Me, too!

It's kind of scary how similar I am to Mary Clancy (except that I don't smoke, never went to boarding high school, and I know how to swim)

Sigh... I dread confusion... so I am not all together right now... well, I am, but I am confused vocationally... sigh... prayers for light in my vocation would be fantastic right now... I have to make a major decision and follow through by the end of May to avoid penalty fees...

Prayers. I'm going through a bizarre patch here myself.

PP

I will pray for you as well. It seems that there are many right now that have hit a 'rough' spot. Right now, I cannot wait for Easter. I will perhaps explain my 'dilemma' sometime in the near future as it is 20 after 11 here and I want to get up and go to Mass tomorrow morning. God bless you all abundantly!

Thanks. If there's more who seem to be hitting bumps it may well have something to do with our point in Lent: fifth week in, after all, and I think my initial enthusiasm for the season is blunting a bit against over a month of the reality that is my human frailty. And with Good Friday coming up, it's going to get worse before it gets better...but oh heck, what a better it will be. Let's dig in and get through it.

Love and prayers,

PP

We need to pray for each other, because I've heard of several people having difficulties. .. including myself. I'm trying to ignore it. .. but I'm being swallowed, at times.

Also something that I was told today:
When it looks like things are ending, they are just beginning

Or something like that... I don't remember quite now...

Prayers for all of us. God will carry us through...somehow.

PP

We'll manage.

I'm going to miss all of you. My little support group. . .and those that I can support more directly. But please know that I'll be supporting your vocations. . .just from praying in front of our Lord, instead of typing on here.

God bless you

The darkness comes right before the dawn....

Well, considering that I have some time today at home with a computer and no classes all day, I thought I would try to explain whatsagoin' on...

Well, It has been about a year (on the Church calendar, a little over if you count the exact days) since I have started to discern with the Poor Clares. On my visit, I definintly felt great peace and that I was at 'home.' Now, things had been going well for most of this time, up until recently with my discerning if I should graduate from college or only finish two years and then enter asap. There has been a definite toggling back and forth between what I thought was what I should be doing. There were certain times I felt called to drop out and enter asap and then later times where I felt confident that I should finish school.
Well, at my last visit, something really 'messed' me up. I could not concentrate nor felt a desire to pray. I followed the horarium but I did find myself to be distracted constantly. It was not one of the 'best' visits I guess you could say. But this really got me down. I suddenly felt as though maybe I am not called to this anymore... it has been rather depressing and I really am very confused. How can something that was so strong just disappear so suddenly? That Friday of my visit was considerably better and I found the desire to pray again (I think it had to do with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament that day). So, I guess this is kinda my story...

Distractions will come & go! All is not lost! Please remember that those dear sisters experience days...maybe years of distractions when they pray & it then becomes their prayer! Many days I am only able to say, "Dear Lord, I'm not all here today...I'm tired, sick, bored...whatever...but I am here at Mass or prayer because I love You & because I desire to love You more & more...I offer You my distractions & my weakness & my boredom ..." & so those things become prayer...If I become distracted I will also say "Jesus, I love You" when I recollect myself...Sooo... 100 distractions can become 100 acts of love! A vocation is not necessarily proved by positive feelings & emotions that are felt constantly...They ebb & flow... I hope this helps! Much love & many prayers little sister! Brandelyn

Brandelyn is very wise in her words, FutureNun. Distractions are rough, at times, making you doubt what you are doing. Sometimes they are of God, 'testing' you, if you will. Sometimes, they are of that weasel. . .satan, and in those cases, he's trying to get you to abandon your vocation! He doesn't want another soul praising our Lord night and day!

Take heart, give it to our Lord, and He will either remove that obstacle from you. . .or give you the strength and knowledge to bear it.

I'm going to echo what Denise said...I was thinking about this early today and have written it up in my diary, but perhaps it might be useful to share here.

Consider how the evil one must hate it when people lead Godly lives, who strain for holiness and put all their effort into shunning his selfish traps. How much more must he detest it when people want to consecrate themselves to God through our beloved vows? So in a twisted way perhaps it's just not surprising that he should try and distract us with depression and doubts and fears.

