Message of 4-30-09
Published: Tue, 04/28/09
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
The sustaining power of the Beloved Presence has through the ages
made the sickbed sweet and the graveside triumphant; transformed
broken hearts and relations; brought glory to drudgery, poverty and
old age; and turned the martyr's stake or noose into a place of
coronation.
... Dallas Willard, "Hearing God"
("The sustaining power of the Beloved Presence . . . " Rest in the
awareness of this Presence!)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66:8-9, 16-17, 20; Jn 6:44-51
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Bless our God, you peoples,
loudly sound his praise;
He has given life to our souls,
and has not let our feet slip.
Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
When I appealed to him in words,
praise was on the tip of my tongue.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
from "Praying the Daily Gospels," by Philip St. Romain:
- http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=6614
- John 6: 44-51 (Jesus, the Living Bread)
The Jews had complained that Jesus could not be from God since they
knew of his human origins. Jesus now replies that there is a
spiritual sidle to him
that is of God. If they want to know about God, they need only to
look to him.
- What are some of the sources of grace in your life now? How do
these gifts help to make you who you are?
- Think of some way to let the people who are grace to you know
that you are thankful for the gifts they bring to your life.
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Carmelite Method)
A. Introduction: settling in, relaxing in awareness of God's
presence.
B. Reading the text slowly, prayerfully.
C. Meditation: imaginative representation of the material; reflection
on the meaning of the material and its application to one's life.
D. Affective prayer: conversation with God, attentive to sharing
feelings awakened in meditation. Prayer of petition, thanksgiving,
remorse.
E. Resting in God in silent loving awareness, if moved to do so.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Imitation of Christ," by Thomas A. Kempis
The Voice of Christ
And why do such small matters pierce you to the heart, unless
because
you are still carnal and pay more heed to men than you ought?
You do
not wish to be reproved for your faults and you seek shelter in
excuses because you are afraid of being despised. But look into
yourself more thoroughly and you will learn that the world is
still
alive in you, in a vain desire to please men. For when you
shrink from
being abased and confounded for your failings, it is plain
indeed that
you are not truly humble or truly dead to the world, and that the
world is not crucified in you.
-------- Bk. 3, Chapter 46
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