Is Saint Francis saying that loves
that are lesser than the love of God are bad?
Does the love of created things necessarily entail disobedience to the divine
majesty?
What does it mean to put the love of God first?
How can we discover what is the chief love of the heart?
How can we live our lives to ensure that our love of God is the greatest of our
loves?
What do we do when we find that we must oppose family members or friends when
they threaten our love of God?
Jul 19, 9:30 AM
VisitationSiste: Chat Sun Jul 21 730pm est
Jul 19, 9:30 AM
VisitationSiste: Moderator will be unavailable unless something in plans change that evening
Jul 21, 12:56 PM
Dawn (Guest): Hi Sr Susan~ I’m sorry, I will miss Chat today, and I will miss being here. Prayers for a fruitful discussion, good insightful questions do spur thoughtfulness! Love, Dawn
Jul 21, 7:34 PM
Ruth (Guest): Guest 9843, is that you Brian?
Jul 21, 7:35 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Hi Ruth ! God Bless You ! Brian
Jul 21, 7:36 PM
Ruth (Guest): First question: Easy, of course, St. Francis is not saying that lesser loves than the love of God are bad.
Jul 21, 7:36 PM
Ruth (Guest): Glad you are here, Brian. God bless!
Jul 21, 7:37 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Glad to be here Ruth ! Nice vacation week !!!
Jul 21, 7:39 PM
Ruth (Guest): To sign in, I highlight the guest # and then type in my name, and press enter. That makes it easier to keep track of who’s who when there are multiple people with numbers. So far, today, though, is easy – just us two and a “silent” viewer.
Jul 21, 7:39 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Lesser Loves can be good but when we put them before God not good !
Jul 21, 7:39 PM
Ruth (Guest): Exactly.
Jul 21, 7:40 PM
Ruth (Guest): Did you stay at home for your vacation?
Jul 21, 7:40 PM
Ruth (Guest): And I’m not sure I know what your regular work is; you are so involved in your ministry it almost seems that is your work.
Jul 21, 7:44 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): We stayed home but did some nice short trips . Visited Chautaqua Institution we went to a sing-along for the Sound of Music Movie . It was soo much fun . They really get the audience involved and people were dressed in costumes of characters ! Singing was really beautiful , Audience full of singers and Actors !!!!
Jul 21, 7:46 PM
Ruth (Guest): Funny, but also a bit irritating, Facebook keeps asking me to update my information, and when I put in the official dba, cleared and inscribed in county records, FB deletes it, saying “Invalid employer” — and then puts in Diocese of Ogdensburg — although I’ve never been employed by the Diocese, although I have done a good deal of volunteer work.
Jul 21, 7:48 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Ruth I am a rehabilitation assistant for outpatient clinics in our area . I do about 7 field trips a week getting clients out into the community to help improve their health . I also run different groups at two different sites !
Jul 21, 7:48 PM
Ruth (Guest): Sounds like fun, Brian.
Jul 21, 7:49 PM
Ruth (Guest): That’s wonderful work. Quite a bit of overlap, I guess, between your rehab work and your ministry through Kairos.
Jul 21, 7:50 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Very nice job . I worked in the Hospital 11 years and have been in outpatient care 23years
Jul 21, 7:51 PM
Ruth (Guest): Are the “field trips” in small groups or individual? Do you drive?
Jul 21, 7:52 PM
Ruth (Guest): Wow! That must mean you are at least 34 years old!
Jul 21, 7:53 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): When the Lord called me to Prison Ministry almost 13 years ago , I argued with Him for that reason . I now see how he has opened my eyes in many ways doing both !!!
Jul 21, 7:53 PM
Ruth (Guest): I am more comfortable with outpatient work, too.
Jul 21, 7:53 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Ha Ha Ha !!!
Jul 21, 7:55 PM
Ruth (Guest): Just re-reading the questions.
Jul 21, 7:55 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Where did you work Ruth over the years . I worked several years in gourmet restaurant before 34 years at Buffalo Psychiatric Center !
Jul 21, 7:57 PM
Ruth (Guest): Does the love of
created things necessarily entail disobedience to the divine majesty?
What does it mean to put the love of God first?
How can we discover what is the chief love of the heart?
How can we live our lives to ensure that our love of God is the greatest of our
loves?
What do we do when we find that we must oppose family members or friends when
they threaten our love of God?
Jul 21, 8:00 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): It’s important not to bury our gifts ! When we use our gifts with our whole heart God provides us even greater opportunities to use our gifts . If we bury our gifts He takes them away !
Jul 21, 8:00 PM
Ruth (Guest): Brian, I’ve been all over. I was a teacher and a researcher before becoming a physician — and after. My medical degree is from Germany, but I had to have all my documents officially translated and pass the American tests to get licensed here. I’ve worked in Metropolitan NYC area (Yonkers, Queens, and Nassau), in Toledo Ohio, and in Norfolk, VA.
