#spiritualdirection — Public Fediverse posts

Hello Fediverse, my name is Nicole Schaller. I #FollowJesus and am building #KingdomEntrepreneur Europe passionate to educate and coach #ChristianEntrepreneurs to practice their #FaithAtWork and #ServantLeadership. These days I offer #SpiritualDirection and #BiblicalCounseling, develop #LeadershipCoaching , write #Courses, and start a #Community.

With a master in #Business #Leadership I now study #BiblicalStudies and #Theology in Rome to qualify as pastor for entrepreneurs. #introduction

Hello Fediverse, my name is Nicole Schaller. I #FollowJesus and am building #KingdomEntrepreneur Europe passionate to educate and coach #ChristianEntrepreneurs to practice their #FaithAtWork and #ServantLeadership. These days I offer #SpiritualDirection and #BiblicalCounseling, develop #LeadershipCoaching , write #Courses, and start a #Community.

With a master in #Business #Leadership I now study #BiblicalStudies and #Theology in Rome to qualify as pastor for entrepreneurs. #introduction

Hello Fediverse, my name is Nicole Schaller. I #FollowJesus and am building #KingdomEntrepreneur Europe passionate to educate and coach #ChristianEntrepreneurs to practice their #FaithAtWork and #ServantLeadership. These days I offer #SpiritualDirection and #BiblicalCounseling, develop #LeadershipCoaching , write #Courses, and start a #Community.

With a master in #Business #Leadership I now study #BiblicalStudies and #Theology in Rome to qualify as pastor for entrepreneurs. #introduction

Hello Fediverse, my name is Nicole Schaller. I #FollowJesus and am building #KingdomEntrepreneur Europe passionate to educate and coach #ChristianEntrepreneurs to practice their #FaithAtWork and #ServantLeadership. These days I offer #SpiritualDirection and #BiblicalCounseling, develop #LeadershipCoaching , write #Courses, and start a #Community.

With a master in #Business #Leadership I now study #BiblicalStudies and #Theology in Rome to qualify as pastor for entrepreneurs. #introduction

Hello Fediverse, my name is Nicole Schaller. I #FollowJesus and am building #KingdomEntrepreneur Europe, passionate to educate and coach #ChristianEntrepreneurs to practice their #FaithAtWork and #ServantLeadership. I offer #SpiritualDirection and #BiblicalCounseling, develop #LeadershipCoaching, write #Courses, and start a #Community.

A master in #Business #Leadership, I am studying #BiblicalStudies and #Theology to become pastor for entrepreneurs.
Pleased to connect with you.
#introduction

Quote of the day, 31 July: St. Teresa of Avila

Saint Francis Borgia visits Avila

A college of the Society of Jesus had been started in Avila. Teresa, who had the greatest admiration for the new order, heard this with joy, but up to now had not dared to speak with one of the greatly renowned fathers.

Now she took refuge in them, and this was her deliverance. Fr. Juan de Prádanos completely reassured her about the origin of her mystical states and advised her to continue on this path. He only found it necessary that she make herself worthy of the favors by strict mortifications.

As she said, “mortification” was at that time a word virtually unknown to her. But with her characteristic decisiveness, she took up the suggestion and began to accustom herself to severe penances.

Recognizing that her weak health would not be able to stand such a severe life, P. Prádanos easily helped her with this. “Without doubt, my daughter,” he said, “God sends you so many illnesses in order to make up for those mortifications that you do not practice. So do not be afraid. Your mortifications cannot hurt you” [see L, 24, 6]. And in fact, Teresa’s health improved because of this new lifestyle.

St. Francis Borgia visited the Jesuit college, and to get his evaluation, Fr. Prádanos asked him to speak with Teresa. She herself writes about this:

At that time Father Francis [St. Francis Borgia] came to this place. He had been the Duke of Gandía, and some years before had given up all and entered the Society of Jesus…. Well, after he had heard me, he told me that my experience was from the Spirit of God and that it seemed to him it would no longer be good to resist, but that up to this time it had been all right, and that I should always begin prayer with an event from the Passion, but that if afterward the Lord should carry away the spirit I ought not resist Him but let His Majesty bear it away—and not strive to do so myself. As one who was well advanced, he gave the medicine and the counsel, for experience in this matter is very important. He said it would be a mistake to resist any longer (Life 24:3).

