PM

Ruth (Guest): Yes, I’ve been dealing with a computer “lock up” and some weird changes to my software . . . , and then just “listening in.”

Aug 13, 7:56 PM

Dawn (Guest): Judy…a good picture of it, tornado

Aug 13, 7:56 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): Workcamp teenagers told story about last day struggling and praying they could finish paint job for residents before rain , They looked at radar and literally the area surrounding them was raining but no rain until paint had dried on their finished project ! Praise God !

Aug 13, 7:56 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) It takes tremendous effort to locate the scattered items of one’s life, to collect them, repair what can be repaired, discard what cannot, and rebuild, on a strong foundation, with strong materials, the edifice that was destroyed. Doubt is unsettling to the human spirit and must be overcome if one is to remain in the pathway of God.

7:57 PM

Lisa C: Chapter 1 of Ephesians is amazing

Aug 13, 7:57 PM

Carol Ann: Judy, that is just exactly what is happening to me right now

 

Aug 13, 7:57 PM

VisitationSiste: Lisa good question- I

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Lisa C: We were chosen to be this way before the world began Chapter 1 Ephesians, so if we were chosen it is not about us. It is about God using us for His plan

 

Ruth (Guest): Brian, once our parish had a picnic; it rained all around us, even in the parking lot, but not on the green space where we were picnicking; then, as soon as the part inside the nearby church started (and the picnic was over) there was a downpour. That was the 100th Anniversary of Assumption church, just two miles from my home. I think God has a sense of humor!

Aug 13, 7:59 PM

Lisa C: Lots of places call us first fruits

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Lisa C: Others are going to come later or we would not be called the first fruits

Aug 13, 8:00 PM

Carol Ann: But, Sr., doesn’t God call each of us from birth, as He created us to be?

 

Aug 13, 8:01 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) I think that Ephesians is my favorite epistle along with Galatians.

: But, Sr., doesn’t God call each of us from birth, as He created us to be?

 

Aug 13, 8:01 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) I think that Ephesians is my favorite epistle along with Galatians.

Aug 13, 8:02 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): Amen Lisa ! What a joy to serve Jesus Christ no matter what is happening to us or around us everyday ! A privilege to suffer in this life Soo that God can reach out too someone ! His desire is to save everyone !

Aug 13, 8:02 PM

VisitationSiste: I am not sure of the question

 

Aug 13, 8:03 PM

Carol Ann: oh, in terms of first fruits and second fruits and who is called, and who seems to not be called (or at least ignoring the call), are we not all called?

 

Aug 13, 8:03 PM

Lisa C: The question was why does God chose some to have faith and others not

Aug 13, 8:03 PM

VisitationSiste: Ah yes called but the process of salvation or our task on earth, we do not know the full plan of God

 

 

 

 

Lisa C: We are predestined to have faith before the world began …for God’s glory and plan

Aug 13, 8:04 PM

Lisa C: It is not something we did

Aug 13, 8:04 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) Is it perhaps that God calls everyone to faith but that some refuse His n=invitation?

Aug 13, 8:04 PM

Carol Ann: does God not call all to have faith?

 

Aug 13, 8:04 PM

Lisa C: We are blessed to know Him ahead of others

Aug 13, 8:04 PM

Lisa C: Carol Ann we have faith by grace

Aug 13, 8:04 PM

Ruth (Guest): I hope you do not think it disrespectful, but when you were writing about the tornado I was thinking of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Fortunately, eventually she woke up and discovered that it was all a bad dream and that she was HOME, only now she was much more grateful for HOME. Aren’t we all a little like that. God is GOOD but sometimes we, like a person sleeping, don’t realize it.

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Lisa C: Ephesians Chapter one says God had it all planned before we were made

Aug 13, 8:05 PM

Lisa C: He gave us faith now so that He could use us in His plan

Aug 13, 8:06 PM

VisitationSiste: I can only look at my own path and remember when I did not believe in the same way I do now. Each has a path that is different but who knows why-only God

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Carol Ann: okay, that makes sense, Sr and everyone…

 

Aug 13, 8:07 PM

Lisa C: 11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 1

, 8:07 PM

Dawn (Guest): yes, more clear. different paths and only God knows8 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) Question 3–how can we keep trust that God is indeed our anchor? Realizing and focusing on the fact that God does not change and recognizing that it is we who are always changing should encourage us to see God as the anchor, the One Who will keep us steady as we journey.

Aug 13, 8:08 PM

Lisa C: We have faith now, if we are the “first” others will have it later or else we would not be called first

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Ruth (Guest): I am a bit troubled by the new translation of the Mass which says that Jesus died for the salvation of “many” — where it used to say, for “all.” One local priest still says “all.” I questioned him about it. It was deliberate.

