by Sister Susan Marie | Feb 23, 2012 | LENT, Salesian Spirituality, St. Jane de Chantal
St. Jane de Chantal, the Foundress of the Visitation Order, guided her Sisters through various “Chapters” or community meetings, held throughout the year. We will be sharing her encouraging Lenten thoughts for the next few weeks. St. Jane de Chantal: “ I have but two...
by Sister Susan Marie | Feb 21, 2012 | LENT, Salesian Spirituality, St. Francis de Sales
(February 22, 2012: Ash Wednesday) “Rend your hearts, not your garments.” During his last Lent before his death in December 1622, Francis de Sales preached in a sermon in which he made the following observation: “Our Divine Savior (who instituted the fast) greatly...
by Sister Susan Marie | Feb 19, 2012 | Salesian Spirituality, St. Francis de Sales, Visitation Outreach
The St. Francis de Sales Association was founded in France in 1872. It is a spiritual family made up of lay Catholics – single, married, or widowed – who choose to live their lives grounded in the Gospel and according to Salesian teachings and virtues....
by Sister Susan Marie | Feb 13, 2012 | Salesian Spirituality, St. Francis de Sales
St. Francis de Sales was an innovator and sometimes his creativity was not always accepted! One of the first acts recorded after he was first raised to the Bishopric of Geneva occurred in February 1603. It was only the second month of his episcopate, and Bishop...
by Sister Susan Marie | Feb 11, 2012 | Formation Q&A of St. Jane, Salesian Spirituality, St. Jane de Chantal, Vocation news
We conclude this first part of the series on Formation Questions and Answers , with St. Jane’s teachings on the prayer life of a Visitation Sister. Often when a candidate is considering a monastic vocation, friends and family will inquire, “but what do you do all day...
by Sister Susan Marie | Feb 10, 2012 | Formation Q&A of St. Jane, Salesian Spirituality, St. Jane de Chantal, Vocation news
Most candidates enter a religious community with great enthusiasm, hopes, high ideals and strong expectations. Formators know that they need to be alert to the moments when the “bubble” begins to leak, or burst. That’s when the new member’s real inner work begins. St....