Why is it important to understand that not all of our inclinations are something to avoid, and even embrace, if they align with God’s will?2. Why do we have this tendency to think all our inclinations are maligned?3. How can we ensure our inclinations are good and pure in order to follow them?4. Why does St. Francis de Sales stress that we should not ask for suffering as Our Lord experienced it?5. Francis says that there “is no great harm in listening to people talking of the affairs of the world when ou
Nov 7, 10:40 AM
Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): 5. Francis says that there “is no great harm in listening to people talking of the affairs of the world when our intention is to add to the sum of good.” How can this attitude help shape our approach to politics or other such matters?
6. If we receive advice which we know to be good and probably God’s will, why is it so difficult to follow it?
Nov 7, 10:41 AM
Sister Susan Marie (Moderator): SUN CHAT NOV 8 730pm est
Nov 8, 4:24 PM
Carroll V (Guest): Hi Mother Susan Marie and friends- We have unfortunately had to open a COVID unit at work and I am the only “designated” (volunteer) nurse for night shift at this point. So, I am working extra shifts – sometimes 12 hrs instead of 8- including every Sunday (temporarily.) I will miss being with you again. Please know how much I appreciate the readings for meditation and value reflecting on the “chat” conversation each week. My heart is with you! Have a blessed week- God be praised!
Nov 8, 7:27 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Hi Everyone!
Nov 8, 7:28 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Am I off today….Did this start earlier today?
Nov 8, 7:28 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi we are here
Nov 8, 7:29 PM
VisitationSiste: Carroll signed in early to say she cannot be here
Nov 8, 7:29 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I will be praying for Carroll as she works with the increased COVID numbers.
Nov 8, 7:29 PM
VisitationSiste: yes it is risky
Nov 8, 7:30 PM
Dawn (Guest): Hi Sr Susan and Dorothy!
Nov 8, 7:30 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Very scary.
Nov 8, 7:30 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi Dawn
Nov 8, 7:30 PM
Dawn (Guest): Nice message from Carroll but now it has gone up to far to read
Nov 8, 7:30 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Hi Dawn.
Nov 8, 7:32 PM
VisitationSiste: Guess we can start
Nov 8, 7:32 PM
VisitationSiste: Why is it important to understand that not all of our inclinations are something to avoid, and even embrace, if they align with God’s will?
Nov 8, 7:33 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: The letter was interesting. I often feel that my inclinations, “desires” when they are not difficult or they may even be enjoyable.
Nov 8, 7:33 PM
Dawn (Guest): An inclination would this be like a move of the Holy Spirit, to do something specific? how Im understanding it
Nov 8, 7:33 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I put less importance on them than on things I believe would be more acceptable to God.
Nov 8, 7:34 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I guess I just think that since I am human, my desires would not be as acceptable to God.
Nov 8, 7:34 PM
Dawn (Guest): just want to have same understanding of the term
Nov 8, 7:34 PM
VisitationSiste: Say an inclination to do something regular like read a good book
Nov 8, 7:36 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I always feel, when I am doing that, or working on my hobby…I should be praying….instead of bringing that work into God’s presence and do it with Him there and offering that, whatever it is, to Him.
Nov 8, 7:37 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I’ve always compared the little I sacrifice to the great sacrifice Jesus made for me…so when I read St. Francis said “we cannot deal with it as he did,” I found that comforting.
Nov 8, 7:37 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: If God doesn’t give me more than I can handle, why do I try to do that???
Nov 8, 7:38 PM
Dawn (Guest): Letter writing at this time was so expressive and beautiful
Nov 8, 7:39 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi Ruth
Nov 8, 7:39 PM
Dawn (Guest): Hi Ruth!
Nov 8, 7:40 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Hi Ruth!
Nov 8, 7:40 PM
Ruth (Guest): Dorothy, sometimes I’ve asked myself the same question — related to “my yoke is easy” Scripture.
Nov 8, 7:40 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: St. Francis was such a wonderfully expressive writer. It was all they had other than speaking with someone directly.
Nov 8, 7:40 PM
Dawn (Guest): Sr Susan, how are you and the sisters doing?
Nov 8, 7:41 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: My spiritual director has been trying to help me with this.
Nov 8, 7:41 PM
VisitationSiste: We are all ok thanks to Him
Nov 8, 7:41 PM
VisitationSiste: 2. Why do we have this tendency to think all our inclinations are maligned?
