From Sr. Mary Berchmans, FEAST OF SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE

Our Saint Margaret Mary has left us a beautiful legacy in devotion to the loving Heart of Jesus.

In a special visitation to our saint, Jesus said to her:

“Behold this heart which has so loved all God’s people

and receives so little love in return.”

One of our most blessed missions in life is to share the abundance of God’s love – a love so great that he sent his Son to show us how to live – how to “LIVE JESUS, the motto of the Visitation order.

Her advice for us today:

“Take as your model and inspiration in every event and frame of mind, these words of our Lord: “Thy will be done!” adding: “My God, I abandon myself to Your loving heart.”

Jesus, gentle and humble of heart:

Make my heart like unto yours.

Still another inspiring thought from Wendy Wright, a true Salesian scholar:

Let us strive to make our hearts beat in rhythm with the Heart of Jesus as we seek to embrace his Good Pleasure in the events of our lives.

May the blessings of this feast day fill your hearts, dear readers, and may they bring you to an ever clearer understanding of God’s tremendous love for you individually.

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Blog for St. Margaret Mary

Tomorrow, October 16, we celebrate the feast of another one of our saints: Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, known for her intense love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Saint Margaret Mary was born just about the time that St. Jane de Chantal completed her earthly sojourn.

What did these two saints have in common? Both were graced with a deep knowledge of God’s love for each and every one of us as manifested in the life, death and resurrection of his beloved Son, Jesus.

As a Visitation Sister, following in the tradition of these two saints, I believe that my life has been blessed by their example, especially by their response to Our Lord’s invitation: “Learn from me who am gentle and humble of heart.” This is a goal worth striving for each day of our lives.

One thought that frequently comes to mind as I receive the Lord in Holy Communion is found in our Spiritual Directory. Our Founders advise us to receive our Lord into the very essence of our hearts and bring before him our senses and the offerings of the day, asking his blessing on each of them. As the Litany of the Sacred Heart depicts Christ as the King and Center of all hearts, I find it both strengthening and stabilizing to greet our Lord in the center of my being.

St. Margaret Mary offers us this advice:

To work or to suffer is all one to a heart that loves. Let us then, leave the future to the loving Providence of this divine Heart which only asks of us fidelity to the present moment.

It is reflective of St. Francis de Sales encouragement to

Leave the past to God’s merciful love, the future to his Divine Providence and embrace the present willingly and lovingly.

How blessed we are with the down-to-earth approach to sanctity encouraged by our Visitation Saints!

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

From a long-time staff member

A tiny scrap of paper changed my life forever. This jagged job ad led me through the Visitation Monastery doors, and up to the Sisters' Infirmary. Wish I'd known then that St. Frances de Sales used to say, "Trust in the Lord; lean on His mercy. Fear nothing." But the 30 Sisters knew. Their warm smiles and greetings immediately melted my nervousness. I could feel I had stepped into a different world and was on my way to a surprising spiritual adventure. But I had no way of knowing that I had also entered a place of miracles!

"Ann Harman," the pen-name of a member of our Monastery staff

From Mother Jacqueline: On Short Prayers in a Busy Life

This comes from a book of daily sayings from St. Francis de Sales:

On Short Prayers in a Busy Life

(From a letter to Madame de Travernay, one of his counselees)

You ought to measure the time that you give to prayer by the multiplicity of your occupations; and since it has please our Lord to place in you a state of life in which you are exposed to perpetual distractions, you must be content with short prayers; but at the same time, they must become a daily duty, never to be omitted without real necessity.

I should like you in the morning, on your first aritsing, to kneel down and adore God, making the sign of the Cross and asking His blessing for the whole of the coming day; which can be done in the space of time which it would take to say one or two Paternosters. If you are able to be present a Mass, it will be sufficient to hear it with attention and reverence whilst saying your rosary.

In the evening, before supper or thereabouts, you might easily say a few fervent prayers, for about the space of a Pater; for there can be no duty which could bind you so closely that you cannot manage to steal this bit of leisure.

At night whilst preparing to go to bed, make a brief review of all your actions during the day; and before lying down, ask God to pardon the faults which you may have committed; beseeching Him to watch over you and to give you His blessing; all which you can do in the space of an Ave Maria. But especially I desire that during the day you should frequently retire into the solitude of your own heart with God, by short acts of fidelity and love.

Part two of Fr. Lingan's sermon

This week we are serializing a sermon by Fr. Joseph E. Lingan, S.J. on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross that he gave on September 14, 2012 to the Georgetown Visitation Sisters at morning mass in our chapel.

Part 2 of 6

If on the cross we discover our honest self, sinful and ungrateful, we also find ourselves closely united with Jesus and Jesus with ourselves. If we look upon the cross with this kind of vision and faith, we are healed and saved. "There is no other name in the whole world given to men and women by which we are to be saved" (Acts 4:12).

This recognition of ourselves, our sinful and grumbling selves, stamped upon the dying person of Jesus, is what John is writing about. To accept this union of our sinful self with Jesus' sinless self, to perceive such love on Jesus' part that He looks like ourselves and takes our burdens upon Himself--all this requires faith.

Feast of the Holy Rosary

Remember the Feast of the Holy Rosary (this year today, October 7), especially the Sorrowful Mysteries. Remember the cross, and the Passion of Jesus.

This week we will serialize a sermon by Fr. Joseph E. Lingan, S.J. on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross that he gave on September 14, 2012 to the Georgetown Visitation Sisters at morning mass in our chapel.

Part 1 of 6

The incident of the bronze serpent typifies Jesus on the cross and enables us to appreciate better the mystery of Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus becomes ourselves, even as Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

For our sakes God made him [Jesus] who did not know sin, to be sin, so that in him we might become the very holiness of God (2 Cor. 5:21)

Are we ready for that?  . . . are any of us ready to become the very holiness of God? Do we try to ready ourselves? My sisters in Christ, Jesus "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in our human likeness, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross" for our sake.

