Message of 6-24-09
Published: Mon, 06/08/09
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Loyalty to things is addiction, loyalty to God is freedom.
- Anonymous
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Is 49:1-6; Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15; Acts 13:22-26;
Lk 1:57-66, 80
R. (14) I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
From "Daily Bread"
- http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me."
John was a miracle baby, born to aged parents, his birth surrounded
by remarkable signs. "What will he become?" people wondered. But
his special, God-given purpose to herald the Messiah was even a
mystery to John, it seems, for in the midst of fulfilling it he
sent messengers to ask Jesus: "Are you the one who is to come, or
should we look for another?" We may be similarly unsure about
God's purpose for us. It may seem mysterious, unclear, a hidden
thing. Yet as we walk in God's ways, we can trust fully that we
have been created and fashioned perfectly to fulfill God's will in
God's time.
"For trust in God's purpose and patience with God's timing, we pray."
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
Through the higher love the whole life of man is to be elevated
from temporal selfishness to the spring of all love, to God: man
will again be master over nature by abiding in God and lifting her
up to God.
- #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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