Nov 8, 7:42 PM
Ruth (Guest): Hi Sister, Dawn, and Dorothy!
Nov 8, 7:42 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Jesus experienced his suffering because it was His, and mine are mine. I should try to accept was the Lord places before me instead of chasing something I have no hope of enduring.
Nov 8, 7:42 PM
Dawn (Guest): thanking him for all the blessings he gives
Nov 8, 7:43 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Sr. I always felt nothing I do is good enough, big enough, to be worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice and a confessor said that there is nothing I can do to ever be worthy, so be grateful, give thanks and keep Him close during challenges.
Nov 8, 7:44 PM
Ruth (Guest): Yes!
Nov 8, 7:44 PM
VisitationSiste: I think He loves us because we are so needy
Nov 8, 7:44 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Thank God!
Nov 8, 7:45 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Didn’t St. Francis say something about if we fall it just gives us more of a chance to grab onto His hand tighter.
Nov 8, 7:45 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I still have problems with the falling part.
Nov 8, 7:46 PM
VisitationSiste: and just pick yourself up and keep going
Nov 8, 7:46 PM
VisitationSiste: love your abjection
Nov 8, 7:47 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: …but I love the reaching out and holding on.
Nov 8, 7:48 PM
Ruth (Guest): Lost the connection there for a few moments. He loves us because he IS LOVE, because he made us, and because we are his.
Nov 8, 7:48 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes
Nov 8, 7:49 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: My boss at the parish I worked at used to say, when I became discouraged with my weaknesses, “it’s all in the struggles. Keep struggling and invite Him into it, and don’t be frustrated.”
Nov 8, 7:50 PM
Dawn (Guest): Im thinking about Q2
Nov 8, 7:50 PM
Ruth (Guest): Invite. Important word.
Nov 8, 7:51 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: So, with time, I can now allow myself time to read, work on my hobby, talk to friends, etc., and invite the Lord in to enjoy them with me.
Nov 8, 7:52 PM
Dawn (Guest): does it have something to do with our pride? or lack of humility?
Nov 8, 7:52 PM
Ruth (Guest): He is pursuing us. Sometimes he just wants us to slow down enough and listen, and discover that he is already there reaching out to us.
Nov 8, 7:52 PM
VisitationSiste: Do you mean why we mistrust ourselves
Nov 8, 7:52 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes, why we give this so much importance I guess
Nov 8, 7:53 PM
Dawn (Guest): altho I do not trust myself. I trust him
Nov 8, 7:54 PM
VisitationSiste: Maybe it is a byproduct of how we are raised?
Nov 8, 7:54 PM
Ruth (Guest): I don’t know who wrote this little — I’ll call it poem — but I like it. I get up. I walk. I fall down. Meanwhile I keep Dancing.
Nov 8, 7:54 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I guess, for me, everyone has always asked more of me & I did it! I like the compliments, the appreciation & that seeps into my spirituality too, I guess.
Nov 8, 7:55 PM
Ruth (Guest): The dance is a dance precisely because HE is in the lead.
Nov 8, 7:55 PM
Dawn (Guest): I like that Ruth
Nov 8, 7:55 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: but if I want to be honest, it does have something to do with pride and self-love.
Nov 8, 7:56 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: That’s a nice image.
Nov 8, 7:56 PM
VisitationSiste: 3. How can we ensure our inclinations are good and pure in order to follow them?
Nov 8, 7:57 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: For me, it’s prayer and meditation, listening for His voice. I also am blessed to have 2 spiritual directors who are wonderful guides.
Nov 8, 7:57 PM
Dawn (Guest): to pray or to talk with someone. to discern where inclination is coming from?
Nov 8, 7:58 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: They help me cut through my own negativity to recognize the good there is in whatever I am experiencing and helping me see when it is the evil one who is trying to steer me the wrong way.
Nov 8, 7:58 PM
Dawn (Guest): discerning spirits. I think this is Ignatius
Nov 8, 7:58 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Yes
Nov 8, 7:59 PM
Ruth (Guest): God wants us and allows us to experience consolation when we do what is in accord with his will.
Nov 8, 8:00 PM
VisitationSiste: Placing ourselves before the Lord and asking Him to purify us
Nov 8, 8:01 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: but there are also the dry times experienced by many saints that are the true challenge.
Nov 8, 8:01 PM
Ruth (Guest): This “good feeling” e.g. when we help another might be a way of teaching children and young adults about a universal moral law.