Yet God has permitted these difficulties to hound us, knowing our innermost hearts and that we are capable of overcoming them. Let's see these last few days - which have been hard for many of us, it seems - as a purification, another step on the way to Easter. Our Lord was tempted in the desert, and He kept His nerve, so as we have received His Holy Spirit in Confirmation and are joined with Him regularly in Communion, we can follow His example! This is part of our Lent, part of our sacrifice, which all our little other sacrifices and observances paved the way for. We are fighters, we are in training for battle - let's not let our Major General down, not when He has invested so much in us!

Let's keep strong, my dear sisters. Easter is coming soon, let's hang on in there and make it through. We CAN make it through! We HAVE to make it through. We will surely support each other here and in our prayers and next Saturday night it will all be worth it.

Love and prayers,

PP

What a beautiful post! you made me wanna

Thank you for posting that little snippet from your diary.

That's an awesome insight PP....thanks for sharing

Thanks.

<---weasels!!!!

Well he IS a lil weasel!

Yes he is!

Amen puellapaschalis! Stay close to the Lord and everything will be okay!

Spoken well Sister. i know for me these last few weeks have been hard for my family and not accepting the idea of my enterence being in 3 months but now they seem completely fine with it!!!

So how are we doing after our collective slump? Are we still there?

Myself, I think I'm scrabbling out, complete with mud-stained knees. Mass this morning, prayer group Rosary and Confession this afternoon, and pretty much the entire Office prayed throughout the day (barring Compline which I'll pray after some Lectio ), and my heart is feeling...well, not really uplifted, but in a much better state to take on Holy Week than twenty-four hours ago.

CONFESSION. It's great, I can't recommend it enough. If you asked me why then all I'd be able to do is to point you to the the Catechism or something - sometimes I have to rely exclusively on my head-knowledge (which I'm good at) because my heart-knowledge (which needs more work, ha ha) has crashed and needs rebooting. So I can't relate any experiences of overwhelming emotion but HECK it's good and I'm going to try and go each week.

I'm sort of looking forward to Holy Week and not at the same time. In previous years I've barely observed Lent and yet have hardly made it through Good Friday even with a good supply of tissues (note to self: must stock up); this year I know that I've tried much harder, prayed a lot more and everything else over the last five and a half weeks, and so I imagine that Good Friday will hit me like a ton of bricks. But hopefully the Vigil will be similarly more WOOOOSHY-WHAM-BAM-YAY! for me than before. At any rate, there's nowt I can do to stop time marching on so all this navel-gazing of mine is probably less than completely helpful...

I feel I should note that whilst in the above paragraph I've prattled a lot about my subjective experiences of the Triduum, I do know that they have an objective significance that is much more profound than anything my paltry being can really grasp. This is my rational side kicking in, you see. But wouldn't it be wonderful to shed the little worries of this world to such an extent that we could live through the coming eight days on that objective level, and not be hindered by the incessant need for hankies?

Gah, I'm not making much sense, so this is a good place to stop. Almost there, girls! Home strait now - one last sprint and it'll be Easter!

Love and prayers,

PP

Navel-gazing?










your words, even though you think you're prattling on. ..are really quite touching. Thank you for sharing. I am back in my temporary home sweet home, and am moving on, hoping to get things done before I leave. Yes, it's only a week before Vigil, but ACK, don't go too fast! I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off as it is!



God bless you this week and know that I've got you and your intentions in prayer.

Your sister in Christ,
Denise

Ah puella, we don't mind! I have been less than faithful (like always!) to my Lenten practices, & yet I will try to be more faithful during Holy Week...What matters is that there IS a Holy Thursday, a Good Friday & Easter...everything else is to help prepare our hearts for it...This week I have been grappling with my lonliness....I know I am not alone...but I am losing some major friendships & it's either because I have inadvertantly hurt them...by my careless speaking about my beliefs or because I have not been more loving & supportive to them...& maybe because I am still seeking to enter into religious life...Probably all the above! One friend is not responding to me e-mails & another is very nervous when talking to me, when she does speak to me...I believe God is showing me my weaknesses & I trust He will bring good out of all of this! Please pray for us all & please know...I am slightly sad, but I am at peace!

