1. In his sermon today, Tim repeatedly returned to the phrase “calamity has two faces.” He went on to describe one face that’s characterized by neighboring, open hearts, bravery in saving others, and a deep sense of belonging to one another. The other face is characterized by closed hearts, fear rising, darkness, and cruelty. Have you been in calamitous situations in which others have taken on faces of either open heartedness or close hearted fear? How did those “faces” show up? How did they impact others in the situation and/or the situation itself? Which face comes more naturally to you in the face of adversity, calamity, or distress? Are there factors in the circumstances that change what your answer might be? What kind of situations have shown you your own tendencies in this type of context? 2. Discussing Isaiah 34 and 35, Tim talked about the prophetic voice when it comes to scary and uncertain times. He talked about the first move for the prophetic voice being the act of truth telling, but also talked about a second move. He said “sometimes going against the grain means speaking a word of hope in the midst of calamity.” Which prophetic move, if either, feels more natural to you? Do you see yourself as a prophetic voice or do you see yourself as having the ability to become one? How comfortable are you speaking truth in moments on which it may be unpalatable or unwelcome? How comfortable are you speaking words of hope when hope may be unfashionable or difficult to embrace? If you can think of an experience during which someone else’s prophetic word of hope impacted you, share about it with the group. 3. Tim put up a slide that said “our task in this last phase of Advent is to reach out to God, each other, to reach deep inside ourselves and find a place of hope.” What does that look like? How do we do it? How could we cultivate that with and for each other? How much resistance do you feel to that idea or that intention? Why? Underneath that intention lies the statement Tim returned to again and again: “Calamity has two faces…and we do have a choice.” Do you really believe that statement? Both parts of it? Share about why you feel the way you do about this statement and what it means for you. Tim talked about finding that place of hope, and then sharing it with someone else. Do you feel capable of doing that? If it feels difficult, do you feel willing to try? Who in your orbit and life could you share hope with this season? Who needs it? What might that look like in a practical or concrete way? What could you make a plan to actually do to carry the prophetic hope of Advent into the world around you?

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;1. In his sermon today, Tim repeatedly returned to the phrase “calamity has two faces.” He went on to describe one face that’s characterized by neighboring, open hearts, bravery in saving others, and a deep sense of belonging to one another. The other face is characterized by closed hearts, fear rising, darkness, and cruelty.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Have you been in calamitous situations in which others have taken on faces of either open heartedness or close hearted fear? How did those “faces” show up? How did they impact others in the situation and/or the situation itself?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Which face comes more naturally to you in the face of adversity, calamity, or distress? Are there factors in the circumstances that change what your answer might be? What kind of situations have shown you your own tendencies in this type of context?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;2. Discussing Isaiah 34 and 35, Tim talked about the prophetic voice when it comes to scary and uncertain times. He talked about the first move for the prophetic voice being the act of truth telling, but also talked about a second move. He said “sometimes going against the grain means speaking a word of hope in the midst of calamity.”&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Which prophetic move, if either, feels more natural to you? Do you see yourself as a prophetic voice or do you see yourself as having the ability to become one? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;How comfortable are you speaking truth in moments on which it may be unpalatable or unwelcome? How comfortable are you speaking words of hope when hope may be unfashionable or difficult to embrace? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;If you can think of an experience during which someone else’s prophetic word of hope impacted you, share about it with the group.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;3. Tim put up a slide that said “our task in this last phase of Advent is to reach out to God, each other, to reach deep inside ourselves and find a place of hope.”&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;What does that look like? How do we do it? How could we cultivate that with and for each other?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;How much resistance do you feel to that idea or that intention? Why?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Underneath that intention lies the statement Tim returned to again and again: “Calamity has two faces…and we do have a choice.” Do you really believe that statement? Both parts of it? Share about why you feel the way you do about this statement and what it means for you.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Tim talked about finding that place of hope, and then sharing it with someone else. Do you feel capable of doing that? If it feels difficult, do you feel willing to try? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Who in your orbit and life could you share hope with this season? Who needs it? What might that look like in a practical or concrete way? What could you make a plan to actually do to carry the prophetic hope of Advent into the world around you?&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Tim Suttle