Saint Edith Stein

Love For Love, 10. New Tests

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Stein, E. 2014, The Hidden Life: hagiographic essays, meditations, spiritual texts, translated from the German by Stein, W, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Detail of Santa Teresa de Jesús consulta a san Francisco de Borja by José Segrelles, 1956, oil on canvas, altarpiece of the Sagrario chapel, Ducal Palace of Gandía, Valencia. Image credit: delaruecaalapluma.com

#Jesuits #mysticalExperience #spiritualDirection #StFrancisBorgia #StTeresaOfAvila

Quote of the day, 20 June: St. John of the Cross

Jesus be in your soul, my daughter in Christ.

The reason for my not having written during all this time is due more to my having been in such an out-of-the-way place, as is Segovia, than because of a lack of desire. My will to write remains ever the same, and I hope in God this will continue to be so. I have been sorry about your troubles.

I would desire that you not be so solicitous for the temporal things of the house because God will gradually forget you and you will come to a state of great spiritual and temporal need; for it is our anxiety that creates our needs.

Cast your care on the Lord, daughter, and he will sustain you [Ps. 55:22], for he who gives, and wants to give, the highest cannot fail to give the least. Be careful that you do not lack the desire to be poor and in want; for if you do, at that very hour devotion will fail you and you will gradually weaken in the practice of virtue.

If previously you desired poverty, now that you are superior, you ought to desire and love it much more. You ought to govern and provide the house with virtues and ardent desires for heaven rather than with worries and plans about temporal and earthly things. The Lord tells us not to be thinking about food or clothing or tomorrow [Mt. 6:31-34].

Saint John of the Cross

Letter 21 to Madre María de Jesús (excerpts)
Discalced Carmelite prioress of Córdoba
Madrid, 20 June 1590

John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Study of a Woman’s Head was painted in oil on wood, ca. 1780 by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725–1805). Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How has God shown you His care and sustained you through His Divine Providence?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#DivineProvidence #monasticLife #poverty #spiritualDirection #StJohnOfTheCross #trust

Quote of the day, 20 June: St. John of the Cross

Jesus be in your soul, my daughter in Christ.

The reason for my not having written during all this time is due more to my having been in such an out-of-the-way place, as is Segovia, than because of a lack of desire. My will to write remains ever the same, and I hope in God this will continue to be so. I have been sorry about your troubles.

I would desire that you not be so solicitous for the temporal things of the house because God will gradually forget you and you will come to a state of great spiritual and temporal need; for it is our anxiety that creates our needs.

Cast your care on the Lord, daughter, and he will sustain you [Ps. 55:22], for he who gives, and wants to give, the highest cannot fail to give the least. Be careful that you do not lack the desire to be poor and in want; for if you do, at that very hour devotion will fail you and you will gradually weaken in the practice of virtue.

If previously you desired poverty, now that you are superior, you ought to desire and love it much more. You ought to govern and provide the house with virtues and ardent desires for heaven rather than with worries and plans about temporal and earthly things. The Lord tells us not to be thinking about food or clothing or tomorrow [Mt. 6:31-34].

Saint John of the Cross

Letter 21 to Madre María de Jesús (excerpts)
Discalced Carmelite prioress of Córdoba
Madrid, 20 June 1590

John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Study of a Woman’s Head was painted in oil on wood, ca. 1780 by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725–1805). Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How has God shown you His care and sustained you through His Divine Providence?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#DivineProvidence #monasticLife #poverty #spiritualDirection #StJohnOfTheCross #trust

Quote of the day, 20 June: St. John of the Cross

Jesus be in your soul, my daughter in Christ.

The reason for my not having written during all this time is due more to my having been in such an out-of-the-way place, as is Segovia, than because of a lack of desire. My will to write remains ever the same, and I hope in God this will continue to be so. I have been sorry about your troubles.