When we look at the cross, we see ourselves and confess the effects of our sins. Jesus was made "to be sin," our sins, our grumbling, our impatience, our complaints, our inability to forgive.

YES, God so loved the world! (John 3:16) God so loved us!

(to be continued tomorrow)

From Sr. Eleanor: A Model of Authenticity

We find a model of authenticity in the life and ministry of Jesus. Wherever He went, Jesus attracted people because there was something trustworthy about Him, something in His manner and message that touched people's hearts.

St. Francis de Sales

Sister Eleanor May Klaber, VHM

From Our School: How We Share Salesian Spirituality With Students

(Part 2 of 2): Sr. Anne Francis getting to know two of the new freshmen.

It's always fun for the girls to spend a few minutes with the Sisters when they run into them outside of class. It makes a nice interlude for all during a busy day.

From Sr. Eleanor: Thought for the day

"Have confidence in the goodness, love and compassion of God."

"Blessed are hearts that bend, for they shall never be broken."

"We cannot always offer God great things, but at each moment we can offer little things with great love."

St. Francis de Sales

Sister Eleanor May Klaber, VHM

From Our School: How We Share Salesian Spirituality With Students

(Part 1 of 2, one today and one tomorrow): Sr. Mary Roberta with her home room. Many of the Sisters have a home room (a 20-minute period 3 times a week).

Home room gives the students a chance to get to know the Sisters and gives the Sisters to share some of their unique Salesian Spirituality with the girls, lead them in a prayer and maybe even have a laugh or two. It's rumored there's occasionally food to share as well! The special bonds that can develop in such a short time are wonderful and treasured by all.

From Sr. Eleanor: A life of true devotion

St. Francis de Sales taught that a life of true devotion is authentic. True devotion comes from the heart. There is no conflict between the inside and the outside. Our spirituality permeates our whole being.

Authenticity means that the love of God invades our soul, takes root there, grows and bears fruit.

St. Francis de Sales

Sister Eleanor May Klaber, VHM

From Sr. Eleanor: Our Spiritual Life

Our spiritual life is not something extra, not something added onto our everyday lives.

Our spiritual life is integrated into every part of our lives.

St. Francis de Sales

Sister Eleanor May Klaber, VHM

From Sr. Mary Roberta: Good comment on today's feast by St. John Vianney

Saint John-Mary Vianney (1786-1859), priest, Curé of Ars
Sermon for the Feast of the Guardian Angels

"I am sending my angel before you" (Exodus 23,20)

Although the good God is sufficient to himself, nevertheless he makes use of the ministry of the angels to govern the world... When we see God taking such care of our lives we conclude that our souls are something truly great and precious if he is to employ all that is greatest in his court for its preservation and sanctification. He has given us his Son to save us; this same Son... gives to each of us one, and even several angels, who are solely occupied in asking on our behalf the graces and helps to our salvation that we need... Oh, how little people know what they are and what they were made for! In Holy Scripture we read that the Lord said to his people: “See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way” (Exodus 23,20)...

We should often pray to our guardian angels, carefully respect them and, above all, try to imitate them in all our actions. And the first thing we need to imitate in them is the thought of the presence of God... Surely, if we were completely penetrated with God's presence, how could we do evil? How much more pleasing to God would be all our good deeds!... God said to Abraham: “Would you be blameless? Walk in my presence” (Genesis 17,1). How could we possibly forget God so easily when we have Him always with us? Why are we not full of respect and gratitude towards our angels, who accompany us day and night?... Perhaps you will say: “I'm too unworthy to merit it.” My brethren, not only does God not lose sight of you for an instant but he gives you an angel who never ceases to guide your steps. Ah, happiness too great, yet too little known!


Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

From Sr. Eleanor: Being Authentic

Jesus' inside and Jesus outside' [were the same]: He taught and spoke "with authority." People found Jesus to be not only informative; more importantly, they found Him to be believable.

We are called to be holy and authentic whatever our state in life. We need to know who we are and to be who we are.

When we are authentic, we are in right relationship with ourselves.

St. Francis de Sales

Sister Eleanor May Klaber, VHM

From Sr. Mary Alicia: Reading from St. Louis de Montfort

From The Love of Eternal Wisdom, St. Louis de Montfort. Excerpt from Chapter 13, "Summary of the Unbelievable Sorrows the Incarnate Wisdom Chose to Endure Out of Love For Us."

Read by Sr. Mary Alicia Sours, VHM
(Sister is pictured at the left in this photograph. In the middle is Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM, and at right is Sr. Joanne Gonter, VHM)

A visitor at Visitation

The son of our foundress, St. Jane de Chantal, wasn't as glad as Sr. Mary Roberta's son at her choice of the consecrated life! (Here is a link to that famous story...)

From Sister Eleanor: "Where Do Your Energies Go?"

(Written for the Feast of Saint Padre Pio, Sunday, September 23, 2012, but posted a bit later)

Jesus is your best friend and He wants to hear from you. Can you talk to Him?

Where do your energies go? Are they scattered and dissipated or are they channeled toward being who God calls you to be?

--St. Francis de Sales

Sr. Eleanor May Klaber, VHM

From Sr. Bernardine: "Pray Always"

If you worry, don't pray.
If you pray, don't worry.

Francis de Sales wrote: "Go to prayer with great meekness of spirit, without wanting to do anything there, save to receive from Our Lord what He will give you." He suggests that we pray with confidence, perseverance, patience and humility.

GOD KNOWS BEFORE WE ASK WHAT WE WANT. But he does want us to ask. Didn't Jesus say: "Ask . . ." And didn't He promise: "and it will be given to you"?

"I did ask. And the answer was 'NO!'" "I did pray and I didn't get what I asked for." Praying with meekness means praying with patient endurance.

