Private Vows in The Laity/Spirituality

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Spirituality of Saint Therese Couderc

Throughout her life, Therese Couderc grew in responding to the loving call of the Good God.

Many of us are afraid that if we surrender ourselves to God, then God will ask of us the very thing we hate the most, and our lives will be miserable. St. Therese recognized , on the contrary, that this total self-giving -- like that of Jesus who gave himself for us (see Galatians 2:20) -- is the only way to be happy.

HOW TO SURRENDER ONESELF TO GOD

 

 

Goodness

Therese Couderc knew that the God to whom she was saying "yes" was good. But one day in 1866, when she was thanking God after Mass, she had a mystical vision of the goodness of all things. This is the way she described her experience:

 

 

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"God is creating us in the present moment, loving us into being... our very presence in the present moment is the manifested presence of God."    

- James Finley 

 

(We are -- each of us -- a word of the Word. Be still and let yourself rest in this awareness.)

Realization of identity ("instrument and expression of God Himself") is the key to  living in The Present Moment.  "In Him, we live and move and have our being" - Acts Chapter 17)

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 “When spiritual and scientific matters unite, there will be no more sick people in the
world.”

Servant of God, Venerable, Maria Esperanza de Bianchini (cause up for canonization)

 

Read about Servant of God,Maria Esperanza: https://aleteia.org/2017/10/01/meet-a-modern-day-mystic-whose-spiritual-life-has-been-compared-to-padre-pios/

 

 

 

 

LET US PRAY WITH 

THE WHOLE UNIVERSAL CHURCH

The Praise and Thanksgiving, Instructions, of The Lord

 

THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS

 

Universalis 

 Liturgy of The Hours

General Calendar

27th September 2018

http://universalis.com/

 

I very much doubt, absolutely doubt, that I will be anything but most kind to myself 

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................in an ideal sense, I should be able to translate that into kindness and understanding towards the worst of the worst.

When I first read: "This is a trustworthy saying,worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst." First Letter of St Timothy Chapter 1.   I said to myself "Sorry, mate, you just lost your position".

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Forgot to mention that today

is the

Memorial of St Vincent de Paul

 

Father, you endowed Saint Vincent de Paul with the spirit of an apostle

  to give himself to the service of the poor and to the training of priests.

Give us a share of the same spirit

  that we may love what he loved

  and do as he taught us.

(The struggle against pride including deadly spiritual pride will probably be lifelong - mine will be for sure and has been to date)

 

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The following is from Vespers tonight, 27th September, 2018.  We traditionally refer it as priestly guidance; however, it is instructions to all who hold leadership positions of any kind or degree:

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Short Reading 1 Peter 5:1-4

Watch over the flock, not simply as a duty but gladly

Now I have something to tell you elders: I am an elder myself, and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and with you I have a share in the glory that is to be revealed. Be the shepherds of the flock of God that is entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it. Never be a dictator over any group that is put in your charge, but be an example that the whole flock can follow. When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the crown of unfading glory.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2018 by BarbaraTherese

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Daily Mass Online

from Australia

Friday, 28th September 2018

 

 

 

 

 

We pray The Hours with the Universal Church

Universalis Liturgy of The Hours online:

Many areas have their own Liturgical Calendar

to find your own, go to: 

http://universalis.com/n-location.htm

The list is quite lengthy and according to country.

If you can't find your location in the list, use The General Calendar.  After setting your calendar, every time you open Universalis, it will open on the Liturgical Calendar you have selected.  Universalis has a wealth of information  Catholic to share.

All Hours of the Divine Office, General Calendar: http://universalis.com/

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My personal opinion only i.e. carries no weight of authority whatsoever on any level:

Reflecting on the above video and the mystical aspect of The Church as our mother and Mary, Our Lady, as an image of The Church.  We do not, if we are blest in a human sort of way, find that our earthly mothers quoted rules at us and demanded that we live by them, nor was Mary, mother of Jesus and our mother, the faithful image of The Church, constantly sprouting rules and demanding one live by them.

There were no "my way or the highway" attitudes. (i.e. said to assert the view that there is no alternative (apart from leaving) but to accept the speaker's opinions or policies).

A good earthly mother as well as Mary, Our Lady, were not standover merchants (using intimidation to impose their will.)

I think that our hierarchy, our leadership on all levels, need to do reflecting prayerfully both on where they are at and where they are heading and leading............and most importantly, the why of it all.

I will leave things at that as it is up to every person to do their own reflecting and decision making - prayerfully.

Edited September 28, 2018 by BarbaraTherese

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Our hierarchy, all leadership, in my book need to ask themselves "Am I like a mother if I consider a good and holy earthly mother and also Our Lady as my role models?"  The Church can very much come across as demanding and intimidating - pointing to a demanding and intimidating God.  This really can be a stumbling block for us in evangelising.

A maxim for myself is "get The Gospel into the vernacular".

Jesus was certainly one to sprout rules and to demand that we live by them.  He was quite outspoken in one part of His humanity.  That stumbled me for a long time, since He is Head of The Church.   But then I read somewhere that all Graces come through Our Lady.  At some further stage I read about the Marian title "Mediatrix of All Graces" and Iimagined that Jesus might have something serious and demanding to convey to us here on earth and since it is to be conveyed to us through His mother, she conveys the precise message in a more gentle and motherly manner.  In my imagination, I can also see Mary and her Son discussing in Heaven about how something is to be conveyed through her to us here on earth.  The interesting thing about that is that at Cana, Mary tells her Son "They have no wine" Jesus responds by stating that His Time has not yet come.  Mary turns to the stewards and simply says "Do whatever He says".  There is a big smile for me in that scene.  Jesus does what His mother wanted..........and she knew He would.  In other words, Mary asks her Son to do something.  He refuses.  She says to a visitor, "He will do it".  He does.

