Reflections:How is a well-rooted tree a good symbol for the devout life and for a life of faith?What about when a tree goes through Fall and Spring, what does this tell us about our faith journey?When St. Francis says, “never cease longing for some new occasion of progress,” how do we put this into effect?What does it mean to have love for one’s widowhood (or any such life situation)?Why is it necessary to praise/thank God through difficult times? Doesn’t this seem masochistic?What is wrong with having eage
eager haste and restlessness? Shouldn’t we eagerly desire to serve the Lord?
Nov 10, 5:59 AM
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Nov 10, 6:00 AM
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Newsletter for Sun chat Nov 12 | Visitation Spirit
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SrSusan
, 7:26 PM
Simone (Guest): I spent this weekend at a healing seminar from our diocese.Spiritual healing and physical healing. I was wondering what St. Francis de Sales wrote on this topic.
Nov 12, 7:26 PM
Simone (Guest): I went there, because I have a directee who is suffering badly from trauma related effects. and I came for prayer support.
Nov 12, 7:26 PM
SrSusan (Guest): I cant say- never looked at that approach
ov 12, 7:27 PM
Simone (Guest): I also think that healing was not something he would spent too much time on..
Nov 12, 7:27 PM
SrSusan (Guest): I should look up the word healing in the concordance and maybe something would pop up
Nov 12, 7:27 PMSimone (Guest): oh thanks.. that would be interesting
Nov 12, 7:32 PMSrSusan (Guest): q 1 How is a well-rooted tree a good symbol for the devout life and for a life of faith?
Nov 12, 7:33 PM
Simone (Guest): Hi Patti!
Nov 12, 7:33 PM
Simone (Guest): in the letter we read about the desire for a holy life… which is compared to a tree..
Nov 12, 7:33 PM
SrSusan (Guest): welcome Patti
Nov 12, 7:34 PMSimone (Guest): or do you rather refer to Psalm 1 or similar? Cause there it speaks more about the actual faithful
ov 12, 7:34 PM
SrSusan (Guest): to be rooted in faith is like a tree in the sense of solidity
Nov 12, 7:35 PM
Paula (Guest): Good Evening All!
Nov 12, 7:35 PM
Simone (Guest): Hi Paula!
Nov 12, 7:35 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Hi Paula!
ov 12, 7:35 PM
Dawn (Guest): O beautiful tree of Gods planting , divine and heavenly seed. may God watch over your growing and make you bear fruit in due season. protecting you from the wind which makes the fruit fall where evil beasts can devour it.
Nov 12, 7:35 PM
Simone (Guest): when the roots are drenched with faith – then the zap goes to every other part in the tree
Nov 12, 7:35 PM
Dawn (Guest): how beautiful and profound are these words!
ov 12, 7:36 PMSimone (Guest): I liked ” bear fruit in DUE season”… fruit is best – when it rises in the right season
Nov 12, 7:37 PM
SrSusan (Guest): lots of metaphors and poetic type thoughts can arise from the question
Nov 12, 7:37 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes Simone, yes
Nov 12, 7:37 PM
Simone (Guest): does St. Francis not say in one of his other writings.. that we should be careful with the roots?
Nov 12, 7:37 PM
SrSusan (Guest): “rooted and grounded in love” comes to mind
ov 12, 7:38 PMDawn (Guest): a good question. need to be rooted and grounded in love.
12, 7:38 PM
Simone (Guest): cause when a tree is “ripped out of the ground”.. he cannot be replanted.. but when he gently lets go. – one root at a time – he can be replanted.. this was in reference to letting go of attachements
Nov 12, 7:38 PM
Dawn (Guest): please expand
Nov 12, 7:38 PM
SrSusan (Guest): can’t seem to recall an yting at the moment Simone
Nov 12, 7:39 PMPaula (Guest): rooted and grounded in Jesus
M
Simone (Guest): Trees uprooted by the wind are not fit for transplanting because their roots are left behind in the soil; but if they are to be moved to another plot of ground their roots must be deftly and gradually disengaged one by one. And because we are to be transplanted from this miserable earth to the land of the living we must loosen our affections one by one from this world. (SelLet 54)
Nov 12, 7:41 PM
Dawn (Guest): it is so.