Jul 21, 8:01 PM
Carroll (Guest): Hi- storm here earlier and couldn’t get on line…
Jul 21, 8:03 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Wow Ruth what an awesome Life with the Lord you have had !!! Hi Carroll !!! God Bless You !!! Brian
Jul 21, 8:04 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): I Love to hear your stories Ruth we all learn soo much from your Faithfulness through Great Trials !!!
Jul 21, 8:04 PM
Carroll (Guest): Thank you- small group tonight…hope everybody is ok.
Jul 21, 8:05 PM
Ruth (Guest): And before that, before and during college I did all sorts of work. The most fun was as a camp counselor, nature counselor, head counselor. But I also worked as a file clerk, a secretary, did factory work, drove a truck — a really old one that sometime got stuck on one of those over/underpass highways. I even worked in what I guess you could call “amusement” running a kid’s whip lash ride.
Jul 21, 8:05 PM
Carroll (Guest): Yes, Ruth, I agree with Brian!
Jul 21, 8:06 PM
Ruth (Guest): High Carol, welcome!
Jul 21, 8:06 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Wow that’s Great you got to do all that Ruth !!!
Jul 21, 8:07 PM
Ruth (Guest): The love of created things is not disobedience to the divine majesty, unless it is an inordinate love — unless we put it ahead of following HIS laws and trying to discern and DO HIS will.
Jul 21, 8:07 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): You should write a Book Ruth !!!
Jul 21, 8:08 PM
Carroll (Guest): It is fascinating sometimes to reflect on how God takes such a vast variety of experiences and uses that to make us more understanding of others and more useful in service to Him.
Jul 21, 8:08 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Amen Ruth !!!
Jul 21, 8:10 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Soo many struggle with addictions too soo many different things . I went through years of this before I asked Jesus to comeback into my Life !!!!
Jul 21, 8:10 PM
Ruth (Guest): Brian, I started hearing that when I was about 14 years old; and by the time I was 17, and undergoing major surgery (lung), I was hearing it regularly.
Jul 21, 8:11 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Amen Carroll !!!
Jul 21, 8:13 PM
Ruth (Guest): I do think that the variety of my experiences does make me more compassionate, especially toward the poor. A friend who knows some of what I’ve been through is amazed that I did not become a criminal or a drug addict . . . But I CAN relate! “There but for grace go I” I’ve often thought.
Jul 21, 8:13 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): You could help a lot of people Ruth with your life story !!!
Jul 21, 8:18 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Many years ago . One of parents at my daughters school went through great spiritual battle writing book about her and her husbands marital difficulties ! She persevered with prayers from soo many . Her book helped too save many many marriages !!!
Jul 21, 8:18 PM
Ruth (Guest): MAYBE that is what God wants me to do these days — between Dr. appointments and various medical tests. It’s been quite a whirlwind . . . I keep my license active as a sort of “insurance policy” but have not been practicing my profession for a few years, now. The license is expensive, but it has twice enabled me to save my own life or at least a long and risky hospitalization and once enabled me to save my hearing — a hearing stroke WHILE I was in the hospital being admitted for something else, but the
Jul 21, 8:19 PM
Ruth (Guest): Wonderful!
Jul 21, 8:19 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): By the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of Our Testimony many will come to Christ !!!
Jul 21, 8:21 PM
Carroll (Guest): Amen!
Jul 21, 8:21 PM
Ruth (Guest): So true, Brian. The
questions again, the last two: How can we live our lives to ensure that our
love of God is the greatest of our loves?
What do we do when we find that we must oppose family members or friends when
they threaten our love of God?
Jul 21, 8:23 PM
Ruth (Guest): I’m not sure what the answer is to #5 above. Maybe just try to be really, really honest with ourselves, pray, read Scripture and take advantage of the Sacraments, esp. Penance and Holy Eucharist.\
Jul 21, 8:23 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Listening too God and really paying attention too the people and situations He is bringing into our life !!!
Jul 21, 8:23 PM
Carroll (Guest): Yes and yes!
Jul 21, 8:24 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Pray , Study , Action
Jul 21, 8:24 PM
Ruth (Guest): Yes, LISTENING prayer is so important. And God does, also, “speak” to us through people and situations in our lives.
Jul 21, 8:25 PM
Carroll (Guest): For me, it has also been important to be willing to ( at least temporarilly) stop activities that begin to interfere with my actions reflecting my heart’s priorities…
Jul 21, 8:26 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): We must always Love our Family whether they agree with us or not !!! We must bring Christ’s Love to All !!! Even our Enemies !!!
Jul 21, 8:26 PM
Ruth (Guest): If we truly believe that God is Omnipresent — everywhere, in every situation — at least through his permissive Will — then we will LOOK for His Will even in disappointment, sickness, betrayal by people we thought we could and should be able to trust.
Jul 21, 8:27 PM
Ruth (Guest): Good point Carol.
Jul 21, 8:28 PM
Carroll (Guest): For example, I have shared previously that I was learning to play piano and organ, which I loved… only, I found myself practicing instead of attending Adoration… and practicing instead of getting adequate sleep… So, even though love of Sacred Music is good, I discovered self love and pride starting to lead to a sort of compulsive pursuit…
Jul 21, 8:29 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Soo important Carroll !!! Jesus warns us about the busyness of life harming us in Parable of Sower ! Our culture teaches us to be busy all the time ! Prevents us from doing God’s Will !!!
