Message of 7-27-17

Published: Thu, 07/27/17

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Thursday: July 27, 2017



“Hope is an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons . . . Hope . . . is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.”
- Vaclav Havel

(What are you hopeful about? What is the basis of your hope?)




EX 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20B;   DANIEL 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

MT 13:10-17

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?"
He said to them in reply,
"Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.

"But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."





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Matthew 13: 10-17 (More on parables)


Although the parables are relatively simple stories, they are nevertheless rich in symbolism.  To appreciate their meaning, we must allow them to confront our lives as a mirror reflects back to us our bodily image.  The more time and effort we put into the struggle of meditating on the parables, the greater will be our reward.

* “In the spiritual life, if you’re not progressing, you’re regressing.” Do you agree with this? Why? Why not? In what area of your life have you made progress recently?

* Pray for the grace to hunger for growth.

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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd ed.) 
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Chapter 4: The False Self System

   The false self is thus a system of programming that reinforces itself at every turn, functioning more or less automatically in response to almost every situation that confronts us. Any time our decisions and behavior ensue from this programming, the false self system becomes more deeply rooted within, and our ability to resist its influence is weakened. And, if that weren’t enough to contend with, there is much about the culture we have developed that mirrors the false self system’s values and communication patterns, providing social reinforcement of its dysfunctional emphases.