Chatroom 2
Latest message: 1 week ago
richardboyder : God bless . and blessed easter2025-04-15 20:11:03 richardboyder : thankyou so much all. god bless2025-04-15 20:10:01
arnobaule : Happy Easter to all. Peace and joy.2025-04-15 20:01:19 arnobaule : Richard, God be with you at this time. Thank you for being here.2025-04-15 20:00:58
collettesnydacker : my prayers are with you . Happy Easter2025-04-15 20:00:51
chrisarnold : See some of you in Iowa in a little bit!2025-04-15 20:00:51
maryseitz : Happy Easter, everyone. and a blessed Holy Week.2025-04-15 20:00:33
kevinnorum : May God be glorified in all things. Bye for now.2025-04-15 19:59:57
shawnkafader : Great to be with you this afternoon!2025-04-15 19:59:44 maryseitz : Richard, before we go, I want you to know that I’m going to pray for you, your wife and your granddad. I am so sorry for what you’re going through.2025-04-15 19:59:18 kevinnorum : Thanks, Shawn.2025-04-15 19:59:17 shawnkafader : And...we are just about out of time again! I will bring up the informal Zoom or Chat at the Annual Gathering.2025-04-15 19:59:01 kevinnorum : Here we are again, exposed and vulnerable to our need for greater communion with like-minded followers of Jesus.2025-04-15 19:58:55 shawnkafader : Writing my Senior Commitment statement was helpful for me in this area.2025-04-15 19:57:28 chrisarnold : I honestly think that the lay or secular Carmelite charism makes more "sense" in that there's just more work that has been done around it. And the Carmelites are friars...2025-04-15 19:57:03 arnobaule : Perhaps Peter's Developing a Rule of Life could be handy here. His approach is doable and how it pans out would be different for those more or less active.2025-04-15 19:56:42 kevinnorum : I always remember a Desert Father saying, it is not speaking that breaks my rule of silence, but the anxiety to be heard. I need you all to help my heart stay quiet in this noisy world.2025-04-15 19:56:13 chrisarnold : But I'm *not* a monk. I'm not really (actively) a priest anymore. I'm not a generic secular person. I do a secular life but with big chunks of prayer.2025-04-15 19:56:06 shawnkafader : if there is a right.2025-04-15 19:56:04 shawnkafader : Honesty moment...I think I have a very stilted idea of both the monastic Cistercian life and the lay Cistercian life. I often wonder if I am doing it right...2025-04-15 19:55:52 collettesnydacker : me too chris2025-04-15 19:55:45 chrisarnold : For me, it's that I think of myself as moving through the world as a "lay monastic". The values I have and the pattern of my days reflect a priority of prayer, solitude, and silence2025-04-15 19:54:48 maryseitz : Shawn, I’ve been thinking of that too. I don’t have any answers or insights as yet, but I wonder if it has to do with who is out more in the world versus who lives a more quiet life.2025-04-15 19:53:47 shawnkafader : for example.2025-04-15 19:52:40 shawnkafader : I was interested in Peter's statement, "There are many ways to live the Cistercian Lay life." I would love to hear how you all regularly engage with the Charism2025-04-15 19:52:28 chrisarnold : It does seem pretty common that these monthly chats morph into discussions about how Conversi could be tighter2025-04-15 19:51:24 maryseitz : Shawn, I think that could work. Arno could have his morning coffee while Richard has his cookies and milk, or whatever he takes before bed. 🙂2025-04-15 19:51:08 arnobaule : Right, Shawn. The chats are meant to be formation as I understand it.2025-04-15 19:51:04 collettesnydacker : mary, i haveagroup like that daily. such a blessing2025-04-15 19:49:33 shawnkafader : An informal Zoom or Chat might be a good idea - more of a sharing time with each other outside the monthly topics.2025-04-15 19:49:20 maryseitz : talk about our lives and personal struggles.2025-04-15 19:48:13 maryseitz : I have a Centering Prayer group that is exclusively online and very tigh knit. It doesn’t hurt that everyone is female and about the same age. But I think what really makes the difference is that we2025-04-15 19:48:00 kevinnorum : just have a phone call i have to take...2025-04-15 19:47:48 arnobaule : Peter's comments on fostering our relationships were very interesting to me. Would be