Prudence Quiz? What?

Back in the day (also known as B.C. – “Before Convent”), in my middle-school years, I think I took just about every magazine quiz that was ever put in front of me: personality quizzes, guy quizzes, fun quizzes, celebrity quizzes, relationship quizzes, fashion quizzes…you name it!  I thought they were fun…ridiculous, but fun. 

So today I present before you a Lenten Prudence Quiz!  Read the questions, keep track of your answers, tally the score…you know how these things work.  Let’s find out just how prudent we are!  Just don’t forget to be honest with yourself – don’t choose the answers you “should” choose, pick the answers that most accurately describe your thoughts or actions in the given situation.

Prudence Quiz

1.       You hear about a great ministry that your friends are involved in and it sounds right up your alley.  You are very excited about it and want to get involved with it.  However, you are committed to a ministry already, you are active in household, you are taking a full load of classes and you are trying to get a regular prayer schedule down.  Do you think:

a.       The Lord will provide for me!  I am doing His work and aren’t we supposed to put others before ourselves anyway?

b.      I have a lot on my plate already.  If I do too much I will spread myself too thin and not be able to give of myself or be present very well at the things I have already committed to doing.  I will hold off for right now.

c.       Like St. Therese said, “I choose all!”  I can just pull long nights and early mornings.  I can handle it.  

2.       You are crazy busy with homework (it’s one of those weeks) and you have a meeting in 15 minutes.  Do you:

a.       Stop now and get ready to leave.

b.      Try to do one more thing before you have to leave.

c.       Finish what you are doing because “it will only take a second” and end up walking in late to the meeting.

3.       You and your beloved are finally getting to spend an evening together after a crazy week of concentrating on class work.  You decide you want to hang out just the two of you.  Do you:

a.       Reserve a common room, turn on lamps instead of the overhead lights, sit close and “talk.”

b.      Read Theology of the Body together at his house with no one else around.

c.       Go to the nearest coffee shop and talk at a quiet little table in the corner.

4.       You just had a confrontation with someone and you are still upset about it.  Your face is red and your emotions are seething.  Do you:

a.       Immediately go to the Chapel, vent to the Lord and pray for the grace to calmly approach this person again and talk things out once your emotions settle.

b.      Run to the nearest household sister or friend, asking for her prayers for this situation and end up telling her the whole thing, getting all riled up again (AKA: disguising and justifying the need to vent as a “prayer request”).   

c.       Shove the confrontation down and repress all the emotions that go a long with it, bottling them up and then biting the head off of the next person who does the slightest thing wrong.   

5.       As a Lenten sacrifice you decide to fast on bread and water on Wednesdays.  However this Wednesday you have clinical all day and the following day you have a test.  Do you think:

a.       Our Lady of Medjugorje tells us the best fast is on bread and water!  It has to be the most powerful, therefore I will do it – there are so many souls that need prayer and sacrifice!  She will help me!

b.      If Jesus can die on the cross for me, I can die to myself and stick this one out.  Plus I can just wait until midnight, eat and then pull an all-nighter studying. 

c.       I will do a different type of fast this Wednesday. I will give up my coffee (which will pinch just as much as bread and water) so that I can give my best to the people in the hospital.  And my brain will function better if I eat healthy so I can focus on studying. 

6.       You are in the caf sitting with a group of your friends.  Suzy starts to gossip about John and Melanie.  Do you:

a.       Sit quietly; not participating in the conversation and inwardly wishing and praying Suzy would stop.

b.      Interject with positive attributes that John and Melanie have, hinting politely that you do not approve of the conversation.

c.       Getting up and leave the table.

7.       Midterms are nearing the bend.  You know you have a heavy load and papers to boot.  But the thought of it overwhelms you to the point of paralysis.  In that moment do you:

a.       Get on Facebook or call a friend; something to take your mind off the stress

b.      Suddenly remember you are weeks behind in your sitcom and tell yourself that you will take the rest of the evening off and start fresh tomorrow, promising yourself you’ll work really hard all day.

c.       Divide and conquer.  Look at all you have to do, take a part of it and get to work on it.  You know that if you do a little over a period of time it will cut down on the stress in the long run.

Now Tally Your Score:

1.       A=2 points, B=3 points, C=1 point

2.       A=3 points, B=2 points, C=1 point

3.       A=1 point, B=1 point, C=3 points

4.       A=3 points, B=2 points, C=1 point

5.       A=2 points, B=1 point, C=3 points

6.       A=1 point, B=3 points, C=2 points

7.       A=1 point, B=1 point, C=3 points

Here’s Your Scoring:

17-21 points:  You’ve got stamina girl! You’ve built up your prudence virtue muscles!  If this was kickboxing you’d be an instructor!

