Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): St. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.” This advice immediately precedes the famous “self-emptying” passage describing Christ’s great humility and self-giving. You could almost say that this is the heart of the Gospel message. Why do you think it is so important for us to live by this? What would happen if all people regarded each other as more important than themselves?

Oct 4, 9:11 AM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Continuing from question 1: Where in your life are you not practicing this type of humillty and self-emptying?
It seems like a simple and straightforward idea that we should love our neighbor. This teaching is so common to our ears. However, why do you think this teaching is so radical? Why did Jesus make a point of emphasizing it if it might seem so obvious?

Oct 8, 6:59 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Welcome

Oct 8, 7:10 PM

Lisa C: Hi Mother

Oct 8, 7:10 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Hi Lisa!

Oct 8, 7:11 PM

Lisa C: Happy Columbus Day weekend

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): No one else has shown up yet but it is 730 should we start

Oct 8, 7:30 PM

Lisa C: OK

Oct 8, 7:31 PM

Lisa C: Hi Carol Ann

Oct 8, 7:31 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): St. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:3: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.” This advice immediately precedes the famous “self-emptying” passage describing Christ’s great humility and self-giving. You could almost say that this is the heart of the Gospel message. Why do you think it is so important for us to live by this? What would happen if all people regarded each other as more important than themselves?

 

Oct 8, 7:33 PM

Carol Ann: Good. been organizing my new home office. I can find things now!

Oct 8, 7:34 PM

Lisa C: I wonder what the original Greek word for important was

Oct 8, 7:34 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Working from home?

Oct 8, 7:34 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): don’t know Lisa

Oct 8, 7:34 PM

Lisa C: Looking at other translations

Oct 8, 7:35 PM

Lisa C: 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

Oct 8, 7:35 PM

Lisa C: That translation is better I think

Oct 8, 7:35 PM

Lisa C: NIV

Oct 8, 7:35 PM

Carol Ann: Yes, in part. I have one office I work out of, one I go to for training, but I can’t get into either one after hours, when I get home from the road. so now I can fax, copy etc and have my files where i need them.

Oct 8, 7:36 PM

Lisa C: value others above yourself= love

Oct 8, 7:36 PM

Carol Ann: I think if we all regarded others as more important than ourselves, we would not hear so many people say “i deserve this”you don’t deserve that”!

Oct 8, 7:36 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Do we truly do that? That is something to think about every day every encounter

Oct 8, 7:36 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Low self esteem may lead to that but that is not a healthy basis

Oct 8, 7:38 PM

Lisa C: Living in NYC, I would think it would be very hard to do with so many people

Oct 8, 7:38 PM

Lisa C: How could we focus on everyone

Oct 8, 7:38 PM

Carol Ann: It is hard, because while we should consider others as more important, we also must have a healthy concept of who we are in Christ. The importance of the other should not make us les

Oct 8, 7:38 PM

Lisa C: In smaller places it is more possible

Oct 8, 7:39 PM

Carol Ann: Sometimes it is easier to do the loving act to the anonymous stranger we will never see again than to someone we see every day

Oct 8, 7:39 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): One on one tho it can be approached

Oct 8, 7:39 PM

Lisa C: Just thinking how society would lose all of its structure if everyone did it all the time

Oct 8, 7:40 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Too grand a thought for me

Oct 8, 7:40 PM

Lisa C: What would it be like? No locks on doors, no individual homes, no money

Oct 8, 7:40 PM

Lisa C: Sort of like a Monastery

Oct 8, 7:41 PM

Lisa C: Maybe Heaven

Oct 8, 7:41 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I can see it that way

Oct 8, 7:41 PM

Carol Ann: Well, society would certainly be transformed. the economy would be more just

Oct 8, 7:41 PM

Lisa C: Just think no Army, no police, no jail, no crime

Oct 8, 7:42 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Utopia

Oct 8, 7:42 PM

Lisa C: No sin

Oct 8, 7:42 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): new heavens and a new earth

Oct 8, 7:42 PM

Lisa C: Israel in the promised land

Oct 8, 7:43 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): It will happen, someday

Oct 8, 7:43 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I am trying to think how I do or do not live this

Oct 8, 7:43 PM

Lisa C: The New Jerusalem

Oct 8, 7:43 PM

Carol Ann: That is promised at the Second Coming. Until then, the struggle for virtue continues

Oct 8, 7:44 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): It isa struggle!!

