If we don’t abandon to God, what would we abandon to?
What does it mean to tell God do with our souls as he pleases?
Why is it God’s pleasure that we experience either sorrow or joy? Why doesn’t God simply desire for us to experience joy?
How do we cast our cares into the hands of a God we cannot see?
If at times God desires/wills our suffering, what point is there in praying for peace or freedom from anxiety?
What can we learn from Mary Magdalen?
VisSr (Guest): q1 If we don’t abandon to God, what would we abandon to?
29 PM
Dawn (Guest): Hi Carol, and hello Simone. good to be here, thank you
Jan 22, 7:29 PM
simone (Guest): Hi Dawn
Jan 22, 7:30 PM
simone (Guest): The first thought that came to my mind – we abandon ourselves to our own senses
Jan 22, 7:30 PM
VisSr (Guest): https://tandirection.com/
Home – TAN Direction – Catholic Spiritual Direction From the Saints and Faithful Modern Authors
Jan 22, 7:30 PM
Carol (Guest): If we don’t abandon to God we end up in a oit of self-will and pride
Jan 22, 7:30 PM
VisSr (Guest): Hi Ruth
Jan 22, 7:30 PM
Dawn (Guest): Pagans have many false gods I believe they abandon themselves to.
22, 7:31 PM
Dawn (Guest): but right Carol, it would be abandoning ones self to ones self
Jan 22, 7:31 PM
Ruth (Guest): Hello! So many here! Good.
Jan 22, 7:31 PM
Dawn (Guest): Hi Ruth!
Jan 22, 7:31 PM
VisSr (Guest): I guess one could abandon oneself to anything- cigarettes, drugs etc
2, 7:31 PM
simone (Guest): hi Ruth
Jan 22, 7:32 PM
VisSr (Guest): We can be absorbed in them but they cannot absorb us. Only God can bring us fully into Himself
22, 7:34 PM
VisSr (Guest): in anything other than God, we might be destroyed or lose much of our humanity if we become abandoned to it but not with God, we become more fully ourselves
Jan 22, 7:34 PM
Dawn (Guest): interesting Simone, abandoning ourselves to our own senses. like narcissistic worship
n 22, 7:34 PMCarol (Guest): Yes, that is what I was thinking too
n 22, 7:36 PM
simone (Guest): I love your post Sister. The fruit of abandonment can only be found in God
Jan 22, 7:36 PM
Dawn (Guest): that is beautiful
Jan 22, 7:37 PM
VisSr (Guest): Deep union
Jan 22, 7:37 PM
Ruth (Guest): Let’s see.
Jan 22, 7:37 PMCarol (Guest): And when you do that, He hides you in Himself
an 22, 7:38 PMVisSr (Guest): q What does it mean to tell God do with our souls as he pleases?
an 22, 7:39 PMDawn (Guest): like surrendering to his will? he can do whatever he desires but maybe this is us agreeing to do his will?
an 22, 7:40 PM
VisSr (Guest): I think so
Jan 22, 7:40 PM
simone (Guest): Well I guess it is the perfect description of abandonment
an 22, 7:40 PM
Carol (Guest): We give up our own ideas if how things should go
Jan 22, 7:40 PM
simone (Guest): And it requires a full understanding g of God’s goodness
2, 7:41 PM
VisSr (Guest): We dont always know what God is doing with our souls
Jan 22, 7:41 PM
Ruth (Guest): Is that not an expression of trust and abandonment?
Jan 22, 7:41 PM
simone (Guest): In a way that is what St. Francis did – when he prayed the memorare – and finished the wrestling with the fear of not being amongst the “chosen”
n 22, 7:43 PMVisSr (Guest): yes good example
an 22, 7:43 PMCarol (Guest): So much of what He does to transform us is in our subconscious. We have to trust what He is doing down there and not try to “help”
:44 PMsimone (Guest): This is exactly what I was pondering g this afternoon. I don’t feel too much these days of the love of God – but I was thinking – that he can still form me – even if I do not feel anything.
an 22, 7:45 PM
VisSr (Guest): We cannot depend on feelings when it comes to our spiritual life
Jan 22, 7:45 PM
simone (Guest): Just curious Carol. Can you name some ways how people would like to”help”?
Jan 22, 7:45 PMCarol (Guest): And then one day you wake up and everything is different
2, 7:46 PMCarol (Guest): Oh, we think we know what God is doing and we might push ahead too fast, before everything is in place
an 22, 7:48 PMVisSr (Guest): q Why is it God’s pleasure that we experience either sorrow or joy? Why doesn’t God simply desire for us to experience joy?
an 22, 7:48 PMDawn (Guest): in sorrow we draw closer to him
, 7:49 PM
simone (Guest): If there would be no sorrow – what would joy be worth?
