Message of 2-25-09
Published: Mon, 02/23/09
LENT 2009: Resources for Spiritual Growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
If you were to rise early every morning, as an instance of
self-denial, as a method of renouncing indulgence, as a means of
redeeming your time and of fitting your spirit for prayer, you
would find mighty advantages from it. This method, though it seem
such a small circumstance of life, would in all probability be a
means [toward] great piety. It would keep it constantly in your
head that softness and idleness were to be avoided and that
self-denial was a part of Christianity... It would teach you to
exercise power over yourself, and make you able by degrees to
renounce other pleasures and tempers that war against the soul.
... William Law, "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life"
(A good Lenten practice, if you're not already doing something like
this.)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Jl 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17; 2 Cor
5:20-6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
From "Daily Bread"
- http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment."
We begin today the joyful season that stirs us communally to
spiritual renewal. The scriptures call us to a wholehearted return
to the Lord, to be ambassadors for Christ through reconciliation
with God, to sincere and humble practice of our faith. We may think
that the season is all about us and what we do, but with compelling
description, the prophet Joel directs us also to ponder today the
nature of our God, who is gracious, kind and merciful beyond our
ability to comprehend such goodness. We take up our Lenten
traditions of prayer, fasting and almsgiving with every reason to
be truly joyful.
"For lives centered in Christ, we pray."
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
To produce real moral freedom, God's grace and man's will must
co-operate. As God is the Prime Mover of nature, so also He creates
free impulses towards Himself and to all good things. Grace renders
the will free that it may do everything with God's help, working
with grace as with an instrument which belongs to it. So the will
arrives at freedom through love, nay, becomes itself love, for love
unites with God. All true morality, inward and outward, is
comprehended in love, for love is the foundation of all the
commandments.
- #7, Outward and Inward Morality
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REVIEW OF DAY
- from, "Handbook for Spiritual Directees"
http://shalomplace.com/view/hndbk-lite.pdf
Here is a practice used by many at the end of the day to see what
lessons can be learned and how God was present and active through
the day. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of the
day for prayer and review of your day. A suggested format is
described below:.
1. Take a few moments of quiet. Breathe deeply. Ask God to help you
see yourself as you truly were during the day.
2. Look back over your day - not to see what you did wrong but to
honestly acknowledge what was going on with you and others.
* What happened? What did I do today?
* How did I feel? Why did I feel that way?
* Were my expectations and beliefs reasonable?
3. Affirm the healthy things you recognize.
4. Admit to yourself and God the unhealthy things. Ask God's
forgiveness, believe it is yours, then decide if you need to
apologize or make amends.
5. Use creative visualization to grow stronger. Honestly
acknowledge the troubling situations of the day. See and feel
yourself acting honestly and lovingly in these situations. Ask God
for the grace to help you act in this new way.
6. Close with simple awareness of the sights and sounds around you,
grateful for the good things in your life.
This process can be undertaken as a daily journal exercise or by
prayerfully reviewing your day in your own mind. I like to take a
walk before bedtime for examen. The important thing is to do it. It
is a discipline, to be sure, but a very important one.
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SHALOM PLACE PREMIUM GROUPS
- Life-long learning and formation in Christian spirituality.
Groups now open include the following:
A. Psychological Types and Spirituality
B. The Way of Christian Spirituality
C. Freedom from Codependency
D. Christian Spirituality Resources
E. Wonderfully Made (Christian Metaphysics)
F. Growing in Christ
G. Spiral Dynamics®
H. Discerning God's Will
I. Dark Night of the Soul
J. Silence, Solitude and Sabbath
K. Alpha Group -- includes all the above and all to come.
- see http://shalomplace.org/groups.html
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