Melody, there are about a zillion things I want to respond to in your post (all positive!). First, I am a Daughter of St Francis - he "adopted" me spiritually when I was guided to him many a time, and then finally decided to use his Introduction to the Devout Life and his writing as my spiritual direction. It changed my life. We should set up a study group just for Salesians. St Francis is still directing us today! And your point about confession - I do know of someone whose child (a 13 year old) was asked for very inappropriate details in confession. We should also teach our children how to address such questions. There are some bad priests out there, or perhaps clueless to be charitable. Excellent post.
Such wisdom!! Thank you for sharing your insight and experience. I love St. Francis de Sales and that book is an excellent companion, especially when someone is looking for spiritual direction but having difficulty finding the right director. I think it’s important to recognize the good that can come from spiritual direction but also to acknowledge it’s not necessary for sainthood. I’ve had overly romanticized ideas of the spiritual heights I could reach with the right director. The Holy Spirit works outside of our expectations and I appreciate you pointing that out.
So grateful for this post Melody!! So much wisdom and honesty in your words. My 10 year old daughter had a really painful experience of feeling shamed in confession and it makes me so sad to know of her feeling unprotected and confused. It’s been a unique journey walking with her since then in how we approach confession. I wish this sort of thing was talked about more openly and honestly in our Catholic world. Thank you!
Incredible post, Melody. So much very important wisdom packed into this. I'll be sharing with many friends. Continued prayers for you as you grieve your little one.
Melody, there are about a zillion things I want to respond to in your post (all positive!). First, I am a Daughter of St Francis - he "adopted" me spiritually when I was guided to him many a time, and then finally decided to use his Introduction to the Devout Life and his writing as my spiritual direction. It changed my life. We should set up a study group just for Salesians. St Francis is still directing us today! And your point about confession - I do know of someone whose child (a 13 year old) was asked for very inappropriate details in confession. We should also teach our children how to address such questions. There are some bad priests out there, or perhaps clueless to be charitable. Excellent post.
Some great suggestions. I’ll be sharing with my kids!
This was awesome. Thank you for writing it.
Such wisdom!! Thank you for sharing your insight and experience. I love St. Francis de Sales and that book is an excellent companion, especially when someone is looking for spiritual direction but having difficulty finding the right director. I think it’s important to recognize the good that can come from spiritual direction but also to acknowledge it’s not necessary for sainthood. I’ve had overly romanticized ideas of the spiritual heights I could reach with the right director. The Holy Spirit works outside of our expectations and I appreciate you pointing that out.
So grateful for this post Melody!! So much wisdom and honesty in your words. My 10 year old daughter had a really painful experience of feeling shamed in confession and it makes me so sad to know of her feeling unprotected and confused. It’s been a unique journey walking with her since then in how we approach confession. I wish this sort of thing was talked about more openly and honestly in our Catholic world. Thank you!
So spot on! Thank you for taking the time to put this all into words, Melody!🙏🏽👏🏽
Incredible post, Melody. So much very important wisdom packed into this. I'll be sharing with many friends. Continued prayers for you as you grieve your little one.