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Are you restless or hungry for more in your life? Are you seeking wisdom or looking for inspiration? The gospel gave guidance to Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi as they followed the footprints of Jesus some 800 years ago. The witness of their lives and values continue to inspire those of us on a spiritual journey today. Join Sister Michelle L’Allier and her guests for a time of shared reflection and conversation.

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  2. Making the Ordinary Extraordinary - Episode 12

Making the Ordinary Extraordinary - Episode 12

Mar 2, 2021

Join Sister Ruth Lentner who sees the Franciscan way as a joyful and hope-filled path into God. Together we explore the soul’s journey with persons, creation, contemplative prayer, and poetry as companions on the way.

 

Ruth highlights that “Nature is a place that calls me into God in very deep and profound ways. And from my earliest days on retreat, I needed some way to express myself. Because it's like this bundle, burst of energy is inside of me that wants to say something. Wants to write something down. And so I started trying poetry to see if that would be a way that I could express that inner relationship happening with God through the creative world.”

 

“What I found from writing is that poetry is a really healthy way of interacting with yourself and the earth. It helps you understand some days when things are difficult, you put it down in a poem. Boy, it sure feels better. You got it out. Or you just need to express what you're seeing, where in your soul is being moved and touched by this beautiful creation.”

 

 

References:

Rosary: https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-rosary or https://www.usccb.org/how-to-pray-the-rosary.

 

Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, MN: A monastic community of women who seek God in their daily lives according to the Gospel and the Rule of Benedict. See: https://sbm.osb.org/.

 

Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, MN:  Catholic women religious who follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ and walk in the footsteps of Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi. We live a poor, simple and prayerful community life, a ministry of presence and witness. See: www.fslf.org.

 

The Soul’s Journey into God, by St. Bonaventure: a beautiful descriptive article about this writing: http://franciscanseculars.com/the-souls-journey-into-god/. A readable translation of this work: https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Into-God-St-Bonaventure/dp/1619560119.

 

Amish: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Amish

 

Little Falls Garden to School Initiative: https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/ship/reports/docs/districtsheets/nine.pdf.  

 

Contemplative Prayer: see: http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2709-2719: https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p4s1c3a1.htm. Also the Show Notes from Episodes 3 and 8.

 

Hoarfrost: this video describes various types of frost, including hoarfrost: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q9GhTDDRjk.

 

Julian of Norwich: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich.

 

Care of the Earth: a good reference to this is Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home. This text is animated by Saint Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Sun; see: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/franciscan-spirit-blog/saint-francis-and-his-canticle.