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We are surrounded and penetrated by great spiritual forces of which we hardly know anything. Yet the outward events of our life cannot be understood, except in their relation to that unseen and intensely living world, the Infinite Charity which penetrates and supports us, the God whom we resist and yet
for whom we thirst; who is ever at work, transforming the self-centered desire of the natural creature into the wide spreading, outpouring love of the citizen of Heaven.
... Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941), The School of Charity [1934]
("Infinite Charity . . . ever at work, transforming . . .")
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EZ 16:1-15, 60, 63; ISAIAH 12:2-3, 4BCD, 5-6
MT 19:3-12
Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,
"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"
He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said,
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate."
They said to him, "Then why did Moses command
that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?"
He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife
(unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits
adultery."
His disciples said to him,
"If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry."
He answered, "Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others;
some, because they have renounced marriage
for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever can accept this ought to accept it."
USCCB Lectionary
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Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain,
2018 (3rd ed.) ____________
Matthew 19: 3-12 (Marriage and divorce)
To understand the significance of today’s reading, we must first realize
that some Jewish traditions permitted a man to divorce his wife if he had lost interest in her or found her wanting in household skills. Jesus counters this tradition by holding out as God’s will the indissolubility of the marriage commitment. He also states some people would be better off not married.
• Several early Fathers of the Church
believed that God frowned d)n sexual intercourse and that the Holy Spirit deserted people during sexual union. What is your response to such an assertion?
• Why would an adult person choose to remain unmarried? Do you believe this is healthy?
Paperback, Kindle and eBook
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd
ed.) ____________ Chapter 8: Mystical Union: Self and God
The Prayer of Quiet
With the Prayer of Quiet, one begins to leave the Ego behind to enter into the zone of consciousness where Self emerges from God’s creative act in each moment. It is not as though the Ego has
had no role to play in this process, however. Through one’s ongoing efforts to live authentically and to direct one’s life toward God through spiritual practice, the Ego becomes less attached to self image as the basis of its identity, eventually discovering its true identity in God (the Spirit-centered Ego). Through the Ego’s persistence in prayer and spiritual exercises, the will becomes increasingly drawn to God in love. This is precisely what God seeks in us -- a willing spirit -- and it is
the means through which mystical relationship with God is established and deepened. With the Prayer of Quiet, God draws the will to rest in loving silence. One knows that something is going on with God within, but because the awareness immanent in Ego along with its reasoning power is left out, one is awake to the experience without fully understanding it. This not-understanding or un-knowing is not troubling, however, especially because one knows that it is possible to “get up and go” any time.
God does not hold us in silence against our will. Through time, we learn (often with the encouragement of a spiritual director) to allow ourselves to be with God in the Prayer of Quiet. Usually there comes a time in the prayer when one knows it is time to get on with the day. A deep sense of peace remains through the day as the will is more absorbed in God, Who is also transforming the intellect and awareness as well through other infused gifts of the
Spirit. Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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