I would desire that you not be so solicitous for the temporal things of the house because God will gradually forget you and you will come to a state of great spiritual and temporal need; for it is our anxiety that creates our needs.

Cast your care on the Lord, daughter, and he will sustain you [Ps. 55:22], for he who gives, and wants to give, the highest cannot fail to give the least. Be careful that you do not lack the desire to be poor and in want; for if you do, at that very hour devotion will fail you and you will gradually weaken in the practice of virtue.

If previously you desired poverty, now that you are superior, you ought to desire and love it much more. You ought to govern and provide the house with virtues and ardent desires for heaven rather than with worries and plans about temporal and earthly things. The Lord tells us not to be thinking about food or clothing or tomorrow [Mt. 6:31-34].

Saint John of the Cross

Letter 21 to Madre María de Jesús (excerpts)
Discalced Carmelite prioress of Córdoba
Madrid, 20 June 1590

John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Study of a Woman’s Head was painted in oil on wood, ca. 1780 by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725–1805). Image credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Public domain).

⬦ Reflection Question ⬦
How has God shown you His care and sustained you through His Divine Providence?
⬦ Join the conversation in the comments.

#DivineProvidence #monasticLife #poverty #spiritualDirection #StJohnOfTheCross #trust

For my dear daughter Sister Teresa de Jesús

Jesus. The grace of the Holy Spirit be with your charity, my daughter. I was delighted with your letter, and that my letters make you happy is a great joy for me, seeing that we cannot be together.

As for the dryness, it seems to me that the Lord is now treating you as one who is strong. He wants to try you in order to know the love you have for him, whether it is present in dryness as well as in spiritual delights.

Take it as a very great favor from God. Don’t let it cause you any grief, for perfection does not consist in delight but in the virtues. When you least expect, devotion will return.

As for what you say about that sister, try not to think of it, but turn away from the thought. And don’t think that when a thought comes into your mind, even if it concerns something very bad, you are immediately at fault, for the thought is nothing. I too would like to see that sister experience the same dryness, for I don’t know if she understands herself, and for her own good we could desire this.

When some bad thought comes to you, bless yourself, or recite an Our Father, or strike your breast and try to think of something else, and you will instead be meriting because you will be resisting.

I would like to answer Isabel de San Pablo [the subprioress at St. Joseph’s in Avila] but there is not time. Give her my best regards—for she already knows how you must be the one dearest to me—and also regards to Romero [identity unknown] and María de San Jerónimo [St. Teresa’s cousin, who was also a Carmelite nun at St. Joseph’s in Avila]. I wish someone would write to me about her health since she doesn’t do so. Don Francisco [Sister Teresa’s oldest brother] is like an angel and doing well. Yesterday he received communion, and his servants did so too. Tomorrow we are going to Valladolid. He will write to you from there, for I haven’t told him now about this messenger.

May God watch over you, my daughter, and make you as holy as I beg of him, amen. My regards to all.

Today is the feast of San Alberto.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Letter 351 to her niece Teresita at St. Joseph’s in Avila
From Medina, 7 August 1580

Note: Translator and editor Father Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. indicates that St. Teresa’s niece, Teresita, was now a novice at St. Joseph’s in Avila. She was grieving over the recent death of her father and wrote to her aunt about some of her interior troubles and problems. St. Teresa gives her niece some standard counsel and comfort.

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Before leaving Seville with St. Teresa and her father Lorenzo de Cepeda on the way back to Castile, young Teresita was depicted in an oil on canvas painting by Fray Juan de la Miseria, who shortly before had painted a portrait of St. Teresa. Fray Juan portrayed the girl dressed as a Carmelite (brown habit and white mantle), noting that she was “10 years old.” This featured image is a detail from Fray Juan’s painting, which is one of the prized treasures of the Carmel of St. Joseph “of the Teresas” in Seville. Image credit: Carmel of Alba de Tormes

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/06/stj-ltr351/

#distractions #dryness #familyLife #holiness #monasticLife #prayer #spiritualDirection #StTeresaOfAvila #Teresita

For my dear daughter Sister Teresa de Jesús

Jesus. The grace of the Holy Spirit be with your charity, my daughter. I was delighted with your letter, and that my letters make you happy is a great joy for me, seeing that we cannot be together.

