How can we learn to become less anxious?What are mortifications and how can we “practice” them?Why is it important to give our all to the Lord and yet not try to over do it? Is that a contradiction?How might we be failing to recognize the Lord in our day-to-day lives? How can we better recognize him?What kind of “humble” mortifications do we get at the hands of others? How can we accept them in the proper spirit?How can we let our spiritual gardens have more fertile soil?
0, 7:30 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Q 1How can we learn to become less anxious?
Jul 30, 7:30 PM
Simone (Guest): yes – we know from earlier events – that it is safe with Jesus in the storm, right?
Jul 30, 7:31 PMPaula (Guest): yep
ul 30, 7:32 PMCarol (Guest): Oh, if I could answer that I’d bottle and sell the solution
l 30, 7:32 PM
Dawn (Guest): Carol
Jul 30, 7:32 PM
Simone (Guest): as for Q1) – first of all – we have to be willing to become less anxious.. sounds like a no brainer – but sometimes people sue their anxiety as a shield not to have to encounter some things.
ul 30, 7:32 PMSimone (Guest): use – not sue
l 30, 7:33 PMSimone (Guest): I have noticed that with myself – my anxiety – as much as I hated it – has served me in a way tooV
ul 30, 7:33 PM
Paula (Guest): we have to learn to walk by faith and have more faith but that means countering the anxiety
Jul 30, 7:34 PM
Carol (Guest): Yes, it can be a shield against too much intensity
l 30, 7:34 PM
Simone (Guest): from a psychological point of view – anxiety is fed by repetition – so whenever we experience something- and we react with anxiety – it makes the “neurological ditch” deeper in our brain. Whenever we stand against anxiety and encounter victory over anxiety – we are making the ditch a little bit more “shallow”
Jul 30, 7:34 PM
SrSusan (Guest): It is like a warning system sometimes
Jul 30, 7:34 PM
Guest (Guest): Good Evening to all
Jul 30, 7:34 PM
Paula (Guest): remember always that God is in charge
30, 7:35 PM
Simone (Guest): pain and anxiety are definitely useful feedback loops in life – so we know when we are in danger.. but sometimes the body acts as if in major danger – where there is no real danger
Jul 30, 7:35 PM
Carol (Guest): That sure helps Paula
Jul 30, 7:35 PM
SrSusan (Guest): but being with Jesus in prayer can dispel some anxiety
l 30, 7:36 PMSimone (Guest): practicing our trust in Jesus is definitely a way to overcome anxiety
30, 7:36 PM
Simone (Guest): practicing our trust in Jesus is definitely a way to overcome anxiety
Jul 30, 7:36 PM
Paula (Guest): yes it can….peace infront of the Blessed Sacrament
Jul 30, 7:36 PM
SrSusan (Guest): q What are mortifications and how can we “practice” them?
ul 30, 7:38 PM
Paula (Guest): doing the opposite of what we would like to do in a situation
Jul 30, 7:38 PM
SrSusan (Guest): our anxiety in a way is a mortification but not a healthy one
, 7:38 PM
Simone (Guest): I agree Paula
Jul 30, 7:38 PM
Paula (Guest): having courage instead of anxiety
Jul 30, 7:39 PM
Carol (Guest): A mortification is a cross?
30, 7:39 PM
Carol (Guest): A mortification is a cross?
Jul 30, 7:39 PM
Paula (Guest): doing something we don
Jul 30, 7:39 PM
SrSusan (Guest): a penance, cross
Jul 30, 7:39 PM
Paula (Guest): ‘t like
Jul 30, 7:40 PM
Simone (Guest): I think – a mortification is something we choose – a cross is something that is handled to me.. in my definition
Jul 30, 7:40 PM
SrSusan (Guest): It can be our duties
ul 30, 7:40 PM
Carol (Guest): Dying to self?