Jul 21, 8:30 PM
Carroll (Guest): I stopped for a period of time. Then, when I felt ready to begin again, Divine Providence closed doors and opportunities and also created new redponsibilities that do not afford time for that… So, I wait…
Jul 21, 8:30 PM
Ruth (Guest): And loving our families, even when it hurts, even when it is not reciprocated, IS part of the Will of God; but as Jesus said — and it sounds so harsh — I have come to put enmity between Parent and Child etc.
Jul 21, 8:31 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Amen Ruth !!! We learn soo much during our disappointments !!! A time for real self examination !!!
Jul 21, 8:31 PM
Ruth (Guest): That is not his ACTIVE will I am quite sure, but when we CHOOSE Him, sometimes there is oppositions.
Jul 21, 8:33 PM
Ruth (Guest): Carroll, sorry I misspelled your name. Yes, that is a very good example, and one I should learn from. Often I wind up staying up too late these days . . . But I hope you are still continuing to learn piano and/or organ. One of the things I think so amazing about monastic life is that it is ORDERLY . . .
Jul 21, 8:34 PM
Carroll (Guest): Learning to act lovingly – charitably- by remaining faithful to practicing our faith, but doing so in such a way so as not to inconvenience others, can be valuable witness, too.
Jul 21, 8:34 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Those who oppose God even our Family , their opposition and harshness towards us could be a sign that they are beginning too search for God !!! Otherwise they would not take the the time too say a thing !!!
Jul 21, 8:35 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Amen Carroll !!!
Jul 21, 8:35 PM
Ruth (Guest): It has to be for people to live under one roof with one another peaceably. And to get done what needs to get done.
Jul 21, 8:37 PM
Carroll (Guest): Yes, Ruth, … I am working towards creating that level of order in the ” cloister of my home” as well as the cloister of my heart.
Jul 21, 8:38 PM
Ruth (Guest): Yes, Brian. Good observation. In my family of origin I was ridiculed for attending daily Mass, even though I walked or rode my bicycle and was never late for orchestra, which was before the regular school day.
Jul 21, 8:39 PM
Ruth (Guest): In 11th grade I decided to go to a Catholic school — with my parents’ permission but not their approval, and at my own expense.
Jul 21, 8:40 PM
Carroll (Guest): That is beautiful Ruth.
Jul 21, 8:40 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): You will never know all the Souls you have led to Christ with your Faithfulness Ruth until you get to Heaven !!!!
Jul 21, 8:42 PM
Ruth (Guest): My father would refuse to eat meat when it was on the table, served, saying, “I can’t afford it; my daughter is in Catholic school!” And I was paying the tuition with money I’d earned during the summer!
Jul 21, 8:43 PM
Carroll (Guest): Thank you both for being such “anchors” here again tonight! I should say goodnight, as Elisabeth is waiting for me. Please continue to pray for her Reconciliation with Jesus in our Holy Church. I would love for her to experience Christ’s Love in this lifetime!
Jul 21, 8:43 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Me and Janet had a friend Dianne . She came from large family ! She was only one too Faithfully attend Mass . She passed away in scuba diving accident at age 21 . She has brought soo many to Christ through her Faithfulness in her short life !!!!
Jul 21, 8:44 PM
Ruth (Guest): He was unhappy and I prayed for him, for his conversion, for ten years; when he was on his death bed, when I was 25, he became a Catholic, and literally lept out of bed and danced around the hospital room singsonging, “I’m the happiest man on Earth!”
Jul 21, 8:45 PM
Ruth (Guest): The next day he was in a coma from which he never recovered. I am so grateful that God let me not only witness but also participate in this amazing event.
Jul 21, 8:46 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): God Bless You Carrol ,Ruth and Elizabeth !!!! Many Prayers for you All !!!
Jul 21, 8:47 PM
Ruth (Guest): Brian, you know the name of the viewer? Elizabeth?
Jul 21, 8:49 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): God is Soo Good Ruth !!! You are an amazing Child of God !!! Please Pray for my son Mitch !!!!
Jul 21, 8:50 PM
Ruth (Guest): Oh, Elizabeth is the name of the woman Carroll is caring for.
Jul 21, 8:50 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Many Prayers for our Viewer Also !!!!
Jul 21, 8:51 PM
Ruth (Guest): Of course, Brian. I hope your whole family was able to be together for your vacation trips.
Jul 21, 8:51 PM
Ruth (Guest): YES! There are quite a few people who were “viewers” for a long time before they began to participate.
Jul 21, 8:53 PM
Ruth (Guest): Brian, I am so grateful that you — years ago — emailed me that photo of your family.
Jul 21, 8:53 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): We had a nice week Ruth ! We were all together at different times !!!! Praise God !!!
Jul 21, 8:54 PM
Guest9843 (Guest): Keep Shining for Jesus Everyone !!!
Jul 21, 8:57 PM
Ruth (Guest): Amen. God bless. Good night