On The Road Again

[Starets]

It didn't work out for me at St Mary's. My fault. I found the life too difficult I guess.  So I am back in "the world" for a while.  My vows have expired. I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Holy Cross in Chicago. I have asked God for one last chance so this will be it.

 

I have spent the last six weeks at an aunt and uncle of mine. This aunt is only 2 years older than me and we get along very well. They have two grown kids. I have been a hermit in all but name, praying and interceding for myself and for others.

 

I will be in Chicago until Sunday. Then on Monday I start renovating a website for a local retreat center. I will ask if I can stay at the retreat center as a live-in caretaker / website renovator / baker until I can make my entrance, which will not likely be until early January.

[Nunsense]

It didn't work out for me at St Mary's. My fault. I found the life too difficult I guess.  So I am back in "the world" for a while.  My vows have expired. I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Holy Cross in Chicago. I have asked God for one last chance so this will be it.

 

I have spent the last six weeks at an aunt and uncle of mine. This aunt is only 2 years older than me and we get along very well. They have two grown kids. I have been a hermit in all but name, praying and interceding for myself and for others.

 

I will be in Chicago until Sunday. Then on Monday I start renovating a website for a local retreat center. I will ask if I can stay at the retreat center as a live-in caretaker / website renovator / baker until I can make my entrance, which will not likely be until early January.

 

 

 

Staretz. I know what you are going through and I will keep you in my prayers. When I return to Carmel I will ask my sisters to remember you in theirs as well. God knows how hard we try and He never stops loving us or giving us chances.

Nunsense

[AnneLine]

Staretz, our love and our prayers go with you.  You are following God very radically..... and God knows that.  Please keep us in your prayers -- I know they are powerful.  And you make WONDERFUL cookies..... ;)

[MissyP89]

Praying for you, friend. There will be a home for you no matter what happens. Peace.

[krissylou]

If I visit Chicago can I have some of your cookies?

[Luigi]

I'm putting Mother Duchesne on this one, as a patron of later vocations. 

 

She'll come through for you. 

[nikita92]

Hang in there! Good things come to those that wait...even if it is alittle longer.

[nikita92]

Mother Duchesne?? :-)

[Gemma]

It didn't work out for me at St Mary's. My fault. I found the life too difficult I guess. So I am back in "the world" for a while. My vows have expired. I will be leaving tomorrow morning for Holy Cross in Chicago. I have asked God for one last chance so this will be it.

I have spent the last six weeks at an aunt and uncle of mine. This aunt is only 2 years older than me and we get along very well. They have two grown kids. I have been a hermit in all but name, praying and interceding for myself and for others.

I will be in Chicago until Sunday. Then on Monday I start renovating a website for a local retreat center. I will ask if I can stay at the retreat center as a live-in caretaker / website renovator / baker until I can make my entrance, which will not likely be until early January.

There's a church here locally looking for a custodian. I think it's Our Lady of Mercy in Winston-Salem.

Blessings,
Gemma

[Gemma]

Mother Duchesne?? :-)

I was praying to her for young Harry Potter victims, since she slept in a cupboard under the stairs.

Late vocations? I thought that was St Rita.

Blessings,
Gemma

[Maravillas]

Saint Rita is for desperate situations or causes, right?

[Chiquitunga]

Praised be Jesus Christ! Staretz, I am just seeing this thread now. I am so happy for you that you are visiting this wonderful community! I know one of the monks there visited many Benedictine monasteries and almost gave up (edit: not entirely, but he faced a lot of discouragement) before he visited and entered there... I'm sure you've talked to him by now!! :)

 

If you read this and are still there, if you have a chance, take a short walk over to St. Mary of Perpetual Help, http://www.stmaryofperpetualhelp.com/ It is one of Chicago's many beautiful beautiful old churches  :heart: (they have an EF Mass every Sunday too :like:)

Edited December 8, 2012 by Chiquitunga

[Luigi]

Mother Duchesne?? :-)

 

She faced lots of challenges to enter religious life, to persevere in it, and to carry our her ministries.  

 

Joined a Visitation convent against her father's wishes.

 

Then the French Revolution closed down the convent & converted it to a prison (she was in first vows). So she went back home, taught catechism (secretly) to children, led priests to the dying so they could administer the last sacraments, etc.