Jul 30, 7:40 PM
Paula (Guest): yep
Jul 30, 7:41 PM
Simone (Guest): I also connected it with duties. Like my sink is full with dirty dishes right now – doing them tonight – and not tomorrow morning would be a “mortification”..a tiny one – but still
30, 7:41 PM
Paula (Guest): yep
Jul 30, 7:41 PM
Guest (Guest): Hello
Jul 30, 7:41 PM
Paula (Guest): it can be repugnant….something we really don’t like to do
ul 30, 7:42 PMCarol (Guest): Or zonething that scares us a little bit
ul 30, 7:42 PMSimone (Guest): which makes the perfect link to anxiety again
30, 7:43 PM
Carol (Guest): Yeah, huh?
Jul 30, 7:43 PM
Paula (Guest): no…because we have courage and do it out of love
Jul 30, 7:43 PMPaula (Guest): love for God
l 30, 7:43 PM
Simone (Guest): courage as a love language
Jul 30, 7:43 PM
Paula (Guest): we offer it up with love
Jul 30, 7:43 PM
Simone (Guest): I agree
Jul 30, 7:43 PM
Paula (Guest): yep…
l 30, 7:44 PMCarol (Guest): Sometimes I can be brave, as long as I don’t think about it
ul 30, 7:44 PM
Simone (Guest): Peter had a homily on Moses recently — and he pointed out that Moses repeated when called at the burning bush ” WHO am I … but WHO am I that…”
Jul 30, 7:44 PM
SrSusan (Guest): q Why is it important to give our all to the Lord and yet not try to over do it? I
ul 30, 7:45 PMPaula (Guest): or…by think God gave this to me …He knows I can handle it
7:45 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): Good evening
Jul 30, 7:45 PM
Simone (Guest): but God said ” I AM with you”.. it was not important WHO Moses was – it was important that GOD was with him.. that is for you Carol…
Jul 30, 7:45 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Hello Anna-Marie
Jul 30, 7:45 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): Had trouble signing in… following chat
Jul 30, 7:45 PM
Carol (Guest): We should discern in each moment what to do
Jul 30, 7:45 PM
Simone (Guest): Hi Anna-Marie
ul 30, 7:46 PMSrSusan (Guest): God wants all of us but we cannot always judge properly as to what that means practically
ul 30, 7:47 PM
Simone (Guest): there is a secular song… ” all of me – loves all of you…”.. came to my mind
Jul 30, 7:47 PM
Simone (Guest): in regards to our relationship to God
Jul 30, 7:48 PM
Paula (Guest): it’s because our scope is too big in tasking
ul 30, 7:48 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): We can offer all of our wills and our poverty of dpirit
Jul 30, 7:49 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): Spirit
Jul 30, 7:49 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Yes
Jul 30, 7:49 PM
Paula (Guest): we can only do so much…and my poor brain encompassess and wants too much
l 30, 7:50 PMSimone (Guest): can someone bring an example – of “overdoing” it to give all of us?
30, 7:51 PM
Paula (Guest): my mother
Jul 30, 7:51 PM
Carol (Guest): Signing up for ALL the committees at Church
l 30, 7:51 PM
Simone (Guest): oooh.. now I see how this is meant..
ul 30, 7:52 PM
Carol (Guest): I’ll be right over Paula, lol
Jul 30, 7:52 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): Thinking we know what’s best for another comes to mind… too much pride
Jul 30, 7:52 PM
Simone (Guest): often ” giving all of us” comes from a place of deficiency and not from pure love
Jul 30, 7:52 PM
Paula (Guest): like a thanksgiving dinner every holiday
Jul 30, 7:52 PM
Carol (Guest): As though it was all up to us
Jul 30, 7:53 PM
Paula (Guest): everything has to be cooked…perfect, all dishes included…nothing missing
30, 7:53 PMSimone (Guest): my mother was the same.. but I loved it..
l 30, 7:53 PMSimone (Guest): what I did not love was – that she never was at the table..
l 30, 7:53 PM
Dawn (Guest): Ive done this with spiritual practices before…
Jul 30, 7:53 PM
Simone (Guest): sometimes service to others can create distance actually
Jul 30, 7:53 PM
Paula (Guest): i love it too…but it is overdoing
ul 30, 7:53 PM
Simone (Guest): sometimes service to others can create distance actually
Jul 30, 7:53 PM
Paula (Guest): i love it too…but it is overdoing
Jul 30, 7:54 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): The anxiety of Martha… thankfully she overcame and became a saint
l 30, 7:54 PM
Paula (Guest): yep….perfect example!
