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To speak of God as the Mother of creation seems to me a beautiful image, entirely consistent with Christian faith in God who surpasses and contains all created things, yet expressing in a new way God's profound care for creation and involvement with it.
- Brian Wren
(How does it feel to relate to God as Mother? What resistances do you notice?)
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ACTS 16:11-15; PS 149:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B
JN 15:26—16:4A
Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
USCCB Lectionary
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Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain, 2018 (3rd ed.)
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John 15: 26- 16: 4 (We must hear witness)
With the Resurrection came a mandate: we are to spread the news of the forgiveness of sin and the victory over death which Jesus brought. To help us in this endeavor, God’s own Spirit—the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead—will be our helper.
• How do you feel about sharing your religious beliefs with family members? With friends? With working acquaintances?
• What are some key issues facing your local secular community? How involved are you in working through these issues?
• Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Do this with family and/or friends, if possible.)
Paperback, Kindle and eBook
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Treatise
on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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BOOK I: CONTAINING A PREPARATION FOR THE WHOLE TREATISE
Chapter 3: How the will variously governs the sensual appetite
The will then, Theotimus, bears rule over the memory, understanding and fancy, not by force but by authority, so that she is not infallibly obeyed any more than the father of a family is always obeyed by his children. It is the same as regards the sensitive appetite, which, as S. Augustine says, is called in us sinners concupiscence, and is subject to the will and understanding. . . . Thy enemy can move in thee the
feeling of temptation, but it is in thy power if thou wilt to give or refuse consent. In case thou permit thy appetite to carry thee away to sin, then thou shalt be under it, and it shall domineer over thee, for whosoever sinneth is made the servant of sin, but before thou sinnest, so long as sin gets not entry into thy consent, but only into thy sense, that is to say, so long as it stays in the appetite, not going so far as thy will, thy appetite is subject unto thee and thou lord over it.”
Before the Emperor is created he is subject to the electors’ dominion, in whose hands it is to reject him or to elect him to the imperial dignity; but being once elected and elevated by their means, henceforth they are under him and he rules over them. Before the will consents to the appetite, she rules over it, but having once given consent she becomes its slave.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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