Nov 12, 7:41 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Beautiful
Nov 12, 7:43 PM
Simone (Guest): Psalm 1
Nov 12, 7:43 PM
Simone (Guest): They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.
Nov 12, 7:43 PM
Simone (Guest): along the riverbank.. is close to the “live-in water for me
ov 12, 7:43 PMSimone (Guest): living
v 12, 7:44 PM
Paula (Guest): not necessarily…..God does the transplant….if you had faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to the sycammore…..be uprooted and transplanted into the sea and it wouldobey you
Nov 12, 7:45 PM
SrSusan (Guest): q What about when a tree goes through Fall and Spring, what does this tell us about our faith journey?
Nov 12, 7:45 PMSimone (Guest): I think every comparison has its limitation Paula, right?
Nov 12, 7:46 PM
Paula (Guest): yes…but the Lord said it not I….and I believe His every word
Nov 12, 7:46 PM
Simone (Guest): same tree in different seasons can look very different
Nov 12, 7:47 PM
Paula (Guest): we all have dry times like fall and sprouts of new buds like spring
Nov 12, 7:47 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Yes our faith has seasons
ov 12, 7:47 PM
Paula (Guest): in our spiritual lives
Nov 12, 7:48 PM
Dawn (Guest): thank you Paula
Nov 12, 7:48 PM
Simone (Guest): and yet.. aesthetically I am more drawn to the way the trees look in the fall. ( not the magnolia tree though)
Nov 12, 7:49 PM
Dawn (Guest): we are in peak fall here….amazing
Nov 12, 7:49 PM
Paula (Guest): we have to shed away the dry useless stuff
v 12, 7:49 PMSimone (Guest): we have a magnolia tree here .. that is so majestic. like it literally covers a whole house.. no exaggeration here. – BUT.. it only blooms for about a week..
ov 12, 7:49 PM
Simone (Guest): it is said.. ” fall can teach us that there is beauty in letting go”
Nov 12, 7:50 PM
Paula (Guest): and winter in rest
Nov 12, 7:50 PM
Dawn (Guest): <3
Nov 12, 7:51 PMDawn (Guest): The quiet of winter. I am looking forward to it!
ov 12, 7:51 PM
Paula (Guest): the soul needs rest too…retreats
Nov 12, 7:51 PM
Simone (Guest): do you even get snow Dawn?
Nov 12, 7:51 PM
Dawn (Guest): much snow
Nov 12, 7:52 PM
Simone (Guest): oh.. I did not know
ov 12, 7:52 PM
SrSusan (Guest): the buds on trees like a budding faith or new insights, fall leaves, concepts that were misconstued and we let go…
Nov 12, 7:52 PM
Paula (Guest): but each season of our faith journey is beautiful
v 12, 7:53 PM
Dawn (Guest): beautiful
Nov 12, 7:53 PM
Simone (Guest): I only can handle April here where I live.. because I know how May looks like.. otherwise.. everything is soooo ugly
Nov 12, 7:54 PM
Dawn (Guest): you have snow there? I always think of canada being snow and wilderness
Nov 12, 7:54 PM
Simone (Guest): all is brown and muddy.. and the snow is mostly gone..it is boring and ugly.. and I literally have to remind myself.. that the sun will do its magic again.. and in 4 weeks.. I will love what nature will produce again
Nov 12, 7:55 PM
Simone (Guest): LOL Dawn.. you are right.. this is adequate for a lot of areas in Canada.. but I live in a very populated area. 500.000 people in my town.. and close to Toronto with 2 million people
Nov 12, 7:55 PM
Dawn (Guest): oh my goodness! lol
v 12, 7:56 PMDawn (Guest): I live in a small mt town. maybe 1500-2000 people
ov 12, 7:57 PM
Simone (Guest): I think I have been in several spiritual “April’s where everything was so dry – or muddy – and it seems that life has vanished from my prayers.. and then the warming grace touches my soul.. and it starts to bloom again.. and all you can say is “thank you my Lord”
Nov 12, 7:57 PM
Dawn (Guest): that is beautiful
2, 7:58 PM
Simone (Guest): Dawn, I love small town living.. have lived 5 years in a small town.. although it also is a little bit like a fishbowl sometimes 
Nov 12, 7:58 PM
Dawn (Guest): it sure is!
