Message of 2-6-09
Published: Fri, 01/30/09
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Q. "What do you do when you realize you have been dozing?" (during
prayer}
A. "If you doze off, don't give it a second thought. A child in
the arms of a parent drops off to sleep occasionally, but the
parent isn't disturbed by that as long as the child is happily
resting there and opens its eyes once in a while."
- Thomas Keating, "Open Mind, Open Heart"
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Heb13:1-8; Ps 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9abc; Mk 6:14-29
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
For he will hide me in his abode
in the day of trouble;
He will conceal me in the shelter of his tent,
he will set me high upon a rock.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
The Lord gives grace to the humble, to those who acknowledge their
sins and who seek God's mercy and pardon. His grace and pardon not
only frees us from a guilty conscience, it enables us to pursue
holiness in thought and action as well. God's grace enables us to
fight fear with faith and to overcome the temptation to compromise
goodness and truth with wrongdoing and falsehood. Do you rely on
God's grace and help to choose his way of holiness and to reject
whatever would compromise your faith and loyalty to Christ?
"Heavenly Father, form in me the likeness of your Son that I may
imitate him in word and deed. Help me to live the gospel faithfully
and give me the strength and courage I need to not shrink back in
the face of adversity and temptation."
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Benedictine Approach)
1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read a short passage of Scripture as though God were speaking
directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it
slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments
awakened by your meditation. When you're done, read another passage
and repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in
loving silence, put the Scripture aside and rest in God.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "The Practice of the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence
I admire also the fortitude and bravery of M. . GOD has given him a
good disposition, and a good will; but there is in him still a
little of the world, and a great deal of youth. I hope the
affliction which GOD has sent him will prove a wholesome remedy to
him, and make him enter into himself; it is an accident very proper
to engage him to put all his trust in Him, who accompanies him
everywhere: let him think of Him the oftenest he can, especially in
the greatest dangers. A little lifting up the heart suffices; a
little remembrance of GOD, one act of inward worship, though upon a
march, and sword in hand, are prayers which, however short, are
nevertheless very acceptable to GOD; and far from lessening a
soldiers courage in occasions of danger, they best serve to fortify
it.
- Letter to a soldier friend
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