"If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him."

ASK . . . .

Sister Mary Bernardine, VHM

Weekly devotions, "No Greater Love"

This morning Sr. Mary Roberta was inspired by this saint's words:

Commentary on today's 9/24 Gospel - Luke 8:16-18

No Greater Love

Listen in silence. It is because your heart is brimful of a thousand things that you are unable to hear God's voice in it. But as soon as you set about listening to God's voice in a peaceful heart, it becomes full of God. This takes many sacrifices. If we think we want to pray then we have to prepare ourselves for it. Without delay. I am only referring to the first steps towards praying but unless we carry them out with determination we shall never reach the final step, the presence of God.

That is why our training has to be perfect from the start: we begin listening for God's voice in our heart and, in the heart's silence, God begins to speak. Then, out of the fullness of the heart there rises up what the mouth must say. That is where the connection lies. In the silence of the heart God speaks while you have only to listen. Then, once your heart has reached its plenitude because it finds itself filled with God, filled with love, filled with compassion, filled with faith, it falls to your mouth to speak.

Bear in mind that, before speaking, you need to listen and only then, from the depths of a receptive heart, can you speak and be heard by God.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997), founder of the Missionary Sisters of Charity

From Sr. Mary Bernardine: What is the Cross?

To paraphrase St. Augustine: anything that is suffering or difficult is the cross. When you think of it as soon as you get up in the morning you can experience the cross. Tiredness overwhelms you (you don't want to get up!), your shoe lace breaks, the car won't start, it's raining.

Jesus said: "WHOEVER WISHES TO COME AFTER ME MUST DENY HIMSELF, TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME."

St. Francis de Sales, speaking of the cross: "The best crosses are those to which we have the greatest repugnance, the crosses we encounter in the streets are excellent, but still better are those we find at home... Crosses of our invention are never worth much; we make them ourselves, and consequently they are less crucifying." Be of good heart, as Francis would say "...the good God knows what He does and why He does it, all for our good, no doubt."

Sister Mary Bernardine, VHM

From a friend of the community, Stabat Mater (The Mother Was Standing)

Here is an excerpt from a message written by a friend of the monastery who has our Cross of Affiliation.

Our Lady experienced great suffering during the Passion of her Divine Son and gave Him strength by "being there”… "standing" (Stabat Mater). In the face of her Son's incredible suffering Our Blessed Mother's heart nearly broke as she watched her Divine and Loving Son unjustly tortured and murdered by us --the same people whom her Son would later give as her children (!).

Can you imagine the additional suffering that tore her heart almost completely open knowing in all her holiness, her new "adopted" children would be us, those who murdered her Son and the Only Beloved Son of God Himself! What Love Jesus had put into his Mother's heart---even though in her Immaculate Conception, she was unsurpassed in holiness except by God Himself--that her new children would be us, those who murdered her Son and the Only Beloved Son of God Himself! What Love Jesus had put into his Mother's heart, even though in her Immaculate Conception, thus unsurpassed holiness (except by God Himself), Our Lady could never, ever hate us, because she knew that her Divine Son went through all of this immense & unsurpassed suffering so that we, God's children, could have the chance once again for Eternal Life.

But as His heart was pierced with a lance, and all His remaining Blood and Water poured out for us, to seal the New and Everlasting Covenant, her heart was "poured out" for us in a slightly different way by that lance.

"Now, at length, the sword has passed." (Stabat Mater)

With love and prayers in Their Hearts,

Donna

Donna N. Wilkes, OFS and Visitation Affiliate

From Mother Jacqueline: On Serving God in the World

Dear all,

This meditation written to Madame de Chantal when she was in the world is so beautiful and so encouraging! I send it to you with all my heart.  --Mother Jacqueline

(From a book of daily meditations from the words of St. Francis de Sales)

As long as it is the will of God that you should remain in the world, stay there cheerfully and contentedly. There are many who quit the world; but in doing so, fail to quit themselves, having really left it only to gratify their own satisfaction.

Let us quit the world in order to serve God, to follow Him, to love Him; and if this be our aim, so long as God wills that we should serve Him, follow Him, and love Him in the world, we should cheerfully remain there; for since it is only His holy service that we desire, wherever we can serve Him we ought to be satisfied.

Abide in peace, my daughter; remain in the world cheerfully, and do well all that your position requires of you; believing that God will be better pleased with this than with a hundred withdrawals from the world, made by self-will and self-love.

Some time ago I met a young girl carrying a pail of water on her head, in the middle of which she had put a piece of wood; I wondered why she had done so, and she told me it was to keep the water steady so that it might not overflow. I thought to myself how this is just what we ought to do with the Cross of our Lord; so that in and by this wood our affections might be kept steadfast, and not pour themselves out in troubling and disquieting thoughts.

Special post from Sr. Mary Alicia on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, started by Constantine at the beginning of the 4th century. He had acquired a fragment of the True Cross, which was revered every year on September 14th.

"Your Cross," St. Francis de Sales:

Sr. Mary Alicia

From Sr. Anne Francis: Saint Francis de Sales on Speech

Our holy father Saint Francis de Sales always wanted our words and speech to show our love of God. He said, "With regard to speech one is not to consider the quantity but the quality of our words."

His words on speech are expressions on how to live Jesus: "Take it as a certain sign that your charity is not genuine if your words, no matter how truthful are not charitable."

As we get sick and doctors examine our state of health, so also does our divine physician always examines the state of our souls. Let always our words be true in dictation of our souls.

Saint Francis encourages us to, "Use words to speak words of God reverently." And while speaking of our neighbour, he adds, "The tongue should be like the knife of the surgeon . . . clean and truthful."

He always had this connection between a truthful speech and wisdom. He wrote: "Mere silence is not wisdom. Wisdom knows when to speak and where to keep silent."