Nov 8, 8:01 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Yes, that is true.
Nov 8, 8:02 PM
Dawn (Guest): This is a prayer that could have eternal rewards
Nov 8, 8:03 PM
Ruth (Guest): Ignatius uses the notion of consolation a lot in his exercises.
Nov 8, 8:03 PM
Dawn (Guest): it is like asking for suffering purgatory here on earth
Nov 8, 8:03 PM
VisitationSiste: Do you do these Spiritual exercises Ruth
Nov 8, 8:04 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: but he also talks about desolation and how we should never make a decision when we are in consolation or desolation.
Nov 8, 8:04 PM
Ruth (Guest): I have done them — abbreviated over about ten days.
Nov 8, 8:04 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: The 19th annotation is an amazing experience
Nov 8, 8:05 PM
Ruth (Guest): Yes, Dorothy. Sooooo important, especially, I think the part about desolation.
Nov 8, 8:06 PM
Ruth (Guest): What, Dawn, is like asking to suffer purgatory here on earth?
Nov 8, 8:08 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I don’t think St. Francis would ask us to ask for suffering. I think he would just want us to ask to know God’s will for us and to live in that…that’s not always easy.
Nov 8, 8:08 PM
Dawn (Guest): I was thinking of Srs statement to place ourself before the Lord and ask him to purify us.
Nov 8, 8:09 PM
VisitationSiste: Purify vs suffer?
Nov 8, 8:09 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Yes, absolutely, but I don’t know if that always means to cause us suffering. The Lord has ways we cannot fathom.
Nov 8, 8:09 PM
VisitationSiste: 4. Why does St. Francis de Sales stress that we should not ask for suffering as Our Lord experienced it?
Nov 8, 8:09 PM
Ruth (Guest): But to accept, if necessary, suffering. It can become a participation in his saving work of the cross.
Nov 8, 8:09 PM
Ruth (Guest): Here and now.
Nov 8, 8:10 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Accepting it is different than asking for it. Jesus suffered as only He could, because of who He was. I used to think I should ask for that, but I could not endure such an experience.
Nov 8, 8:11 PM
VisitationSiste: While some saints offer to suffer in general we should just accept what God sends us
Nov 8, 8:11 PM
Dawn (Guest): thank you. because does come
Nov 8, 8:12 PM
Dawn (Guest): suffering does come
Nov 8, 8:12 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: So I must accept what I am given, easy or difficult, as God’s will for me and join that to Jesus’ sacrifice for the world. Though, it is important for me to look for spiritual guidance in that.
Nov 8, 8:12 PM
Ruth (Guest): We are not strong enough, loving enough, grace-filled enough to bear what Christ bore.
Nov 8, 8:13 PM
VisitationSiste: He knows and gives what we can bear
Nov 8, 8:13 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Exactly.
Nov 8, 8:13 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes.
Nov 8, 8:14 PM
Ruth (Guest): And there is enough suffering in the world without ASKING for it. But being willing to share it someone else’s suffering, out of love, that is a whole other matter.
Nov 8, 8:14 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I did question that at times, when I didn’t feel I could stand much more…but I did, and I survived through His grace and mercy.
Nov 8, 8:14 PM
Dawn (Guest): speaking of, our parish priest is retiring in Dec. as of now there is no new priest we are aware of
Nov 8, 8:15 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: So sorry. So many parishes going through similar circumstances.
Nov 8, 8:15 PM
Ruth (Guest): Hi Carol Ann. I just noticed you are here.
Nov 8, 8:16 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes Im sure they are. and there are two other parishes around,
Nov 8, 8:16 PM
Dawn (Guest): Hi Carol Ann
Nov 8, 8:16 PM
Carol Ann Chybowski: Hi everyone, I have been listening quietly
Nov 8, 8:16 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman:
Nov 8, 8:16 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi!
Nov 8, 8:16 PM
VisitationSiste: 5. Francis says that there “is no great harm in listening to people talking of the affairs of the world when our intention is to add to the sum of good.” How can this attitude help shape our approach to politics or other such matters?
Nov 8, 8:17 PM
Carol Ann Chybowski: When we are not argumentative and try to keep the conversation holy
Nov 8, 8:18 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes
Nov 8, 8:19 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Wow, kind of a loaded question these days. For me, I need to listen and be Jesus’ hands and feet here to help my sisters and brothers however I can to ease some burdens and celebrate their joys.
