Message of 4-29-09
Published: Tue, 04/28/09
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Theirs is an endless road, a hopeless maze, who seek for goods
before they seek for God.
... St. Bernard of Clairvaux
(The greatest good is . . . God!)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 8:1b-8; Ps 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a; Jn 6:35-40
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
From "Daily Bread"
- http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"I will not reject anyone who comes to me."
All this Easter rejoicing. Am I feeling cold and left out because I
never quite caught up with Lent? If I neglected to receive the
sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist, the good news is
still meant for me. It is never too late to turn back to the Lord.
No matter how grave my sins or how long it has been since I sought
the Lord's forgiveness, the infinite mercy of God is far greater. I
need only seek the grace of repentance, and God will welcome me
back. The hardest part about reconciliation is the worrying I do in
advance about it. Pray about it.
"Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
As God can only be seen by His own light, so He can only be loved
by His own love. The merely natural man is incapable of this,
because nature by itself is incapable of responding to the Divine
Love and is confined within its own circle. Therefore it is
necessary for Grace, which is a simple supernatural power, to
elevate the natural faculties to union in God above the merely
temporal objects of existence. The possibility of love to God is
grounded in the relative likeness between man and God. If the soul
is to reach its moral goal, i.e. Godlikeness, it must become
inwardly like God through grace, and a spiritual birth which is the
spring of true morality. The inner work that man has to do is the
practical realization of Grace: without this, all outward work is
ineffectual for salvation. Virtue is never mere virtue, it is
either from God, or through God, or in God. All the soul's works
which are to inherit an everlasting recompense must be carried on
in God. They are rewarded by Him in proportion as they are carried
on in Him, for the soul is an instrument of God whereby He carries
on His work.
- #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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