Aug 13, 8:09 PM

Carol Ann: that troubles me too, Ruth

 

Aug 13, 8:09 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (JUdy) That troubles me too Rugh

Aug 13, 8:10 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): Ruth

Aug 13, 8:10 PM

Carol Ann: is it an acknowledgement that some will turn away?

8:10 PM

Dawn (Guest): Lisa, in this chapter, is St Paul referring to the first Disciples, literally

Aug 13, 8:10 PM

VisitationSiste: God is the only true anchor we have

 

Aug 13, 8:11 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): We live in a world that has been deeply scared by sin and unbelief . Jesus has provided us with the repair necessary to restore our relationship with God while we are alive in this world and forever in eternity ! Jesus can repair everyone who believes and knows truly that He is the Son of God ! We impact everyone as we walk with Jesus !!!

Aug 13, 8:11 PM

Lisa C: Dawn, I think it applies to all believers

3, 8:13 PM

Lisa C: Hebrews 9:28 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. 13 PM

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) I believe that when Paul is speaking about the first to put their hope in Jesus, he is referring to the people of Ephesus to whom he is writing. Those who come after are all of us who come to faith in our own time.

Aug 13, 8:13 PM

Dawn (Guest): yes Brian, he is everyone’s Savior, Son of God for all

Aug 13, 8:13 PM

Lisa C: He died for many, but later more will be saved

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Lis

Lisa C: Hebrews seems to say many and then more at the second coming

Aug 13, 8:16 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): My Mother told me story about a Priest in England during bombings of WWII in London . He always reminded people that right up to your final breath you have an opportunity to accept Jesus as the Son of God your Savior ! For many the final moments of life is the time they reach out to Jesus !!!

Aug 13, 8:16 PM

Lisa C: Yes

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Lisa C: St. Gertrude also

Aug 13, 8:17 PM

Lisa C: Gertrude the Great

Aug 13, 8:18 PM

Carol Ann: Would that we choose Him much earlier and enjoy His presence now

 

Aug 13, 8:19 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): God is always reaching out to everyone ! I pray that I don’t get in His Way !

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Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) I think that all of us chatters have chosen Him in response to His choice of us. We enjoy His presence in our lives and especially in the Eucharist. We would not be in this chat room if we had not chosen to follow Jesus, and to share our faith with others. 21 PM

Ruth (Guest): I just saw a footnote to Hebrews 9:28. “‘Many’ is used in the Semitic meaning of ‘all’ . . . ”

Aug 13, 8:21 PM

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VisitationSiste: True!

 

Aug 13, 8:21 PM

Carol Ann: True, Judy. I was with a group of knitters this afternoon that joked we all get together to knit because we are all purple zebras that need time with our own herd to feel belonging. We are the same, but of His flock

 

Aug 13, 8:21 PM

VisitationSiste: and yet we too can have days of doubt or distrress-

 

 

Aug 13, 8:22 PM

VisitationSiste: so being together helps

 

Aug 13, 8:22 PM

Dawn (Guest): helps very much

Aug 13, 8:23 PM

Lisa C: Hebrews 10 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Aug 13, 8:23 PM

Carol Ann: it can be very hard to find in daily life people who will allow us to be ourselves

 

Aug 13, 8:23 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): Soo true Sister ! That is the importance of staying in Christian Community ! We help each other all the time to stay close to God !

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Dawn (Guest): thank you Lisa, for this scripture24 PM

Lisa C: St. Paul thinks like all of you

Aug 13, 8:24 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): Amen Lisa !!!

Aug 13, 8:26 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): We radiate God’s Love to others after we help each other !!!

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Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) Regarding our vocation enter into all of this. Each vocation has its “rules” and “practices.” Once we embrace a particular vocation, then it is up to us to live the rules and practices as they will steady us on our journey. We cannot vascillate in the carrying out of of rules and practices or we will gradually become weak in our commitment, and perhaps even abandon it.

 

Carol Ann: that is where the support of community is essential

 

 

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) If we have not yet discovered our vocation, the observance of the Commandments of God and of the Church, and living the life of the Beatitudes will keep us on a good path until we become certain of, and make a true commitment to the vocation gifted to us.

 

 

Guest9758 (Guest): (Judy) that could be a good thing. Being older at the time of choosing monastic life could mean a greater maturity in the vocations coming in.

Aug 13, 8:30 PM

Guest4828 (Guest): Life can be a prerequisite for the monastic life !!!

Aug 13, 8:30 PM

Ruth (Guest): It seems to me that sometimes there is a fine line between gratefully acknowledging God’s merciful blessings — whether individually or as a community — and becoming somehow arrogant, feeling that somehow we are “better” than others. I think that is why, often, when we feel we are giving good witness to God’s goodness, we will be attacked — maybe as He was.