Poll: Where Is Your Heart?

[Chamomile]

[quote name='emilier98' timestamp='1302715147' post='2228179']
This is a really good poll.

I pray the rosary as a start to mental prayer. I tend to get lost in the repetition. The rosary quiets my mind so that my heart can speak. Once I have done that I kneel or prostrate myself and I pray silently and without words, letting my heart speak to God those feelings and thoughts that there are not words to express. I love sitting in the silence and not speaking, but listening to God and His quiet, loving voice. I read spiritual books during the day to keep the prayer going throughout the day. I also go to the chapel a few times a day to just be in His presence.

I am drawn to the Dominican spirituality because it is so contemplative, even in active communities.

I am psychology major and I love working with others to help them overcome their hurdles in life.
[/quote]

Your prayer life sounds very Dominican

[emilier98]

[quote name='Chamomile' timestamp='1302734300' post='2228415']
Your prayer life sounds very Dominican
[/quote]

Yah, bad or good depending on how look at it is even before I started discerning and was pointed toward the Dominicans and started researching them that was how I prayed. I guess my SD and Dominican friends are right, they can smell their own.

[MargaretTeresa]

[quote name='emilier98' timestamp='1302752541' post='2228536']
Yah, bad or good depending on how look at it is even before I started discerning and was pointed toward the Dominicans and started researching them that was how I prayed. I guess my SD and Dominican friends are right, they can smell their own.
[/quote]

Hehehehehe....I truly don't know which I am. I love the work of the Paulines but the quiet life of silent prayer the Carmelites have...

[emilier98]

[quote name='MargaretTeresa' timestamp='1302752815' post='2228539']
Hehehehehe....I truly don't know which I am. I love the work of the Paulines but the quiet life of silent prayer the Carmelites have...
[/quote]

That's part of why I like the Dominicans. I get the contemplative life and active life in balance.

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1279674951' post='2145759']
[b]For prayer style, I put:[/b]

Church-written prayer
Scripture
Others songs or poetry to the Lord
Spontaneous
Just be in His Presence, in the silence, in His love

[b]For spirituality:[/b]

Dominican (I love the motto [i]To Pray, To Bless, To Preach[/i]; [i]To Contemplate and Give Others Fruits of that Contemplation[/i])
Marian (I desire my vocation and life to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary; she is the model of all womanhood!)

[b]For apostolate:[/b]

Evangelization (this includes the teaching ministry of the Nashville Dominicans)
Health/Hospital care (since I am a CNA, I've looked at a few healthcare orders, but haven't felt that certain draw yet)
Catechesis (I believe catechesis could use a few changes; students in CCD are not taught as well as they used to)
[/quote]

I have to add a few things:

[b]For prayer style, I put:[/b]

Rosary
Divine Mercy Chaplet
Church-written prayer
Spontaneous
Others songs about the Lord (Christian music)
Just be in His Presence, in the silence, in His love.

[b]For spirituality:[/b]

Dominican
Franciscan
Marian

[b]For apostolate:[/b]

Retreat work
Catechesis
Prayer/Contemplation

This is why I am discerning a vocation to the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word.

Edited May 4, 2011 by MaterMisericordiae

[Clare~Therese]

I don't know. Let me think for a minute. LOL.

[b]Prayer:[/b] Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, Spontaneous, Just Being Silent in His Presence, and also, I like poetry sometimes.

[b]Spirituality I'm Drawn To:[/b]
[i]Franciscans[/i], because of their poverty, simplicity, and super obvious joy. As I recall, some of the first Saints I learned about were Franciscans. Even when I wasn't particularly interested in religious things, I always liked St. Francis for some reason.

[i]Carmelites, [/i]because...I'm not exactly sure why. My father calls me "the hermit" if that's any indication. I like silence, just being silent with God and being "alone with the Alone," as they say. Their child-like trust in Our Lady's intercession.