Thus let us always clothe ourselves with sincerity and plainness of speech as ornaments of Christian life.

May God be praised!

Sr. Anne Francis

Mary, our model on the path of childlike simplicity (Devotion from Sr. Anne Francis)

Trust and confidence in God, which Mary lived supremely, is the hallmark of authentic spirituality. It is a call to become a child and trust in God our father. As saint Francis de Sales puts it: "We are related to God by such close alliance and such loving dependence that nothing prevents us from saying that he is our father and from him calling us his children."

Nowhere in the teachings of Jesus are we given a technique to follow; instead Jesus praises the poor in spirit. He encourages a childlike attitude towards God and openness to receive in faith. Truly what is required is simplicity that can speak the "Yes."

Mary's response to the angel, "let what you have said be done to me" (Luke 1:38) lives in the maxim "ask nothing, refuse nothing." She is open to receive what God desires to give, his love.

What is required is true emptiness of heart that allows God to shower it with his goodness. Mary puts no barrier to the generosity of God who love to give, the poor in spirit. She offers an empty space which can be inhabited by God. To become true disciples like Mary is to allow ourselves to be led by God.

In the dialogue of "Heart speaking to the heart," Mary ponders the word of God, an attitude that Saint Francis recommends imitating: "Be devoted to the Word of God, whether you hear it in conversation with spiritual friends or in sermons . . . Do all this after the example of the most Holy Virgin, for [she] carefully kept in her heart all the words spoken of her child."

We can never reach a stage where we assume our own control, for it is God who always takes the initiative. This simplicity is manifested in the ability to always wait on God. Mary is always a perpetual advent. Thus Mary attains the degree of excellence in love for her dearly beloved, and complete trust in God and surrender to his will. May God Be Praised!

Sr. Anne Francis

Devotions from the Visitation Sisters, a Week with Sr. Anne Francis

Live + Jesus!

Eternal friendship

The friendship that can end was never true friendship . . .

Friendship based on the world passes away, but our friendship which is from God, in God, and for God never ends.

A spiritual friendship never changes, except into a more perfect union of spirits, a living image of the blessed friendship existing in heaven.

Saint Francis de Sales sees the love of friendship as the beginning of the kind of happiness that we will experience in heaven, where we will be a source of joy to one another.

He says this explicitly in the meditation on paradise in the Introduction to the Devout Life: "The blessed give joy to one another in ineffable contentment and live in the consolation of a happy and indissoluble union."

Thus friendship is not a stage that falls away after we have used it to come to divine intimacy and universal love of mankind.

Francis de Sales says that friendships begun in this world will be taken up again, never to be broken off.

This is such a consolation for all of our loved ones, and the entire people of God.


Sr. Anne Francis

Devotions from Sr. Anne Francis

Live Jesus!

The Little Virtues.

According to Saint Francis de Sales, we put on Christ by doing something positive. This means practicing a virtue, and by doing the best we can with the opportunity before us. He suggests that we start by what he calls the "little virtues." He says:

The little, unattractive and hardly noticeable virtues which are required of us in our place of work, among friends,and in our homes anytime and all the time… these are the virtues for us.

St. Francis continues:

The opportunities of acquiring good positions or large sums of money do not arise everyday. But it is possible to earn pennies daily. Those who care wisely for small gains become rich little by little.

 Thus charity regards the beauty of the heart and spreads itself over everyone without distinction.


Sr. Anne Francis

Devotions from Sr. Anne Francis

Salesian Hope

In starting something new, we fear the unknown or find hope in its freshness. According to St. Francis de Sales, hope is a conviction we hold that, if we live our lives faithfully, a caring God guides, protects, exhorts and comforts us. Thus” Salesian hope” proposes a God who is “always on call." Salesian hope is a vital spirit fueling optimism. It helps recall that what we do is the right way to live and be with one another until we meet the lord. St. Francis de Sales wrote these words on hope:

For this we must have great confidence and trust in God's providence. We must provide for each day's manna and not more. We must not doubt that God will give us more tomorrow, in the future and all through the time of our pilgrimage.

Sr. Anne Francis

Saturday devotion, last of the week, from Sr. Mary Roberta

Let us joyfully celebrate the birth of blessed Mary so that she may intercede for us before Jesus Christ the Lord! [Breviary-Lauds for Mary's Feast today - September 8th]

Our Founder, St. Francis de Sales had a strong and tender devotion for Mary, and "Heaven bestowed on him numerous favors because of that. On September 8th, 1614, while he celebrated Mass for Mary's birth in the Church of Our Lady of Annecy (in France, where he founded the Visitation Order), a pure white dove settled on his head as he remained at the altar wrapt in ecstasy. (recounted in "Annee Sainte" - one of the Saint's biographies).

Likewise, we sisters (from our 45-year-old, Kenyan Sr. Anne Francis to our soon-to-be 102-year-old, Pittsburgh-native Sr. Mary Raphael) sing together (with as much ecstasy as our age and physical condition allow!) Mary's praises in the "Salve Regina." We hope you'll join us by singing along!

God be praised! Dieu soit beni! for Mary, who is "CAUSE OF OUR JOY!" (from Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

Friday thoughts from Sr. Mary Roberta

"Oh, dear! There goes all the newly-pressed wine, and we thought the old wine skins would hold it!," complain St. Luke's imaginary vintners in his Gospel for today (5:33-39). "Well, of course," says Jesus, "because the fermenting wine burst those old, thin wine skins." And it happens like that with the new, abundant life Jesus brings us, which will "burst" open the thin-skinned lives of those of us who are full of old prejudices and who stubbornly cling to them (v 39).

