4Real Forums: don't worry

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

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Topic: don't worry

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Helen
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Joined: Dec 03 2005
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Posts: 2826

Posted: Feb 03 2007 at 12:46pm \| IP Logged

I didn’t want anyone to feel concerned about the 33 days of preparation prior to consecrating yourself to Our Lady.

I remember when beginning my formation with the Franciscan Tertiaries of the Immaculate, I was very concerned about the requirement of attending a retreat. How could I spend an entire weekend away from my family? When I expressed this concern to a member of the order he very wisely said to me,

“Don’t let the retreat become a stumbling block for you. Do you want to belong to Our Lady? We’ll work the rest out.”
(We did. For years our whole family would visit a Carmelite monastery and we called it our yearly retreat.)

I’ll say the same to you. If you are concerned that you won’t be able to say all the prayers for the preparation well, you’re probably right. But, Our Lady desires one thing: that we become holy by imitating her example and fulfilling our daily duties to the best of our ability. If this is your desire, don't let the preparation prayers become a stumbling block.

We can speak more about the details for the preparation as the time approaches. Just by way of example, I think for my preparation period, I will try to live out my third order rule as best as I can. The members of the Legion of Mary can do the same thing, try to live out the rules for the Legion as best you can.

We’ll give each other support and suggestions on how to best make the preparation as wives, mothers, homeschoolers, or whatever else we need to take into consideration.

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Ave Maria!
Mom to 5 girls and 3 boys
Mary Vitamin & Castle of the Immaculate

Cay Gibson
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Joined: July 16 2005
Location: Louisiana
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5193

Posted: Feb 03 2007 at 3:38pm \| IP Logged

Helen wrote:

I remember when beginning my formation with the Franciscan Tertiaries of the Immaculate, I was very concerned about the requirement of attending a retreat. How could I spend an entire weekend away from my family? When I expressed this concern to a member of the order he very wisely said to me,

“Don’t let the retreat become a stumbling block for you. Do you want to belong to Our Lady? We’ll work the rest out.”
(We did. For years our whole family would visit a Carmelite monastery and we called it our yearly retreat.)

What a great idea, Helen.

I didn't make my first retreat away until Annie was 3 yrs old. My dh sends me every year. It's a blessing. I cannot even begin to tell you how much so. He makes a retreat each year as well.

One can also do an online retreat. This one is the best I've come across and follows the spiritual steps of St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises. It offers you a visual photo as well to help your meditation each week.

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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks

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