Oct 8, 7:44 PM

Lisa C: We need Blessed Mother to step on Satan

Oct 8, 7:45 PM

Carol Ann: That always helps!

Oct 8, 7:45 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): We need daily prayer to Her for growing in virtue

Oct 8, 7:45 PM

Lisa C: Yes

Oct 8, 7:46 PM

Lisa C: She makes it easier for us to accept grace

Oct 8, 7:46 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Grace is a phenomenal gift

Oct 8, 7:47 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): We have to accept it

Oct 8, 7:47 PM

Carol Ann: Because it is fun and inspiring to dream of, and imagine God’s kingdom becoming real on earth. but we are all still small, still growing, limited in understanding, so that we cannot grasp what it all means in its entirety

Oct 8, 7:47 PM

Lisa C: Not everyone wants to

Oct 8, 7:47 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): It will be so different Carol, from what we experience now

Oct 8, 7:47 PM

Lisa C: I meant not everyone wants to accept grace

Oct 8, 7:48 PM

Carol Ann: It is like the readings where we are told we cannot even begin to imagine what waits for us in heaven

Oct 8, 7:48 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Think of that whenever we struggle

Oct 8, 7:49 PM

Carol Ann: That will certainly put struggles in perspective!

Oct 8, 7:49 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I find it hard to be self emptying if I have to guide someone else in a difficult area

Oct 8, 7:50 PM

Carol Ann: or in relationships that are not reciprocal

Oct 8, 7:51 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): when someone is annoying me

Oct 8, 7:51 PM

Lisa C: Yes, I think we all tend to want to get away from difficulty

Oct 8, 7:52 PM

Carol Ann: or to receive sometimes

Oct 8, 7:52 PM

Lisa C: We have to force ourselves to deal with difficulty

Oct 8, 7:52 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Growth is in bits

Oct 8, 7:54 PM

Carol Ann: Speaking of praying to Mary, don’t know if either of you saw this in the paper today: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/07/world/europe/poland-rosary-border-prayer.html?_r=0

Oct 8, 7:54 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): In the larger sense of our world we see both lack of love in the news and then the surprising stories of gtrat heroic love of others

Oct 8, 7:54 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Yes I did see that Astounding

Oct 8, 7:54 PM

Lisa C: Thinking about St. T of L suffering....and her Carmelite Sisters staying with her and praying, it must have been so hard

Oct 8, 7:54 PM

Lisa C: Yes, I saw it too

Oct 8, 7:55 PM

Lisa C: It is very hard to be with people who are dying, but when we love them we stay with them

Oct 8, 7:56 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): yes or those who are suffering in any way

Oct 8, 7:56 PM

Lisa C: I think that with smaller things than dying, it is easy to overlook when people might need us

Oct 8, 7:59 PM

Carol Ann: On a practical level, how do you discipline yourself to acts of love when the emotion of love is absent?

Oct 8, 8:00 PM

Lisa C: Pray

Oct 8, 8:00 PM

Lisa C: Ask God for help

Oct 8, 8:01 PM

Lisa C: I am not sure we always need to feel emotions of love to be loving

Oct 8, 8:01 PM

Lisa C: Emotions of love are just for God and people we are very close to

Oct 8, 8:03 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Sorry I had to step away Back now

Oct 8, 8:03 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Love is an act of the will

Oct 8, 8:04 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): and so is resisting inappropriate types of love

Oct 8, 8:04 PM

Carol Ann: ie: no codependency, no relationships where God is not the center of both lives

Oct 8, 8:05 PM

Lisa C: Isn’t God in everyone to some extent?

Oct 8, 8:05 PM

Lisa C: Isn’t everyone His child?

Oct 8, 8:05 PM

Carol Ann: of course He is, but we must make Him the center of our lives, and the relationship skews if only one person does that

Oct 8, 8:06 PM

Lisa C: Yes, but sometimes to get someone to come to Him we have to witness to them by being loving before they move

Oct 8, 8:06 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): True but we can pray for the other to receive the grace

Oct 8, 8:07 PM

Lisa C: The Holy Spirt acts through us and helps the other person who does not know God so well

Oct 8, 8:08 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I have a former student who I am praying for- God does inspire us to reach out

Oct 8, 8:10 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): He uses all things to bring people closer to Him

Oct 8, 8:11 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): So is love radical??

