Message of 8-31-09
Published: Tue, 08/25/09
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A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Jesus' moral teaching does not consist of a universal scheme of
ethics, a series of precepts which would be universally valid, by
whomever they had been spoken. They are to be heard as His word,
spoken by Him, with the impact of His person behind them.
- Gabriel Hebert (1886-1963)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
1 Thes 4:13-18; Ps 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13; Lk 4:16-30
R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
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REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"He said to them, 'Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in
your hearing.'"
We who have received the Spirit of Jesus share in the mission of
the Anointed One. Today (and every day) is an opportunity to take
part in the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. But where do we find
the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed? Certainly our
world is populated with many who literally fit these categories.
Faith can open our eyes also to many whose poverty, captivity,
blindness or oppression are more figurative but nonetheless just as
real -- those who suffer from poor health, loneliness, depression,
addiction or simple confusion about how to live well. The needy
surround us. Let us offer the healing touch of Jesus to someone in
some way every day.
"For the healing Spirit of Jesus, 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)
It was also this same charity that made Christ stoop with loving
faithfulness and kindness to the bodily and ghostly needs of all
men. And in this He gave an example to all men, teaching them by
His life how to live. He fed in ghostly wise with true and inward
teachings all those men who could understand them: and others from
without through the senses with signs and wonders. And sometimes He
fed them also with bodily food, as when they had followed Him into
the desert and were in need of it. He made the deaf hear and the
lame walk straight, and the blind see, and the dumb speak, and cast
forth devils from men. He raised up the dead; and this should be
understood both in a bodily and a ghostly way. Christ, our Lover,
has laboured for us from without and from within, with true
faithfulness. His charity we cannot fathom and understand, for it
flows out of the unfathomable fountain of the Holy Ghost, and
transcends all that creatures have ever experienced of charity; for
Christ was God and man in one Person.
- Chapter 4, Of Charity
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