I used to apologise to Our Lady because I felt myself more like her outspoken Son.  I had her on so high a pedestal she was absolutely beyond my imitation in any way.   What changed?  I have no idea at all.  She remains on a pedestal too high to imitate - and yet to me nowadays very much human.   And, of course, Our Lady always leads to Her Son as her Son leads to her.

It all had me all tied up in tight knots for a very long time - and there are more knots to unscramble given time and Grace with God's Will for my journey.  Our Lady, Untier of Knots please pray for us.

Theology has come a very long way for sure - and it will eventually travel even further over time to destination unknown.    There can be no growth without change.  When something no longer grows, it is dying.  When something is growing, it is slowly changing.  In life nothing is more certain than change and I (and most all human beings) can find that change is very hard yakka (i.e. an Aussie expression : http://www.abc.net.au/education/learn-english/learn-english-borrowed-aboriginal-words/8248664 ... or..https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/yakka. )

The wheels of the Church grind very slow and necessarily so to discern prayerfully if something is a Movement of The Holy Spirit and therefore God's Will.  Deo Gratius and Laudate Dominum.

The following is from the Chaplet of Our Lady.   Based on that chaplet only.   I wanted to have a prayer that was not all petitionary, but more praising  Our Lady.  I have changed the chaplet  so it is no longer a chaplet, rather a prayer.  Also I have changed wording into something that is personal.  I pray it daily after Lauds and Vespers (Morning and Evening Prayer).

"Mary, my Immaculate Mother,
I desire to offer you reparation for the offenses
which your Immaculate Heart
receives from terrible blasphemies
which are thought or spoken against you.
I offer you these praises
to console you for so many ungrateful souls
who do not love you and do not know you -
and to console the Heart of your Divine Son
Who is very much offended by the insults offered to you.
Receive, my Purest Mother,
this little act of homage.
Make me love you more each day
and look with pity on all blasphemers
that they may come to know and love you………….Amen."

Grant that I may praise you, O Holy Virgin!
Give me strength against your enemies!"
1. Blessed be you, Mary, Mother of God, Mary Most Holy!
2. Blessed be you in your Holy and Immaculate Conception!
3. Blessed be you in your Glorious Assumption!
4. Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother!
5. Blessed be you in your Immaculate Heart!
6. Blessed be you in your Virginal Purity!
7. Blessed be your Divine Maternity!
8. Blessed be your Universal Mediation!
9. Blessed be you in your Sorrows and your Tears!
10. Blessed be you, Mary, in the Graces with which the Lord crowned you forever the Queen of Heaven and Earth!"

I thank you, Mary, Daughter of the Father!
I thank you, Mary, Mother of the Son!
I thank you Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit!"

Father in Heaven I thank You for the Graces You have showered on Our Lady and St Joseph

Mary, my Mother, Image of The Church and first disciple with St Joseph, Patron of The Church and humble guardian of the child, Jesus, as well as our patron of a happy death.
I love you for those who do not love you;
I praise you for those who blaspheme you;
I do desire  to surrender myself to you both, please bless our family,
you are the sure guides to your beloved Son and for all who do not know and love you. You are models of holy parenting through whom my whole family is blest. AMEN

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MAY GOD BE PRAISED

IN

HIS MARTYRS

 

 

 

 

REDISCOVERING DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE GENERATIONS

SYNOD 2018

 

 

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Full article on this link

In October 2018, bishops of the Catholic Church will gather in the Vatican to discuss ‘Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment’. Fr Giacomo Costa SJ, Special Secretary for the Synod of Bishops, describes the unique preparation for this meeting and says that the renewal of solidarity between the generations must be a priority for the Church and the whole of society.

There appears to be less public interest this time, both inside and outside the Church, and less media attention than were aroused by the two previous synods on the theme of the family (2014 and 2015). The title of the Synod has proved to be rather opaque, since it contains terms that can be difficult to understand, such as ‘discernment’, or interpreted in very different ways, such as ‘vocation’; moreover, these are specifically ecclesial words. And yet the stated intention of the Synod is to address all young people, ‘no one excluded’, and therefore not only those who belong to Christian communities or regularly attend events.

In fact, the stakes of the next Synod are far from secondary, especially in a long-term perspective. Its aim is to address relations between the generations in today’s context, that is, to think about the present in a way that leaves room for the future. Any organisation that fails to do this is condemned to lose relevance and influence. The Church cannot afford to do this, not only for the sake of her own institutional future, but because this is a matter of the transmission of the Gospel message, which is her very raison d'être: in other.....................

Read MORE on above link

 

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Archbishop Rowan Williams is Anglican.  He has things to state worth hearing.  A contemplative prioress has sent me an email stating she is reading a book by him.  In the video below, he speaks further on in the video about how the lifestyle St Teresa of Avila envisaged for her reformed Carmelite Order for religious women was totally out of favour with the Catholic culture of her time.  She was outside the norm, the acceptable including with theologians and Church hierarchy.  Teresa was investigated by the Inquisition and some of her writings still contain notes made by the Inquisition.

Archbishop Rowan is an expert on St Teresa of Avila, including in The Catholic Church.  In the video below he is addressing a Catholic university.