Saturday, July 14, 2018

INTELLIGENT & INTEGRAL HABITS FOR THE CAPUCHIN LIFE

Intelligent habits help us to reach the integral optimism and invite us to act with intelligence and heart. God has blessed our brain with incredible and marvellous resources that have to be well utilized; many times, we lose precious energy in non-essential activities. Then we do not have energy for more important things.
  • Remember that you are a blessing; with the Grace of God and with Capuchin Integral passion you will further become a blessing to many.
  • Connect with God and contemplate His loving face in silence for about 30 minutes each day; this is a grace that will help us to be good, compassionate and intelligent.
  • Distance yourself from non-essentials, that is: organize your day well, differentiating between activities that are very important and non-essential activities, channelling positive energy in an intelligent way. Be aware of your use of smart phones, the Internet, music, magazines and other non-essential things.
  • Practise good habits every day. Good habits are learned and cultivated with practice, but it requires repetition. This is true of your work, talents, art, religious life, etc.
  • Every now and then, make an inner journey to heal the frozen wound that you carry within and thus you could increase your brain’s abilities. He who fails to heal his past may not have the necessary creativity and the affective maturity needed for the day.
  • Get sufficient sleep. We need at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
  • Do some physical fitness exercises like ‘Brain Gym or Brain Dance’ to align your body, mind and heart.
  • Try to live more simply and to be optimistic when caring for yourself in legitimate ways.
  • Find time for legitimate desires: relax, eat natural food, dress well and simply, spend time with friends.
  • Keep yourself updated in order to have wisdom and adequate answers for the challenges of life. What is the last book that you read on theology, the Bible, Franciscan spirituality or the human sciences? We need to have quality information in every field. The texts of the Ratio would be a great resource for giving you a lot of positive, spiritual motivation.
  • Find time to meet the elderly, the poor and the needy.
  • Enjoy nature and take care of the environment around you.
  • With the Grace of God, try to make the inner journey to arrive at Integral Integration.
  • Best wishes, dear Brothers, You are our hope!
Fra Charles Alphonse e Fra Jaime Rey
(This article was shared during the Convention Young Capuchins of the Europe (8-12 July 2018) celebrated at the International College of San Lawrence of Brindisi, Rome).

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