Marian Friars Minor

How do I keep missing these? Will one of my Third Order members please send me a meeting link so I don't miss it? I do hear it later, but it's not the same as being present with my community (Louisiana).

Ave Maria!

Ave Maria!

Ave Maria!

How wonderful! Ave Maria!

Ave Maria!

Congratulations, Sr. Joan of Mary! Blessings to you always!

A belated welcome to all of you! May you be greatly blessed!

I missed this, but I am so happy to have more Franciscan brothers and sisters!

I have prayed for Sr. Elizabeth and will continue. Will pray for Sr. Clara also. Hope they are all doing better now.

Thank you!

Me, too!!!! But the whole reflection was wonderful and helpful, as always:-)

This looks interesting. For a while now I have not had time to jot down everything because I am trying to do better living my state of life. This might be a good option. I will read the links you sent when I can. Thanks so much for sharing this. We can use all the help we can get :-)

Thank you, Sr. Collette! Excellent reminder. Happy Trinity Sunday!

I agree with, Bro. Pio. Perhaps be concerned if your thoughts turn to drinking alcohol all the time. Or if you find yourself looking forward to it too much, just not have the drink today and have it tomorrow. Little sacrifices go a long way.

You are not alone, Br. Pio of the Holy Martyrs! I do struggle with meditation. My meditation time is supposed to be at 5:15am after my morning prayers. When I can do it (it’s been a long time) I find myself doing exactly what you do. If I can bring my thoughts back to the topic of meditation, then it seems I’m doing it correctly (at least it feels that way). Lately, I have struggled to even get my morning prayers in. I wake up in the middle of the night at 12:30am or 1, then go back to sleep. Normally, I wake again at 4 and get up and get ready for work, pray, and meditate. Today for example, I woke up at 5:20am 😲 I said, “This is God’s will” and got up and got ready for work (while getting ready I prayed some short prayers to Our Lord, Our Lady, and our Holy Patrons). Arrived to work a few minutes late, but didn’t stress about it (even a few weeks ago, I would have been so aggravated with myself). Back to you, dear Brother Pio. Considering your words above: “In fact, I find that the time I really have a problem meditating is during whatever time I set aside for meditation, but as long as it is not a conscious attempt, I’ll actually spend a great deal of time completely lost in thoughts of holy subjects.” Perhaps this is God directing your meditations. Maybe when this happens, you can stop what you are doing for a bit and focus on Him. It might be the time He thinks is best for you. It also might be his way of letting you know He is pleased with the work you are doing at the moment. Maybe :-D From what I have read, it’s very good for your soul to be considering holy subjects throughout the day. It’s like the saints say, to pray always. Your mind and heart are on God, the saints and the things of heaven. Considering how the Apostles must have reacted to the Ascension is wonderful! So many thoughts come to mind. Some might have wondered, “What will we do without Our Lord?” “I wonder what the Paraclete will be like” “How are we going to preach to all nations?”… It’s interesting for us since we know what happens next for them, but they did not know what to expect. I only read the first paragraph of your post and figured I would consider and respond to a bit at a time (as God allows) Blessings to you, Brother Pio!

Ave Maria, Sister Mary Magdalene of the Assumption! My struggles are with rising early enough to pray Matins & Lauds. One thing that does help (if I can just get out of bed) is to pray Matins and Lauds in English. I can usually get Prime, Sext, and Compline in consistently. Sometimes, Terce and None. Yesterday, I even missed the Rosary (but I did pray it early this morning for the Friar Anthony intentions). The rule says to get all the offices in, and if you cannot get them in, to pray the Our Fathers. I have not prayed the Our Fathers. 😌 So I think I am failing with the prayer portion of the rule thus far, but I am trying. Sr. Elizabeth of the Holy Family and Sr. Colette have encouraged me with this, but it's still hard trying to reprogram my brain. The dress has not been an issue for me. I wear the Tao cross each day, all day, until bedtime. The scapular I try to wear whenever I pray at home for now. Waiting on the cord to wear beneath my clothes... Fasting is usually not too difficult for me but lately it's been challenging. It is in my heart that Our Lady wants me to work on my state of life duties first and get adequate rest to handle the long days appropriately. Any suggestions are always helpful.

This was a magnificent and momentous day! Blessed be God forever!

Thanks so much, Sr. Mary Magdelene ... I've been thinking of an appropriate response... It has been more challenging than usual lately. I will consider some more and respond again.

Thanks so much for sharing this! I've been meaning to read the Third Spiritual Alphabet, but have not picked it up yet. It's nice to have a glimpse of what it says :-D