Timestamps
0:30 – 2:59 = Topic Introduction and Context (The Devout Life)
3:00 – 4:26 = What is Devotion?
4:27 – 6:48 = Daily Life Baggage
6:49 – 9:20 = Choices in Devotion
9:21 – 13:51 = Handling between priorities, duties, responsibilities and devotion
13:52 – 18:22 = Difference that Devoted Life Makes.
18:23 – 21:41 = Truth Beauty and Goodness
21:42 – 22:11 = Closing
The Devout life – What is the devout life?
How we can embrace a life of devotion – who to?
Elise encountered the Instgram account ‘Finding Philothea’ – the name is based on Fancis de Sales’ book ‘The Devout Life’ – Philothea means ‘devout one’. The book encompasses a holistic, full steam ahead approach on every aspect of your life being focussed on God and his Will.
- What does being devoted mean?
- ‘Devout life’ – love of God
- Devotion, putting God first in our lives. If You put him first, everything else shall fall into place.
- It’s intentional, internal aligning of the will, wanting to do it, without force and then learning how to apply it practically.
This also brings the topic of baggage to the conversation – because it is ultimately a choice to have a relationship with God and align the priorites after that.
- Is it a relationship of force, because of family or community?
- The book goes through baggage, working through it. You can’t run away from baggage or life, but there’s work in detachment.
- At the beginning and the end of your life it will be just you and God.
- So an exercise of detachment.
- It’s then an overarching choice –to choose to love someone, at every moment.
- A devout life reflects a soul, who through love, conforms their life to God and habitually chooses the good (virtue)
Challenges:
- Biggest challenge – the balance of things, eg grappling with authority, standing up for justice, but being humble.
- Also Prioritising duties, and ordering life to be appropriate. It’s answered in virtue.
- Stepping back when not certain. Taking time to get advice. Helping with affirming your thoughts or providing new perspective. Padre says, no man is an island. We aren’t meant to be without community or relationships around us, but finding the balance.
- Remember: your work can be your prayer, if your duty calls you to be somewhere, or someone.
How does leading a devoted life impact other aspects of our lives?
- Gives check yourself points. It highlights very relatable moments in daily life to be devoted in ways you never thought.
- Can be severe how often we need to check ourselves, and how we should act.
Highlight that how we live a devout life is the virtue of habitual goodness. Living a life of habitual goodness.
TBG
Elise – Attending the installation of the new Bishop of Newcastle, Maitland – Bishop Michael Kennedy. Beautiful to see his family there, and see the fruits of such a beautiful faithful family.
Stina – Distilling desire down to asking God to have clarity -’Clarity to know your will and the grace to do it’. and grace to do his will – distilling desire down to. At that moment friend’s phone rang and was her dad called – he calls every week. That came to Stina as God saying, ‘Ask and I will pursue you, you won’t need to chase me.’ Just ask.