Advent 03: Joy

1. Tim started his sermon talking about&nbsp;Edwin Friedman &amp;&nbsp;family systems theory, and the ways in which the systems and environments in which we are steeped seem “normal” to us, because we’re deep inside of them. Outsiders, on the other hand, can come in and easily see things that we have never noticed.&nbsp;In some instances, these outsiders can act as what Friedeman referred to as a “non-anxious presence.“ That is someone who is relationally connected to the system or environment, but is not emotionally entangled with it.Whether the system in question is your family, a workplace, a church, a neighborhood, or any other environment, what experiences do you have being someone who is a part of a system that seems “normal” to you until an outside voice starts pointing out its idiosyncrasies? Share about the context, the nature of the outside voice, and how that voice was responded to both by you and by others in the system. Was there a long-term impact on the system that resulted from the introduction of those outside perspectives?&nbsp;Do you have any experiences being one of those outside voices? Share about the context of any of those experiences you may have. How did it feel to be the person raising your voice? How were you responded to? What did you make of that situation? What happened long-term?2. Tim went on to draw a parallel between the Old Testament prophets and Friedeman’s concept of a non-anxious presence.Take a moment to Think about the emotional and relational experiences of both the people in the system and the outside voice in some of the situations described in the first question. Whether you’ve had that experience or not, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to act as that non-anxious presence as a prophet in Ancient Israel. Take a moment to imagine what it might have been like to be a part of the ancient Israelite communities on which the prophets commented.&nbsp;How does considering the prophets through this lens impact your understanding of who the prophets were, how they affected the systems they were connected to, and how their words were received by Israel &amp; the subsequent generations of readers who’ve revered their words? How does it impact their words as you know or understand them today?&nbsp;What do you make of the fact that so many important writings in the Christian tradition come from these Old Testament prophets , especially during Advent? What connections do you see &nbsp;between the role of the prophets as “non anxious presences” and the role Jesus played in his own time and place on earth? What about the role of Jesus today in modern Christianity and in the world at large?&nbsp;3. In what ways do you see yourself, as a part of the church, and/or the church as a whole acting as that non-anxious presence, reflecting the realities of systems back to themselves?Where do you see parallels in which you feel like this is happening? Where do you see parallels in which you feel like it could be happening or should be happening more?How do you feel when you consider the possibilities of stepping more into that space personally? What comes to mind? &nbsp;What surfaces for you when you consider the moment in which today’s church finds itself and the possibility of stepping more into the role of a non-anxious presence, reflecting the systems back to themselves - and living with the reactions and resistance? What would it look like for you to step more into that space?