Are some of your friends not Catholic? If so, I would imagine that they are not happy that you are giving your life to Our Lord in such a radical way.

I don't know your situation, but I will keep you in my prayers.

He does seem to help us weed out those who will also not be supportive of us. . .and helps us to give up those particular friendships. . .not entirely, although that is sometimes the case, but more like He tries to show Who is more important now. I don't know if I am making any sense at all . . . .

Your prayer warrior,
Denise

Thank you!

No, These friends of mine are very secular...with a wide range of beliefs & lifestyles &...I had thought that while we do not agree, we could respect each others boundaries & still love one another...Perhaps you are right, my friend....

Even friends who share your faith can sometimes find it difficult to understand the idea of a religious vocation. Don't lost heart! Pray for them, even if you do decide that they're not the best people to have close to you in your life. You and your prayers could be the one way by which they enter into a deeper relationship with God

I'll keep you in my prayers too.

PP

Amen. I know that even though my family says they're Catholic, none has stepped foot inside a church in at least 3 years. Soooo, I'm praying for them heartily!

Ahh... Mass today was Divine... I am so excited, but also surprised that Easter is just a few days away!

<<sigh...>>

Good to hear! I wasn't teaching today so I could go to Mass too

I'm pleased to be in Holy Week at last; I was a little nervous that I'd get hit really hard by the emotions but it seems that my heart is serener this year. Praise God

Love and prayers,

PP

Hey'all,

Please pray for me because I think I'm going to ask a priest I've gotten to know recently to be my SD...or if he knows of a good priest. I'm such a chicken when it comes to asking things like this...

Thanks

I'll pray that he open his heart to the grace of being your SD, if that is God's will for you. . .or that he'll know a good and hold SD, if not himself.

Prayers!

God will give you a holy spiritual director. It sounds as though you're working well with Him here.

Love and prayers,

PP

This must be so exciting for you... okay, and maybe a little nerve-wracking too. PRAYERS!

My post was SUPPOSED to say 'good and HOLY SD' not good and HOLD .. . .

Hehe...I was going to let that one go Denise.

Thanks for your prayers. I dropped a letter off to him (yes, I am a chicken) so all I can do is pray and wait!

Well let me know what he says ! I'm hoping he says 'yes' of course.

I'm expecting a copy of the Little Office of the BVM sometime in the coming week! (Or it may be weeks, it depends... maybe months... )

Oh wow, that's very cool Are you just beginning with praying a kind of daily Office or do you aready have some experience with it?

Love and prayers,

PP

The only time I've been able to pray the office has been during visits to the monastery and when a few students I went to Ukraine with prayed it and invited me.

Ah you've such a treat then! I learnt how to pray the Office from a deacon in my old parish when I was a teenager. I love it to pieces! I hope that your book arrives soon!

PP

I know I can't wait!!!!!!!

I the Divine Office. It makes me feel, even when I'm praying alone, that I am praying with the rest of the Church.

This lady, she speaks the truth.

PP

I find great joy in the Divine Office It makes visits to the monastery so much more joy-filled!

Well, I am off to confession!!!

Amen!! I love chanting it (partly because I love singing!)...it works better when it's not just me though...or if I'm not in a totally silent echo-ey church trying to do it Although we do say Vespers on Saturday and Sunday at the Cathedral and it echos like crazy when we sing the hymn!

And just think, there's always someone praying one of the hours ALWAYS!! Way cool!

PS: I ask for your continued prayers that this SD thing works out...perhaps Holy Week was a little less than ideal to ask a priest something like that! Oh well!

Prayers for you!

I KNOW!!! Sooo awesome I loooove it in plainchant.....my favourite!!


Just like the Mass! God is so good.


Prayers!!!