How can a shy person serve God?

[zab]

I think most of us have to deal with pride of some sort. I fall into the category of pride of timidity and pride of sensitivity. Here is a link to a spiritual pride examination that may be helpful. Someone posted it on their blogspot but It is taken from the book “Particular Examen” by James F. McElhone, C.S.C.

christthecenterofyourlife.blogspot.com/2008/07/spirtual-pride-examination.html

 

[anodos]

I do as you say - I pray to God and offer to carry the emotional and spiritual burdens of others as He would see fit. As for myself, God has accepted my offer. He is gentle - He starts slow and allows you to ease into it. My nights are increasingly difficult, my days are increasingly burdensome. I ask God to expand my capacity to carry more burdens, and I offer that back to Him to all Him to give me more to carry. I encourage this activity. I don’t know if this is the right way to put it, but I feel like it has given me the slightest taste of the cross. When I EM - the experience is intense. For me, Mass is intense with the sacrifice of Jesus made present.

After reading about St. Pio, I became inspired to do this. St. Pio prayed to Jesus saying that he wanted “to carry the suffering of the world.” St. Pio said that he just didn’t know how to do it. Then, he received the stigmata.

Basically, some people offer themselves to be “victim souls.” I’ve taken a small step in that direction. In one case, I have met a person affected by my offering. It was at the beginning of my offering to God several years ago, and I was not as generic with my offering. It would take quite a while to explain all of it, but all I can say is that God is huge and can do anything.

Some people are called to do this, and some are not. You can discern this for yourself.

This reminds me of Charles Williams’ “Descent Into Hell”, where the characters who are growing closer to Heaven offer to bear the fear and suffering of others. This is probably a silly question…but does the suffering person have to allow you to take their burden, or can you bear it without their knowledge?

 

[in_servitude]

This reminds me of Charles Williams’ “Descent Into Hell”, where the characters who are growing closer to Heaven offer to bear the fear and suffering of others. This is probably a silly question…but does the suffering person have to allow you to take their burden, or can you bear it without their knowledge?

In the one case that I know about, I met the person briefly one time. I learned that this person repeatedly told her family and friends that she “didn’t know where her grief went.” This was the source of some confusion for her (for about 3 years) and maybe that’s why we connected - so that she’d have an explanation. It appears that she didn’t have any knowledge.

Whatever I’m carrying now - I doubt that I’ll learn the source. I’m very generic with my offering at this time and I’m giving no particular direction.

I should probably do some kind of detailed explanation on these events so that people can better understand what I’m talking about. I have no idea how to do that, however. I wouldn’t want to start a blog to make just one post.

 

[AnneTeresa]

Someone posted it on their blogspot but It is taken from the book “Particular Examen” by James F. McElhone, C.S.C.

christthecenterofyourlife.blogspot.com/2008/07/spirtual-pride-examination.html

This is a great examen. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Irish_Cabbie]

Matthew 25:31-46 is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25:31-46

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.”

Donate some food to your parish’s food drive or to your local food bank. Hand a homeless person a McDonald’s gift card.

“I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.”

If you see someone working outdoors (e.g., your mailman, construction workers, a cop directing traffic), give that person a bottle of water. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) does some great work building wells in areas of the world where people often have a difficult time obtaining clean water. Donate a few dollars to CRS at the following website:

catholicrelief.org/

“I was naked and you clothed me.”

Donate some of your clothes to those in need. Those large, clothing boxes that you can put the clothes into are all over the place, usually in the parking lots of supermarkets.

“I was a stranger and you invited me.”

Go to the Kiva website: kiva.org/ Find someone on that site that needs a small loan to build some shelter for their family. “Lend” them $25. Believe it or not, it is entirely likely that the person you are lending this money to will actually repay you over time. When they do repay the loan, lend that same $25 to someone else.

“I was sick and you comforted me.”

Buy a box of chocolate and drop it off at the nearest nursing home. Ask the receptionist at the desk to give the candy to someone that doesn’t get very many visitors. Pray the Rosary and offer it up for some unknown person in hospice.

“I was in prison and you visited me.”

Send a birthday card to someone in prison. The dollar stores in my area usually sells two greeting cards for one dollar. You can find plenty of prisoners that are looking for mail by visiting the following website:

writeaprisoner.com/

Just a few suggestions … Good luck & God bless.

 

[TxGodfollower]

I want to give my entire life for Jesus - I want to be like Him, and I want Him to work through me. But my biggest cross that makes this so difficult is inhibiting shyness and social inexperience/awkwardness.

I look at the people who helped bring Christ into my life - They were vibrant, outgoing, confident, friendly, outreaching individuals who had a warmth of love and care which they generously gave to all the people they met.

It makes me feel so inferior and insufficient, because however hard I try it feels entirely out of my capacity to serve God in that wonderful way.

So how am I to “take up my cross”? Must I work actively to get rid of my shyness, because it seems to be a block in the way of service to God, or am I to somehow find ways to serve God within the context of my unfortunate personality? (How?)

It doesn’t seem like a poured-out life to live as a recluse, keeping to myself for the most part and avoiding uncomfortable situations. The best thing I am able to do as far as I can see is to give myself up to prayer for all the people whom I am unable to reach in any other way.

On the other hand, I could make a concerted effort to be friendly and giving and put myself in situations of service. In order to do that I would have to totally sacrifice my comfort and allow myself to be humiliated by my own inevitable awkwardness. But through past experience, even trying my hardest to be friendly and giving I feel like all I do is make other people feel uncomfortable, and put the burden of charity on them.

So what can a shy person do to serve God and spread His love and the gospel?

If God wanted you to be an outgoing person to further His Kingdom, He would have made you outgoing. You have skills that other outgoing people don’t normally have. Only when we work together can we do the job God has for us.

 

[Sarcelle]

Why would you think these two women were shy. I have never ever thought of our Lady as shy. In fact, I see her as a very strong woman, sure of who she is and unafraid to follow her Son and she probably worked to spread His message. Mary Magdalene definitely was not shy. She has been called the Apostle to the Apostles and it is believed she traveled to Europe spreading the Gospel. Just because the Scriptures don’t say as much about them as they do other, does not mean they were shy.

I was/am a very shy person. I am a wall flower at parties, I don’t like to talk on the phone or call people. I hesitate to talk to people. Yet I am what someone called an “occupational extrovert.” In my ministry I become another person. People don’t believe me when I tell them I am really a shy person. And something else, in all my years of working with clergy, I have found that many of them are shy men. The Holy Spirit gives them the ability to go beyond their shyness and minister to God’s people.

Shy does not mean weak.