Oct 8, 8:11 PM

Carol Ann: yes

Oct 8, 8:11 PM

Lisa C: Not sure what that means

Oct 8, 8:12 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): The last question, abbreviated

Oct 8, 8:12 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): It seems like a simple and straightforward idea that we should love our neighbor. This teaching is so common to our ears. However, why do you think this teaching is so radical? Why did Jesus make a point of emphasizing it if it might seem so obvious?

Oct 8, 8:13 PM

Carol Ann: because there are cultural norms in every group and generation that dictates much of what we do. Forgive to a point, not seventy times seven. Don’t lend money because you will never get it back, etc

Oct 8, 8:14 PM

Lisa C: It seems obvious if we are connected to God, but I am not sure it is obvious in the world after the fall.

Oct 8, 8:14 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Can someone else tell us if we are loving our neighbor then

Oct 8, 8:14 PM

Lisa C: God can

Oct 8, 8:14 PM

Lisa C: God knows our hearts

Oct 8, 8:15 PM

Carol Ann: maybe a neighbor could, if they were listening to God and could discern the motives of our hearts

Oct 8, 8:16 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I have always found it hard to know if I am truly loving someone

Oct 8, 8:16 PM

Carol Ann: we can only do our best, discerning in the moment what the Lord wants of us and then doing that

Oct 8, 8:16 PM

Lisa C: Maybe unless we are God, we can always love more than we are

Oct 8, 8:17 PM

Lisa C: If we focus on how well we are loving, we may be turning the focus around rather than concentrating on what else we can do for someone

Oct 8, 8:18 PM

Lisa C: Am I loving someone vs. what does that person need from me

Oct 8, 8:18 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): good point-

Oct 8, 8:19 PM

Lisa C: Do not worry about how well you are doing as much as how the other person is doing...

Oct 8, 8:19 PM

Carol Ann: sometimes loving is giving what the person needs and not what they want

Oct 8, 8:20 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Long way to go!

Oct 8, 8:21 PM

Lisa C: Thank God we have Him

Oct 8, 8:22 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Yes and He does all for us

Oct 8, 8:24 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I guess we have drawn out as much as we can tonite of this topic Anything else you want to mention

Oct 8, 8:25 PM

Carol Ann: I think we are all onto the portion where we live what we have talked about

Oct 8, 8:25 PM

Carol Ann: I hope everyone else is back next week. Wonder where all are...

Oct 8, 8:26 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I know- Judy and Brian and Dawn??? don’t know and Ruth

Oct 8, 8:26 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Hope all are ok

Oct 8, 8:26 PM

Carol Ann: Is there bad weather back East?

Oct 8, 8:27 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Rained alot

Oct 8, 8:27 PM

Carol Ann: maybe the weather made internet spotty

Oct 8, 8:27 PM

Lisa C: MD just drizzels

Oct 8, 8:28 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): I can e mail Ruth and Dawn tomorrow maybe it is the holiday or they are tired of the topic

Oct 8, 8:28 PM

Carol Ann: I always forget when secular holidays are. we work most of them!

Oct 8, 8:29 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): we have recreation days so it is different for us

Oct 8, 8:29 PM

RuthGuest9975 (Guest): Just a quick “Hi”

Oct 8, 8:29 PM

Lisa C: Hi Ruth

Oct 8, 8:29 PM

Carol Ann: Ruth! Hi!

Oct 8, 8:30 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Hi Missed you! We are ending now but if anyone wants to saty on

Oct 8, 8:31 PM

Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): Have to go God bless!

Oct 8, 8:31 PM

RuthGuest9975 (Guest): It’s been a challenging, strenuous week, but I’m fine, just a bit overtired.

Oct 8, 8:31 PM

Carol Ann: It is good you are here

Oct 8, 8:31 PM

Carol Ann: God Bless you Sister!

Oct 8, 8:31 PM

Lisa C: God Bless

Oct 8, 8:32 PM

RuthGuest9975 (Guest): Keeping all of you in my prayers. And I hope you will me, too, and the other people my life touches.

Oct 8, 8:32 PM

Carol Ann: I will!

Oct 8, 8:32 PM

Lisa C: Yes