Message of 3-13-09
Published: Thu, 03/05/09
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
- - -
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
There are many things which a person can do alone, but being a
Christian is not one of them. As the Christian life is, above all
things, a state of union with Christ, and of union of his followers
with one another, love of the brethren is inseparable from love of
God. Resentment toward any human being cannot exist in the same
heart with love to God. The personal relationship to Christ can
only be realized when one has "come to himself" as a member of His
Body, the Christian fellowship.
... William T. Ham
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a ; Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21; Mt
21:33-43, 45-46
R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
Through his death and resurrection, Jesus not only reconciles us
with God, but he fills us with his Holy Spirit and make us temples
of the living God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). God's word enlightens
our minds and purifies our hearts that we may offer God fitting
worship and enjoy his presence both now and forever. Do you burn
with zeal for the Lord''s house?
"Lord Jesus Christ, you open wide the door of your Father's house
and you bid us to enter confidently that we may worship in spirit
and truth. Help me to draw near to your throne of mercy with
gratitude and joy".
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "The Practice of the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence
He complains much of our blindness; and cries often that we are to
be pitied who content ourselves with so little. GOD, saith he, has
infinite treasure to bestow, and we take up with a little sensible
devotion which passes in a moment. Blind as we are, we hinder GOD,
and stop the current of His graces. But when He finds a soul
penetrated with a lively faith, He pours into it His graces and
favours plentifully; there they flow like a torrent, which, after
being forcibly stopped against its ordinary course, when it has
found a passage, spreads itself with impetuosity and abundance.
- Fourth letter - speaking of himself in the 3rd person.
______________________________
* Web Archive: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?dailyseed
* RSS: http://www.aweber.com/z/rss/?dailyseed