Message of 5-6-09
Published: Thu, 04/30/09
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of
you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little
different from what it was before. And, taking your life as a
whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you
are slowly turning this central thing either into a Heaven creature
or into a hellish creature -- either into a creature that is in
harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or
else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and
with its fellow creatures and with itself. To be the one kind of
creature is Heaven: that is, it is joy, and peace, and knowledge,
and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage,
impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is
progressing to the one state or the other.
... C. S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity"
(Choose well this day.)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 12:24-13:5a; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6 and 8; Jn 12:44-50
R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
From "Daily Bread"
- http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not
condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save
the world."
We tend to lean to the negative. It's easy to preach damnation to a
glass-half-empty crowd. Few like to think that they're responsible
for their actions and their acceptance of salvation. Plenty of
misplaced blame and pointed fingers temporarily allow the shirking
of personal responsibility. Yet Jesus clearly tells us that the
choice is ours. If we reject the message, then we reject the
messenger and the sender of the message. We choose salvation. We
cannot blame Jesus; he doesn't condemn us.
"That we may hear and follow the word of God, we pray."
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
The essence of morality is inwardness, the intensity of will from
which it springs, and the nobleness of the aim for which it is
practiced. When a good work is done by a man, he is free of it, and
through that freedom is liker and nearer to his Original than he
was before.
- #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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