[i]Dominicans, [/i]because of their zealous thirst to know and love the Truth, so that they may pass it on to others. I like that. I think, for me at this time in my life, this has to do with mostly a personal desire to know this Truth also, to know Church teaching as well, and so on. And the rosary, because I [i]really[/i] like the rosary.

[b]Apostolate: [/b]I have no idea. Definitely contemplation/prayer and maybe something else too, I'm just not sure what.

[Rocamadour]

By the question 'Where does you heart most often go in prayer?' I've choose other because I like the simple prayer of the Jesus prayer: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

The other things what I love to do is the Lectio Devina, silence, reading the psalms wherever I am, meditation, rosary and liturgy.

I like the spirituality of Carthusians, Benedictine and the Ignatian. I was ever a postulant in an active order but God want me more contemplative.

[AccountDeleted]

I've found that spirituality isn't a static thing. What causes one's heart to burn may change over time depending upon need and inclination. At one time I loved solitude more than anything because of the freedom of mental prayer, but now my soul longs for more community prayer, especially the Divine Office. It seems only natural to me that as human beings, we change over time in so many ways, so why not in relation to our spirituality as well. God is unchanging, but always new.

[i<3franciscans]

SO when I voted I tried to be simple and just pick one of each; which I did, but I really have many:

For prayer: Just Being Silent in His Presence, (I have really been able to look deep within myself during periods of silent prayer and I believe that is where I have grown the most in my spirituality), the DMC (I LOVE St. Faustina!!!) and songs. (I often just sing whatever song comes to mind...)

Spirituality: Franciscan for the reasons many of you have already heard. I love their extreme poverty, and constant, contagious joy! And I have always admired Carmelites very much.

[quote name='frassati' timestamp='1280088114' post='2147927']
Hi everybody, I figure this is a good topic to introduce myself. I just discovered Phatmass a few days ago, and since then I haven't been able to stop reading through VS, and I finally just got to enough posts in other forums to finally be able to post here! I can't believe a community like this exists and I've been so affirmed in my own discernment just by reading through your discussions of the past few weeks. I'm so impressed with the level of charity, honesty, and support that seems to live here.

[/quote]

So delighted to meet you! Welcome to the phamily!

[LaPetiteSoeur]

[quote name='i<3franciscans' timestamp='1317238984' post='2311807']
SO when I voted I tried to be simple and just pick one of each; which I did, but I really have many:

For prayer: Just Being Silent in His Presence, (I have really been able to look deep within myself during periods of silent prayer and I believe that is where I have grown the most in my spirituality), the DMC (I LOVE St. Faustina!!!) and songs. (I often just sing whatever song comes to mind...)

Spirituality: Franciscan for the reasons many of you have already heard. I love their extreme poverty, and constant, contagious joy! And I have always admired Carmelites very much.
[/quote]

While I am a Dominican at heart, I love the Franciscans, too! My high school was run by a Franciscan order, and they are so fantastic! I got to meet Mother General for two seconds my senior year of high school, as she was visiting from Poland! I was organizing a blood drive, though, so I was a mess. They were very nice, though!

I admire their simplicity, but I feel like most religious l know have that simplicity....I just know a ton of Franciscans!

[beatitude]

[u][b]My prayer[/b][/u]

I love to take a short prayer or a line from Scripture and say it silently over and over. "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." "I am the first, the last, and the living one." "Most sacred heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you." "Let us go with him, that we might die with him." I do this especially in Adoration.

Sometimes I just take a story from His life and think about it and chat to Him about what it means. Reading the Bible is very important to me.

The rosary has been a favourite form of prayer ever since I began to pray. As a child I had a very intuitive understanding of 'ad Iesum per Mariam', even though I'd never heard the phrase before. I can't really put it into words.

[u][b]Spirituality[/b][/u]

Carmelite. Desert spirituality, silence, solitude, emphasis on mental prayer, devotion to Mary, and the spirit of Elijah. "With zeal have i been zealous for the Lord God of hosts."

