There is
a time appointed in the history of our world, when that very Jesus who appeared on earth, “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” shall reappear with all the circumstances of majesty and power, “King of kings and Lord of lords.” We are led to expect a day when Christ shall find a home in the remotest hearts and families, and the earth in all its circumference be covered with the knowledge and the power of the Lord. - Henry Melvill (How does this hope influence your life?) _____ Christianity and Spirituality monthly forum December 7 is canceled. January 4, 2023 is still on: 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. CST Open Forum: books that have made a difference in your life. Free sign up for Zoom
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26:1-6; Ps 118:1 and 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a Mt 7:21, 24-27 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the
house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on
sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined."
Reflection on the Scriptures
(The) phrase came to mind as I pray with the first reading for today from Isaiah: A strong city we have; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. “Open up the
gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you.” I hear this song as a call to action inspired by the words just, faith and trust. We cannot passively expect a glorious city without taking responsibility to live our
faith in just service of others. The footsteps of the poor are celebrated in such a place.
In the gospel from Matthew Jesus shares a metaphor of the wise man who build his house on rock is like the person who listens to the will of God and acts on those words. If you have ever renovated or built a house, you know the amount of intentional action that is
required. Let us be inspired to engage in that level of planning and careful action as we strive to live a life grounded in justice, peace and trust in God.
by Mary Lee Brock
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
Contemplation does not come through the senses and thus to the rational faculties following the usual pattern of knowing, but rather it comes from behind, so to speak. It is
infused directly into the rational faculties at their root, or center, so that the person receiving this knowledge does not understand how it got there except that it is the work of God and the presence of God. The basic human orientation of the rational faculties to knowledge which is sense-related plays havoc with the reception of contemplative knowledge; the whole tonality of the intellect looks towards the senses, and effectively blinds it to knowledge coming in any other way. It is
literally looking in the wrong direction and does not know that there is another direction, and if it did know of this other direction, it would look at it with its conceptualizing and discriminating eyes and thus not see anything.
"So delicate is this refreshment that ordinarily, if a man have desire or care to experience it, he experiences it not; for, as I say,
it does its work when the soul is most at ease and freest from care; it is like the air which, if one would close one's hand upon it, escapes."(17)
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