We Glorify God by Offering All to His Mercy

Here are today’s stimulating chat questions:

1. How do we dedicate our works for God’s glory?
2. What does perfection of charity look like in a consecrated woman vs. a married woman?
3. Is there a priority in offering riches and actions to God? Is one more “valuable?”
4. How can we begin our day by intentionally offering our works for God?
5. How do the ideas discussed in this chapter affect our salvation?

Visitation Sister: The Visitation Monastery in Brooklyn was founded for the glory of God after the Sisters made a novena for the pure glory of God.

Visitation Sister: So, how do we dedicate our works for God’s glory?

Denise: Do you mean they were inspired to open the monastery, for God’s glory, after praying a novena?

Visitation Sister: Not inspired, Denise. The Bishop from Brooklyn came to Baltimore Visitation in the middle of their novena to invite them to Brooklyn.

Visitation Sister: So, I guess he was inspired by the novena, which of course he had no direct knowledge of.

Visitation Sister: So in advance, all our works were dedicated to God’s glory.

Visitation Sister: I think the Jesuits also focus on God’s glory in a special way.

Denise: A powerful testament.

Denise: To partly answer question 1, I may add: “to pray a novena to God's glory!”

The Bishop’s Role in Starting a Religious Community

Rebecca: Sr. Susan, is that the way a new convent or monastery usually is started: the Bishop just asks a pre-existing one to come to his diocese?

Visitation Sister: A Bishop has to be involved in all new foundations, but sometimes it is the congregation asking the Bishop.

Rebecca: Wouldn’t any and every monastery, congregation, church be “to God’s Glory”/

Rebecca: Even paintings, artworks of all sorts, medical studies when the artist/student chooses it to be so.

Visitation Sister: Yes, but perhaps not specifically in the way the Brooklyn Visitation happened with an ongoing novena.

Rebecca: Ongoing novena. Does that mean during one of the nine days in which the Novena prayers are said?

Visitation Sister: Yes, halfway through, the bishop came.

Rebecca: So, not necessarily exactly while the prayers were being said.

Visitation Sister: That’s probably so!

Rebecca: How does it manifest itself that the Brooklyn Monastery is specifically or specially for the glory of God?

Visitation Sister: We are conscious of this history and intention, and in a liturgical way we make sure when we say the Divine Office, we do not eliminate the doxology, as some Visitation Monasteries do, after each psalm.

Rebecca: Interesting. It seems to me that the doxology kind of reinforces important parts of the psalms. Why would anyone want to eliminate it?

Visitation Sister: Don’t know, but they do.

Visitation Sister: Perhaps it is optional; I must read over the rubrics in the blue volume.

Sr Jennifer: Good to know how our Monastery started. Thank you, Mother.

Do All for God’s Glory

Rebecca: I wonder how often when we eat and drink, we are conscious of doing that to the glory of God.

Rebecca: And if wanting to give him more glory might tend to make us fat!

Rebecca: It is interesting that in St. Francis de Sales’s day children were thought of as belonging to the father.

Visitation Sister: Really Rebecca? I did not know that about the father.

Sr Jennifer: Singapore has a different law to protect the weaker. The Women’s Charter is an Act of the Singaporean Parliament passed in 1961 to protect the rights of women.

Visitation Sister: What does perfection of charity look like in a consecrated woman vs. a married woman?

Rebecca: I imagine, regarding questions 2, that it would mean for each that she does her varying duties with love.

Visitation Sister: A priest in a homily once said that “Perfection” is not, not making mistakes, but completeness and wholeness.

Perfection of Charity for a Married Woman

Rebecca: Is not, or cannot, a married woman also be a consecrated woman — in the sense that she may have given herself to God but expresses the love of God through her love of her husband and children and doing services for them?

Visitation Sister: Yes, Daughters of St Francis de Sales are married and consecrated in the Church.

Visitation Sister: So, the perfection of charity could be complete and whole, healthy charity with good intentions.

Rebecca: Daughters of St Francis de Sales: Is that like 3rd order or oblates? (3rd order Dominicans and Franciscans; Oblates: Benedictines)

Visitation Sister: It is an independent group but similar to a third order.

Sr Jennifer: Then which is then the third order? Is it the oblates of Daughters of St. Francis de Sales? 

Rebecca: 3rd paragraph of today’s selection Book 12 Chapter 8.

Visitation Sister: There is no third order for Visitation.

Sr Jennifer: Noted.

Visitation Sister: Is there a priority in offering riches and actions to God? Is one more “valuable”?

Denise: St Francis says (in chats reading) there is truly no difference.

Denise: I believe this can be answered more completely.

Visitation Sister: Can you try?

Denise: He challenges me in this….

Denise: And if the one, distributing his crowns without attention, fails not to have the advantage of that first purpose, why shall not the other, in the distribution of his actions, enjoy the fruit of the first intention?

Visitation Sister: Ah yes.

Rebecca: Seems that to our Bishop the riches are more valuable, the services less so. I offered to see patients in Charitas for free. No take. There was a cartoon in the diocesan newspaper: It showed a Penguin bringing loads of fish as a gift. Caption: That’s not exactly what I had in mind. Bishop’s Fund Collection. God may give “credit” even for a real offer. A terminally ill friend to come and live out the rest of her life in my home, with my service as best I could, and her brother, too, who would be FAR less agreeable to have around.

Denise: This --> He who has deliberately made himself a loving servant of his divine goodness has, by that act, dedicated to him all his actions, and this is why there is no difference.

Visitation Sister: Thank you!!

Offering Our Works to God

Visitation Sister: How can we begin our day by intentionally offering our works for God?

Rebecca: Does that require a specific, public ceremony?

Rebecca: Morning offering, said with full attention and intention.

Visitation Sister: Direction of intention as taught by St. Francis de Sales as well.

Briana: Yes, Rebecca, the Morning Prayer is key for me & a specific prayer to God to bless my work.

Rebecca: So important!

Rebecca: I used to bless my textbooks, too, and ask God to help me to learn well so that I could better serve my future patients, and thereby glorify Him.

Visitation Sister: That is beautiful.

Rebecca: Direction of intention?

Rebecca: Not sure what that means.

Visitation Sister: Yes:

My God, I give you this day. I offer you, now, all of the good that I shall do, and I promise to accept, for love of you, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you. Amen.

Denise: Thank you.

Visitation Sister: It is a prayer offering all to the Lord.

Rebecca: Good, simple prayer.

Visitation Sister: Last question: How do the ideas discussed in this chapter affect our salvation?

Visitation Sister: I would say our salvation is in God’s hands and mercy, but we contribute by our acts of love.

One Broken Man

Rebecca: Friday afternoon I went into our local church to pray looking forward to a quiet time of “recollection” with Our Lord. A man came in, threw the cover off the grand piano, and then, trying to be polite, offered to go into the choir practice room. We got talking — a very broken man, addicted to narcotics, lost his house, lost his girlfriend, poor relationship with . . .

Rebecca: He prayed with the piano, was affirmed and all the while I gazed at the crucifix and brought his needs, his suffering before the Lord, and we BOTH were better for it.

Denise: Beautiful story, Rebecca. I believe there are opportunities all through the day where we can see God and respond in love, like you did.

Visitation Sister: I must go now. Many blessings!!

Denise: Thank you, good night Sister.

Sr Jennifer: Good night to all. Have a blessed week.

Briana: Thank you. Have a blessed week everyone.

Denise: Good night, Sr. and Briana, Rebecca. Thank you. And goodnight to everyone.

Rebecca: Good night, Denise. Have a blessed week.

Denise: Good night, Rebecca. God bless you.

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