12-16 points:  You’re taking a stroll around the park.  Pick up the pace and put a little energy and drive into your prudent practices!  You can do it!

7-11 points:  You are a prudence couch potato!  Time to get up and start exercising those virtue muscles! Try taking your Catechism of the Catholic Church to Adoration and praying over passages 1788, 1805-06, 1835, and 1906. Call on the Holy Spirit to help you internalize what you read and then begin to live it!   

                                                                                                           
                                                                                                            -Sr. Elizabeth, TOR

Lenten Virtue Challenge: Prudence

This first week we are going to be focusing on the virtue of Prudence.

Prudence is defined by the Catechism as “the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it” (1806). In other words, virtue utilizes reason to discern what is good and how to go about that good. Prudence takes in mind the fact that the ends do not justify the means, and finds ways to achieve a good that in themselves are also good. Love is the driving force behind prudence (and all the virtues) because by growing in prudence we learn to love the good so much we choose it above all else; this requires grace. For these reasons the Catechism further says that prudence is the “charioteer” of other virtues because it sets out the rules and the structure for other virtues. 

As women, we can practice the virtue of prudence by making decisions based on reason and truth: the truth about God, ourselves, and others. This means keeping our emotions rightly ordered and not making decisions based on whims, mere desire, or falsities. Seeking the truth in decisions, even the small ones, is central to prudence, because without truth, how then, can we even know what is good? 

The Catechism also says prudence “is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation” (1806). Not taking action when it is necessary is not prudence at all! For example, if I am struggling with a particular sin, then I can prudently make the decision to avoid places of temptation and to frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation because by prudence I know what the sin is, how to avoid it, and how to choose the good. Another example of growing in prudence is by time management. This means putting the most important things first. This includes taking care of ourselves and choosing to be healthy, especially as midterms are approaching, so that we can fully live out our call as students. Remember, everything we do is out of love for Christ, who desires each of us to live a virtuous life!

-Holly

The Lenten Virtue Challenge

Lent 2012 has begun! For the next 40 days we will be striving to prepare ourselves for Easter through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Each of us has different struggles and different areas of our lives in which we would like to grow this Lent. Maybe you’ve resolved to make prayer more central, or you are fasting from a T.V. show or website that gets in the way of your spiritual growth. No matter what your particular focus is this Lent I can bet it is going to involve virtue, and so I would like to invite you to participate in the Lenten Virtue Challenge!

Virtue is defined as “a habitual and firm disposition to do the good.” (CCC 1803) Naturally, the sacrifices we resolve to make during Lent should be based on our love for God and our desire to do the good. With virtue, this desire to do the good can be transformed into a “habitual and firm disposition.” It is virtue that allows us to stay strong in our fasting and prayer for all 40 days of Lent. In addition to allowing us to do the good, virtue also allows us to give the very best of ourselves. (CCC. 1803) The Prophet Joel encourages to do just that in the first reading from Mass today: “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart…” (Joel, 2:12-18)

The Catechism also adds that “the virtuous person tends toward the good with all his sensory and spiritual powers; he pursues the good and chooses it in concrete actions.” (CCC 1803)

This quote leads to the goal of our Lenten Virtue Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to help us grow as virtuous women through formation and practical applications of virtue, so that we may remain strong in our Lenten resolutions and be ready to receive the Our Risen Lord at Easter.

Each Monday of Lent we will be introducing one of the four Cardinal Virtues and focusing on that virtue throughout the week. There will be explanations of each of the virtues, suggestions of concrete ways to live them out, and testimonies and reflections. We would also like to invite you to use the comments section as a place to share insights and engage in discussion on the virtues.

Please invite your friends, household sisters, coworkers, and classmates to participate in the challenge as well! The more women that are involved the more we can all help each other grow in virtue!

God Bless,

Megan

Judith and Feminine Courage

           

Food and water were running out. The Israelites didn’t see how they could survive much longer. They were ready to surrender to Holofernes and his Assyrian army. Judith was aghast.

Judith, a widow of three years, was a beautiful, holy woman of Israel who opposed the Israeli plan to surrender to the pagan enemies. After hearing the rumors, Judith approached the elders of the city with a plan to save her people: “Listen to me,” she told the men. “…Stand at the city gate tonight, and I will go out with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the city to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand. Only, do not try to find out what I plan; for I will not tell you until I have finished what I am about to do” (Judith 8:32-34).