Nov 8, 8:19 PM
Ruth (Guest): The good old town meeting! Would that each person could share his/her views peaceably and all work together to make a better town/country/world.
Nov 8, 8:20 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Listening is a gift that is not shared well these days.
Nov 8, 8:20 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I can’t do anything to help, if I don’t know what is being asked for.
Nov 8, 8:20 PM
Dawn (Guest): I would add to share truth
Nov 8, 8:21 PM
Ruth (Guest): Indeed!
Nov 8, 8:21 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Someone once told me, “God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason.”
Nov 8, 8:21 PM
VisitationSiste: Listening is an art but it is also charity
Nov 8, 8:21 PM
Ruth (Guest): And there is an objectivity to truth that is, today, often relativized.
Nov 8, 8:22 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Yes, yes.
Nov 8, 8:23 PM
VisitationSiste: Pilate’s “What is truth”
Nov 8, 8:23 PM
Ruth (Guest): Still, we need to LISTEN to one another.
Nov 8, 8:23 PM
Dawn (Guest): ah yes! and here truth stood right in front of him
Nov 8, 8:24 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: So we need to open our eyes and ears to encounter the truth.
Nov 8, 8:25 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: At least, that is what I need to do, because I can miss it very easily, putting my own spin on things.
Nov 8, 8:25 PM
Ruth (Guest): That does not necessarily mean do what the other says or believe what the other believes. It does entail respect, however.
Nov 8, 8:25 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Absolutely.
Nov 8, 8:26 PM
VisitationSiste: last q f we receive advice which we know to be good and probably God’s will, why is it so difficult to follow it?
Nov 8, 8:27 PM
Dawn (Guest): because it may go against my will.
Nov 8, 8:27 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I don’t really know, maybe fear for me.
Nov 8, 8:27 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Will I get it right/wrong?
Nov 8, 8:27 PM
Dawn (Guest): It may be painful.
Nov 8, 8:28 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Maybe that too.
Nov 8, 8:28 PM
Dawn (Guest): for ex I was advised to accept the entire situation ( I spoke of) and then having accepted it, to do the right thing.
Nov 8, 8:30 PM
Dawn (Guest): this was hard for me, because my inclination was to assert myself.
Nov 8, 8:30 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: That’s where I ask for advice
Nov 8, 8:30 PM
VisitationSiste: Sometimes our own will gets in the way
Nov 8, 8:30 PM
VisitationSiste: or fear, yes
Nov 8, 8:31 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: This is all so hard for me.
Nov 8, 8:31 PM
Ruth (Guest): Or it may be something we are not (yet? or any more?) able to do, at least not without a lot of help — good, genuine, respectful help.
Nov 8, 8:31 PM
Dawn (Guest): but I trusted my advisor and so in this case it was difficult for me to follow. but, we are never alone. and if faced with a difficulty we can ask for the grace to do his will
Nov 8, 8:32 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: True. I am always at His feet asking for courage and strength.
Nov 8, 8:33 PM
VisitationSiste: We grow, over time, with repeated instances that God gives us to help
Nov 8, 8:34 PM
Ruth (Guest): Dorothy, where do you live that you are privileged to have TWO spiritual directors? And do they know one another and always agree with one another?
Nov 8, 8:35 PM
VisitationSiste: I have to go now- have a blessed week and take care all and esp Ruth!
Nov 8, 8:35 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I know I am not the same as I was before, and know I will continue to change with God’s grace.
Nov 8, 8:35 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Manhattan and no, they don’t know each other.
Nov 8, 8:35 PM
Dawn (Guest): thank you . God bless you and all the sisters
Nov 8, 8:35 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Good night, Sister.
Nov 8, 8:36 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I wish you all a blessed week. Stay well. You will be in my prayers.
Nov 8, 8:36 PM
Dawn (Guest): good question Ruth
Nov 8, 8:36 PM
Carol Ann Chybowski: Have a blessed week!
Nov 8, 8:36 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: I’ve known the 2 of them for a long time.
Nov 8, 8:36 PM
Dawn (Guest): good night Carol Ann and Dorothy.
Nov 8, 8:36 PM
Dorothy Solarino-Berman: Good night!
Nov 8, 8:37 PM
Ruth (Guest): Good night, and thank you to each of you. Have a blessed week, and let us continue to pray for one another.
Nov 8, 8:37 PM
Dawn (Guest): Amen.
Nov 8, 8:37 PM
Carol Ann Chybowski: Amen! Good