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Today, I'm wondering what suggestions you might have for our Internet ministry going forward?
We will be continuing with A Daily Spiritual Seed, occasional webinars and book studies, podcasts, YouTube teachings, the book and program resources at shalomplace.com, the discussion forum, Facebook page, and online spiritual direction. Within each of these outreaches, there are undoubtedly new possibilities to be explored. Perhaps there are certain books you'd like to discuss, or topics you would like us to
address in a webinar or podcast? Or maybe something completely different, like "Movies with a Message" online, or a prayer support group?
Simply reply to this email with your suggestions to let me know your ideas and suggestions. We will seriously consider them.
And thanks, once more, for supporting this ministry.
Until next year (God-willing) . . .
Peace,
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.
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It is how we live, how we respond to what life brings us that creates this difference in our spiritual journey. It is not waiting until death, the end-point, before we become who we are meant to be. The process of being spiritually transformed into our truest selves happens all along the way."
- Joyce Rupp
(Let it happen!)
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Wis 13:1-9; Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5ab
Lk 17:26-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it; whoever loses it will keep it.” —Luke 17:33
On the last day many people will be totally “out of it,” meaning reality, because they are now totally “in it,” meaning the world. To be worldly is to be out of touch with reality. The worldly act as if this earthly life is all there is. That’s a devastating omission. When Jesus comes, planet earth burns (2 Pt 3:7), and Judgment Day is here. The worldly will be buying a pack of cigarettes or looking at their handheld
electronic devices. They will be taking out insurance policies and making investments, but it will be all over in seconds.
Jesus said: “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate and drank, they took husbands and wives, right up to the day Noah entered the ark — and when the flood came, it destroyed them all” (Lk 17:26-27).
There’s no fool like a damned fool. “I have often said this to you before; this time I say it with tears. Such as these will end in disaster! Their god is their belly and their glory is in their shame. I am talking about those who are set upon the things of this world” (Phil 3:18-19). To be in the world means to be out of touch with reality. The worldly fear reality and try to escape from it.
To be out of this world is the only way to be real. Only the otherworldly can stand to be in touch with reality.
Prayer: Jesus, without You I could not stand to live.
Promise: “For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its Lord?” —Wis 13:9
Presentation Ministries
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Growing in Inner Freedom: A Guide for Today
- by Philip St. Romain. Liguori Publ., 1986.
15. Slow Down
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things; one thing only is required. Mary has chosen the better portion and she shall not be deprived of it” (Luke 10:41-42).
There is a story about three Cajun fishermen who were hired to help run a pipeline across the marshlands. They worked hard digging trenches and welding pipes for six long days but would not budge on the seventh. The foreman threatened them in every way but still they would not work. Finally, the foreman asked them what was wrong. “We’re waiting for our souls to catch up with our bodies,”
one of them replied.
Surely this must be the meaning of the story of Mary and Martha, too. Mary knew she needed to relax and simply enjoy the Lord’s company, but Martha chose to remain the busybody. “Leave the work until later,” the Lord seems to be saying. “Come and relax with Mary and me.”
Ours is a busy, noisy world featuring too much traffic, too much to do at work, too few breaks, too many chores at home, too much television—just too much of everything. It is easy to lose touch with one’s soul amidst all this activity and noise. That is why we need to slow down and let our souls catch up.
So we must learn to relax and take a break, not worrying about all we have yet to do. Most of it can probably wait. If we postpone relaxation until all the work is done, we’ll never get any rest. We should always put off until tomorrow what does not have to be done today (unless we really enjoy doing more). How’s that for a slogan to live by?
Suggested Practices
- Do less in prayer. Take time to simply sit in the presence of your loving God, letting him love you.
- When you feel overwhelmed, take a break and breathe deeply for a while. Think only about your breathing and let your whole being slow down to the pace of your breathing.
- Use Sunday as a day of rest, prayer, and play. Do no work except in an emergency situation.
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