magnificat Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 I think it means controlling where your eyes go...i.e. not letting them wander off or become distracted by other stuff going on around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 [quote name='magnificat' date='Mar 6 2006, 04:14 PM']I think it means controlling where your eyes go...i.e. not letting them wander off or become distracted by other stuff going on around... [right][snapback]904434[/snapback][/right] [/quote] And there's the Reader's Digest condensed version! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificat Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 To answer the original question, since I think God's calling me to finish school first, clearly one of my main tasks is to study, learn as much as I can, and do as well as I can on exams, etc. This is definately hard, esp. when I'd rather be praying. I came across this awesome quote recently though from St. Josemaria Escriva: [quote] For the modern apostle, an hour fo study is an hour of prayer.[/quote] But then there's obviously the need to set aside time to listen to God. I've gotten into the routine of going to morning Mass at the Cathedral on my way into school and then stopping at the Cathedral to pray before the Blessed Sacrament on my way home. And, of course, morning & evening prayer and the rosary, if I don't get too sleepy before bedtime! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificat Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 [quote name='PCPA2Be' date='Mar 6 2006, 05:15 PM'] And there's the Reader's Digest condensed version! [right][snapback]904436[/snapback][/right] [/quote] ...and they say lawyers are verbose! : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 [quote name='magnificat' date='Mar 6 2006, 04:20 PM']...and they say lawyers are verbose! : [right][snapback]904439[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Not a chance, writers are WAY worse! Would it help to know that before I became a nurse, I entertained the thought of getting a law degree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurentina1975 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 (edited) I was wondering if anyone out there feels like they have to be an expert on the catechism? I struggle with this. I know my catechism quite well, but sometimes there are little tidbits I forget about or don't remember. Then sometimes I feel like I don't do enough spiritual reading, know enough scripture (no matter how much I read the gospels or read about the Saints, I feel like it's never enough.... Or maybe I feel I am not Holy Enough...?... I dunno...just random thoughts. Edited March 7, 2006 by Laurentina1975 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 I have felt inadequate sometimes, after reading some of the posts on this phorum. . .thinking, wow, there's so much I can't quote or I don't know. I think I'm pretty knowledgable about my faith and then, I'm humbled to know that there's much I DON'T know. That's normal. And I would be very leery of someone who thought they were 'holy enough' to enter religious life. We become religious not because we are holy or are saints, but because we wish to be holy. . .to be saints. God love you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificat Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 [quote name='Laurentina1975' date='Mar 6 2006, 06:31 PM']I was wondering if anyone out there feels like they have to be an expert on the catechism? [right][snapback]904569[/snapback][/right] [/quote] I totally understand. I haven't had a real theology/religion class since 8th grade so I've been taking these catechism classes online through the diocese here. The classes are mainly for CCD teachers, Catholic school teachers, DRE, etc. It's nice because I have some direction in terms of reading the Catechism and the opportunity to ask our teacher (who is usually one of the priests who teaches at the seminary) about confusing things. At the same time, it's slightly amusing and a bit scary at what others in my class say are things that they didn't know previous to taking the course...like the concept of transubstantiation and why we make the sign of the cross with holy water when we enter a church. It makes me sad that they're the ones who've been teaching the faith to children! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgirl Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 [quote name='PCPA2Be' date='Mar 6 2006, 05:39 PM']And I would be very leery of someone who thought they were 'holy enough' to enter religious life. We become religious not because we are holy or are saints, but because we wish to be holy. . .to be saints. [right][snapback]904589[/snapback][/right] [/quote] That for me was always a huge stumbling block. I always thought, "There's no way I could possibly be holy enough to ever suceed at this life." I was meditating on Sirach 39 when I was visiting the Martyrs in March 2004, and it hit me: If I give everything I am--my gifts AND my weaknesses--he will purify them, so that I might become the holy person I want to be and satisfy his reasons for choosing me instead of asking, "Why me? I could never be as holy as __________?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurentina1975 Posted March 7, 2006 Share Posted March 7, 2006 [quote name='jgirl' date='Mar 6 2006, 08:48 PM']That for me was always a huge stumbling block. I always thought, "There's no way I could possibly be holy enough to ever suceed at this life." I was meditating on Sirach 39 when I was visiting the Martyrs in March 2004, and it hit me: If I give everything I am--my gifts AND my weaknesses--he will purify them, so that I might become the holy person I want to be and satisfy his reasons for choosing me instead of asking, "Why me? I could never be as holy as __________?" [right][snapback]904787[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Nicely put my friend, you have certainly come forth from the bottle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benedictaj Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 [quote name='TheresaMF' date='Dec 22 2005, 02:50 PM']Hello Phatmassers, I've really enjoyed reading (and maybe posting once of twice on) your vocation board. It's great to have a group of people specifically interesting in and talking about vocations to the relgious life--very encouraging and informative. An article I once read about discernment made a point that should be very obvious: LIVE. Don't just moon about the future, drooling over veils and scapulars and dreaming about religious names (as fun as that might be!). The most important element is simply living a holy life focused on God, attempting to grow in virtue and in love for Him. It's been really easy for me to forget that in the past, and easy for me to forget that now, despite a renewed trust in God and sense of His purpose. Many nights I would rather surf the net than work on fulfilling my duties in my family and job; many nights I would rather look up convents online than pray a rosary in my room. God can still call, and use your openness and search for Him, but valuable time, usable for eternity, is slipping through the cracks. Recently, a paragraph from one of Sr. Carly's letters brought this point home: [quote]A little word for my friends who are discerning religious life. Convent life is great. I love it beyond words, as there really aren't words to describe it. That's not to say, of course, that it is a cake walk. There are difficulties, from just the physical day from 5am to 10pm and being on the go nonstop, as well as the inevitable personality clashes and constant fallings that we all undergo. Last year, when I was at Christendom, I received a letter from my dear friend Amy, who is with the Hawthorne Dominicans. She told me, as I had mentioned to her my own discernment, to begin NOW to prepare my heart to grow ever closer to Our Lord, especially through the Eucharist. I tried to do so, and the wisdom of these words has hit me ever since I entered. It is NEVER too early to prepare your heart to receive Him. Even those little things-mainly work to purge your heart of selfish attachments . . . it's truly a path to which we are all called, but trust me . . . the more you work on it BEFORE you enter the convent, the better off you will be!![/quote] So my question: what do you do to keep yourself LIVING for God now and not just thinking about the future? What advice have you heard? Saints you have read? Good articles you can link to? Anything that can help us prepare our hearts now to belong to the Lord, either in religious life or in the world. [right][snapback]833214[/snapback][/right] [/quote] BUMP!!! this post is so awesome Theresa!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HisChild Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 Thank you memtherose, for posting this. It is incredibly timely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benedictaj Posted April 1, 2006 Share Posted April 1, 2006 It's helpful to ALL of us in a way....not just us discerning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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