Sharing of the Heart by Mary Ellen Foster
"Sharing the Heart" is the spiritual discipline which is unique to the sisters of St. Joseph. It arises from a desire to return to the foundational charism of the CSJ Community as well as an ongoing commitment of responding to the needs and realities of today's world.
The early Sisters of St. Joseph, living in an age of despair and fear surprisingly similar to our present day, had little access to the formal education and spiritual advisors available to middle and upper class women. Instead they came together regularly to share the insights and graces they had experienced in their prayer and ministry.
Jean Pierre Medaille, a Jesuit missionary, taught them the rich Ignatian discernment tradition of finding God in all things. He shared with them his own spirituality of the presence of God in the world.
Today we practice Sharing the Heart in small groups meeting regularly to remind one another of the Great Love of God in the world We ask ourselves simple questions: What has happened to me since we last met? How did I feel? How was my heart led because of this experience? We remember that God's presence is revealed in the ordinary stuff of our lives.
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