Nov 12, 7:58 PM
SrSusan (Guest): q When St. Francis says, “never cease longing for some new occasion of progress,” how do we put this into effect?
ov 12, 7:59 PM
Paula (Guest): trying to look for and do new acts of charity
Nov 12, 7:59 PM
Dawn (Guest): I believe the times we are living in afford much opportunity for holiness and progress. the second part of question not sure how to reply.
Nov 12, 8:00 PM
Dawn (Guest): good reply Paula!
Nov 12, 8:01 PM
Simone (Guest): I agree Paula.. and maybe sacrifices added to charity?
Nov 12, 8:01 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes, even in small ways can we do this.
Nov 12, 8:02 PM
Paula (Guest): reaching always outward as the branches grow…heavenward
Nov 12, 8:02 PM
Simone (Guest): like.. hoping that someone would insult me.. that I can have a chance to practice humility?… this is a question
ov 12, 8:02 PM
Dawn (Guest): the secular world affords much opportunity
Nov 12, 8:03 PM
Simone (Guest): or- when someone offends me. .in some ways.. giving thanks that the Lord invites me to practice humility.. is that maybe a bit more realistic?
ov 12, 8:03 PMPaula (Guest): insults always come…..it’s a matter of recognizing it as an opportunity for charity
Nov 12, 8:04 PMPaula (Guest): Be in the moment
Nov 12, 8:04 PMSrSusan (Guest): The Lord brings us into progress by grace
ov 12, 8:04 PMDawn (Guest): ah!
Simone (Guest): can you explain that a bit maybe Sister?
Nov 12, 8:06 PM
SrSusan (Guest): I think we are not to look “how we are doing” but the Lord works silently in our soul so progress is His to do we are just to abandon ourselves
ov 12, 8:07 PM
Simone (Guest): I think so too.. but the question did not really allow this answer I found.
Nov 12, 8:07 PM
Paula (Guest): But what about when St. Francis says in his letter for Baronne de Chantal to evaluate herself
Nov 12, 8:08 PM
SrSusan (Guest): I guess like all things a little bit of both- His work and our response
Nov 12, 8:09 PM
Paula (Guest): well, we should not let ourselves become discouraged
Nov 12, 8:09 PM
SrSusan (Guest): Hi Ruth
Nov 12, 8:09 PM
Simone (Guest): but evaluating is looking back.. not pushing into the future
Nov 12, 8:09 PM
Paula (Guest): Hi Ruth!
ov 12, 8:10 PM
SrSusan (Guest): true Simone so how does it all fit in I wonder
Nov 12, 8:10 PM
Ruth (Guest): I Al mostly just listen I .Glad to join you again.
Nov 12, 8:11 PM
Paula (Guest): Well, St. Francis says don’t look back it leads to depression
Nov 12, 8:11 PMPaula (Guest): don’t look forward it leads to anxiety
ov 12, 8:11 PM
Paula (Guest): be in the present moment
Nov 12, 8:11 PM
Dawn (Guest): stay in the moment
Nov 12, 8:12 PM
Dawn (Guest): Ruth, are you speaking and then it types?
Nov 12, 8:14 PMSrSusan (Guest): q What does it mean to have love for one’s widowhood (or any such life situation)?
Nov 12, 8:14 PMSimone (Guest): embracing your God given vocation
Paula (Guest): making the best use of it
Nov 12, 8:14 PM
SrSusan (Guest): yes, accepting all that God allows
ov 12, 8:16 PMSrSusan (Guest): Why is it necessary to praise/thank God through difficult times?
ov 12, 8:16 PM
Paula (Guest): out of love for God….shows our true love of Him
Nov 12, 8:17 PM
Dawn (Guest): His good will always come out of it, any situation
Nov 12, 8:17 PM
Simone (Guest): it purifies our love for Him..