As for the dryness, it seems to me that the Lord is now treating you as one who is strong. He wants to try you in order to know the love you have for him, whether it is present in dryness as well as in spiritual delights.

Take it as a very great favor from God. Don’t let it cause you any grief, for perfection does not consist in delight but in the virtues. When you least expect, devotion will return.

As for what you say about that sister, try not to think of it, but turn away from the thought. And don’t think that when a thought comes into your mind, even if it concerns something very bad, you are immediately at fault, for the thought is nothing. I too would like to see that sister experience the same dryness, for I don’t know if she understands herself, and for her own good we could desire this.

When some bad thought comes to you, bless yourself, or recite an Our Father, or strike your breast and try to think of something else, and you will instead be meriting because you will be resisting.

I would like to answer Isabel de San Pablo [the subprioress at St. Joseph’s in Avila] but there is not time. Give her my best regards—for she already knows how you must be the one dearest to me—and also regards to Romero [identity unknown] and María de San Jerónimo [St. Teresa’s cousin, who was also a Carmelite nun at St. Joseph’s in Avila]. I wish someone would write to me about her health since she doesn’t do so. Don Francisco [Sister Teresa’s oldest brother] is like an angel and doing well. Yesterday he received communion, and his servants did so too. Tomorrow we are going to Valladolid. He will write to you from there, for I haven’t told him now about this messenger.

May God watch over you, my daughter, and make you as holy as I beg of him, amen. My regards to all.

Today is the feast of San Alberto.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Letter 351 to her niece Teresita at St. Joseph’s in Avila
From Medina, 7 August 1580

Note: Translator and editor Father Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. indicates that St. Teresa’s niece, Teresita, was now a novice at St. Joseph’s in Avila. She was grieving over the recent death of her father and wrote to her aunt about some of her interior troubles and problems. St. Teresa gives her niece some standard counsel and comfort.

Teresa of Avila, St. 1985, The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K; Rodriguez, O, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Before leaving Seville with St. Teresa and her father Lorenzo de Cepeda on the way back to Castile, young Teresita was depicted in an oil on canvas painting by Fray Juan de la Miseria, who shortly before had painted a portrait of St. Teresa. Fray Juan portrayed the girl dressed as a Carmelite (brown habit and white mantle), noting that she was “10 years old.” This featured image is a detail from Fray Juan’s painting, which is one of the prized treasures of the Carmel of St. Joseph “of the Teresas” in Seville. Image credit: Carmel of Alba de Tormes

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/06/stj-ltr351/

#distractions #dryness #familyLife #holiness #monasticLife #prayer #spiritualDirection #StTeresaOfAvila #Teresita

Along came Fräulein Stein. She took over the German classes in the teachers’ college and in the girls’ school, and guided her pupils calmly and safely through to their final examinations. Her educational work was very fruitful; she quickly won the hearts of her pupils.

Teresia Renata Posselt, O.C.D.
“Fraülein Doktor”

The letters from Saint Edith Stein to Dr. Roman Ingarden in 1924 offer a rich tapestry of spiritual and intellectual engagement, reflecting their deep relationship. Dr. Roman Ingarden, a distinguished Polish philosopher and phenomenologist, shared a great bond of friendship and intellectual camaraderie with Edith. Their correspondence reveals mutual respect and a shared passion for the pursuit of truth, blending rigorous philosophical inquiry with spiritual depth.

In her letters, Saint Edith discusses her life at St. Magdalena’s Dominican convent school in Speyer, expressing the joy and fulfillment she finds in her teaching vocation. Her reflections highlight the importance of a spiritually nurturing community, contrasting it with her previous secular academic environments. Edith’s words convey deep gratitude for the religious foundation permeating her daily life.

St. Edith Stein’s correspondence with Roman Ingarden also reflects her evangelical zeal and pastoral sensitivity. She challenges his misconceptions about Catholic dogma with charity and intellectual rigor, inviting him to reconsider his views. Through her thoughtful engagement, Edith exemplifies the Christian call to bear witness to the truth in love, encouraging her friend to explore the rich intellectual and spiritual heritage of the Church.