Jan 22, 7:49 PM
Carol (Guest): Yes, and unite ourselves to His suffering
Jan 22, 7:49 PM
simone (Guest): Would we even recognize it as joy in the absence of the possibility of sorrows?
Jan 22, 7:50 PM
Dawn (Guest): in suffering is where Im most likely to abandon my self to him.
n 22, 7:50 PMCarol (Guest): Because our problems are too big for us, but not for Him
an 22, 7:51 PMRuth (Guest): Funny, I was just thinking: time to get myself a new, good laptop. How hard it is, sometimes, to keep on pushing oneself to “accomplish” what one KNOWS is in line with God’s will but not necessarily his — what did he call it? — “designated will” — OR simply abandoning oneself to his will. Sort of working WITH him, actively OR a sort of passive acceptance of what is, because the situation’s “ISness” becomes or expresses His “AMness”.
n 22, 7:52 PMVisSr (Guest): great phrase there!
an 22, 7:55 PMVisSr (Guest): q How do we cast our cares into the hands of a God we cannot see?
2, 7:56 PM
Carol (Guest): Prayer
Jan 22, 7:56 PM
Carol (Guest): And once we give something tl Him, dont keep worrying about it
22, 7:58 PMRuth (Guest): I notice that — although for decades I have often prayed, “I love you Jesus my Love, I regret ever having displeased you; grant that I may love you always, then do with me what you will.” BUT it seems that only since the cancer diagnosis have I LIVED that trust or abandonment. I have more challenges in some ways than I ever did, but am much more at peace; BUT also much less productive. I rarely accomplish much in a day.
22, 7:59 PMVisSr (Guest): that trust and abandonment is worth eternally more than other accomplishments
, 8:00 PM
Dawn (Guest): and yet, in doing this Ruth,you are accomplishing the one important thing
Jan 22, 8:00 PM
Carol (Guest): He’s been moving mountains for me
Jan 22, 8:00 PM
Dawn (Guest): do you mean the mudslides Carol? 
, 8:01 PM
Dawn (Guest): Did Simone sign off?
Jan 22, 8:01 PM
Carol (Guest): Oh, those too. But I was thinking of figurative ones
22, 8:02 PM
Dawn (Guest): sometimes it is like that, effortlessly everything falls into place
Jan 22, 8:02 PM
simone (Guest): Dawn, I am still here. But I am on the phone today – and it is hard to follow on the little screen
Jan 22, 8:03 PM
Dawn (Guest): I may not be expressing this correctly
Jan 22, 8:03 PM
VisSr (Guest): In our hearts we can cast our cares on God- sight is not necessary
Jan 22, 8:03 PM
Dawn (Guest): Hi Simone,ok
Jan 22, 8:03 PM
Carol (Guest): And sometimes, there is a complete reversal of the status quo
Jan 22, 8:03 PM
Ruth (Guest): Tell is about those mountains, Carol
an 22, 8:03 PMsimone (Guest): Ruth, I like what you wrote
22, 8:04 PMsimone (Guest): Sister – sight is not necessary for trust – but I find it hard to live that intimate love with my God when there is no sight for a long time
2, 8:04 PM
Carol (Guest): It would take too long here, but He is turning stuff upside down for me
Jan 22, 8:04 PM
VisSr (Guest): I understand
8:05 PMRuth (Guest): CCarol, that sounds like tilling the ground for planting for a. Ew harvest!
an 22, 8:06 PMRuth (Guest): a new harvest
an 22, 8:06 PMCarol (Guest): I think He is! And its all since final vows
22, 8:07 PM
Ruth (Guest): You gave yourself to him about as completely as a person can!
Jan 22, 8:08 PM
Dawn (Guest): isn’t this where faith comes in? not seeing but weve received the grace of faith and the Holy Spirit to remind us of things
an 22, 8:08 PMCarol (Guest): Yes!
an 22, 8:09 PMRuth (Guest): I NEED lots of reminders these days!
22, 8:10 PMVisSr (Guest): q If at times God desires/wills our suffering, what point is there in praying for peace or freedom from anxiety?
n 22, 8:10 PM
Dawn (Guest): this is the best question Sr
Jan 22, 8:11 PM
VisSr (Guest): and a difficult one
22, 8:11 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes
Jan 22, 8:11 PM
Carol (Guest): He takes the fear and anxiety out of suffering
Jan 22, 8:12 PM
Ruth (Guest): At times, but not at ALL times and not forever. Sometime it seems like forever.
