Good Acts I Can Do -- Suggestions?

[PhuturePriest]

So after listening to Matthew Kelly, I got inspired to do what he did at my age and visit a nursing home to visit with those who didn't often get visitors. But unfortunately no one I know is willing to do this with me, and I fear I will have trouble and lack the necessary confidence if I go it alone.

I'm still considering this, but are there any other suggestions? It's not a large town and doesn't have a soup kitchen or any other such thing, so my options are incredibly limited. I'm tired of not living out my faith beyond praying, and though little acts of kindness around the house are fine, I feel I need to do something more.

[Anomaly]

When I was a mentor in psrish youth group, that was common.   It's awkwardness that you feel.  Most do.  Visiting is a good plan and probably a natural fit for your personality.   You should call an assisted living facility and tell their you'd like to help but you feel awkward.  They will come up with a task you could do that you could also interact with residents.  

Go with your strengths and instincts.  Visiting was one of the most enjoyed service things we did.   

[Credo in Deum]

Yes you can offer up not being able to do some act of service to God and join it to Christ's supreme sacrifice on the cross.  Maybe fast for a day or do some other work of mortification.  Your idea that praying and doing little acts of kidness around the house is not doing enough is incorrect.  In fact you probably gain more graces doing this since its not your will to do it.  

 

Edited December 24, 2015 by Credo in Deum

[PhuturePriest]

4 minutes ago, Credo in Deum said:

Yes you can offer up not being able to do some act of service to God and join it to Christ's supreme sacrifice on the cross.  Maybe fast for a day or do some other work of mortification.  Your idea that praying and doing little acts of kidness around this house is not doing enough is incorrect.  In fact you probably gain more graces doing this since its not your will to do it.  

 

Sorry, but this seems like a very big blanket statement that is not necessarily true. I do fast, and I have done acts of mortification. Little acts of kindness around the house are indeed fine, but when you have pretty much unlimited amounts of time to help people and choose not to, that, for my particular situation and in my estimation of it, is simply not sufficient. One of the biggest lies of the culture is that we can't do acts of kindness outside the house until we're living on our own.

[Credo in Deum]

Just now, PhuturePriest said:

Sorry, but this seems like a very big blanket statement that is not necessarily true. I do fast, and I have done acts of mortification. Little acts of kindness around the house are indeed fine, but when you have pretty much unlimited amounts of time to help people and choose not to, that, for my particular situation and in my estimation of it, is simply not sufficient. One of the biggest lies of the culture is that we can't do acts of kindness outside the house until we're living on our own.

I don't know where you are getting this idea that I said you do not fast or do acts of mortification.  I also never said you cant do acts of kidness while not living on your own.  What I am addressing is the false idea that unless you are doing service service service service you are not doing enough.  It seems that we are living in a time where living a life of obscurity in silent suffering, and joining said sufferings to the cross, is looked at as not doing enough.  

[PhuturePriest]

4 minutes ago, Credo in Deum said:

I don't know where you are getting this idea that I said you do not fast or do acts of mortification.  I also never said you cant do acts of kidness while not living on your own.  What I am addressing is the false idea that unless you are doing service service service service you are not doing enough.  It seems that we are living in a time where living a life of obscurity in silent suffering, and joining said sufferings to the cross, is looked at as not doing enough.  

I never said you did, and I never said it wasn't.

It seems we are having a miscommunication problem. The internet is the scourge of authentic communication, it seems.

There's nothing wrong with silently suffering with Christ. We are all called to do that. But many are also called to serve others in more direct ways. Imagine if Blessed Giorgio Frassati, a young teenager who helped literally thousands of homeless and sick people secretly without his parents knowing, decided that instead of doing what Christ called him to do, he would simply suffer silently with Christ and leave it at that.

I could use many others saints, but that would be overdoing it. There are of course many other saints like Saint Bruno who hid himself away from the world and suffered more silently with Christ than any of us can even comprehend.

The point is, we shouldn't feel forced to go one way or the other. There are many saints who did one or the other. I don't feel compelled to do this because I feel it's just the right thing to do. I want to do it because I feel like I'm called to. It seems like a wonderful thing to help these people who are very much forgotten and neglected, and do the simple act of talking to them. It's not hard, it's not complicated, and it's hardly magnanimous. It's simply visiting the lonely and caring for the neglected in a small and insignificant way that will impact them in a very big and positive way.

I literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain. There's no reason not to do it in my situation.

[Credo in Deum]

5 minutes ago, PhuturePriest said:

I never said you did, and I never said it wasn't.

It seems we are having a miscommunication problem. The internet is the scourge of authentic communication, it seems.