Her letters serve as a beacon, illuminating the path of sincere and open dialogue, guided by the light of Christ’s truth.

• Day One: Providence
  “I received an offer” (Letter 84)
• Day Two: Service 
  “I am now employed” (Letter 84)
• Day Three: Community 
  “An ideal situation” (Letter 84)
• Day Four: Enrichment 
  “The main thing for me” (Letter 84)
• Day Five: Integrity 
  “A very serious undertaking” (Letter 85)
• Day Six: Challenge 
  “Until a few years ago” (Letter 85)
• Day Seven: Study 
  “Intellectual matter of conscience” (Letter 85)
• Day Eight: Respect 
  “Idiots or clever defrauders” (Letter 85)
• Day Nine: Empathy
  “The guilt lies with me” (Letter 87)

NOVENA PRAYER

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross,
called from the people of the Old Covenant,
help us to live together in peace and
to foster reconciliation between peoples and religions;
graced with the freedom of the spirit,
be close to all who seek the meaning of their lives,
the truth, and deliverance from all bondage.

(here mention your intentions)

Perfected in the wisdom of the Cross,
accompany us and all people
in every distress of body and soul.

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory be…

Saint Edith Stein, pray for us.

Novena prayer from the Carmel of Mary of Peace in Cologne, Germany
Image of Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) © 2023 Ruben Ferreira. Used by kind permission. Visit rubenferreiraart.com to explore more inspirational art by Ruben Ferreira.

Posselt, T 2005, Edith Stein: The Life of a Philosopher and Carmelite, translated from the German by Batzdorff S, Koeppel J, and Sullivan J, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Stein, E. 2014, Edith Stein: Letters to Roman Ingarden, translated from the German by Hunt, H, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

All scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America as accessed from the Bible Gateway website.

Don’t become discouraged and give up prayer, says St. John of the Cross. We offer varying novenas to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as novenas to St. Joseph, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Sts. Louis and Zélie Martin, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Edith Stein.

Let us unite in prayer

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/07/26/edithnov24-0/

#contemplation #intercession #letters #novena #Podcast #prayer #RomanIngarden #spiritualDirection #StEdithStein #truth #zeal

Where do you find community that encourages you to continue to learn, to be curious, to grow and change? For my thoughts see:
https://josephinerobertson.com/a-community-of-learning/
#spiritualdirection #spiritualgrowth #breathworkmeditation
#breathworkcoach #breathworkpractice

Where do you find community that encourages you to continue to learn, to be curious, to grow and change? For my thoughts see:
https://josephinerobertson.com/a-community-of-learning/
#spiritualdirection #spiritualgrowth #breathworkmeditation
#breathworkcoach #breathworkpractice

Where do you find community that encourages you to continue to learn, to be curious, to grow and change? For my thoughts see:
https://josephinerobertson.com/a-community-of-learning/
#spiritualdirection #spiritualgrowth #breathworkmeditation
#breathworkcoach #breathworkpractice

Where do you find community that encourages you to continue to learn, to be curious, to grow and change? For my thoughts see:
https://josephinerobertson.com/a-community-of-learning/
#spiritualdirection #spiritualgrowth #breathworkmeditation
#breathworkcoach #breathworkpractice

Where do you find community that encourages you to continue to learn, to be curious, to grow and change? For my thoughts see:
https://josephinerobertson.com/a-community-of-learning/
#spiritualdirection #spiritualgrowth #breathworkmeditation
#breathworkcoach #breathworkpractice

Some of my other interests/things I geek out on that may not be apparent from my bio:
(In no particular order)

#Needlework
#ClimateJustice
#Dogs
#SpiritualDirection
#Quakers
#PsychedelicTherapy
#Jung
#Merton
#VineDeloriaJr
#NunsReligiousSisters
#Esoterica
#TransracialAdoption
#AdopteeRights
#AntiRacism
#DisabilityJustice
#KDramas
#Syncretism
#Hiking
#Parenting
#NewMexico