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;1. Tim started his sermon talking about&amp;nbsp;Edwin Friedman &amp;amp;&amp;nbsp;family systems theory, and the ways in which the systems and environments in which we are steeped seem “normal” to us, because we’re deep inside of them. Outsiders, on the other hand, can come in and easily see things that we have never noticed.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;In some instances, these outsiders can act as what Friedeman referred to as a “non-anxious presence.“ That is someone who is relationally connected to the system or environment, but is not emotionally entangled with it.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Whether the system in question is your family, a workplace, a church, a neighborhood, or any other environment, what experiences do you have being someone who is a part of a system that seems “normal” to you until an outside voice starts pointing out its idiosyncrasies? Share about the context, the nature of the outside voice, and how that voice was responded to both by you and by others in the system. Was there a long-term impact on the system that resulted from the introduction of those outside perspectives?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Do you have any experiences being one of those outside voices? Share about the context of any of those experiences you may have. How did it feel to be the person raising your voice? How were you responded to? What did you make of that situation? What happened long-term?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;2. Tim went on to draw a parallel between the Old Testament prophets and Friedeman’s concept of a non-anxious presence.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Take a moment to Think about the emotional and relational experiences of both the people in the system and the outside voice in some of the situations described in the first question. Whether you’ve had that experience or not, take a moment to imagine what it would be like to act as that non-anxious presence as a prophet in Ancient Israel. Take a moment to imagine what it might have been like to be a part of the ancient Israelite communities on which the prophets commented.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;How does considering the prophets through this lens impact your understanding of who the prophets were, how they affected the systems they were connected to, and how their words were received by Israel &amp;amp; the subsequent generations of readers who’ve revered their words? How does it impact their words as you know or understand them today?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;What do you make of the fact that so many important writings in the Christian tradition come from these Old Testament prophets , especially during Advent? What connections do you see &amp;nbsp;between the role of the prophets as “non anxious presences” and the role Jesus played in his own time and place on earth? What about the role of Jesus today in modern Christianity and in the world at large?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;3. In what ways do you see yourself, as a part of the church, and/or the church as a whole acting as that non-anxious presence, reflecting the realities of systems back to themselves?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Where do you see parallels in which you feel like this is happening? Where do you see parallels in which you feel like it could be happening or should be happening more?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;How do you feel when you consider the possibilities of stepping more into that space personally? What comes to mind? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;What surfaces for you when you consider the moment in which today’s church finds itself and the possibility of stepping more into the role of a non-anxious presence, reflecting the systems back to themselves - and living with the reactions and resistance? What would it look like for you to step more into that space?&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Advent 02: Peace

1. The scripture passage today, the first of the church calendar’s year, was Isaiah 2:1-5. Here’s the version Cole read from the NLT:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT&nbsp;</a><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">Re-read or review this passage as a group. What does it tend to evoke </a>in you? Prior to Cole’s teaching today, what has this passage generally communicated to you (if it’s one with which you’re familiar)?Co<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">le talked about two common interpretations: one centered on the idea that</a> a baby can save us all. The other generally conveys the idea that someday humans will step aside and God will fix everything. How c<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">lose are these interpretations to what you have tended to think this pass</a>age is communicating? How did they differ?&nbsp;How do these interpretations strike you? In what ways do either or both of these interpretations appeal to you? In what ways might you feel resistance to them?2. In his message, Cole said “God is not inter<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">ested in preserving hope like an artifact in a museum.” He went on to say</a> that Christianity is not that interested in preserving things in the way that they used<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT"> to be. And that, instead, Christianity‘s radical message is that hope ca</a>n die - and that a new hope can be resurrected again… And again… And again.&nbsp;Spend a few moments, considering these ideas about the nature of God and Christianity. What are your initial responses? What thoughts and feelings are surfacing for you as you consider? Are there things that<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT"> feel reassuring about these ideas? Are there things that feel frightenin</a>g?Consider your responses, and reflect on the origins of your own sense of Christianity’s relationship to hope and/or how it functions. Does considering the places and ways in which you learned to understand t<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">hese ideas shift anything for you? If so, how so?</a><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">3. Ultimately, the mes</a>sage Cole identified in both the passage from Isaiah and the movie, The Children of Men, that he used to explicate these ideas is that, “Like Christ, hope sometimes dies… but it comes b<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">ack.”</a><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">He went on to say that if our [Christian/Biblical] stories are any</a>thing, they are a public record for the world that “hope does not stay dead. It doesn’t.”How do you respond to these statements about the i<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">nevitability of resurrected hope? How congruent are they with your sense </a>of what hope is and how it functions?&nbsp;Do you have stories in your own past that ma<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">ke it harder or easier to believe in these statements about the inevitabi</a>lity of hope’s resurrection?Where in your life today is hope dead, dying, or threatening<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT"> to flicker out? How do you feel about the idea of hope’s resurrection in</a> &nbsp;the context of those circumstances? How difficult does it seem to believ<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;version=NLT">e? Whether you feel doubtful or encouraged or something else entirely, wh</a>y do you think you might be feeling that way?