            Judith, receiving approval from the elders, proceeded to prepare herself. She asked God for his protection, and then changed out of her black, mourning outfit into festive apparel that augmented her beauty. Judith left her people and approached the Assyrians.

When questioned by the Assyrians, Judith explained that she was fleeing Israel before it would fall into the hands of the Assyrians, and that she wanted to advise Holofernes on how he could best win victory over the Israelites.

            Things went as planned. Judith was granted permission to speak with Holofernes, and he, overcome by her great beauty, readily listened to her plans. The days passed, Judith retreating every day to pray and discern if the time had come for Holofernes to attack the Israelites. One day, Holofernes invited Judith to a banquet, for his “heart was ravished with her and he was moved with great desire to possess her” (Judith 12:16). Judith attended the banquet, and at the end of the night, was left alone in the tent with Holofernes. Now, Holofernes lay, passed out on his bed, since he had consumed more wine that night than any other night in his entire life (Judith 12:20). Judith knew the time had come.

            Beseeching God’s blessing, Judith procured Holofernes’ sword. Breathing a prayer for strength, she heaved the sword above her head and let it fall into Holofernes’ neck. Unable to completely sever his head from his body, Judith raised the sword again. This time, the blade sliced through. Rolling Holofernes’ body out of sight, Judith took his head and left the tent, giving the head to her maidservant, who hid it in a food bag. Then the two retreated from the camp, to pray, as was their custom. Having evaded the Assyrians, Judith and her maidservant returned to the Israelite dwelling.

            All of Israel rejoiced when they saw Judith and Holofernes’ head. Then they prepared to fight the Assyrians, knowing that when the Assyrians would seek Holofernes’ council the following day and find him dead, they would flee in terror, handing the victory to the Israelites. All went as planned, and the Israelites sang praises to God. Judith rejoiced, saying:

            “The Assyrians came down from the mountains of the north; he came with myriads of his warriors…But the Lord Almighty has foiled them by the hand of a woman” (Judith 16:4a, 6).

*                                  *                                  *

            I am simply amazed by the strength and courage Judith possesses. She is not forced to deceived and decapitate Holofernes, but instead, choses, on her own accord, to risk her life, deceive her enemies, and kill their commander. And yet, she does all this without a second thought.   

            Furthermore, she does this as a woman. So often, we women hear that we are weaker than men and that we need to become like men to prove our strength. Judith does not try to be a man in order to save her people; she saved them by being a woman, by charming Holofernes with her sweetness and beauty. She didn’t even have the strength to kill Holofernes with one blow; she had to strike him twice! And yet, Judith took up the sword fearlessly and did what she had to do.

We as women may be physically weaker than men in a certain sense, having less muscle mass and blood than men. Yet we are also strong also, and do not need to become like men in order to prove our strength. Ladies, we must embrace our femininity and the gifts and strength particular to us as women. Use your beauty, your sensitivity, your intellect; do not be ashamed of these gifts. God has blessed you with them. Use them. And you will find, that God will foil our enemies. 

-Margaret

Untangled by Truth

Oh Repunzel.  How many of us can identify with her in this situation - going back and forth in our heads and getting ourselves all tangled up in our thoughts and emotions?  At the BeLoved Event a few Saturdays ago, Sr. Eliana, T.O.R. pointed out how easily we can go from reality to ridiculous in 3.9 seconds; how after a guy on campus says hello to you, 5 minutes later you are shopping for your wedding dress in your head.  Or how you think you did poorly on a test and jump to the conclusion that you are failing out of Franciscan.  Or you see someone else praying piously and automatically assume they are a walking saint far beyond you, a wretched sinner who will never achieve such heights of holiness. 

We can get so tangled in our heads and hearts when our thoughts and emotions get out of control.  So how do we bring ourselves back from ridiculous to reality?  First, we have to have a solid foundation.  That solid foundation is a daily personal encounter with Jesus in prayer.  Built on this foundation, there are 5 practical steps towards being untangled by truth:

1.  Realize - stop and listen!  Be aware of your stream of consciousness.  Take a step back and look at the situation honestly and realize the incorrect thoughts.

2.  Reject - make a choice to reject the ridiculous, negative, or false thoughts. Don't entertain them.

3.  Renounce - (similar to reject) in the Name of Jesus renounce the lies, negative thoughts or emotions.

4.  Replace - recall and repeat truth (Scripture verse, saint quote, recall God's love for you or your unique beauty) instead of dwelling on the negative thoughts or the lies and falsities you may have internalized.  You must fill yourself with truth. 

