Private Vows in The Laity/Spirituality

[Guest]

 

___________________________

 

POPE FRANCIS - CONSULT BIBLE LIKE

MOBILE PHONE

"Speaking to the crowds gathered in St Peter's Square following his weekly Angelus blessing, the Pope urged those present to give the Bible the same place in daily life as mobile phones.................

..............."If we always carried God's Word in our hearts, no temptation would distance us from the Father, and no obstacle would take us off the path towards good" he said. He pointed out that in this first Sunday of Lent, the Gospel of Matthew tells of Jesus' 40 days in the desert and of how he was tempted by the devil.

"But the devil's poisonous darts are all 'blocked' by Jesus with the shield provided by God's Word," Pope Francis said MORE HERE

[Guest]

A SINNER'S STATIONS OF THE CROSS

HERE

[Guest]

Immaculate, Mary! 
Our hearts are on fire. 
That title so wondrous 
Fills all our desire!  

We pray for God's glory, 
May His Kingdom come. 
We pray for His Vicar, 
Our Father, and Rome. 

We pray for our Mother, 
The Church upon earth. 
And bless, sweetest Lady, 
The land of our birth. 

[Guest]

Visions & Revelations

Quote

 

“Desire not inordinately visions and revelations (which are sometimes granted even to the wicked). Those who foolishly seek after them, and thoughtlessly lend faith to them, are easily deceived by Satan, who transformeth himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11: 14), and in order to mislead, mostly mingles truth with falsehood.”

- Louis de Blois [16th C.], The Spiritual Mirror, Ch. XI

(It is also good to be careful not to place too much credence in “visions and revelations” reported by others. If these conflict with Scripture or the teachings of the Church, pay them no mind.)

[Guest]

GIVE TO JESUS ONE'S MISERY

Quote

Jesus to St. Faustina:

“My daughter, you have not offered Me that which is really yours

…Daughter, give Me your misery, because it is your exclusive property.” (Diary, 1318)

 

[Guest]

[Guest]

St Vincent's Quote of the Day

 

Mar 09, 2017

Quote

 

This is how God usually works: He separates and then reunites;

He distances and then brings close together;

He takes away and then gives back; lastly, He destroys and restores, leaving nothing permanent in this life (VI:569).

 

 

When Holiness Seems Impossible St Frances of Rome (and the cunning of the devil when life seems to go against one and one's plans, making holiness imposssible) : HERE

Share

 

[Guest]

St Vincent de Paul Society - Daily Reflection

 

 

 

Quote

Mar 09, 2017

 

“Have the courage to own up to one’s omissions and blunders.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

 

 

[Guest]

St Vincent de Paul Society Daily Reflection

 

 

Quote

 

Mar 12, 2017

 

“We cannot have peace with God, with our neighbor and with ourselves, unless Jesus Christ grants it to us.”
– St. Louise de Marillac

 

 

[Guest]

FIFTEEN PROMISES OF THE HOLY ROSARY

In the thirteenth century, Saint Dominic and Blessed Alan received the following promises from Our Lady for all those who faithfully pray the Rosary:

1. To all those who shall pray my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and great graces.
2. Those who shall persevere in the recitation of my Rosary will receive some special grace.
3. The Rosary will be a very powerful armor against hell; it will destroy vice, deliver from sin and dispel heresy.
4. The rosary will make virtue and good works flourish, and will obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies. It will draw the hearts of men from the love of the world and its vanities, and will lift them to the desire of eternal things. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means.
5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary will not perish.
6. Whoever recites my Rosary devoutly reflecting on the mysteries, shall never be overwhelmed by misfortune. He will not experience the anger of God nor will he perish by an unprovided death. The sinner will be converted; the just will persevere in grace and merit eternal life.
7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the sacraments of the Church.
8. Those who are faithful to recite my Rosary shall have during their life and at their death the light of God and the plenitude of His graces and will share in the merits of the blessed.
9. I will deliver promptly from purgatory souls devoted to my Rosary.
10. True children of my Rosary will enjoy great glory in heaven.
11. What you shall ask through my Rosary you shall obtain.
12. To those who propagate my Rosary I promise aid in all their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Son that all the members of the Rosary Confraternity shall have as their intercessors, in life and in death, the entire celestial court.
14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.

Confraternity of The Holy Rosary

Australia
Holy Rosary Centre
GPO Box 417
Canberra
ACT 2601

[Guest]

St Vincent de Paul -  Quote of the Day

 

 

Quote

 

Mar 14, 2017

May God’s good pleasure be always the peace and tranquillity

of our afflicted hearts (VII:15).

 

 

 

Ascent of Mt Carmel - St John of the Cross

BOOK THE FIRST

Wherein is described the nature of dark night and how necessary it is to pass through it to Divine union; and in particular this book describes the dark night of sense, and desire, and the evils which these work in the soul.