Jan 22, 8:12 PM
Dawn (Guest): I guess I dont pray for anxiety to go away. I do pray for wisdom and strenght
22, 8:13 PMVisSr (Guest): suffering and anxiety are not necessarily the same thing
n 22, 8:13 PMCarol (Guest): I do experience both still, but not the same way. I am not consumed by it
an 22, 8:14 PM
Dawn (Guest): suffering could be temporal or physical , anxiety could be our reaction to it?
Jan 22, 8:15 PM
VisSr (Guest): yes
22, 8:15 PMRuth (Guest): Mild anxiety helps motivate us to DO, intense anxiety is certainly a form of suffering, I think, judging by those I have seen with anxiety disorders.
an 22, 8:18 PMVisSr (Guest): we can have peace in suffering- saints did
22, 8:18 PM
Carol (Guest): That is a whole other subject. Chronic anything is not always something that can be fixed
Jan 22, 8:18 PM
Ruth (Guest): Dawn, OR anticipatory anxiety about suffering. But when accepted from the hand of God the anxiety is dissipated; what is left can even live in the pierced heart, because LOVE lives there two.
Jan 22, 8:19 PM
Dawn (Guest): God may will our suffering only for our souls benefit, for purification. thank you Ruth, that is beautiful and insightful
:21 PMCarol (Guest): Everything He does is for salvation
n 22, 8:22 PMCarol (Guest): it’s all part of the Great Mystery
, 8:22 PM
Ruth (Guest): There is a Native American saying “This, too, shall pass away.” It can be said of suffering but also as an admonition when one is tempted to hang too tightly onto something or even someone we value.
Jan 22, 8:23 PM
Dawn (Guest): so the question is what point is there in praying for peace or freedom of anxiety? I believe he loves to hear our prayers
n 22, 8:24 PMVisSr (Guest): Yes we should talk to God about everything
n 22, 8:24 PM
Dawn (Guest): like little children, asking for what we need. tho he knows what we need
Jan 22, 8:24 PM
VisSr (Guest): yes
Jan 22, 8:24 PM
Carol (Guest): There is ALWAYS a point to prayer
:25 PM
Ruth (Guest): Jesus responded to the people who came to him asking for healing with C OMPASSION
Jan 22, 8:25 PM
VisSr (Guest): last q What can we learn from Mary Magdalen?
8:26 PM
Carol (Guest): It’s never too late to come home
Jan 22, 8:26 PM
Ruth (Guest): He healed them, forgave them, as long as they trusted him.
Jan 22, 8:27 PM
VisSr (Guest): St. Magdalen, who was wholly abandoned to Our Lord, remained at His feet, and listened while He spoke; and when He ceased to speak, she ceased to listen, but she did not move away from Him; thus her soul, abandoned to Our Lord, remained in His arms as a child in the bosom of its mother, which, when she puts it down to walk, walks until its mother takes it up again, and when she carries it, allows itself to be carried.
n 22, 8:27 PM
Dawn (Guest): in this letter, Magdalen remained at his feet and listened while he spoke, and when he ceased to speak she ceased to listen …but she did not move away. <<< this.
Jan 22, 8:27 PM
VisSr (Guest): yes
22, 8:28 PMVisSr (Guest): She was one courageous and dedicated woman
:29 PM
VisSr (Guest): This week will be the Feast of St Francis de Sales on the 24th. We will be praying for all of you so loyal Catholics and chatters.
Jan 22, 8:29 PM
Dawn (Guest): courage is important virtue, one Ive been thinking of. and instead of saying Be Safe to someone, Ive been saying be couragous!
Jan 22, 8:29 PM
Ruth (Guest): Once at an Easter Retreat in the Black Forest I played Mary Magdalen at the foot of the cross in a skit. My! The emotional energy it took! I don’t think I was ever the same afterward, but I find it hard to say exactly what it is I learned from her.
Jan 22, 8:29 PM
VisSr (Guest): Great!
22, 8:30 PM
Carol (Guest): Thats one way to really understand something–act it out
Jan 22, 8:30 PM
VisSr (Guest): Good food for thought Ruth!
22, 8:30 PM
Dawn (Guest): a Blessed Feast of St Francis to all of the sisters! thank you
Jan 22, 8:31 PM
Carol (Guest): happy feast day!
Jan 22, 8:31 PM
VisSr (Guest): Thank you! Have a blessed week!
Jan 22, 8:31 PM
Dawn (Guest): I like that Ruth!
Jan 22, 8:31 PM
Carol (Guest): Thank you Sister!