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;1. The scripture passage today, the first of the church calendar’s year, was Isaiah 2:1-5. Here’s the version Cole read from the NLT:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;Re-read or review this passage as a group. What does it tend to evoke &lt;/a&gt;in you? Prior to Cole’s teaching today, what has this passage generally communicated to you (if it’s one with which you’re familiar)?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Co&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;le talked about two common interpretations: one centered on the idea that&lt;/a&gt; a baby can save us all. The other generally conveys the idea that someday humans will step aside and God will fix everything. How c&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;lose are these interpretations to what you have tended to think this pass&lt;/a&gt;age is communicating? How did they differ?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;How do these interpretations strike you? In what ways do either or both of these interpretations appeal to you? In what ways might you feel resistance to them?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;2. In his message, Cole said “God is not inter&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;ested in preserving hope like an artifact in a museum.” He went on to say&lt;/a&gt; that Christianity is not that interested in preserving things in the way that they used&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt; to be. And that, instead, Christianity‘s radical message is that hope ca&lt;/a&gt;n die - and that a new hope can be resurrected again… And again… And again.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Spend a few moments, considering these ideas about the nature of God and Christianity. What are your initial responses? What thoughts and feelings are surfacing for you as you consider? Are there things that&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt; feel reassuring about these ideas? Are there things that feel frightenin&lt;/a&gt;g?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Consider your responses, and reflect on the origins of your own sense of Christianity’s relationship to hope and/or how it functions. Does considering the places and ways in which you learned to understand t&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;hese ideas shift anything for you? If so, how so?&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;3. Ultimately, the mes&lt;/a&gt;sage Cole identified in both the passage from Isaiah and the movie, The Children of Men, that he used to explicate these ideas is that, “Like Christ, hope sometimes dies… but it comes b&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;ack.”&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;He went on to say that if our [Christian/Biblical] stories are any&lt;/a&gt;thing, they are a public record for the world that “hope does not stay dead. It doesn’t.”&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;How do you respond to these statements about the i&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;nevitability of resurrected hope? How congruent are they with your sense &lt;/a&gt;of what hope is and how it functions?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Do you have stories in your own past that ma&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;ke it harder or easier to believe in these statements about the inevitabi&lt;/a&gt;lity of hope’s resurrection?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;Where in your life today is hope dead, dying, or threatening&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt; to flicker out? How do you feel about the idea of hope’s resurrection in&lt;/a&gt; &amp;nbsp;the context of those circumstances? How difficult does it seem to believ&lt;a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&amp;amp;version=NLT"&gt;e? Whether you feel doubtful or encouraged or something else entirely, wh&lt;/a&gt;y do you think you might be feeling that way?&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Lonnie Cole McGee

Advent 01: Hope

1. In his message about St Francesca Cabrini, Tim shared about Francesca’s vow, made very early in her life, to give her life to the service of God. Did you make any “vows” as a child or young person? Were they made to yourself or to someone else? What were they? If not, what kind of vows might you have made? &nbsp; For those who made some sort of vow or commitment: Did you keep them? For how long? To what extent was conscious choice involved? &nbsp; Considering things from this vantage point in your life, how do you feel about the vows you made or, if you didn’t, vows you might have made? What vows might you make today in your life for the years ahead? What areas of your life feel most “vow-worthy?” Why? 2. Born as a preemie, and deeply affected (both physically &amp; psychologically) by a near-drowning experience in her youth, a significant feature in mother Francesca Cabrini’s life was her lifelong physical vulnerability &amp; infirmity. She was also a woman and, eventually, an Italian immigrant to America, at a time in which neither of those standings offered her any privilege. While no two people share identical life or physical circumstances, we’re often tempted to compare ourselves (&amp; others) to those who, like Cabrini, seem unfazed by significant hardship and difficulty. We can allow one’s person’s success or accomplishments to function as a judgment against or diminishment of ourselves and others whose stories &amp; outcomes seem different. Is this something you struggle with? How a big role does comparison play in your inner (or outer) life? What does that look like for you? Is there a difference between the ways in which you compare yourself to others and the way in which you compare other people to one another? When you hear someone else praised, are there times when you feel inspired? Jealous? Chastised? Challenged? What factors seem to affect the way you respond? The context in which context praise is being delivered? Your similarity (or lack of) to the person being recognized? What else? Consider some of the variables in situations like these; what do you notice about your responses and actions? What surfaces as you reflect? 3. Despite a long list of impressive and large scale accomplishments, Mother Cabrini spent 4 to 6 hours in prayer each day. Setting aside the obvious question of “how!?,” what might you guess about the “why?” Assuming 4-6 hours of prayer isn’t a usual part of your daily life, and acknowledging the pressure some of us may feel to try to “win” at prayer-life, take a moment to consider what your current prayer life (or lack of) looks like. Try to set aside judgment of yourself and, instead, focus on Mother Cabrini’s idea of standing in for the disciples who fell asleep on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. If this principle were to guide your own life in prayer, what impacts would that make? What would change? What might the identifying features of your prayers become? How do you think it would affect you over time? Mother Cabrini is praised for her fearless faith and fortitude, as well as her tireless work on behalf of immigrants and the marginalized. What links do you see between these aspects of her outer life and the realities of her prayer life as we know it? What, in your own practice of prayer (either now or in the past), has impacted your life? Is this conversation causing you to reflect on the nature of prayer in your life today? If so, how so?