Quote

 

CHAPTER V Wherein the aforementioned subject is treated and continued, and it is shown by passages and figures from Holy Scripture how necessary it is for the soul to journey to God through this dark night of the mortification of desire in all things.

 

8. God permits not that any other thing should dwell together with Him. Wherefore we read in the first Book the Kings that, when the Philistines put the Ark of the Covenant into the temple where their idol was, the idol was cast down upon the ground at the dawn of each day, and broken to pieces. And He permits and wills that there should be only one desire where He is, which is to keep the law of God perfectly, and to bear upon oneself the Cross of Christ. And thus naught else is said in the Divine Scripture to have been commanded by God to be put in the Ark, where the manna was, save the book of the Law, and the rod Moses, which signifies the Cross. For the soul that aspires naught else than the keeping of the law of the Lord perfectly and the bearing of the Cross of Christ will be a true Ark, containing within itself the true manna, which is God, when that soul attains to a perfect possession within itself of this law and this rod, without any other thing soever.

 

 

[Guest]

 

Link: Mortification of Mind and Will

 

[Guest]

Daily Reflection - St Vincent de Paul Society

http://famvin.org/reflections/daily-reflection-march-16-2/

 

 

Quote

 

Mar 16, 2017

 

“God does not ask us to keep an account of the visible fruits of our charity;

He asks us simply to love ‘with all our strength’.

He does not ask us to give him the world, but to ‘give him ourselves’.”
                                                                                                      – Rev. Joseph Jamet, C.M.

                                                                                       (CM = Congregation of The Mission, founded by St Vincent de Paul)

 

 

[Guest]

GUIDELINES FOR ESTABLISHING A NEW RELIGIOUS INSTITUTE

Found the above on the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference website.  It would probably be of interest to anyone considering establishing a new religious institute; however for my own purposes, it is a reference document only.

HERE

 

[Guest]

[Guest]

Chaplet in praise of the Virgin Mary

http://www.catholicdoors.com/prayers/chaplets/chap30.htm

The Chaplet in praise of the Virgin Mary is prayed on the regular Marian Rosary of 59 beads.
At the beginning of the Rosary, the "Creed" and "Our Father" is replaced with:

"Mary, my Immaculate Mother,
I desire to offer thee reparation for the offenses
which thy Immaculate Heart
receives from the horrible blasphemies
which are uttered against thee.
I offer thee these praises
to console thee for so many ungrateful children
who do not love thee,
and to console the Heart of thy Divine Son
Who is so deeply offended by the insults offered to thee.
Receive, my Purest Mother,
this little act of homage.
Make me love thee more each day
and look with pity on those blasphemers
that they may not delay to cast themselves
into thy maternal arms.

Amen."

On the large bead prior to each set of 10 beads, say:

"Grant that I may praise thee, O Holy Virgin!
Give me strength against thy enemies!"

On the 10 small beads is prayed once each of the 10 following praises:

"1. Blessed be the Great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy!
2. Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception!
3. Blessed be her Glorious Assumption!
4. Blessed be the Name of Mary, Virgin and Mother!
5. Blessed be her Immaculate Heart!
6. Blessed be her Virginal Purity!
7. Blessed be her Divine Maternity!
8. Blessed be her Universal Mediation!
9. Blessed be her Sorrows and her Tears!
10. Blessed be the graces with which the Lord crowned her Queen of Heaven and Earth!"

At the end of each set of 10 beads, say the following prayer:

"Glory be to Mary, Daughter of the Father!
Glory be to Mary, Mother of the Son!
Glory be to Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit!"

Concluding Prayer:

"My Mother,
I love thee for those who do not love thee;
I praise thee for those who blaspheme thee;
I surrender myself to thee
for those who will not recognize thee as their Mother."

(Repeat the above concluding prayer 5 times)

[Guest]

Daily Reflection - St Vincent de Paul Society

 

 

Quote

 

Mar 19, 2017

 

“When we are satisfied that we have done everything in our power for the happy issue of any affair, we should preserve our tranquility and peace, whatever may be the result.”
– St. Vincent de Paul

 

 

[Debra Little]

I applaud u for your courage and am gladdened by your desire to serve our Lord in this way. I too am Bipolar with OCD and Epilepsy. I had many very sick years. For quite awhile now I have been healthy and stable with the use of medication. So often we hear about the sacrament of marriage. This is good and well since society is based on the family unit. It would be very nice to hear talk and receive helps for single lay people who desire to give their lives to God alone. I had to leave the Carmel due to poor health and it took a long time to get over the heartbreak. I still consider myself a child of our holy mother St. Teresa and the bride of Christ. God bless u immensely as u give ur life to Him!

Ty for your example!

