Message of 7-13-09
Published: Sun, 07/12/09
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
The central significance of prayer is not in the things that happen
as results, but in the deepening intimacy and unhurried communion
with God at His central throne of control in order to discover a
sense of God's need in order to call on God's help to meet that
need.
- Edward McKendree (E. M.) Bounds
(What do you need to enable deeper communion with God?)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Ex 1:8-14, 22; Ps 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8; Mt 10:34-11:1
R. (8a) Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Had not the LORD been with us-
let Israel say, had not the LORD been with us-
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept
the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers' snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
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REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"I have come to bring not peace but the sword."
Few of us intentionally set out to rock the boat. We like peace. We
avoid confrontation. We seek harmony in our homes and relationships
and believe the adage that no news is good news. So the concept of
enemies in our households is unsettling at best. But if those with
whom we're most comfortable are the same people who keep us from
the Lord, then we have to examine our lives. Likewise, if we prize
our earthly ties above our eternal glory, then we misunderstand the
gift of the kingdom. While the notion of Jesus coming to force a
wedge between us and those we love seems contrary to our
understanding of him, it's our clinging to what will not last that
is truly divergent from what the Lord has in store for us.
"That we may deny the temptations of this life for the reward of
the kingdom, we pray."
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LECTIO DIVINA PROCESS
- http://heartlandspirituality.org/vocations/prayer.html
First, you choose a passage of Scripture that you will pray with.
It might be the Gospel reading used in the liturgy of the day, or
anything else you want. The process then follows these steps:
* Reading (lectio) After settling in and quieting yourself,
read the passage slowly, prayerfully. Just let it sink in for a
minute or two, then read it a second time, paying closer attention
to the words or phrases that speak to you.
* Reflecting (meditatio) What do you hear God saying to you in
this passage? What words or phrases caught your attention?
* Responding (oratio) What do you want to say to God in
response to what you've heard? Here you can also voice your prayers
of petition, remorse, thanksgiving, praise, and so forth. If you
sense God speaking to you in your thoughts, feelings or
imagination, you respond as you would in any conversation.
* Resting (contemplatio) If, at any time, you feel drawn to
simply rest in the awareness of God's loving presence, you let
yourself do so. Remain in loving silence as long as you feel
comfortable, perhaps using a simple word or phrase from the
Scripture passage to help deepen your openness to rest in God.
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THE ADORNMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE
by St. John of Rusybroeck (1293-1381)
Now, by saying: The Bridegroom cometh, He shows us further what we
shall see. Christ, our Bridegroom, spoke this word in Latin: Venit.
And this word implies two tenses, the past and the present; and yet
here it denotes the future too.
And that is why we shall consider three comings of our Bridegroom,
Jesus Christ. In the first coming He became man, for man's sake,
out of love. The second coming takes place daily, often and many
times, in every loving heart, with new graces and with new gifts,
as each is able to receive them. The third coming we shall see as
the coming in the Judgment, or at the hour of death. And in all
these comings there are three things to be considered: the why and
the wherefore, the inward way, and the outward work.
- Chapter 2, On the Coming of Christ
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