St. Francis de Sales weighs in on it this way in his Treatise on the Love of God:

...to live in the world and in this mortal life contrary to all the opinions and maxims of the world [the world's old wine] is not to live a merely human but rather a super-human life. This is not to live in ourselves, but out of ourselves and above ourselves. Since no one can in this way go above himself unless the eternal Father draw him, it follows that such a life is a continual rapture and a perpetual ecstasy of action and operation [caused by Christ's new wine, the new life He brings us].

Blood of Christ inebriate me! [Anima Christi]


Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

Thursday devotional post from Sr. Mary Roberta

Fish, fish, and more fish! St. Luke shows us today in his Gospel (5:1-11) how generous Our Lord is, and that's what triggers our own generosity.

Simon Peter and his companions haven't caught anything all night, and then at a word from Jesus their nets are about to break because of the all the fish they catch. Simon Peter is overcome with awe, as I am too, when I remember all the "fish" [His grace-filled gifts] Our Lord has given me over the years. My challenge then is to generously give back in return: "You've been given, only that you might also give!" (Matt. 10:8).

Holy Father, St. Francis de Sales affirms that when he says in his Treatise on the Love of God, "Charity [i.e., our generosity towards others] can do all things and does nothing in vain. If anyone would challenge this and ask why charity does this, charity will answer boldly, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'" That's who God made us to be (generous souls), and we give glory to Our Creator when we do what He created us to do. So God Himself needs our loving generosity. Wow, talk about being needed!

Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM



Image from the Michigan Stained Glass Census, http://www.michiganstainedglass.org

More from Sr. Mary Roberta

Here I am with a quick, late-in-the-day reflection on today's Gospel. Like the rabbit in "Alice in Wonderland" ("I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"), I was hurrying, hurrying, hurrying today with too much to do and supposedly no time to stop and sit in prayer before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

But in today's Gospel verses from St. Luke (4:38-44) he shows us Jesus surrounded by sick people, clamoring to be healed, but despite all that "work" of his, Jesus "departed and went into a lonely place" to pray - except it's not really lonely because Christ finds His Father there.

And when I finally found time this afternoon to go apart and pray in our chapel, I found Christ, and through Him, His Father. As our founder St. Francis de Sales points out in a one of his sermons, "There is only one thing necessary to pray well, and that is to have Our Lord in our arms...Prayer is nothing else but an elevation of our mind to God, which we in no way can bring about by ourselves. But when we have Our Savior in our arms, everything becomes easy for us. Consider the holy man Simeon and how well he prayed when he had Our Lord in his arms."

So, once recharged and re-energized through Christ (my soul's transformer- like the one I used traveling in Europe to get "juice" for my travel iron), I threw myself back into the day's fray!

Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

More from Sr. Mary Roberta

St. Jerome says of the Bible: Read it! It's the Lord who is speaking to you!

So, the Lord spoke to me today about demonic spirits in St. Luke's Gospel (4:31-37). "Wow," he says of Jesus, "He orders demonic spirits to get out and they go!" [trans. Eugene Peterson in The Message]

As a mother (now widowed), I thought it my duty to search out the "demonic spirits" in my two sons and order them out! But once I gained a little maternal experience, I understood that my job was to see beyond my sons' "demons" to the good boys underneath, whom I loved dearly. Then, as Jesus did with the possessed man in today's Gospel, I had to find a way to separate my sons' wrong actions (their demons) from their real selves and pull those real selves into a warm and forgiving hug - a little like I'd carefully separate a nut from its hard shell and pop it into my warm and waiting mouth!

Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM



(The above image from a site for free Christian blog art.)

Devotions from the Visitation Sisters, a week with Sr. Mary Roberta

When I'm really open to the day's Gospel as I read it or hear it every day, I know it won't leave me without doing its work in me (cf., Heb. 4:12). That's thanks to God's great mercy that St. Gregory the Great (today's saint) points out so strongly in his writings. Then it's up to me to go out and do the day's work God gives me - even on this Labor Day holiday!

Today St. Luke tells us (4:16-30) that Our Lord did His work of reading and interpreting Old Testament Scripture in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. But He was only the local carpenter's son and assistant - a common, village workman - who also happened to be God! So they ran him out of town.

Like Jesus, I want my work (and words) to lead those I meet today to exclaim the same thing our holy founder, St. Francis de Sales wanted his listeners and acquaintances to exclaim when they reacted to his preaching and to his life: "How good God is, how just!" [letter to a priest]. And then he wanted them to go out and do likewise. If we did, what a different world we'd live in!

Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM



Image from http://bibleseo.com/biblestudyblog/bible-images/jesus-clip-art-collection-free-clip-arts-jesus-christ/

Devotions from the Visitation Sisters: A Week With Sr. Mary Roberta

As I re-read and remember from Mass this Sunday's Gospel from the seventh chapter of St. Mark (1-8, 14-15, 21-23), I see that it challenges me to look at the difference between "traditions" (small t) which are "habits" and the Church's Tradition (capital T), which is the accumulated wisdom given the Church by the Holy Spirit through the ages. Are my small-t traditions bringing me closer to my Lord, Jesus Christ in His Body, His Church, which our founder St. Francis de Sales calls "the pillar of truth"? If they aren't, it's time for me to change them!

Sr. Mary Roberta Viano, VHM

Concluding post this week from Sr. Joanne

Here at Georgetown Visitation as in other Visitation communities throughout the world, the monastery library has many, many books either about Saint Francis de Sales or containing his own writings.  One of the books here, printed in 1884 in London and in New York, is part of a set entitled Library of St. Francis de Sales.  The title is LETTERS TO PERSONS IN THE WORLD.  The following is taken from a letter St. Francis de Sales wrote “To a Lady” – he addresses her as “Madam my dear sister”: 

Persevere in thoroughly conquering yourself in the small daily contradictions you receive; know that God wishes nothing from you at present but that.  Busy not yourself then in doing anything else:  do not sow your desires in another’s garden, but cultivate well your own.  Do not desire not to be what you are, but desire to be very well what you are. .. What is the use of building castles in Spain when we have to live in France? It is my old lesson and you know it well.