 

Had to take care of a really mean-spirited & unappreciative grandmother who was dying. 

 

When the Revolution had passed, she returned to the Visitation convent (which she bought back from the Revolutionary government, using her own funds), but Mother Superior couldn't re-establish regular life. Most of the vowed religious went back home, leaving about five women there - maybe two vowed nuns and three others who wanted to become nuns. 

 

She heard about Sophie Barat and the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so she contacted her. 

 

Things went on from there, but the point is that Mother Duchesne was frustrated at every turn - doors opened just so they could close in her face, things went from bad to worse, support was either never provided or dried up shortly after being offered  - but in the end, she did enter, she did take vows, she did serve the order & the Church long and well, because she persevered. 

 

 

 

She's on Staretz's case now. I feel confident for him. 

[Graciela]

Mother Duchesne is Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne who led the first group of Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St. louis. She very much wanted to teach the Potowatomie native american children but could not master their language, so other RSCJ sisters did. Philippine led the community, slept in a small space under the stairs, and served courageously and humbly.

A good one to turn to in religious life discernment, I should think!

[Starets]

I am at the Chicago Public Library right now. The community thinks that it is too soon for me to be joining another community.  They thinnk I might just be on the rebound still from christ in the Desert. They think I should wait a year or two. I will accept their judgement.  It is a fine community and the church has excellent accoustics. They say the Office in english and so is Mass. It is done Ad orientem and hey use the Propers from the Graduale Triplex. I still have to meet with the prior. That will be sometime this afternoon.  I will be going back to Saskatoon in the morning. On Monday I will be meeting wth the director ofthe retreat center. I willlet him know about my new situation and see if i ccan stay there as a live in caretaker / IT person / baker as well as web builder.  It can't hurt.  He thinks that I just might be an answer to prayer for them as I showed up just as they were about tostart rfedoing theor website anyway.

 

Krissy, if we ever manage to be within 100 yards of each other, you can have aome of my cookies.

 

Thanks, Melissa my friend

 

Thanks also to those who offered suport and prayer. This Chronologically Enhanced Person of Folly will keep trying. A couple people now have suggested that God may be calling me to a place I don't even know about yet so I will certainly keep searching.

[Starets]

oh and i hope to visit OLPH later today for confession and the vigil mass

[AnneLine]

Dear, dear Staretz!!!!  

 

So hard to trust radically in God's timing, but He knows your heart is already given over to him.

 

Check in from time to time on VS -- we have a LOT of people in this 'limbo' stage, and this too is part of the complex mix of vocation.

 

It will be interesting to see what He is doing with you.... and I enjoy having you among us while God is working....

 

Rather like watching a really wonderful stew simmering on the back of the stove... when the time is right, it will be ready....

 

God is the ultimate recycler - NOTHING is wasted.

 

Now... how about posting some cookee recipies... .Christmas is coming.... and as we make -- and eat -- them we will pray for you.....

 

(Yes, AnneLine is EVIL!     :brutebeast: )  

 

But she also prays for you, and is available by PM....

[Starets]

Thanks, AnnLine. You know, one thing I did a fair amount of in the naughties (that is what i call the previous decade) is mentoring and spiritual direction.  The retreat center offers a spiritual directors course so maybe that can be part of my remuneration for helping out. also there are some books in electronic form from logos publishing that i would dearly love to have. my intellectual curiosity has been reawakened. all my worldly possessions fit into two suitcases, a carry on bag and a computer carrying bag. then again i have no job no car no house and no kids. its a tradeoff :)

[Starets]

Thanks, AnnLine. You know, one thing I did a fair amount of in the naughties (that is what i call the previous decade) is mentoring and spiritual direction.  The retreat center offers a spiritual directors course so maybe that can be part of my remuneration for helping out. also there are some books in electronic form from logos publishing that i would dearly love to have. my intellectual curiosity has been reawakened. all my worldly possessions fit into two suitcases, a carry on bag and a computer carrying bag. then again i have no job no car no house and no kids. its a tradeoff :)

[AnneLine]

Like I said... God does NOTHING by accident......  I also do spiritual direction and career stuff... around if you want to connect.....