<description>&lt;p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"&gt;1. In his message about St Francesca Cabrini, Tim shared about Francesca’s vow, made very early in her life, to give her life to the service of God. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Did you make any “vows” as a child or young person? Were they made to yourself or to someone else? What were they? If not, what kind of vows might you have made? &amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;For those who made some sort of vow or commitment: Did you keep them? For how long? To what extent was conscious choice involved? &amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Considering things from this vantage point in your life, how do you feel about the vows you made or, if you didn’t, vows you might have made? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;What vows might you make today in your life for the years ahead? What areas of your life feel most “vow-worthy?” Why? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;2. Born as a preemie, and deeply affected (both physically &amp;amp; psychologically) by a near-drowning experience in her youth, a significant feature in mother Francesca Cabrini’s life was her lifelong physical vulnerability &amp;amp; infirmity. She was also a woman and, eventually, an Italian immigrant to America, at a time in which neither of those standings offered her any privilege. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;While no two people share identical life or physical circumstances, we’re often tempted to compare ourselves (&amp;amp; others) to those who, like Cabrini, seem unfazed by significant hardship and difficulty. We can allow one’s person’s success or accomplishments to function as a judgment against or diminishment of ourselves and others whose stories &amp;amp; outcomes seem different. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Is this something you struggle with? How a big role does comparison play in your inner (or outer) life? What does that look like for you? Is there a difference between the ways in which you compare yourself to others and the way in which you compare other people to one another? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;When you hear someone else praised, are there times when you feel inspired? Jealous? Chastised? Challenged? What factors seem to affect the way you respond? The context in which context praise is being delivered? Your similarity (or lack of) to the person being recognized? What else? Consider some of the variables in situations like these; what do you notice about your responses and actions? What surfaces as you reflect? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;3. Despite a long list of impressive and large scale accomplishments, Mother Cabrini spent 4 to 6 hours in prayer each day. Setting aside the obvious question of “how!?,” what might you guess about the “why?” &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Assuming 4-6 hours of prayer isn’t a usual part of your daily life, and acknowledging the pressure some of us may feel to try to “win” at prayer-life, take a moment to consider what your current prayer life (or lack of) looks like. Try to set aside judgment of yourself and, instead, focus on Mother Cabrini’s idea of standing in for the disciples who fell asleep on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;If this principle were to guide your own life in prayer, what impacts would that make? What would change? What might the identifying features of your prayers become? How do you think it would affect you over time?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Mother Cabrini is praised for her fearless faith and fortitude, as well as her tireless work on behalf of immigrants and the marginalized. What links do you see between these aspects of her outer life and the realities of her prayer life as we know it? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;What, in your own practice of prayer (either now or in the past), has impacted your life? &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Is this conversation causing you to reflect on the nature of prayer in your life today? If so, how so?&lt;/p&gt;</description>

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