Did God really say that? Seven times? Yes, He did.
Psalms 119:164 Tells us "Seven times a day I praise you." And in honoring the church's tradition and precept of praying without ceasing, we at the Order of The Society of Prayer are committed to praying seven times per day, for you and your family and the entire world. Fanaticial? Hardly. Traditional? Absolutely. Necessary, YES! Are seven prayers we pray are heartfelt and genuine expressions of our religious commitment, our core of what our order is all about. If you feel the Lord speaking to you and wish to join our order, please pray about it first. Many things happen, but only after prayer. From Mark 9 we read: (Douay-Rheims Bible) 14And coming to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes disputing with them. 15And presently all the people seeing Jesus, were astonished and struck with fear; and running to him, they saluted him. 16And he asked them: What do you question about among you? 17And one of the multitude, answering, said: Master, I have brought my son to thee, having a dumb spirit. 18Who, wheresoever he taketh him, dasheth him, and he foameth, and gnasheth with the teeth, and pineth away; and I spoke to thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not. 19Who answering them, said: O incredulous generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.20And they brought him. And when he had seen him, immediately the spirit troubled him; and being thrown down upon the ground, he rolled about foaming. 21And he asked his father: How long time is it since this hath happened unto him? But he said: From his infancy: 22And oftentimes hath he cast him into the fire and into waters to destroy him. But if thou canst do any thing, help us, having compassion on us. 23And Jesus saith to him: If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.24And immediately the father of the boy crying out, with tears said: I do believe, Lord: help my unbelief.25And when Jesus saw the multitude running together, he threatened the unclean spirit, saying to him: Deaf and dumb spirit, I command thee, go out of him; and enter not any more into him. 26And crying out, and greatly tearing him, he went out of him, and he became as dead, so that many said: He is dead.27But Jesus taking him by the hand, lifted him up; and he arose. 28And when he was come into the house, his disciples secretly asked him: Why could not we cast him out? 29And he said to them: This kind can go out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. Today, we encourage all who are able to join us in our prayer journey...great things happen when you pray. Sr. Bernadette Maria
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Before we learn to live with God and each other in any form of community
we must learn to live with ourselves. That is our true self, with all the masks and pretending removed. All the roles of illusion we play out based on our egos and self-constructed worlds. We must learn to let go of the things we have turned in to false Gods, rather than a stepping stone toward God. Our times of prayer leading into the silence and solitude of God are not an escape from reality but the most profound facing of reality there can be. Very gradually we begin to see ourselves as God sees us. It is as if we stand naked before God. The journey of prayer, if truly entered, does not deceive. All our no-go areas are laid bare for us to see. The truth is, on this journey, some days we can be our best friend, and other days our worse enemy. The more we know, accept, and love our true selves, the more we can accept and receive the love of God, and form relationships with others that are truly genuine and lasting. In this weakness is no barrier. For in our weakness there is the tenderness is God’s embrace. In our poverty, there is love and acceptance of a God who is the friend of all men and woman. By an associate of the community. Respect for the privacy and solitude of each member means we respect a member if they request to be anonymous.
We know little of each other, and what each member prays in their seven times journey each day. For those who have never met this path before it may seem puzzling. But all along the path that we walk there are choices of love to be made. It is not we are hiding some big secret from each other, Not that we do not love and respect each other in the Lord. It is precisely in that love and respect that we allow each member the space to make their journey of prayer. We do not run from one another, but journey deeper in to the God, and paradoxically feel closer to each other this way. We become closer to all those we pray for. For the walls of prayer, and any journey of silence and solitude know no physical boundaries or limitations. They are walls that dissolve when prayer spreads out like invisible waves of energy from each member or associate place of prayer. In this we become intimately aware of each person in a deeper, more subtle way. We are each other and in each other. For all hearts that love God and seek the Father's face meet as one beating heart in the heart of love. This is our message of hope to an often troubled and divided church and world that all divisions can be transcended beyond the debates of who is correct and wrong, in a place where pure and unconditional love and communion is possible. By an associate of the community. Psalms tells us to “trust God at all times.” (Psalms 62:8)
We can trust God better by not trusting in the distractions that are to our left or to our right. We should let go of our arrogance and fear and audacity that seems to proclaim with our what-ifs, “If only I could have done this, or if only I could have done that.” I encourage you to not look at your if-only attitude and focus forward. We must learn to trust God in all times, not focusing on regrets and whether we could have prevented something bad from happening or even if we had not sinned. Everything you are right now, right this very moment, is because of your regrets and mistakes as well as your victories and achievements. Focus forward and focus upward. Rely on the Holy spirit to lead you. Dive into the psalms frequently. In fact, camp out in the psalms daily. I invite you to read Psalms 62, to read of your God and Savior, the Helper. Do not be moved with distractions—but press forward. “Trust not in iniquity.” Seek balance, but most importantly, always seek God—and trust God…in and at and during all times. Sr. Bernadette Maria A long time ago we all started of down a path .
The path with its ' many twists and turns could have many descriptions . The path could have many names as it has unfolded through the journey and offering of life time : Love . Desire . Hunger. Faithfulness . Emptiness . Abandonment . Communion . Turning from self to find true self . At the start we somewhere deep inside ourselves even if we could not express it in words knew there was an invitation - " Stay here and keep watch with Me ." Walking this path step by step we have also come to learn what it is not : Focused on self . Judgmental of our brothers and sisters . Being part of the divisions of the church and world . One of long theological debates . Taking part in power struggles . Worrying about the future . Living in fear . Having to explain everything . As when you enter in to mystery you also become mystery . In short, being anything apart from a person of prayer in communion with the brothers and sisters hidden away in their own hermitages , homes , or silence of the heart, as they go about daily life praying seven times each day . By an associate of the community . |
Moderated by Brother Anthony - Bruno Archives
February 2020
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