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I have read Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and beautiful; but I never read in either of them: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy
laden and I will give you rest."
- St. Augustine (You can add your favorite self-help author, philosopher or spirituality writer to this list. Jesus is the one in whom we find
rest.)
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Rom 1:1-7; Ps 98:1-4
Lk 11:29-32 While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
"This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen
of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something
greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is
something greater than Jonah here."
Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain, 2018 (3rd ed.) Luke 11: 29-32 (Seekers of grace) Many people live in countries where the freedom to worship is diminished or prohibited by oppressive governments. The least we who live in free countries can do is to take advantage of the many opportunities for growth present in our society. Jesus commended the Queen of Sheba and the Ninevites for making the most of their opportunities to grow in grace; he affirms us if we do likewise. * When was the last time you made a retreat or day of recollection? Look into the possibility of scheduling one soon. * What are some signs of God's presence that you have observed recently? Thank God for these reassurances of his love for you.
Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) ____________ BOOK IV: OF THE DECAY AND RUIN OF CHARITY Chapter 3: How we forsake divine love for that of creatures.
Such was the progress of the sedition which the disloyal Absalom stirred up against his good father David; for he put forward propositions which were good in appearance, which being once received by the poor Israelites whose prudence was put to sleep and smothered, he solicited them in such sort that he wrought them to a complete rebellion; so that David was constrained to depart from Jerusalem with all his most faithful friends, leaving there no men of distinction
save Sadoc and Abiathar, priests of the Eternal, with their children: now Sadoc was a seer, that is to say a prophet.
For so, most dear Theotimus, self-love, finding our faith without attention and drowsy, presents unto us vain yet apparent goods, seduces our senses, our imagination and the faculties of our souls, and lays so hard at our free-wills that it brings them to an entire revolt against the holy love
of God, which then, as another David, departs from our heart with all its train, that is with the gifts of the Holy Ghost and the other heavenly virtues, which are the inseparable companions of charity, if not her properties and faculties. Nor does there remain in the Jerusalem of our soul any virtue of importance saving Sadoc the seer, that is the gift of faith which can make us see eternal truths, with the exercise of it, and with him Abiathar, that is the gift of hope with its action; both
these remain much afflicted and sorrowful, yet maintain in us the ark of alliance, that is the quality and title of Christian purchased by baptism.
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