Message of 10-19-2022

Published: Wed, 10/19/22

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Wednesday: October 19, 2022

Message of the Day

"When I say 'mortified', I don't mean to suggest that I went in for penitential practices of any kind. That's a thing, I'm afraid, I've never done...What I did try to do was to thwart my self-will, which always seemed determined to get its own way; to repress the rejoinder which sometimes came to my lips; to do little acts of kindness without attaching any importance to them."
- St. Therese Lisieux -

(Small acts of self-denial leading to small acts of kindness: be alert for opportunities for this practice today.)

Readings of the Day

EPH 3:2-12; IS 12:2-3, 4BCD, 5-6

LK 12:39-48

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

USCCB lectionary

Reflection on the Scripture

“You know as well as I that if the head of the house knew when the thief was coming he would not let him break into his house. Be on guard, therefore.” —Luke 12:39-40

People install locks on their doors and windows. They have fences, guard dogs, and security systems because of the possibility that someone might break into their houses. What if you knew exactly when someone would break into your house? Would you be ready for him? That is how ready we must be for Jesus’ return. Moreover, we must be this ready all the time, for He will come when we “least expect Him” (Lk 12:40).

To be always very ready for Jesus’ return, we must be “faithful, farsighted” servants of Jesus, busy working to dispense rations of “grain in season” (Lk 12:42); that is, feeding people physically and especially spiritually. “Not on bread alone is man to live but on every utterance that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt 4:4). May Jesus find us at His return feeding people with His Word because we always feed people with His Word.

This book, One Bread, One Body, is a “square meal” spiritually. It contains spiritual food. Share what you receive from reading this book, especially from reading the Scriptures quoted or referred to in this book. Dispense the ration of grain. Jesus is coming soon. He may be coming now. Dispense the ration of grain.

Prayer: Father, I love Jesus so I will feed His sheep (Jn 21:17).

Promise: “In Christ and through faith in Him we can speak freely to God, drawing near Him with confidence.” —Eph 3:12

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Spiritual Reading

From Meditation to Contemplation

Reprinted with permission from St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. G. Jung

Entering the Dark Night (pt. 2)

The onset of this process of weaning according to St. John, whether it is gradual or sudden, does not necessarily take a long time. He says that with people who wholeheartedly take up the spiritual life it can happen rather quickly. They have obtained the habit of meditation and derived substantially what they should have from its practice. The destination of the journey has been reached and the fruit has been peeled and is ready to be eaten. Meditation has served to accommodate sense to spirit, and now a mysterious new experience is beginning. Unfortunately, the person undergoing this experience without any guidance tends to feel that it is, indeed, negative and privative rather than positive. He strives to go back to his former ways of praying with the result that he hinders this new experience from taking hold.

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