Jul 30, 7:54 PM
Simone (Guest): in her case – anxiety was wrongly placed worries ( Martha)
ul 30, 7:54 PM
Carol (Guest): When what we think we are doing is service but it takes away someone’s free will, or their voice, that is not service
Jul 30, 7:54 PMSimone (Guest): exactly
ul 30, 7:55 PMSimone (Guest): or – when we use the other person – to actually feel better about ourselves – then it is not service
30, 7:56 PMCarol (Guest): But how can we know our own heart to know our motives?
ul 30, 7:56 PMSrSusan (Guest): Prayer and direction?
ul 30, 7:56 PMSimone (Guest): not easy- working with a Spiritual Director who can give more objective insight often
ul 30, 7:57 PM
Simone (Guest): laying it out before the Lord – allowing him to take away the service if it is not rooted in love for Him and neighbour
Jul 30, 7:57 PM
Carol (Guest): All excellent ideas!
Jul 30, 7:57 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): We know by the fruits
l 30, 7:58 PMSimone (Guest): good point Anna-Marie
0, 7:58 PMSrSusan (Guest): q How might we be failing to recognize the Lord in our day-to-day lives? How can we better recognize him?
Jul 30, 7:59 PMCarol (Guest): If we are too focused on self
ul 30, 7:59 PMPaula (Guest): we look for Him in the extraordinary and not the ordinary
ul 30, 7:59 PMSimone (Guest): or if we have expectations – how God’s presence has to look like – like Elijah
ul 30, 8:00 PMAnna-Marie (Guest): Yes agree
ul 30, 8:00 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): It’s hard to see the Lord in our pain and crissed
Jul 30, 8:00 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): Crosses
l 30, 8:01 PMSimone (Guest): oh so very hard.. I had to watch my daughter falling deep – so very deep – and in the midst of her pain she was crying out “GOD where are you now?”.. heart wrenching.
l 30, 8:02 PMPaula (Guest): just like at Cana…I bet those servers where shocked at the water turned into wine
ul 30, 8:02 PM
Simone (Guest): lol. true. Did not see that coming
Jul 30, 8:02 PM
Carol (Guest): I bet they were!
ul 30, 8:03 PM
Carol (Guest): Its hard to see when you’re in it Simone, but I think Jesus is so close He is too big to see
Jul 30, 8:03 PM
Paula (Guest): tell her God is with you
Jul 30, 8:03 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): It’s hard to love and I believe we see Gid when we love
ul 30, 8:03 PMAnna-Marie (Guest): God
ul 30, 8:03 PMSimone (Guest): I told her- that God is here in my hand now – that is holding hers.
l 30, 8:04 PM
Dawn (Guest): like the discipes could not see Jesus crucified
30, 8:04 PM
Dawn (Guest): like the discipes could not see Jesus crucified
Jul 30, 8:04 PM
Simone (Guest): but they chose not to see him crucified.. other than St. John
Jul 30, 8:04 PM
Simone (Guest): well and Mary Magdalene and Mary
Jul 30, 8:04 PM
Paula (Guest): tell her God is close to the broken hearted that what Gethesmani was all about
Jul 30, 8:04 PM
SrSusan (Guest): wonderful thoughts
l 30, 8:05 PMDawn (Guest): so do we sometimes choose not to see him?
l 30, 8:05 PM
Carol (Guest): I like Ignatian prayer, to imagine being held by Jesus in the garden as I give Him my pain
Jul 30, 8:05 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Possibly
l 30, 8:06 PM
Simone (Guest): as for my daughter —- I tried to be strong for her in the beginning… encouraging her – but when I actually broke down in my pain for her myself – and allowed to catch her pain – with my arms – and not “speak it away” – I really cried out to God – because the pain was so intense – and all of a sudden we both sat in an unexpected peace.
