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November is a time for taking stock and expressing gratitude for blessings received. First among them is that our staff at Heartland Center for Spirituality and the Dominican Sisters in Great Bend survived this past year without any deaths from Covid-19. We had to drastically reduce in-house program attendance for months, but are carefully re-opening to outside groups. Hopefully, that trend will
continue.
As was the case last year, we turned to various online alternatives for doing spiritual direction, educational programs, and even retreats. The results have been mixed, and our income from programs has suffered. I can't tell you how often I've heard people say they were "Zoomed out," but the alternative (for us, at least) was to do nothing. That's unacceptable, of course, so we've tried various forms of Internet
outreach during the past year, and will continue to do so ongoing, as there have been good experiences in the mix. More on this during the week ahead.
Your financial support helps us keep going. Thanks for your consideration.
Phil St. Romain
Internet Ministry Coordinator
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Donations are eligible for tax-deduction.
Online donations (secure payment link):
Check payments:
- Heartland Center for Spirituality
Internet Ministry
3600 Broadway
Great Bend, KS 67530
Gratitude gift will be sent to donors.
The universe itself was the first way that God spoke to us and continues to speak to us. We relate to that by our powers of observation. That's why it's essential that we wake up. If we don't wake up we will miss the revelation . . . We need to experience the universe first-hand.
- Toni Nash, Sacred Connection-Hearing the Song of the Universe
(Wake up! Notice the world around you . . . be alert for God's messages in creation.)
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Wis 1:1-7; Psalm 139:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8, 9-10
Lk 17:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day
and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”
And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
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Reflection on the Scriptures
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Faith in God is the key for removing obstacles and difficulties which keep us from doing his will. We belong to God and our lives are no longer our own. Our joy and privilege is to follow the Lord Jesus and to serve in the power of his love, truth, and goodness. The Lord Jesus is ever ready to work in and through us for his glory. For our faith to be effective it must be linked with trust and with obedience -
an active submission to God and a willingness to do whatever he commands. Do you trust in the grace and strength which God freely gives to help you resist temptation and to overcome obstacles in doing his will?
Lord Jesus, you give us victory over the destructive forces of sin and harmful desires that keep us from doing your will. Give me the strength to always choose what is good and to reject what is wrong. May your love and truth rule my heart that I may give good example to others and guide those who need your wise instruction and help.
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The Ascent of Mount Carmel, by St. John of the Cross
E. Allison Peers Translation. Paperback, Kindle, Audio Book.
Click here to purchase on Amazon.com
BOOK THE SECOND
Wherein is described the nature of dark night and how necessary it is to pass through it to Divine union; and in particular this book describes the dark night of sense, and desire, and the evils which these work in the soul.
Of the Ascent of Mount Carmel
Wherein is treated the proximate means of ascending to union with God, which is faith; and wherein therefore is described the second part of this night, which, as we said, belongs to the spirit, and is contained in the second stanza, which is as follows. __________________________________________________________________
Second Stanza
Chapter 22
Wherein is solved a difficulty -- namely, why it is not lawful, under the law of grace, to ask anything of God by supernatural means, as it was under the old law. This solution is proved by a passage from Saint Paul.
10. And even more surprising is the thing that happened in this connection to Moses, when God had commanded him, and given him many instructions, which He continued with the signs of the wand changed into a serpent and of the leprous hand, enjoining him to go and set free the children of Israel. So weak was he and so uncertain about this going forward that, although God was angered, he had not the courage
to summon up the complete faith necessary for going, until God encouraged him through his brother Aaron, saying: I know that thy brother Aaron is an eloquent man: behold, he will come forth to meet thee, and, when he seeth thee, he will be glad at heart; speak to him and tell him all My words, and I will be in thy mouth and in his mouth, so that each of you shall believe that which is in the mouth of the other.
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