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Debra Little said:

I applaud u for your courage and am gladdened by your desire to serve our Lord in this way. I too am Bipolar with OCD and Epilepsy. I had many very sick years. For quite awhile now I have been healthy and stable with the use of medication. So often we hear about the sacrament of marriage. This is good and well since society is based on the family unit. It would be very nice to hear talk and receive helps for single lay people who desire to give their lives to God alone. I had to leave the Carmel due to poor health and it took a long time to get over the heartbreak. I still consider myself a child of our holy mother St. Teresa and the bride of Christ. God bless u immensely as u give ur life to Him!

Ty for your example!

Thank you very much for your post, Debra, and for your generous and kind words of affirmation.  I too was gladdened by your own embrace of Divine Providence in your life - as difficult as it must have been.

The Church does speak officially about those who do make private vows and choose to live the single life or in celibacy in the laity.  Unfortunately I think such words of affirmation are sort of 'buried' in various Vatican Documents.  I too left monastic life, although not primarily for health reasons, while I realised that I was under much stress and that the community would have no idea how to deal with things should I have an episode of bipolar (my episodes are in the main induced by stress).  Leadership of the community reasoned that if I did have a vocation, then there would be no episode.  I didn't think it was as simple as that.  I also did believe that everyone had a vocation and vocation was not confined to religious and consecrated life, nor to the priesthood.  The prime reason I had in leaving my community was that I certainly could not fit into 'the mould' nor adopt their attitudes.

I had made private vows prior to entering the monastic community and back then I had no idea that private vows were covered by Canon Law nor that The Church spoke affirming of the call.  That realisation was to come slowly over a long period of time.  Before that realisation dawned, I did know beyond doubt that I was called to private vows in the Laity and no matter the opinions of others.

Prior to all that my SD at the commencement of my journey had been a priest religious and theologian lecturing and living in our seminary.  He affirmed for me that private vows to the evangelical counsels was a distinct possibility in the lay state of life and how to go about it.  I had never heard of this before and it was a real awakening.

Research, once I had a computer, revealed to me that the Lay state of life was an actual office in The Church.  We, as Laity, have a particular mission and vocation and there are two Vatican Documents that do cover the apostolate, mission and vocation of The Laity.  We are a particular office in The Church.  I did research Third Orders and Secular Institutes here in South Australia but they are very few and I had no attraction whatsoever.  I was and am, however, heavily drawn to the St Vincent de Paul Society and their focus on service to the poor.  SVP is not only Catholic Action in operation, it is a process of formation.  I served initially in Head Office 2half years and now over 3 years in my Parish.  I have now been given the duty in our parish SVP Conference of spiritual formation texts for discussion at Meetings.  I also do secretarial work including the Minutes of Meetings, as well as visiting those who need our help.

Once I had a computer too I realised through Catholic discussion sites that a vocation to lay celibacy (with or without vows) was not regarded as a vocation.  I then decided to come right out the closet and speak about my own vocation (prior, I had not spoken generally of it).

I also became very much aware once I had a computer that many did struggle in the Laity feeling that they had no vocation at all.  Probably in the majority were those who had health problems which presented to religious communities impediments to their way of life.  This revealed to me a complete misunderstanding of Baptism.  It also revealed to me misunerstandings that Divine Providence sometimes acts in a very positive manner through negative circumstances permitted including health problems presenting impediments most everywhere.

I very much rejoice today to read posts where those who do have health problems are not precluded from all religious communities, with certain conditions and that most commonly seems to be that medication keeps the applicant stable - and that medication costs will not be excessive to a community.

As for the description "bride of Christ", we read the following in the Catholic Catechism (quoted in part):

Quote

796 The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, also implies the distinction of the two within a personal relationship. This aspect is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. The theme of Christ as Bridegroom of the Church was prepared for by the prophets and announced by John the Baptist. The Lord referred to himself as the "bridegroom." The Apostle speaks of the whole Church and of each of the faithful, members of his Body, as a bride "betrothed" to Christ the Lord so as to become but one spirit with him.

Unity with Christ (the essence of the terms "spouse" or "bride") is a potential in any vocation at all and a state into which we are baptised.

Probably, even today, it is important especially for those who feel they are called to Lay celibacy (with or without vows) to be very confident of their call and vocation and not swayed in this and that direction by the opinions of others.  The essence of such confidence, I think, comes from researching what The Church has to state.

All in a nutshell!

Thanks heaps again for your words of affirmation.  Affirmation is a virtual hug - and hugs sure help   

I can't reward you, but I do know of One who will.  

[Guest]

 

 

____________________

 

 

Daily Reflection - St Vincent de Paul Society

 

 

Quote

 

Mar 21, 2017

 

“Duplicity is not pleasing to God and to be truly simple

we should propose to ourselves no other end but to please God alone.”
– St. Vincent de Paul