Jul 30, 8:06 PM
Paula (Guest): He was broken hearted too….all of the disciples fled
ul 30, 8:06 PMAnna-Marie (Guest): Maybe when our crosses are heavy, we may not ask to take our yoke and give us His
ul 30, 8:07 PMDawn (Guest): Simone, I am sorry about your daughter. I think I missed what happened
ul 30, 8:07 PM
Simone (Guest): thanks Dawn. My daughter went though a severe episode of clinical depression.
Jul 30, 8:07 PM
Paula (Guest): No matter what Jesus is still yoked to her…He feels and knows her pain
Jul 30, 8:08 PM
Paula (Guest): And He won’t leave her
Jul 30, 8:08 PM
Simone (Guest): He really does. He really really does know her – and her pain
Jul 30, 8:08 PM
Dawn (Guest): oh! my son did and he pulled away from all the family , have not heard from him for few years. Im sorry for his brothers mostly.
Jul 30, 8:09 PM
Carol (Guest): Somewhere I picked up that when two oxen are yoked together, one is experienced and one is a newbie. The experienced one, Jesus, teaches us, the newbies how to do it
Jul 30, 8:09 PM
Dawn (Guest): Our children in pain …
Jul 30, 8:09 PM
Simone (Guest): oh Dawn, I am so sorry for you. I know there is deep pain with estrangement in families.
30, 8:09 PM
Carol (Guest): I’m sorry Dawn
Jul 30, 8:10 PM
Simone (Guest): my best friend in Austria experienced the same.. and she is such an amazing mother.
ul 30, 8:10 PMSimone (Guest): thanks Carol – for the oxen example
ul 30, 8:10 PM
Simone (Guest): thanks Carol – for the oxen example
Jul 30, 8:11 PM
Paula (Guest): yep…lost but not forgotten…the Good Shepherd
ul 30, 8:11 PMDawn (Guest): I really am in pain for his brothers, they were all so close!
l 30, 8:11 PMCarol (Guest): I wonder what happened
ul 30, 8:12 PMSimone (Guest): never give up hope Dawn. Things can indeed turn around again.
ul 30, 8:12 PMDawn (Guest): thank you. I am sorry Simone. Ive thought often of Mother Mary, how her heart was pierced…
0, 8:13 PM
SrSusan (Guest): q What kind of “humble” mortifications do we get at the hands of others? How can we accept them in the proper spirit?
Jul 30, 8:13 PM
Simone (Guest): oh.. did I ever pray with Mother Mary in the last weeks. I was fascinated how she leaned into the pain. Under the cross she must have heard every moaning of her son –
ul 30, 8:13 PM
Lisa C (Guest): Asking for special prayers for tomorrow please
Jul 30, 8:14 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Hi Lisa Yes will pray
30, 8:14 PM
Lisa C (Guest): Thank you Mother, please ask all our Nuns to pray
Jul 30, 8:14 PM
SrSusan (Guest): I will
Jul 30, 8:14 PM
Paula (Guest): Sometimes people leave because they don’t feel understood….if they would talk about things…sometimes they might find that they are understood and that people really do care
Jul 30, 8:14 PM
Carol (Guest): I will, Lisa
30, 8:14 PMAnna-Marie (Guest): Thanks all for sharing will pray for your intentions
0, 8:16 PM
Simone (Guest): as for the question….I think that the question has the answer built right in. for me humility is the only way that allows a response in love and peace
Jul 30, 8:16 PM
SrSusan (Guest): People humble us with their comments
l 30, 8:17 PMPaula (Guest): yes
0, 8:17 PM
Dawn (Guest): q) it possibily when someone retracts their relationship , or comes in between grandchildren and grandmother
Jul 30, 8:17 PM
Carol (Guest): They do, and sometime humiliate
ul 30, 8:17 PMAnna-Marie (Guest): Especially when there is no us and them .. it is all ‘us’
Jul 30, 8:19 PMSimone (Guest): Dawn, that must be very painful – being separated from grandchildren.