And the sentences below are from a letter written to “a Young Married Lady”: 

Be very gentle; do not live by humors and inclinations, but by reason and devotion.  Love your husband tenderly, as having been given to you by the hand of our Lord.  You must take great care to bring your spirit to peace and tranquility.  If you could stir the deep part of your soul to love the practice of gentleness and true humility, you would be admirable; but it is necessary to often think about it.

 
Sister Joanne Gonter, VHM

A new post from Sr. Joanne

A book I have often recommended to persons interested in Saint Francis de Sales is one that was written in Germany by Dr. Michael Muller in 1933. It was published in the United States in 1937 and in India in 1984. The following is one of my favorite excerpts:

Francis, in his direction of souls and n his own life, works on the assumption that perfect indifference and affectionate love can and should go hand in hand.  There is one more question, however:  How is an outlet formed for this psychical experience in which the heart frees itself from all creatures and nevertheless returns to a warm love for the same creatures?

At first the soul concentrates all its forces, without any exception or any reservation, on God, the unique goal of its being.  Freely it soars up to that highest peak of perfection where God alone stands in overpowering greatness before its eyes.  There the earth disappears from sight, earthly goods have no more charm, and the heart has become indifferent with regard to all earthly things.  But man finds in God the creator of all true, good, and beautiful things in the world, the creator of his own being, Who has ordered human inclinations towards created values.  Hence the soul descends once more the Jacob’s ladder of love.  Once again it loves home, forests, flowers, family, friends, art and science, but with a new love – no longer because the earthly ego hankers and then enjoys selfish satisfaction, but rather for the will of the most beloved Father in Heaven Who has created all these good things and now wills that His child should have joy in them.

Sister Joanne Gonter, VHM

More devotions from the sisters

This year the world marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council. The person who was inspired to call the Council, Pope John XXIII, became a much beloved "father" to millions throughout the world. When I read the JOURNAL OF A SOUL, published in 1964, a year after his death, I learned something I have never forgotten: his great love for Saint Francis de Sales, speaking of him in a number of entries as "my Saint Francis de Sales." The following is an entry from January 29, 1903, when he was a seminarian:

Today was a perfect feast; I spent it in the company of St. Francis de Sales, my gentlest of saints. What a magnificent figure of a man, priest and Bishop! I love to let my thoughts dwell on him, on his goodness and on his teaching. I have read his life so many times! His counsels are so acceptable to my heart. By the light of his example I feel more inclined towards humility, gentleness and calm. My life, so the Lord tells me, must be a perfect copy of that of St. Francis de Sales if I wish it to bear good fruits. Nothing extraordinary in me or in my behavior, except my way of doing ordinary things: 'all ordinary things but done in no ordinary way.' A great, a burning love for Jesus Christ and his Church: unalterable serenity of mind, wonderful gentleness with my fellow men, that is all.

O my loving saint, as I kneel before you at this moment, there is so much I could say to you! I love you tenderly and I will always remember you and look to you for help. O St. Francis, I can say no more; you can see into my heart, give me what I need to become like you.

 Sister Joanne Gonter, VHM

End of Sr. Mada-anne's week of Devotions from the Sisters

Live + Jesus

My friends, I have enjoyed sharing these meditations with you. Thank you for your wonderful, insightful comments. Now, to end the week, let us join in St. Francis de Sales' best known prayer.

Prayer of St. Francis de Sales for Complete Trust in God

Do not look forward to the changes and the chances of this life with fear. Rather, look to them with full confidence that, as they arise, God, to whom you belong, will in His love enable you to profit by them. He has guided you thus far; do you but hold fast to His dear hand and He will lead you safely through all trials. Whenever you cannot stand, He will carry you lovingly in His arms.

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow. The same eternal Father who takes care of you today will take care of you tomorrow, and every day of your life. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all useless thoughts, all vain dreads, and all anxious imaginings.

Amen

Mada-anne Gell, VHM
Archivist

Weekly devotions: "Hungry for God"

Live + Jesus

Hungry for God

Thirty-six years ago, give or take a month, my very articulate three-and-a-half-year-old nephew announced that he was going to Sunday Mass with me. And so we--Charlie and I--ceremoniously boarded my old Gremlin and headed off to Church. Once at St. Agnes, we marched up the main aisle and close to the front so he would be able to see what was happening on the altar.

By Communion time he was a bit restive, so I picked him up and took him with me to receive a blessing when I received the Eucharist. He was looking very attentively over my shoulder.

Suddenly he lurched to escape my arms. He had noticed that some folks still remained in the pews. He gave a penetrating screech: "Why aren't those people coming to get Jesus?" Then he twisted and let it out full force: "What's the matter with you people? Aren't you hungry for God?"

(We left right after Communion. I don't think I have been in that Church since.)

But the moment never left me. What does it mean to be hungry for God? Why am I not more fervent in my reception of the Eucharist?

Francis de Sales once wrote to Jane de Chantal:

You tell me that you feel more than usually starved for Holy Communion . . . Humble yourself as much as you can, my daughter, and warm yourself with the holy love of Christ crucified, so that you can spiritually digest  that heavenly food as you should.

But what do you think this means, digesting Jesus Christ spiritually? People with good spiritual digestion feel that Jesus Christ, their food, penetrates to every part of their soul and their body. They have Jesus Christ in their head, heart, breast, eyes, hands, tongue, ears and feet. He loves in our hearts, understands with our heads, inspires our actions; he sees through our eyes, he speaks with our tongues. He does everything in us, and then we live, not we ourselves. but Jesus Christ lives in us. . .

