“Grace spreads widely and shows the greatly abundant and generous hospitality of the royal Lordship in God’s astonishing courtesy toward us.” - Julian of Norwich - (God's courtesy . . . how do you experience this?) _____ Christianity and Spirituality monthly forum
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Rom 10:9-18; PS 19:8, 9, 10, 11 Mt 4:18-22 As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,
casting a
net into the sea; they were fishermen.
He said to them,
"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.
He walked along from
there and saw two other brothers,
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.
They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father
and followed him.
Reflection on the Scriptures
When the Lord Jesus calls each of us to be his disciples, we must not think we have nothing to offer him in
exchange. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us, can offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom. Do you believe that God wants to work in and through you for his glory? Jesus calls each of us to bring the joy of the
Gospel to those around us
Jesus speaks the same message to us today: we will "catch people" for the kingdom of God if we allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine through us. God wants others to see the light of Christ in us in the way we live, speak, and witness the joy of the Gospel. Paul the Apostles says, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ Jesus always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the
fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians 2:15). Do you show others around you the joy of the gospel and do you pray for your neighbors, co-workers, and relatives that they may come to personally know the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in the knowledge of his love? Lord Jesus, you have called me personally by name, just as you called your first disciples, Simon, Andrew, and James. Fill me with the joy of your gospel and help me to be a good and faithful witness of your kingdom to all I meet. -dailyscripture.net
St. John of the Cross and the Beginning of Contemplation by James Arraj From St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. J. Jung, Part II, Chapter 3. Inner Growth Books, 1986.
From Meditation to
Contemplation
Since the first sign might result from lukewarmness, neglect or sin, the second sign is used as a safeguard, and since the first and second signs might be the result of some illness or general
weakness where the soul has no desire for anything, the third sign is brought forth. The third is the most vital sign, for it is that of contemplation itself. Since the recipient is still addicted to sense perception, this new knowledge is too different and subtle to be readily perceptible. However, it will soon become so: "But
the more habituated he becomes to this calm, the deeper his experience of the general, loving knowledge of God will grow. This knowledge is more enjoyable than all other things, because without the soul's labor it affords peace, rest, savor, and delight."(15) The actual beginning of this infused contemplation is the
crucial sign, for without it the soul would be leaving meditation without something better taking its place: "If a man did not have this knowledge or attentiveness to God, he would, as a consequence, be neither doing anything nor receiving anything. Having left the discursive meditation of the sensitive faculties and still
lacking contemplation (the general knowledge in which the spiritual faculties - memory, intellect, and will - are actuated and united in this passive, prepared knowledge), he would have no activity whatsoever relative to God."(16)
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