Message of 11-27-17

Published: Mon, 11/27/17

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Monday: November 27, 2017
Message of the Day
It is the part of a Christian to take care of his own body for the very purpose that by its soundness and well-being he may be enabled to labor... for the aid of those who are in want, that thus the stronger member may serve the weaker member, and we may be children of God, and busy for one another, bearing one another's burdens, and so fulfilling the law of Christ.
- Martin Luther

(Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit . . . the means through which God's love is extended to others. How will you care for your temple this day?)
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Readings of the Day
DN 1:1-6, 8-20;   DN 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

LK 21:1-4

When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."

USCCB lectionary
Reflection on the Scripture
"They make contributions out of their surplus, but she from her want has given what she could not afford — every penny she had to live on." —Luke 21:4
 
Many people wish that the world would be saved in that war and violence would cease, babies and the elderly be protected from being murdered, marriages and families be holy, etc. Their wish is already granted. Jesus has saved us (see Ti 3:5). All we need do is apply Jesus' saving death and resurrection to our world. We do this by believing in Him and expressing our faith by acts of love, obedience, worship, evangelization, sanctification, sacrifice, service, penance, justice, and mercy. In effect, to apply Jesus' life-saving salvation to our world, we must give our lives to Him. We must give Him our "all" (see Lk 21:4). On Calvary, Jesus gave His life for us; we are called to give our lives to Him.

Most of us who are reading this have given our time, money, and talents to Jesus. We have given Him much. However, that is not the plan of salvation and the way of the cross. To obtain the kingdom of God, we must not give "much" but "all" (see Mt 13:44, 46).

It is easier to give the first 98% of our lives to Jesus than to give the last 2%. The devil will make a goal-line stand to prevent us from surrendering all to Jesus, accepting Him as our Savior, Lord, and God, and thereby changing the world.

Give Jesus absolutely everything.
 
Prayer: Jesus, my Lord, my God, my All! (see Jn 20:28)

Promise: "To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency in all literature and science, and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams." —Dn 1:17
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Spiritual Reading
From Meditation to Contemplation, by James Arraj
- Reprinted from St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. G. Jung. 

Entering the Dark Night, pt. 2

The onset of this process of weaning according to St. John, whether it is gradual or sudden, does not necessarily take a long time. He says that with people who wholeheartedly take up the spiritual life it can happen rather quickly. They have obtained the habit of meditation and derived substantially what they should have from its practice. The destination of the journey has been reached and the fruit has been peeled and is ready to be eaten. Meditation has served to accommodate sense to spirit, and now a mysterious new experience is beginning. Unfortunately, the person undergoing this experience without any guidance tends to feel that it is, indeed, negative and privative rather than positive. He strives to go back to his former ways of praying with the result that he hinders this new experience from taking hold.
 
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