Mortification

Vincentian Reflections

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
August 31, 2008

Gospel: (Matthew 16:21-27)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

Vincentian Meditation:

“Service to God’s people demands a price. Christians must put aside their own prejudices, comfortable circumstances, and favorite ideas in order to do the will of God. This sort of discipline calls Christians to die to themselves in order to follow Christ. St. Vincent called this discipline mortification. Mortification, or dying to self, has sometimes become confused with self-hate, repression…or co-dependency. However, dying to self is a core value in the Christian Testament. St. Vincent believed that mortification had to be a conscious choice. With the grace of God, people could be willing to make the hard sacrifices that love demands. With God’s help, they could detach themselves from—or die—to all that was not Christ so that they could put on Jesus Christ. (McKenna, Praying with Vincent, p.83, 85)

Day of Recollection

FOR INFORMATION

Day of Recollection
Annual Vincentian Training Day for Sacramento Council Conferences
September 6, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
St John the Evangelist Catholic Church

http://www.sjecarmichael.org/

5751 Locust Avenue 95608
Carmichael, CA

DIRECTIONS
Directions from Our Lady of Grace

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&f=d&iwstate1=dir:to&daddr=5751+Locust+Ave+Carmichael,+CA+95608&fb=1&geocode=8715728907451569466,38.642544,-121.330162&oi=manybox&ct=16&cd=1&resnum=1

Get Directions from your house:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&f=d&iwstate1=dir:to&daddr=5751+Locust+Ave+Carmichael,+CA+95608&fb=1&geocode=8715728907451569466,38.642544,-121.330162&oi=manybox&ct=16&cd=1&resnum=1

AGENDA

8:30 AM to 9:30 AM - Mass in the Church
9:30 AM to 9:45 AM - Registration and coffee in Church Hall
9:45 AM to 11:00 AM - Choose between one of the following two workshops:

1. Spirituality for the Spiritual Advisors - Speaker - Dave Lehman, Council Spiritual Advisor. He will concentrate on Vincentian spirituality and the role and responsibilities of
Conference Spiritual Advisors.

2. Spirituality for Conference members - Speaker - Pat Metrick, Manager of Vincentian Support for the Western Region. One element of her talk will be "The Society of SVDP is not out to
serve the poor."

11:00 AM to 11:15 AM Break

11:15 AM to 12:15 PM Choose between one of the following workshops:

1. Advocacy - Speaker - Art Guerrero - Chair of the VOP Committee. "How you can influence legislation with very little effort."

2. Recruiting and retaining members - Speaker - Pat Metrick "Welcome to the Society of SVDP - Here I am, Lord."

12:15 PM to 12:45 PM Lunch

12:45 PM to 1:45 PM Choose between one of the following workshops:

1. Practical helps to make home visits more productive - Speaker - Patricia Metrick. Two of her subjects will cover "Attitude is everything" and "God gave us two ears and one mouth."

2. Vincentian response to disasters - Speaker John Hallissy, First V.P. of the Council. John Knight, Disaster Chair, will also participate. The results of what was learned in this past winter's Northwest floods will be shared along with its application to potential earthquake, fire, or flood disasters in our area

1:45 PM to 2:00 PM Q & A
2:00 PM Formal closing
2:05 PM For those that would like to ask further questions, you are invited to stay and ask them and to share ideas with the speakers and one another.