Message of 8-24-09
Published: Fri, 08/21/09
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Oh, how few find time for prayer! There is time for everything
else, time to sleep and time to eat, time to read the newspaper and
the novel, time to visit friends, time for everything else under
the sun, but - no time for prayer, the most important of all
things, the one great essential!
- Oswald J. Smith
(What priority does prayer have in your life? Take time for prayer
today.)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Rv 21:9b-14; Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18; Jn 1:45-51
R. (12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of
your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
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REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him."
The genius behind Robert Louis Stevenson's horrific tale The
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is that the virtue-to-vice
transformation resonates in us. We've all known days when we went
forth led by the most magnanimous, virtuous member of our interior
committee only to find the meanest, most unscrupulous member in
charge by day's end. But, thankfully, we've also had the opposite
experience. Nathanael (St. Bartholomew) initially doubted that
anything good could come from Nazareth, but soon turned 180 degrees
to declare Jesus "Son of God" and "King of Israel." Jesus knows our
frailty, but he knows our goodness, too. Let us hear his call as he
affirms our capacity to grow in virtue.
"For ongoing conversion in Christ, 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)
The second point is charity, beginning and origin of all virtues.
This charity upheld the higher powers of His soul in quietness, and
in a fruition of that very bliss which He now enjoys. And this
charity kept Him constantly uplifted to His Father in reverence, in
love, in adoration, in praise; with fervent prayers for the needs
of all men, and with an offering up of all His works to the glory
of His Father.
- Chapter 4, Of Charity
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