Nov 12, 8:17 PM
Dawn (Guest): Just to be with him is great cause for joy
Nov 12, 8:18 PM
Paula (Guest): even when He endures suffering
Nov 12, 8:18 PM
Simone (Guest): praise and thanksgiving always connects us with His love
ov 12, 8:18 PM
Paula (Guest): suffering with Him our beloved – treatise on the love of God
Nov 12, 8:19 PM
Simone (Guest): I remembered once.. when I was going through a horrible time.. I was determined to give Him praise and thanksgiving – and the Lord rewarded that in the most sweetest way – His Holy Spirit came and filled me with such joy.. .unbelievable
Nov 12, 8:19 PM
Paula (Guest): when you love someone you are willing to suffer with or for them
ov 12, 8:20 PMPaula (Guest): to lay down one’s life for a friend…for God…even to the point of martyrdoom
ov 12, 8:21 PM
SrSusan (Guest): God is always praiseworthy
Nov 12, 8:22 PM
Paula (Guest): it’s easy to praise God when the going is good….but in tough times…
Nov 12, 8:22 PM
Simone (Guest): AMEN
ov 12, 8:22 PMSrSusan (Guest): His intrinsic Being is LOVE so praise is always important
ov 12, 8:23 PM
Ruth (Guest): It is a. Expression of TRUST in God.
Nov 12, 8:23 PM
Simone (Guest): it is Ruth. you are right
Nov 12, 8:24 PMSimone (Guest): when I came to my new found faith.. I did not understand why we had to praise GOD. I thought GOD needed that.. much later.. I realized.. WE need it to praise God-… to live in the right relationship to Him
2, 8:26 PM
Ruth (Guest): That is so true Simone
Nov 12, 8:26 PM
Paula (Guest): and it’s ashame how many people go to church and don’t do that
Nov 12, 8:26 PM
SrSusan (Guest): last q What is wrong with having eage
eager haste and restlessness? Shouldn’t we eagerly desire to serve the Lord?
ov 12, 8:26 PM
Simone (Guest): both haste and restlessness are indicators for a soul that fell out of peace
Nov 12, 8:27 PM
Simone (Guest): we can eagerly desire to serve the Lord.. and do so calmly
Nov 12, 8:27 PM
Dawn (Guest): that would be zeal?
Nov 12, 8:28 PM
Simone (Guest): that’s exactly the word I had in my mind Dawn
ov 12, 8:28 PM
Simone (Guest): can anyone tell me what it means for you.. “to hide your heart in His wounds?”
Nov 12, 8:29 PM
Simone (Guest): that’s part of the same passage
Nov 12, 8:29 PM
Ruth (Guest): And yes, Dawn, and Sr. Susan It is because of God’s nature and ours. And to be in right relationship with Him that WE NEED to worship Him in all circumstances.
Nov 12, 8:30 PM
Paula (Guest): console your broken heart in His sufferings
Nov 12, 8:30 PM
Simone (Guest): that’s a good answer Paula.. thanks
Nov 12, 8:30 PM
Dawn (Guest): yes.
Nov 12, 8:31 PM
Dawn (Guest): thank you for expanding on that Ruth!
Nov 12, 8:31 PM
Simone (Guest): isn’t part of the ANIMA prayer ;;; “hide me in your wounds”… Paula.. how would you see that one, if I may ask?
Nov 12, 8:32 PM
SrSusan (Guest): To be united with His suffering?
Nov 12, 8:32 PM
Paula (Guest): it’s sort of suffering silently within Christ
Nov 12, 8:32 PM
Paula (Guest): not for the world to see
Nov 12, 8:32 PM
Simone (Guest): thanks Sr. – thanks Paula
Nov 12, 8:32 PMDawn (Guest): United. yes Sr Susan