How do we actually humble ourselves before God?
Not that they are mutually exclusive, but why is it so important to focus on ordinary works/acts of charity, opposed to big grand gestures?
How do we weigh the balance between the need for prayer and the need for good works?
Though it might seem overly stringent or tedious or scrupulous to others, why is it important for vowed religious to go to extra measures to live out the counsel of obedience?
May 24, 7:11 PM
Carroll V (Guest): Good evening everyone. I have been called in to work extra hours this weekend, so will miss being with you for chat. Looking forward to next week. Have a blessed Memorial Day!
May 24, 7:23 PM
VisitationSiste: welcome Nicolette
May 24, 7:27 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Hi Thank you!
May 24, 7:28 PM
VisitationSiste: welcome to all
May 24, 7:28 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): sister susan hi how are you? i am ready to chat with you.bettychao
May 24, 7:28 PM
VisitationSiste: hi Betty
May 24, 7:29 PM
VisitationSiste: first question; We all at one time have probably pictured the spiritual life as this dramatic and sensational triumph over sin. Why should we instead be content with the less exciting and grueling path of God working through our weaknesses?
May 24, 7:33 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): 1 corinthians 9:26-27 therefore i do not run like someone running aimlessley,i dont fight like a boxer beating the air, no i strike a blolw to my body and make it my slave and so that after i have preached to others. i myself will not be disqualified for the price.bettychao from 1 cor9:26-27
May 24, 7:34 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Humility
May 24, 7:34 PM
VisitationSiste: day by day we grow and face our limitations
May 24, 7:34 PM
VisitationSiste: yes humility
May 24, 7:37 PM
VisitationSiste: welcome guests
May 24, 7:38 PM
VisitationSiste: have you experience of God working thru your weaknesses
May 24, 7:38 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Every minute lol
May 24, 7:40 PM
VisitationSiste: How do we ensure that our spiritual life is not just lip service to the Lord?
May 24, 7:40 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): By our actions
May 24, 7:41 PM
VisitationSiste: absolutely
May 24, 7:41 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Love is a verb
May 24, 7:41 PM
VisitationSiste: doing His will as well
May 24, 7:41 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): in these verses St paul the apostle was looking for the direction from God. God has a plan for anyone of us. where to go .our career ,our marriage ,all need to have direction from God .the theif come only to steal and kill and destroy and so that we loose God direction .therefore we need to have faith and worship God at church meettings and mass and enter that God given direction.with the God given direction.God will give you method then can enter God preparation. Bettychao
May 24, 7:42 PM
VisitationSiste: beautiful, Betty
May 24, 7:42 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Yes doing His will
May 24, 7:45 PM
VisitationSiste: Sometimes we can think our spiritual life is sound but we have “blinders” on and it takes someone or some event to help us move forward
May 24, 7:45 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): therefore jesus say to us,he is our way of direction truth and method and life with direction and method it is to receive abundant healthy life, protect youself in the truth of God direction, then our body will be healthy.because jesus is the way of our truth and life the way to heaven.bettychao
May 24, 7:45 PM
VisitationSiste: Or we get stuck and do know it but don’t know how to get out of being stuck
May 24, 7:45 PM
VisitationSiste: That’s when spiritual direction can help too
May 24, 7:46 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): So true
May 24, 7:47 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): jesus answered I am the way of truth and life no one can come to the father but by me. bettychao
May 24, 7:47 PM
VisitationSiste: Saint Francis poignantly stated: “It is not enough to humble oneself before God, all the more so because doing it in our imagination is of no great consequence.”
May 24, 7:47 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): I feel like I need Spiritual Direction. I have never had before
May 24, 7:47 PM
VisitationSiste: Do you know how to find a director?
May 24, 7:48 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): No
May 24, 7:48 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): we must pray and worship God and seek his divine mercy
May 24, 7:48 PM
VisitationSiste: YOu can begin with your diocese, parish and ask if there is aqualified director available
May 24, 7:49 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Okay, thank you
May 24, 7:50 PM
Kristi Nash: Hello! I have a Spiritual Director. It took a lot of praying and then the right one said, Yes!