[u][b]Apostolate[/b][/u]

I feel drawn to work with people who are vulnerable for one reason or another. That might be because of disability, chronic illness, crimes that they have committed, or something else entirely. Care and support work is all I have done in my career so far. I didn't start out looking for jobs like this - I just fell into them, and realised that they fit. I want to listen to people whose voices often go unheard and who are frequently judged harshly by others because of the difficulties they have or bad choices they've made. This kind of listening is connected to my understanding of prayer.

[emmaberry]

Prayer:
Spontaneous and just being in the His Presence. As a convert, just sitting in the real presence of Jesus is like flying....sometimes it is very overwhelming, and there is nothing to be said. If more people were properly catechized and allowed themselves to believe in the Eucharist more deeply, the adoration chapels would be overflowing! Like LC, my Protestant upbringing has imprinted on me that desire for spontaneous and informal prayer with Jesus, Mary, and the Saints.

Spirituality:
Franciscan/Poor Clare, though I was not naturally drawn to St Francis due to misunderstanding him for so long. I have realized over time that the Franciscan way of living the Gospel is the path that will bring about the most perfection in me, since St Francis emphasizes the virtues which supplement my greatest faults. I love the poetry and song of the Franciscan order.

Apostolate:
Prayer/Contemplation, though I see so much good in the more active apostolates...but the active works are just not my path to a) be saved myself and b) bring salvation to others. I love praying for the poor souls in Purgatory, and well known sinners in the public eye. I am very drawn to the story of Esther in the King's castle pleading on behalf of her people (source: Edith Stein) and Moses with raised arms on the mountain top. When his hands would drop, the Israelites would begin losing. His intercession won the battle for his people! (forgot the source here)

Thanks for the poll!

[BarbTherese]

The common denominator of my prayer time is silence. I am drawn to Carmelite spirituality and to a life of prayer. I do have an apostolate which I call "to the streets" under the patronage of Our Lady of The Way and The Sacred Heart. The apostolate to the streets consists in responding to anyone at all, neighbours, friends and family and those I come across in the course of my day in the same way as I would respond and relate to a member of my religious community, if I had one. All I come across in any way at all are my community and if in any sort of need I do my best to respond to that need. I have no vehicle and travel everywhere by bus which in a week can be considerable bus travel time. It never ceases to amaze me who I may sit beside in a bus if conversation does occur and the course that conversation can take. The Holy Spirit is absolutely everywhere and often speaks through the most unlikely and in the most unlikely of ways. Such are not truly "unlikely", just the most unexpected to me personally.
Those I do come across in the course of a day are not an 'accident of fate' rather a deliberate act of Divine Providence and often mysterious in His reasons.
I have never been able to see Jesus in others - I can however view and have internalized that every single person is a truly beloved child of God and beloved brothers and sisters of and to Jesus. Personally, I find it offputting to love another because one can see Jesus in them. It seems to me to rob them of a quite unique identity humanly - and my poverty I am sure. We are, along with very single person, loved totally and unconditionally, warts (even huge ones!) and all, and beyond our wildest imagining. If I imagine the person(s) I love most on this earth, God's Love is so far beyond that and in an absolute extreme that all human love pales right out in comparison. The Lord never ever ceases to love every single person, even the most morally corrupt, and in an absolute and unconditional manner even as He loves His greatest saints. God's Love is Total and Absolute and All Embracing - it is we who can, gifted with free will, refuse our own love to Him. I pray from the heart daily for those morally corrupt knowing that the Heart of Jesus grieves over them.
I think we shall be stunned to find those who are our neighbours in Heaven.

Edited August 23, 2012 by BarbaraTherese

[Kylie Spinelli]

For spirituality I put other. Right now I feel drawn to the Sisters of Life in NY... They're independent of all the ones listed, I believe...
and for apostalate I wasn't sure but I put evangelization, retreat, missionary and other. Other being the work that the SOL do. I wasn't sure if that fit in any of the descriptions..... *shrug*
Great poll, BTW! Very cool questions!!
God bless!
~Kylie (SSWW)

[TheresaThoma]

So I changed my vote up a bit. Basically a more refined version.