Can we believe that God ever really modifies His action in response to the suggestions of people? For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it. But neither does God need any of those things that are done by finite agents, whether living or inanimate. He could, if
He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food; or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers; or knowledge without the aid of learned men; or convert the heathen without missionaries. Instead, He allows soils and weather and animals and the muscles, minds, and wills of men to cooperate in the execution of His will. “God,” says Pascal, “instituted prayer in order to lend to His creatures the dignity of causality.” But it is not only prayer; whenever we act at all, He
lends us that dignity. It is not really stranger, nor less strange, that my prayers should affect the course of events than that my other actions should do so.
... C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), The Efficacy of Prayer (Prayer -- any kind of prayer! -- makes a difference. Pray.) |
Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20 Jn 6:44-51 Jesus said to the crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets: They shall all be
taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the
world." Reflection on the Scriptures
Jesus offers us the abundant supernatural life of heaven itself - but we can miss
it or even refuse it. To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come. When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist or Lord's Supper is an intimate
union with Christ. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the "bread of life"? Lord Jesus, you are the living bread which sustains me in this life. May I always hunger for the bread which comes from heaven and find in it the nourishment and strength I need to love and serve you wholeheartedly. May I always live in the joy, peace, and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and in the age to come.
-from dailyscripture.net
Proverbs for Perspective and Spiritual Living by Philip St. Romain, M.S., D. Min. From Pathways to Serenity, 1989, Liguori Publications; reprinted by Contemplative Ministries, Inc., 2013 (Minor editing applied.)
- https://shalomplace.com/view/pathview.html Included in Light for the Christian Journey, 2020: Contemplative Ministries, Inc.
https://shalomplace.com/view/light-journey.html
III. Identity
1. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you stand for Christ.
2. The truly natural human being is the mystic. What most people call “natural” is really carnal perversion.
3. Lose yourself in love for anything, and you will find something of your true self. Lose yourself in the love
of God and you will find your essential self.
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