May 24, 7:50 PM
VisitationSiste: That’s a blessing!
May 24, 7:50 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): Jesus is the divine mercy in the holy eucharist in the holy mass.but in the mass jesus will give you direction just like we disguess before and st paul tell us before we need God direction that is the bible.listen to God he will give you good idea how to get you a spiritual director .jesus is you spiritual director in holy commion.bettychao
May 24, 7:51 PM
VisitationSiste: Thanks for sharing that
May 24, 7:51 PM
Kristi Nash: Thank you, Sister!
May 24, 7:51 PM
VisitationSiste: How do we actually humble ourselves before God?
May 24, 7:52 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Abandon yourself
May 24, 7:52 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Like a child
May 24, 7:53 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): jesus say knock will be open to you .seek you will find. ask will be given to you. he will give what you need in you life but you must seek him and pray to him.bettychao
May 24, 7:54 PM
Guest2703 (Guest): mostly the recognition that everything we have comes from and is dependent on him so that even though he wants us to participate and succeed and be happy, he doesn’t NEED our stuff and our actions but he WANTS us to want to give
May 24, 7:55 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): where are you mother susan marie? which one is you? where are you? mother susan marie I wander which one is you. Bettychao
May 24, 7:56 PM
VisitationSiste: Needing God is also a way of humbling ourselves, showing He is in charge
May 24, 7:56 PM
Kristi Nash: Following His will.
May 24, 7:57 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): follow his ten commdnments
May 24, 7:59 PM
VisitationSiste: The saints were very humble
May 24, 7:59 PM
VisitationSiste: why is it so important to focus on ordinary works/acts of charity, opposed to big grand gestures?
May 24, 7:59 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): we need to strike a blow to our body and make it our slave protect us in the truth from God and his way of path and truth , we need to walk out to preach and shared the gaspel let the gaspel be in the front of us,do not go against God,we need to walk in God way not our own way.Bettychao
May 24, 8:00 PM
Guest2703 (Guest): because there are not many opportunities for th big gestures
May 24, 8:00 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Because it is the “intention” of the act. Not how big it is
May 24, 8:00 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): that Gaspel is come from jonah 1;1-4
May 24, 8:01 PM
Guest2703 (Guest): and the big gestures also run th risk of making us feel important whereas the little ones help us to remain unnoticed and humble
May 24, 8:02 PM
Carol Ann: Hello!
May 24, 8:02 PM
VisitationSiste: Hi Carol Anne!
May 24, 8:02 PM
Kristi Nash: Because it’s humbling to do things unnoticed
May 24, 8:02 PM
Kristi Nash: Hi Carol Ann!
May 24, 8:02 PM
VisitationSiste: Yes nad sometimes it is harder to do the little things rather than the grand
May 24, 8:02 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Which is what the Saints all had in common. They weren’t worried about what men thought, only what God thought
May 24, 8:04 PM
Carol Ann: It is very difficult to learn that attitude though
May 24, 8:04 PM
VisitationSiste: St Francis de Sales alwys guides us to the little virtues, the ordinary life because we tend to look for the big but the small is just as valuable
May 24, 8:04 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): You do something really BIG but if it never had the intention of glory of God, it was wasted
May 24, 8:04 PM
VisitationSiste: very true
May 24, 8:05 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): the word of the lord come to jonah and say go to the land of nineveh and preach the people. becuase they do bad things against me.but jonah dont want obey the lord and he want to be lazy so he want run away from him. he went down to joppa where he found a ship bound for the port.after paying the fare,he went to the board and sailed for the tarshish to flee from the lord.then the lord sent a great storm from the sea and such a violent storm arose from the sea to the ship threatened break up .
May 24, 8:06 PM
Carol Ann: We must focus on the little acts as St Therese of liseux says and do all things with great love
May 24, 8:07 PM
VisitationSiste: How do we weigh the balance between the need for prayer and the need for good works?
May 24, 8:08 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Make your whole life, everything you do, a prayer, an offering.
