Message of 9-16-25

Published: Tue, 09/16/25

Updated: Tue, 09/16/25

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Tuesday: September 16, 2025

Forum on Christianity and Spirituality
October 2, 2025, 7:30 p.m. CDT

Topic: The Dark Night of the Soul

See https://shalomplace.com/inetmin/forum.html for more information and registration.

Message of the Day

Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men and women as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.

Helen Keller

What risks are you being called to take these days? Pray for the courage to do so.

Readings of the Day

1 Timothy 3:1-13
Psalm 101:1b-2ab, 2cd-3ab, 5, 6

Luke 7:11-17

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.

USCCB lectionary

Reflection on the Scripture

“Jesus gave him back to his mother.” —Luke 7:15

Jesus “went to a town called Naim” (Lk 7:11). “As He approached the gate of the town a dead man was being carried out, the only son of a widowed mother” (Lk 7:12). Her future appeared bleak; she was alone in the world, with no husband or son to provide for her future. Jesus “was moved with pity upon seeing” this widow grieving her only son (Lk 7:13). Without being asked, “He stepped forward and touched the litter,” raised the dead young man, and gave him back to his widowed mother (Lk 7:14-15).

The Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, was in a situation similar to the widow of Naim. At this point in Jesus’ public ministry, St. Joseph had apparently died, and so Mary was a widow. Mary likewise had only one Son, and He was soon to be put to death. Mary would be left without Joseph and Jesus. Jesus restored the present and future for the widow of Naim by raising her son. As for His mother Mary, Jesus did rise from the dead, but He ascended into heaven, still leaving Mary without a Son on earth to provide for her needs and love her. Jesus gave Mary a new son, the Apostle John (Jn 19:26-27).

Yesterday the Church celebrated the feast of the Sorrowful Mother. Jesus is “moved with pity” for sorrowing mothers (Lk 7:13). Blessed “are the sorrowing; they shall be consoled” (Mt 5:4). Let us love the sorrowing and suffering people in our midst with the compassion and mercy of Jesus.

Prayer: Father, may I “weep with those who weep” (Rm 12:15). “Console and gladden them after their sorrows” (Jer 31:13).

Promise: “God has visited His people.” —Lk 7:16

Presentation Ministries

Amazon Gift Cards: Good for any occasion.

Spiritual Reading

Here Now in Love: The Roots of Contemplative Spirituality, by Philip St. Romain. Liguori Publications, 2001.
https://amzn.to/4n3bu4j

The Four Modes of Christ's Presence to Us

- Introduction -

When I have done workshops and retreats on the theme of “Be Here Now in Love,” Christian participants sometimes complain that this spiritual approach isn’t sufficiently Christ-centered. After all, you don’t have to be a Christian to be here now, nor to love. One young man even accused me of teaching Buddhism!

Well, it is certainly true that you don’t have to be a Christian to be here now in love. Anyone can do that, and I’m sure the God of love is quite happy when we do so. But what is also true that one can be a committed Christian and not be focused on this kind of spirituality. What is best, I am convinced, is when Christian faith is brought into this kind of spiritual approach to living. In this series--adapted from a chapter of a book I have written and an Internet series I offer--I will discuss the four modes of Christ’s presence, with special emphasis on how we encounter Christ when we are lovingly present to life.

First Mode: The Personal, Historical Jesus

For most Christians, it is the personal, historical Jesus who is at the core of their faith. When they think of the Christ, they have in mind the man, Jesus, who walked this earth about 2,000 years ago, teaching, healing, suffering, dying and rising. They might have pictures of him in their home, or a crucifix, or some other reminder of this life and all it communicated to us about God.

The personal, historical Jesus is someone with whom we can be in relationship. Because he was human, we feel we can talk with him, and he understands our situation; we can focus on him and experience a love bond developing between us. Through faith, we know that he still lives--that this man who once existed in space and time with a body like ours is somehow still available to us in his risen state. His manner of life now is radically different from ours, but we believe that all of his memories of what human life was like have been preserved. Jesus did not stop being human when he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. For this reason, we have someone who is able to understand our human situation, for he experienced it in every way that we do, although he did not sin (Hb. 4: 15, paraphrased).

How do we come to know the historical Jesus? There are many avenues for doing so, including movies about him, books, paintings, statues, preaching and teaching. The way, par excellence, however, is to prayerfully study his life as it is presented to us in the Gospels. Here, we see him going about doing good, revealing to us the inner heart of God, and something of his presence is communicated to us. We find that we are not merely reading a story, but we are encountering a person. That very same Jesus of Nazareth who once walked the earth now comes to us through the Gospel, and invites us to relationship with him. The mind and heart are “warmed” by him, and invited to draw closer, to become a disciple. Eventually we come to a moment of decision: will we or won’t we say yes to him? This may happen to us many times, each inviting us to a deeper knowledge of Jesus.

Through knowledge of the personal, historical Jesus, we come to know the personal God Whom Jesus called Father. We come to see that faith is more than adherence to beliefs or living by principles; it is a relationship with a Person. It seems that without this kind of relationship with Jesus, the other modes of encountering him lose some of this quality of relatedness. Coming to know Jesus as one’s Lord, savior, brother and friend is a wonderful possibility opened to us by the grace of Christian faith.

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Be here now in love, and all shall be well.
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