There's nothing wrong with silently suffering with Christ. We are all called to do that. But many are also called to serve others in more direct ways. Imagine if Blessed Giorgio Frassati, a young teenager who helped literally thousands of homeless and sick people secretly without his parents knowing, decided that instead of doing what Christ called him to do, he would simply suffer silently with Christ and leave it at that.

I could use many others saints, but that would be overdoing it. There are of course many other saints like Saint Bruno who hid himself away from the world and suffered more silently with Christ than any of us can even comprehend.

The point is, we shouldn't feel forced to go one way or the other. There are many saints who did one or the other. I don't feel compelled to do this because I feel it's just the right thing to do. I want to do it because I feel like I'm called to. It seems like a wonderful thing to help these people who are very much forgotten and neglected, and do the simple act of talking to them. It's not hard, it's not complicated, and it's hardly magnanimous. It's simply visiting the lonely and caring for the neglected in a small and insignificant way that will impact them in a very big and positive way.

I literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain. There's no reason not to do it in my situation.

I think we can agree that the majority of the saints  had a spiritual director to help them discern their calling and determine if it is God's will or their will.  Have you brought your desire to do this type of service to your sd?

Edited December 24, 2015 by Credo in Deum

[PhuturePriest]

Just now, Credo in Deum said:

I think the one thing we can agree on is that with the majority of the saints  had a spiritual director to help them discern their calling and determine if it is God's will or their will.  Have you brought your desire to do this type of service to your sd?

May I ask what you find so troubling about spending an hour to talk with residents at a nursing home? I'm just very confused by your seeming opposition to it.

[Credo in Deum]

4 minutes ago, PhuturePriest said:

May I ask what you find so troubling about spending an hour to talk with residents at a nursing home? I'm just very confused by your seeming opposition to it.

I'm not opposed to it.  What is important here though is doing God's will and not your own.  This is why you were created and your ultimate purpose.  If God does not will you to do this type of service then you help no one by doing it. If God wills you to do this type of service then you truly help your neighbor by performing it. Having a sd will help you determine what God's will is for you in this matter. 

Edited December 24, 2015 by Credo in Deum

[Gladius]

If you have a lot of time on your hands, start by giving your day a little structure, like they do in a monastery.  Morning Mass, a certain time for a Bible reading, a Rosary, take a break, and after lunch visit a shut in, then hobby time.  That sounds like a pretty good day to me. 

[PhuturePriest]

3 minutes ago, Credo in Deum said:

I'm not opposed to it.  What is important here though is doing God's will and not your own.  This is why you were created and your ultimate purpose.  If God does not will you to do this type of service then you help no one by doing it. If God wills you to do this type of service then you truly help your neighbor by performing it. Having a sd will help you determine what God's will is for you in this matter. 

I don't see how taking a swing at it once to see if I like it or not is incredibly harmful or dangerous to my faith. I think sometimes we run a danger of over spiritualizing everything and not doing things simply because we haven't been given the OK by our spiritual director or parish priest. Knowing me, if I did that I would use it as an excuse not to do things I know I should do. I'll be talking with elderly people. Overly spiritualizing that runs the harm of being scrupulous, in my opinion.

I already have a pretty structured day of prayer and reading, and I'm getting ready to do some online classes as I finish out the diocesan application. There's no harm in spending one hour on my weekends visiting with elderly people.

If it makes you feel at ease, I can text my spiritual director and ask him what he thinks of it, but I still don't understand this hesitancy towards spending an hour visiting with elderly people. I'm not giving away all my possessions to the homeless.

[veritasluxmea]

Credo, there is such a thing as simply doing what you perceive to be good if you can reasonably do it, without much fuss. Sure, if FP wants to run it by his sd or feels the need to, fine. But I have a sd and do regular spiritual direction and in our relationship I wouldn't need to ask him about volunteering because I want to help people. You have to be somewhat able to make decisions amd discern things on your own without being needy

Are you worried FP's desires or his approach to works or something?

[vee]

13 minutes ago, PhuturePriest said:

 I'm not giving away all my possessions to the homeless.

Thats a good idea.

[PhuturePriest]

1 minute ago, vee said:

Thats a good idea.

I'm sure they'd appreciate Hobbit sized clothes coupled with theology books and video games.

[vee]

2 minutes ago, PhuturePriest said:

I'm sure they'd appreciate Hobbit sized clothes coupled with theology books and video games.

It depends on the video games.

1 hour ago, Anomaly said:

When I was a mentor in psrish youth group, that was common.   It's awkwardness that you feel.  Most do.  Visiting is a good plan and probably a natural fit for your personality.   You should call an assisted living facility and tell their you'd like to help but you feel awkward.  They will come up with a task you could do that you could also interact with residents.  

Go with your strengths and instincts.  Visiting was one of the most enjoyed service things we did.   

This.