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MANNUAL APPEAL
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Shalom Place (http://shalomplace.com) continues to be the host site for our Internet ministry. The site was launched in 1998 and has since been a popular Internet touchpoint for Christian spirituality resources. At this time, we make available: - Opportunity to sign up for spiritual direction/consultation - Numerous retreats/workshops, many of them free - Links to numerous youtube teachings, all
free - Links to 42 podcasts on Christian spirituality - Webinar presentations, with handouts — all free - 28 books/eBooks, most in paperback and digital format - Numerous booklets/worksheets, all
free - Discussion board with hundreds of open topics - A Daily Spiritual Seed eNewsletter Your donation helps to keep these resources available for everyone, so thank you for considering this appeal request. Phil St. Romain Internet Ministry Coordinator ________________ Donations are eligible for tax-deduction - scroll down a little for secure online payment link Check payments Internet Ministry Heartland Center for Spirituality 3600 Broadway Great Bend, KS 67530
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Message of the Day
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Let us not be surprised when we have to face difficulties. When the wind blows hard on a tree, the roots stretch and grow the stronger, Let it be so with us. Let us not be weaklings, yielding to every wind that blows, but strong in spirit to resist.
- Amy Carmichael (What "winds" are making you stretch these days? Hold them before God and ask
for the strength to endure, lovingly.)
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Readings of the Day
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Ti 3:1-7; Psalm 23:1b-3a, 3bc-4, 5, 6 Lk 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on
us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked
him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith
has saved you.” USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“He saved us.” —Titus 3:5 “When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved
us” (Ti 3:4-5). “He saved us through the baptism of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit He lavished on us through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Ti 3:5-6). We have been saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:5, 8; see also Lk 17:19). Jesus, Whose name means “Yahweh saves,” is our Savior, our only Savior (see Acts 4:12). The Lord commands us to: - Rejoice in our salvation (Is 25:9). With Mary, we exclaim: “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my Savior” (Lk 1:46-47).
- “Work with anxious concern to achieve [our] salvation” (Phil 2:12). This means we should live our salvation by being faithful to our baptismal promises.
- Share our salvation by witnessing for Jesus (Acts 1:8) and making disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19), for Jesus wants all to be saved (1 Tm 2:4).
Remember that without being saved by Jesus, we would be “foolish, disobedient, and far from true faith” (Ti 3:3), for “we were the slaves of our passions and of pleasures of various kinds. We went our way in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating
one another” (Ti 3:3). Our lives would be hell on earth and hell after earth but for Jesus our Savior. We owe everything to Him. Therefore, let us rejoice in our salvation, live it to the full, and share it with everyone. Praise Jesus, our only Savior! Prayer: Lord, I will make “myself all things to all men in order to save at least some of them” (1 Cor 9:22). Promise: “One of them, realizing that he had been cured, came back praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself on his face at the feet of Jesus and spoke His praises.” —Lk 17:15-16 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Three, Gift of the Spirit Chapter 8: The Fruits of the
Spirit - Selected quotes
Fruits of the Spirit in the World
The criterion of fruits helps us to recognize the working of the Spirit outside the formal boundaries of the Church and its ministries. We note, for example, the presence of the fruits of the Spirit in
other world religions, especially among their saints and mystics. Who can doubt that Mohandas Gandhi was guided by the Spirit? His work for justice was thoroughly grounded in a life of deep meditation and spiritual practice, and it bore the fruits of the Spirit all across the continent of India—indeed, the whole world. Even the British who governed India at the time came to respect him and to recognize in him an extraordinary power and spiritual presence. Other examples
could be given from Buddhism, where Tich Nhat Han and the Dalai Lama have sowed seeds of peace and deep spirituality for decades.
Sometimes people with no religious commitment give evidence of spiritual charisms and fruits. The examples here are fewer, as the human ego can quickly become darkened by the corrupting influences of sin if one has no spiritual practice.
So
what does this mean, then, if the Spirit is alive and well outside of Christianity?
Well, first of all, it means that God loves all people and is at work to lead us all to fulfill the destiny we have been created to achieve. That’s pretty clear, and is affirmed in scripture and the doctrines of the Church most emphatically.
Paperback and eBook versions
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