If only we long for our Savior, then I have every hope that our digestion will be good.
(Francis de Sales, Selected Letters)

So--two things I try to remember: put all my distractions away when I approach the sacrament, and to trust that even if I am not aware of it, my body and soul are hungry for God and need to be hungry for God if I want to allow Jesus to live in me, and use my eyes, my heart, my entire body--to live in me.

May God be Praised!



Mada-anne Gell, VHM
Archivist

More devotions from the Visitation Sisters

Live + Jesus

Think of Christ, Who Always Thinks of You

Be conscious of the love with which Jesus Christ Our Lord suffered so much in this world, especially in the Garden of Olives and Mount Calvary.

You were the object of this love.

Remember, the Heart of Our Lord saw your heart, and loved you surely from the tree of the Cross.

(St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life)

Whenever somebody asks me to pray for one of their loved ones, I share this confirmation of God's love for us:

Lord, I am powerless. There is nothing I can do to help this person. I love them so much. But you are all powerful, and you love them even more than I do. Please save them, Lord. Please hold them in your heart and protect them.

This prayer gives me peace of heart when I am worried about someone, and the Lord always resolves the situation in ways I would have never thought of or been capable of achieving.

May God Be Praised!

Please hold them into your heart and protect them.

Mada-anne Gell, VHM
Archivist

Weekly devotions from the Visitation Sisters

Live -- Jesus!

Salesian Thoughts for the Week of August 19th, 2012

Our Life in the Garden

          St. Francis de Sales opens the Preface to the Introduction to the Devout Life with the image of a garden:

My dear Friends, I ask you to read this preface both for your benefit and for mine. Glycera, a bouquet maker, was so skillful at working with flowers that out of the same flowers for the same garden she could fashion many different kinds of bouquets. The painter Pausias, who wished to paint all her different arrangements, was unable to do so. He could not vary his paintings in as many ways as Glycera did her bouquets.

We live in a garden. Vegetables and flowers grow in beauty and abundance within the monastery enclosure.

St. Francis de Sales' reflection on the variety of flowers available to the industrious Glycera suggests multiple analogies, but for this Sunday morning, let's say that the different flowers in our garden, their colors, their heights, their scents, represent our sisters in community, or the members of a family, or a group of friends, or even the Church: different flowers, different looks, different needs and expectations, and all of us growing together. God chooses how tall we get, our colors, what birds or insects we attract. He arranges us into nosegays appropriate to the season. We are each perfect for the place we occupy in our garden and bouquets.

Last April, we planted a garden around the statue of St. Joseph, but extreme weather affected its growth. The garden we got was not the garden we had expected. Some plants couldn't take the storms. Some could not bear the sun. Some died of heat prostration and some of mildew. The sturdy purple coneflowers faded to transparency in the almost equatorial sun. The zinnias died of rain. But the goldfinches, cardinals, hummingbirds, and butterflies have paid no heed. They and their songs are the graces in our garden.

The garden God gave me is more beautiful than the one I tried to impose in our courtyard--as is my community. It is not what I expected it to be when I entered this House almost 30 years ago--God and extreme weather have made us into a garden we could never have imagined. May God be praised.


Mada-anne Gell, VHM
Archivist
Georgetown Visitation Monastery

Weekly devotions from the Visitation sisters

I would like to end this week by sharing a prayer which we encourage our students to pray frequently. I believe it summarizes all we have been sharing from St. Jane de Chantal about living in the presence of God and accepting his holy will, in whatever he might send our way.

St. Jane de Chantal

 

“O my God, I offer you this day, I offer you now all the good that I shall do and I promise to accept for love of you all the difficulties that I may meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you.”

May God Be Praised!

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Weekly devotions from the Visitation sisters

All day and at each hour, at each moment, if possible, let us raise our hearts to God. Let us keep ourselves in the disposition of being guided by his divine goodness and of acquiescing promptly in the effects of his good pleasure in everything he shall permit to happen to us.”

St. Jane de Chantal

 

When you are caught in a traffic jam calmly place yourself in the presence of God and say a prayer for all the people in the cars ahead of you, especially for those who might be dealing with a present need.

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Weekly devotions from the Visitation sisters

“Here is a little model of what we should do when we are taken by surprise as we row peacefully in our little boat. When all our emotions arise to stir up a great internal storm that seems certain to overwhelm us or drag us after it, we must not wish to calm this tempest ourselves. Rather, we must gently draw near the shore, keeping our will firmly in God, and coast along the little waves. By humble knowledge of ourselves, we will reach God, who is our sure port. Let us go gently, without agitation or anxiety and without giving in to our emotions.”

St. Jane de Chantal

 

While waiting in a long line at the supermarket when you really need to get going so you can pick up your child from soccer practice, stop a moment to realize that getting agitated will not move the line any more quickly; by refocusing your impatience and praying for the checkout person and/or the children in the world who do not have enough to eat you will regain some peace of mind and heart.

 Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Weekly devotions from the Visitation sisters

“May God help you to find the rich treasure which his goodness has hidden at the very core of your pain which comes to you from his permissive will. May you find strength in this thought and may your difficulties increase your courage and confidence in God.”

St. Jane de Chantal

May our loving God help you to make certain that your pain is not wasted, but offered for the suffering people in hospital wards, our wounded military persons, little children who are starving, etc. etc. 

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Weekly devotions from the Visitation sisters

“The essence of prayer is not found in always being on our knees, but in keeping our wills closely united to God’s in all the events of our lives. Those who are ready and open to yielding themselves to God’s good pleasure on any occasion, and receive these occasions lovingly from the hand of God can pray even while sweeping the floor.” 

St. Jane de Chantal

A help to living in the presence of God might be to practice what we call “hooverism.” While vacuuming a room, you might let the rhythm of pushing the vacuum back and forth become a mantra with which you pray for your family, your work, or for a larger need of our world today.

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Final photos from the fourth!

This is the last in a long series of photos from the 4th of July picnic and fireworks.