, 8:19 PMPaula (Guest): Most of the time we get humbled because people don’t understand what we are going though and think that they have the answer to our problem….or they try to help but it doesn’t come out quite right
l 30, 8:21 PMSimone (Guest): I am so confused – do we mean “humbled” – or “humiliated”?
ul 30, 8:22 PMSimone (Guest): I think I understand the nuance now..
ul 30, 8:22 PMDawn (Guest): good distinction Simone, thank you
l 30, 8:23 PMSimone (Guest): for me.. “being humbled” – means that someone else has shown themselves superior – and I am in awe – feeling humbled – but that is a good thing for me. But I guess – it can also mean – not so good… sorry ladies.. English as a second language here.
Jul 30, 8:23 PMSrSusan (Guest): last q How can we let our spiritual gardens have more fertile soil?
ul 30, 8:24 PMCarol (Guest): Prayer and reading Scripture
ul 30, 8:24 PMDawn (Guest): yes!
ul 30, 8:24 PM
Simone (Guest): allowing prayer and Scripture to loosen the soil – and turn it upside down once in a while.. so it does not get crusty
Jul 30, 8:24 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): I agree Catol and would add corporal and spiritual acts of mercy
ul 30, 8:24 PMCarol (Guest): Ooh, those are good!
ul 30, 8:25 PMSimone (Guest): and never forget that God can turn dirt into fertilizer
ul 30, 8:25 PMPaula (Guest): trying to be stable and do our works diligently amist the sorms of life
Jul 30, 8:26 PM
Paula (Guest): storms
Jul 30, 8:26 PM
Anna-Marie (Guest): Resting in the Heart of Jesus
ul 30, 8:26 PM
Simone (Guest): water our garden with the living water
Jul 30, 8:26 PM
Carol (Guest): Adoration
ul 30, 8:26 PM
Simone (Guest): Amen
ul 30, 8:27 PMPaula (Guest): remembering scripture…His Words/Lessons in times of trouble
l 30, 8:27 PMSimone (Guest): staying close to the gardener – listening to His advice
30, 8:28 PMAnna-Marie (Guest): Reading on lives of saints .. so inspiring
Jul 30, 8:28 PM
Paula (Guest): All this shall pass away but my words will never pass away….
Jul 30, 8:28 PM
Simone (Guest): not just focusing that the soil is fertile – but making sure that the seed is planted from the Gardener – and brings fruit
l 30, 8:29 PMSimone (Guest): oh I love to read about saints.. any recommendations specifically Anna- Marie?
ul 30, 8:29 PMSimone (Guest): I highly recommend the biography from St. Jane de Chantal from Elisabeth Stopp. So so good
ul 30, 8:30 PMDawn (Guest): this Simone, I was just wondering if there was a good book about St Jane. thank you!
l 30, 8:30 PMAnna-Marie (Guest): Just watch 3 hour movie on Padre Pio (Formed) not the current movie in the theatre
l 30, 8:30 PMSimone (Guest): Dawn – you can order it from EmbracedbyGod.com
30, 8:32 PM
Paula (Guest): I love his stay with me prayer…it works
Jul 30, 8:32 PM
Simone (Guest): what do you mean by that Paula?
Jul 30, 8:32 PM
SrSusan (Guest): I need to leave now. Thank you for a great conversation and have a blessed week!
l 30, 8:32 PM
Lisa C (Guest): Thank you for your prayers
Jul 30, 8:32 PM
Simone (Guest): Thanks for leading Sr. Susan. Have a great week too
Jul 30, 8:32 PM
Paula (Guest): see you next week God willing