May 24, 8:08 PM
Guest2703 (Guest): I thought Jonah ran away not out of laziness, but because he suspected that God would forgive the people if they repented an he did not want thm to be forgiven so he did not want to be the one to tell them to repent…
May 24, 8:09 PM
VisitationSiste: I think that’s correct
May 24, 8:09 PM
VisitationSiste: prayer leads to action and action to prayer
May 24, 8:09 PM
VisitationSiste: and in fact prayer is an action!
May 24, 8:09 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): YES!
May 24, 8:10 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): jonah went against the lord ,there fore encountered trouble.God wanted jonah go to nineveh to preach the gaspel with the people in that place.this is the direction that God give to jonah. if jonah had held on to it.he would have to successful .regretfully he did not obey.and listen that is why God punnished him by not obey Him.bettychao
May 24, 8:10 PM
Carol Ann: I think at the time people thought salvation was only for the Jewish people, and Nineveh was their enemy as well
May 24, 8:11 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): if God tell you to go you go what he ask you to go.if God tell you not to go you must obey becuase He help you what is the best for you.
May 24, 8:11 PM
VisitationSiste: Good point
May 24, 8:12 PM
VisitationSiste: In religious life we follow a rule that helps us balance prayer, work etc but on one’s own one needs discipline
May 24, 8:13 PM
Guest9685 (Guest): Agree
May 24, 8:13 PM
Kristi Nash: Yes
May 24, 8:14 PM
Carol Ann: Having a Rule of life is such a blessing
May 24, 8:15 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): after hearing from God ,with the God give you direction we cant run away from him and his direction that he give to us.we do not fight like a boxer beating the air.but strike a blow to our body and make it slave so that after we have preach the gaspel to the people who do not know him. we can enter the miracles.therefore we need to be clear with the three follow point.bettychao
May 24, 8:15 PM
VisitationSiste: thank you!
May 24, 8:17 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): when adam and eve sin against God immediately ask him.God where are you. God care about where we are.our direction and our place must be correct.this is God care about the most.bettychao
May 24, 8:17 PM
VisitationSiste: why is it important for vowed religious to go to extra measures to live out the counsel of obedience?
May 24, 8:19 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): with God direction.go on the path of the truth that God want us to go. go out to preach the gaspel .will enter the power of the gospel.Bettychao
May 24, 8:19 PM
Carol Ann: By choosing to live within the cloister or in an Order, we give ourselves more fully to Christ and He expects us to go deeper than average
May 24, 8:21 PM
VisitationSiste: yes it isa not just obedience to what is said to you but to understand the subtler level
May 24, 8:21 PM
VisitationSiste: the wishes of the Superior without it being an actual command
May 24, 8:21 PM
Guest3431 (Guest): dear mother susan marie I have to go and I will chat with you next sunday. I will pray for you all. good bye and God bless.Bettychao
May 24, 8:21 PM
VisitationSiste: ok Betty!
May 24, 8:21 PM
VisitationSiste: not easy to do
May 24, 8:22 PM
Carol Ann: God Bless you Betty
May 24, 8:23 PM
Nicolette (Guest): Whoops logged myself out…
May 24, 8:23 PM
Nicolette (Guest): Bye Betty 😊
May 24, 8:24 PM
Nicolette (Guest): You deny your Will in order to Serve Gods Will
May 24, 8:24 PM
VisitationSiste: yes
May 24, 8:24 PM
Carol Ann: It can be very difficult to obey when you do jot understand the why of the direction. I just had that situation and my formation assistant really prayed for the way to help me see. She found it and now i am able to do even more than she asked
May 24, 8:24 PM
Guest1878 (Guest): Why does SFdS say Paul’s temptation was against purity? Scripture does not say what his “thorn in the side was.”
May 24, 8:25 PM
VisitationSiste: THAT MITE HAVE BEEN THE COMMON UNDERSTANDING
May 24, 8:27 PM
VisitationSiste: I need to leave now. May each of you prepare for the Holy Spirit!
May 24, 8:27 PM Kristi Nash: Have a Blessed evening, Sister Susan