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Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.
- St. Teresa of Calcutta (What are you hearing?)
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Phil 2:1-4; Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3 Lk 14:12-14
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
"When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not
invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay
you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the
righteous."
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Reflection on the Scriptures
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Jesus probes our hearts as well. Do you only show favor and generosity to those who will repay you in kind? What about those who do not have the means to repay you - the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged? Generosity demands a measure of self-sacrifice. However, it doesn't impoverish, but rather enriches the soul of the giver. True generosity springs from a heart full of mercy and compassion. God has loved us
first, and our love for him is a response of gratitude for the great mercy and kindness he has shown to each one of us. No one can outmatch God in his generous love and kindness towards us. Do you give freely as Jesus gives without seeking personal gain or reward? Lord Jesus, your love never fails and your mercies abound. You offer us the best of gifts - peace, pardon and everlasting friendship with you at your banquet table. Fill me
with gratitude for your great mercy and kindness towards me. And may I never fail to show kindness and mercy towards all I meet so that they may know the mercy and goodness you offer them as well.
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The Ascent of Mount Carmel, by St. John of the Cross E. Allison Peers Translation. Paperback, Kindle, Audio Book.
Click here to purchase on Amazon.com BOOK THE THIRD Which treats of the purgation of the active night of the
memory and will. Gives instruction how the soul is to behave with respect to the apprehensions of these two faculties, that it may come to union with God, according to the two faculties aforementioned, in perfect hope and charity.
Chapter 36: Which continues to treat of images, and describes the ignorance which certain persons have with respect to them. 4. I desire also to speak here of certain supernatural effects which are
sometimes produced by certain images upon particular persons. To certain images God gives a particular spiritual influence upon such persons, so that the figure of the image and the devotion caused by it remain fixed in the mind, and the person has them ever present before him; and so, when he suddenly thinks of the image, the spiritual influence which works upon him is of the same kind as when he saw it -- sometimes it is less, but sometimes it is even greater -- yet, from another image,
although it be of more perfect workmanship, he will not obtain the same spiritual effect.
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