5.  Rejoice - thank the Lord for who He is and what He has done for you - for showing you Truth!

 

These are the 5 R’s to untangle our thoughts and ground ourselves in Truth! 

"Do not comform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Rom 12:2) 

Peace to your beautiful hearts!

 - Sr. Elizabeth, TOR

Mary Most Beautiful

For today’s blog, I want to encourage readers to contemplate the beauty of Our Blessed Mother. Here is an excerpt from The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty (Pp.122-123) by John Saward to reflect on this topic:

Grace, as the poet says, is “God’s better beauty,”[1] the splendour of the soul. From the beginning of her existence, Mary is radiant with a fulness of spiritual beauty in proportion to her dignity as Mother of God. “O pure Theotokos,” sings the Byzantine Church on the feast of the Entry of the Mother of God into the temple, “thou hast a clean and shining beauty of soul, and art filled from Heaven with the grace of God.” [2]

Grace conforms the soul into the likeness of Christ. So it is with Mary. Her plenitude of grace gives her by anticipation a likeness to the Son who will take His flesh from her. Hers is a reflected beauty. The women poet catches the play of light: “Christ’s mirror she of grace and love.”[3] In face and in grace, Mary is like Jesus. When Dante reaches Paradise, St Bernard tells him that contemplating the countenance of the Mother is the best way of preparing to see the glorious face of the Son:

                         

                        Now to that face which most resembles Christ

            lift up thy face; its radiance alone

                        can grant to thee the power to look on Christ.[4]

The Virgin Mary, in all her splendor and beauty always orients us towards her son. Even in her being she reflects Christ. This is another example of how she is Mediatrix: by mirroring Christ’s grace and love, she shows us her son. How amazing it is that by looking at her face we see the reflection of Christ!

Thoughts? Reflections? Please comment below.

-Holly

---

[1] ‘To What Serves Mortal Beauty’, in The Poetical Works of Gerard Manley Hopkins, ed. N.H. Mackinzie (Oxford 1990), 183.

[2] The Festal Menaion (London, 1969), 190.

[3] ‘Feast of the Annunciation’ in The Complete Poems of Christina Rossetti, new ed., vol 2 (London, 1986), 238.

[4] Paradisio 32, 85-87; 672; ET, Sayers and Reynolds, 336.

Oh, Those Emotions!

It was orientation weekend, and I was heartbroken and homesick. But I didn’t want to show it. I tried my hardest to restrain my tears, hiding my homesickness behind a stoic face. When a fellow student in my small group asked how I was doing, I could restrain myself no longer and burst into tears. She hugged me, of course, and the other members of our small group gathered around me and tried to console me. I was so embarrassed, and wished I hadn’t broken down. Have any of you ever had similar feelings—wanting to hide your emotions and feeling embarrassed when you can’t? I do, all the time. I’m always trying to suppress my emotions. Even when praying in Adoration, if I feel about to cry, I try to repress my tears. Why?

On Saturday, at the BeLoved Event on campus, Katrina Zeno spoke about emotions, and integrating them with our intellect. Basing her presentation off Dr. Conrad Baars, she shared with us women that emotions are not morally bad; they are morally neutral. How we choose to act on our emotions is what carries the moral weight. So, for instance, feeling the emotion of hate is not a sin, but acting on that hate and hitting someone is wrong. We are to feel every emotion, but that does not mean that every emotion will be expressed or gratified. After we experience the emotion, we must use our reason (informed by Magisterial teaching and Scripture) to determine whether we can express the emotion or if we should redirect the emotion. Katrina mentioned that we should not suppress our emotions; doing so can cause problems, especially in our mental health.

This information struck me, because I suppress my emotions. As I reflected on emotions, I tried to determine why I suppress mine, and I realized I do it because they embarrass me, and because I have a misconception that if I cry in front of others, they will think I am weak. The strongest man in the world cried: Jesus wept when Lazarus died (John 11:35). Jesus experienced many emotions: He became angry with the money changers in the temple and drove them out (Luke 19:45-46); He rejoiced when His apostles returned from preaching (Luke 10:21).

Emotions are not bad; they are even good to feel. We need to allow ourselves to feel them, and then respond appropriately. I am just beginning to learn how to do this. Do any of you have suggestions as how to do so? I’ve been thinking maybe if after I experience an emotion and determine it is not one to act on, I can offer that feeling to God, as a sacrifice. What do you all think?

If any of you are interested, Katrina Zeno mentioned a book written by Dr. Baars: Feeling and Healing Your Emotions.

Thank you all for sharing your suggestions.

~Margaret