great to try some of his ideas.2025-04-15 19:47:22 richardboyder : yeah for me its rough id have to be up at 3am hehe i coukd try it one day but lots of coffee needed haha2025-04-15 19:46:31 maryseitz : Arno, I think our Wednesday night Zoom would be about 3 AM for Richard.2025-04-15 19:46:16 kevinnorum : Maybe I can be more regular in emailing a member outside of chat days just to check in.. "Just to check in " falls under RB 4.20 - You should become a stranger to the world's ways (Kardong translation2025-04-15 19:45:58 arnobaule : The Wednesday zoom is open to anyone in the community. However, its timing may not work for everyone. More than one zoom?2025-04-15 19:45:41 maryseitz : Richard, I’ll look into it.2025-04-15 19:45:15 shawnkafader : Yes we have.2025-04-15 19:44:32 arnobaule : Shawn, I think we have alluded to it in other chats.2025-04-15 19:44:03 richardboyder : ah it woukd acrualmy be so great to zoom with you all if agreed upon one chat evening like tonight . wonder if that would be welcomed by all? once in a while ?2025-04-15 19:43:51 shawnkafader : I am grateful for the community we have and share. It is truly a unique group. Arno, I am not sure how to accomplish deeper community in Conversi.2025-04-15 19:43:15 maryseitz : Richard, should we make a time that’s convenient for you to zoom?2025-04-15 19:42:37 kevinnorum : I find it helpful to read all the stories on this website about how we got here. What we submitted when we first applied to join. Makes me feel a little closer.2025-04-15 19:42:36 richardboyder : physical presence is indeed often important with each other .. but hey … online is better than naught right2025-04-15 19:42:32 arnobaule : Shawn, what would be "even tighter" for you?2025-04-15 19:42:27 richardboyder : me to to be honest i wish physical presence could be a real thing .. not many conversi people here in SA that i know of at all.2025-04-15 19:41:40 shawnkafader : Thanks, Richard. I wish our community were even tighter sometimes.2025-04-15 19:40:51 arnobaule : Exactly Kevin. In can been seen as nourishment but also as attunement to the Divine.2025-04-15 19:40:48 maryseitz : Chris, that speaks to humility in you. Bravo! I am not able to do that, at least as much as I want.2025-04-15 19:40:43 kevinnorum : Arno, you bring up Peter's chart on "Food" and "Exercise".2025-04-15 19:39:46 richardboyder : i can truly say conversi and all of you have had a hand in my continous conversion including joining mass and repeating the jesus prayer as often as i can in the heart2025-04-15 19:39:43 chrisarnold : Mary, I was able to do it! Mostly.2025-04-15 19:39:19 shawnkafader : Yes, Chris...gradual progression...with many set backs as well.2025-04-15 19:39:01 arnobaule : I believe Lectio Divina is crucial to Conversion but in a different way. It is not a community exercise.2025-04-15 19:38:46 chrisarnold : Similarly, in continual conversion, I am just making regular small adjustments back in the God-wards direction. And over the years, I become a saint!2025-04-15 19:38:44 maryseitz : Chris, were you able to do it?2025-04-15 19:38:25 chrisarnold : When I did powerlifting, I was advised not to compare myself to other guys in the gym, or to myself 20 years ago, but only to myself last month and myself next month.2025-04-15 19:37:48 shawnkafader : Yes, Kevin.2025-04-15 19:37:40 richardboyder : beautiful2025-04-15 19:37:29 kevinnorum : That's great, Shawn. Fullness of God = absence of self, dis-place-ment of my ego.2025-04-15 19:37:07 chrisarnold : Oh yes, Kevin. The RB is Benedict's manual for the "school of the Lord's service" and conversion is exactly the point.2025-04-15 19:36:28 shawnkafader : Very different from my Protestant formation.2025-04-15 19:36:20 richardboyder : i love the rb. always something more tomlearn and practice isnt there from the rb2025-04-15 19:36:07 shawnkafader : fullness of God."2025-04-15 19:35:52 shawnkafader : I was formed in an intentional Roman Catholic Community for seven years. The thing that was stressed was, "We are a community journeying together toward2025-04-15 19:35:42 kevinnorum : The whole of the RB seems to be a manual for conversion.2025-04-15 19:35:15 richardboyder : im still amazed how God used saul - paul … and how he converted from being a killer of christians… God moves in mysterious ways … wow2025-04-15 19:34:23 kevinnorum : Like seed sown on rocky soil, Chris. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches...2025-04-15 19:34:05 maryseitz : Richard, what a wise thought.2025-04-15 19:34:03 shawnkafader : Yes, Richard.2025-04-15 19:33:06 chrisarnold : In the Protestant world, one sometimes encounters the idea that conversion is a one-time event, a single moment like St. Paul on the Damascus Road.2025-04-15 19:32:49 richardboyder : ah yes i get all of your points. conversion is perhaos a life time process of being ibedient to God, falling , getting up again being more converted than before2025-04-15 19:32:27 arnobaule : We pray specifically for the healing of our souls in the Mass in response to the Ecce Homo.2025-04-15 19:32:15 shawnkafader : Yes to both Kevin and Chris.2025-04-15 19:31:49 kevinnorum : Right, Chris.2025-04-15 19:31:39 collettesnydacker : arno, yes, prayer stall times .,all day prayer2025-04-15 19:31:31 chrisarnold : But I absolutely don't think that miraculous healing is necessarily linked, causally, to conversion. Conversion doesn't "cause" healing.2025-04-15 19:31:22 kevinnorum : Can I consent to the thorn in my side remaining by God's will to bring Him glory? Illness accepted is a huge testimony in this world.2025-04-15 19:31:14 richardboyder : true2025-04-15 19:30:29 chrisarnold : Conversion has to be healing to the soul, since it's the gradual process of drawing close to God.2025-04-15 19:30:19 kevinnorum : OK. Be careful with this, though, because it can easily be abused by "healers" who blame the supplicant when not healed because they lacked faith or didn't do something correctly.2025-04-15 19:30:03 chrisarnold : healings are a gift from God, and conversion is a gift from God.2025-04-15 19:29:42 maryseitz : maybe like the blind man who said, I want to see.2025-04-15 19:29:33 shawnkafader : I hear where you are coming from, Richard. For some a "miraculous conversion" is the first step toward life-long conversion.2025-04-15 19:28:52 richardboyder : i suppose conversion heals the soul2025-04-15 19:27:52 arnobaule : Collette, Peter says we need to give it priority and that it is central to who we are as lay Cistercians.2025-04-15 19:27:19 richardboyder : this out take from the pdf2025-04-15 19:27:14 richardboyder : this out take from the ldf2025-04-15 19:27:00 richardboyder : “ and indeed the gospels are full of narratives of miraculous healings from blindness to sight. Similarly
the story of the first Pentecost describes a miraculous conversion of a large number of peop…2025-04-15 19:26:53 arnobaule : Richard, they sometimes occur together but not always.2025-04-15 19:26:06 collettesnydacker : I really enjoyed Petter's discriptiopn of Lecio ''''''divina2025-04-15 19:25:48 kevinnorum : Richard, what is your "so" referring to? Anyone's comment today?2025-04-15 19:24:36 richardboyder : hi Mary2025-04-15 19:23:51 richardboyder : so conversion includes often miraculous healing ?2025-04-15 19:23:36 collettesnydacker : other groups, but a;ome in prayer an meditation. very peaceful.2025-04-15 19:23:35 kevinnorum : Do we necessarily become more "odd" to the world as we go on in a life of Conversion? Misunderstood maybe?2025-04-15 19:23:24 chrisarnold : Hi Mary!2025-04-15 19:22:12 arnobaule : Hello Mary2025-04-15 19:22:11 kevinnorum : Mary!2025-04-15 19:22:08 maryseitz : hi, all.2025-04-15 19:21:56 collettesnydacker : converst,2025-04-15 19:21:45 collettesnydacker : aic,2025-04-15 19:21:36 collettesnydacker : shawn I to have had thosee experiences in2025-04-15 19:21:32 shawnkafader : Good image, Chris.2025-04-15 19:21:06 chrisarnold : Years ago, when I first encountered the RB and conversatio morum, it made absolute sense as a continual process. Like adjusting the tiller on the boat...2025-04-15 19:20:32 kevinnorum : I am the same. One on one or smaller groups - I can't hide under a mask in these communities.2025-04-15 19:20:17 collettesnydacker : yes2025-04-15 19:19:48 richardboyder : to motivate each other , i think its necessary to be part of community for conversion . when one hadnt the energy that day another does and visa versa , helping each other move closer to Christ2025-04-15 19:19:44 arnobaule : I think the community is to be seen as formative merely by its structure if nothing else. In other words, persevere and conversion on some level takes place.2025-04-15 19:19:42 shawnkafader : I can't say I have ever experienced community that way before or since.2025-04-15 19:19:07 shawnkafader : I was part of a small group on men a few years ago. We met every other week for over 10 years. We really got to know each other. Deep conversion took place.2025-04-15 19:17:35 chrisarnold : To me, the connection between the two is that community is the "proving ground" of love, and love is the motivating force of conversion2025-04-15 19:17:34 arnobaule : Peter early on defines Conversion as an undefined movement toward perfection.2025-04-15 19:17:11 kevinnorum : I would like to hear other comments about the connection between community and conversion (Shawn).2025-04-15 19:15:54 richardboyder : hi collette2025-04-15 19:15:35 arnobaule : Hello Collette.2025-04-15 19:15:16 kevinnorum : Hi Collett. Welcome.2025-04-15 19:15:13 shawnkafader : Hello Collette!2025-04-15 19:15:10 collettesnydacker : greetings all2025-04-15 19:14:43 chrisarnold : Amen. Lord have mercy.2025-04-15 19:14:23 arnobaule : Amen.2025-04-15 19:13:54 richardboyder : amen thankyou2025-04-15 19:13:47 shawnkafader : Amen.2025-04-15 19:13:46 kevinnorum : Amen.2025-04-15 19:13:34 kevinnorum : Heavy stuff. Let's pause for 20-30 seconds to pray silently for Richard as the Spirit leads. I will type "amen" when done.2025-04-15 19:12:44 richardboyder : its been tough this lent to say the least2025-04-15 19:12:33 arnobaule : Wow Richrd. So sorry to hear this.2025-04-15 19:12:14 richardboyder : also praying for my wife to come to best decision about treatment for lung cancer 🙏❤️2025-04-15 19:11:14 shawnkafader : Wow, Richard. I am sorry.2025-04-15 19:11:02 shawnkafader : I resonated with the thought that, "The community is the primary instrument of conversion." I think this is especially true in the monastic community.2025-04-15 19:10:32 richardboyder : my grandfather passed away this afternoon .2025-04-15 19:10:29 kevinnorum : Can we pray for you about something going on this afternoon?2025-04-15 19:09:57 arnobaule : Hello Richard.2025-04-15 19:09:53 kevinnorum : Hi Richard.2025-04-15 19:09:32 kevinnorum : It is hard to define conversion exactly in the Cistercian sense. The Lay Cistercian Identity statement is good in this regard.2025-04-15 19:09:25 richardboyder : hi all sorry im late . been rough afternoon2025-04-15 19:09:14 kevinnorum : Peter did a good job of putting together the notes on conversion - conversatio morum.2025-04-15 19:08:20 chrisarnold : What did you all think about the topic for this month?2025-04-15 19:07:55 shawnkafader : He is an Episcopal priest from Canada. Deep reader and loved to teach on monasticism.2025-04-15 19:07:53 shawnkafader : He was my mentor when I first began. I sent him a note the other day and thanked him. He responded with a wonderful note.2025-04-15 19:07:02 arnobaule : No, I wasn't Shawn. Tell us a little more about him if you would.2025-04-15 19:06:29 kevinnorum : No, unfortunately.2025-04-15 19:06:19 chrisarnold : Well before my time.2025-04-15 19:06:02 shawnkafader : Were any of you in Conversi when Peter was active? He was a person of grace and mercy.2025-04-15 19:05:35 chrisarnold : Amen2025-04-15 19:05:00 shawnkafader : Amen.2025-04-15 19:04:30 arnobaule : Amen2025-04-15 19:04:27 kevinnorum : Father, we want to be closer to you. We want our lives to reflect your goodness and mercy. We cannot do this on our own. May your Spirit guide each of us today as we fellowship together. Amen.2025-04-15 19:04:01 kevinnorum : If you give me a second I can type a prayer for us to start.2025-04-15 19:02:36 arnobaule : Hello Shawn2025-04-15 19:00:21 kevinnorum : Hi Shawn2025-04-15 19:00:05 kevinnorum : Might be a thin group today.2025-04-15 18:59:55 shawnkafader : Hello everyone!2025-04-15 18:59:53 arnobaule : Hello Kevin2025-04-15 18:58:59 kevinnorum : Hello guys.2025-04-15 18:58:40 arnobaule : Hello Chris2025-04-15 18:58:19 chrisarnold : Hello2025-04-15 18:58:00
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