Devotions from the Visitation Sisters

“I will tell you what God wants of you – a humble and tranquil submission to his most holy will in whatever happens to you. May your heart have but one desire: that God’s holy will be accomplished in you. Let us pray for the grace to remain humble and tranquil in the situation in which we find ourselves, especially those most disturbing.”

St. Jane de Chantal

You will be amazed at how this grace can create a feeling of peace in your mind and heart and make you ready to accept the circumstances in which you find yourself as God’s will or as Francis would say, God’s “good pleasure.”

Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM

Weekly devotions from the Visitation sisters

Today is the feast of Holy Mother St. Jane de Chantal, so we have posts from Sr. Mary Berchmans Hannan, VHM today and throughout the week:

How blessed we Visitation Sisters are to have St. Jane de Chantal as the Foundress of our Order and as our spiritual Mother! On Sunday, August 12^th,  as Visitation Sisters throughout the world will be celebrating her feast we shall hold in prayer our faithful and blog friends.

I have always loved and admired our Saint because of her straightforward, down to earth, simple yet challenging spirituality. During her life, Jane de Chantal had endured the fiery furnace of suffering and emerged as a woman of strong faith, spiritual wisdom and a gentle heart. She had learned how to “Live Jesus.”

Fostered by her Spiritual Director, St. Francis de Sales, she built her sanctity upon the sturdy rock of discerning God’s will in all the circumstances of her life, a life marked by extraordinary losses of those near and dear to her.

Her mentor led her to embrace all that life presented her, so she could open herself radically to the presence of God in all her life’s events. Her task was to learn how to be present to the moment, as she found it, and to embrace it lovingly as a sign of God’s good pleasure. 

She often encouraged those in authority to “lead those in your care with a kind and understanding heart; give them a holy liberty of spirit and remove from your mind and theirs any unhealthy spirit of constraint.” She had learned gentleness through adversity.

As Jane de Chantal found sanctity as a young woman, a devoted wife, a loving mother, a heavy-hearted widow, and a holy religious, she offers us all a pattern for reaching toward holiness: seeking God’s will and embracing it as the events of our lives unfold.

We will share with you each day this week a thought from our Saint so that together we may learn from her example and her words a faithful way of living in God’s presence and accepting his holy will.

More photos from the fourth...

A continuing series of photos from the 4th of July picnic and fireworks.

More devotions from the sisters

"In that blessed eternity we shall all know each other. What happiness it will be for us to see those whom we have loved so dearly on earth! They will remind us of all the holy inspirations which they have brought to us from the Divine Goodness to allure us more and more to seek for that sweetness which is now our portion for eternity." (Also from Saint Francis de Sales's Sermons in Lent)

Mother Jacqueline Burke, VHM

From the devotions of the Georgetown Visitation sisters

Monday, August 6th (Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus), and Tuesday, August 7th are described so beautifully by St. Francis de Sales in my little "Daily Readings" book, offered so long ago (1911-1912) to those who want to draw near to Jesus every day! I found them in my early morning meditation and went back to them in my spiritual reading during the day. What a wonderful inspiration and guide St. Francis de Sales is!

Mother Jacqueline Burke, VHM

More photos from the fourth...

A continuing series of photos from the 4th of July picnic and fireworks.

More devotions from the sisters

"The Apostles then beheld His face, more shining and more brilliant than the sun, and His raiment became white and glittering. He then revealed a glimpse of eternal glory to grant us a foretaste of the eternal happiness which awaits us. Thus it was that Saint Peter, speaking in the name of the others whose prince and head he was destined to be, cried out: 'How good it is for us to be here!' "I have indeed,' he seems to say, 'desired many things, but nothing could be so worthy of desire as to be in this place.'" (from Saint Francis deSales's Sermons in Lent)

Mother Jacqueline Burke, VHM

Weekly posts from the devotions of the Georgetown Visitation Sisters

Watch this space for regular posts from the Sisters, interspersed with photos from the Monastery. This first entry is from Mother Jacqueline Burke, VHM:

Every morning I begin my meditation by reading the entry for the day... the specific date of the day... from an little, old book, entitled Daily Readings from St. Francis de Sales, published in 1911 in England, and then in 1912 by Herder Pub. Company in St. Louis.

St. Francis de Sales, our Visitation founder, is truly my spiritual "compass;" he always brings me to Jesus. Most of all, he always opens my heart to the stunning reality that Jesus is constantly with each of us--loving, guiding, forgiving, companioning, inspiring us. It is this reality that wells up in us in joy and deep wonder and peace: Even on a hard day, it is the gift of gifts and won't disappear... no matter how I feel or respond, Jesus keeps on loving me.

TWO QUOTES FROM THIS BOOK

"Our Lord will certainly supply all your deficiences...provided it is He Whom you love, Whom you seek, Whom you follow." (From a letter to Madame de la Flechere)

"Humility must be practiced gently, quietly, persistently, and not only sweetly, but gladly, and joyously."

More photos from the fourth...

A continuing series of photos from the 4th of July (indoor) picnic and fireworks.

More photos from the fourth...

A continuing series of photos from the 4th of July (indoor) picnic and fireworks.

Learn the teachings of St. Francis de Sales from the Oblates

Never slander anyone either directly or indirectly. Beware of falsely imputing crimes and sins to your neighbor, revealing his secret sins, exaggerating those that are manifest, putting an evil interpretation on his good works, denying the good that you know belongs to someone or maliciously concealing it or lessening it by words. You would offend God in all these ways but most of all by false accusations and denying the truth to your neighbor’s harm. It is a double sin to lie and harm your neighbor at the same time. (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chapter 29, p. 202)

This is taken from "Spirituality Matters," a regular feature of the website of the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Frances de Sales. The feature can be accessed here, and every few weeks we will post items from that site here, and link to it.