Message of 11-20-09
Published: Sat, 11/14/09
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
ANNUAL APPEAL
One aspect of our Internet ministry I'd like to share with you
pertains to spiritual direction. There are many places where it's
difficult to find a qualified spiritual director, so we set up an
online directory back around 2001. Spiritual directors pay a small
listing fee, and we then help others who are interested in
direction or short-term consultation to connect with them. To
date, we have helped over 200 people find a spiritual director.
Generally, they correspond by email, then have a phone session or,
nowadays, video-chat using Skype or some other software. I myself
meet with eight people each month using this process. "Presence"
magazine, which is published by Spiritual Directors International,
featured our online ministry of spiritual direction several years
ago, and numerous websites have since used our model.
So . . . while we're on the topic: do you have a spiritual
director? Or would you perhaps like a short-term consultation with
someone concerning spiritual issues? If you don't know of anyone
in your area, our Internet ministry can help. See
http://shalomplace.com/direction/index.html for more information.
And thank you for considering financial support of our services.
Your tax-deductible donation helps to defray our expenses.
Phil St. Romain
Editor, Daily Spiritual Seed
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To support Daily Spiritual Seed and our online ministries, see
http://shalomplace.com/seed/donations.html which includes secure
credit card options and information for check payments.
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
"On occasion I laugh at myself, and at other times I grow weary. An
interior stirring incites me to service - I am not capable of any
more...doing such lowly little things that it embarrasses me. Were
it not for the fact that the Lord accepted my desire, I saw that it
had no importance - and I myself made fun of myself."
From Teresa of Avila: "Living By Holy Wit"
- Reflection for Journaling:
Teresa of Avila encouraged others not to take themselves too
seriously. Is there some area of your life where you might be
trying too hard and need to go more gently, more lightly?
- Breath Prayer:
I try hard (breathing in )...
Let me trust hard (breathing out)....
(by Sr. Joel Christoph OP)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59; 1 Chronicles 29:10bcd, 11abc, 11d-12a,
12bcd; Lk 19:45-48
R. (13b) We praise your glorious name, O mighty God.
"Blessed may you be, O LORD,
God of Israel our father,
from eternity to eternity."
"Yours, O LORD, are grandeur and power,
majesty, splendor, and glory.
For all in heaven and on earth is yours."
"Yours, O LORD, is the sovereignty;
you are exalted as head over all.
Riches and honor are from you."
"You have dominion over all,
In your hand are power and might;
it is yours to give grandeur and strength to all."
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Jesus tells us not to disrespect the house of prayer. The thieves
come in many ways. It might be the music or news that streams
through the day. Sometimes we catch the rhythm of the machine and
breathe to the ding of the email. The tapes in our head don't
stop. This is no longer the work of our hands. This is not the
pulse of life.
The house of prayer is among us. You are here already. At the
kitchen table, during liturgy, down in the streets among strangers
we find You.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "The Practice of the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence
GOD knoweth best what is needful for us, and all that He does is
for our good. If we knew how much He loves us, we should be always
ready to receive equally and with indifference from His hand the
sweet and the bitter; all would please that came from Him. The
sorest afflictions never appear intolerable, but when we see them
in the wrong light. When we see them in the hand of GOD, who
dispenses them: when we know that it is our loving FATHER, who
abases and distresses us: our sufferings will lose their
bitterness, and become even matter of consolation.
- 15th Letter - from his death bed
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Amazon.com gift cards - good for any occasion
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067L6TQ/?tag=christianspiritu
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Benedictine Approach)
1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read a short passage of Scripture as though God were speaking
directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it
slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments
awakened by your meditation. When you're done, read another passage
and repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in
loving silence, put the Scripture aside and rest in God.
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