Message of 1-14-10
Published: Tue, 01/12/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted - a
paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what
is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will
suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.
- Rabbi Harold Kushner
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
1 Sm 4:1-11; Ps. 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25; Mk 1:40-45
R. (27b) Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy.
Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace,
and you go not forth with our armies.
You have let us be driven back by our foes;
those who hated us plundered us at will.
You made us the reproach of our neighbors,
the mockery and the scorn of those around us.
You made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
Why do you hide your face,
forgetting our woe and our oppression?
For our souls are bowed down to the dust,
our bodies are pressed to the earth.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
from "Praying the Daily Gospels," by Philip St. Romain:
- http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=6614
Mark 1: 40-45 (Jesus cures a leper)
The gospels do not include a single instance when Jesus refuses to
heal someone who requests wholeness. The prayer of the leper in
today's reading should be a model for all of us because the leper
makes his request in great humility and leaves the matter in Jesus'
hands.
- Do you believe that God answers your prayers? What kinds of
prayers do you find answered most often?
- What are some reasons why you are usually afraid to reach out to
others? Pray for the grace to overcome these resistances.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Imitation of Christ," by Thomas A. Kempis
The Disciple
LORD, I am not worthy of Your consolation or of any spiritual
visitation. Therefore, You treat me justly when You leave me
poor and
desolate. For though I could shed a sea of tears, yet I should
not be
worthy of Your consolation. Hence, I deserve only to be scourged
and
punished because I have offended You often and grievously, and
have
sinned greatly in many things. In all justice, therefore, I am
not
worthy of any consolation.
Chapter 52
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Carmelite Method)
A. Introduction: settling in, relaxing in awareness of God's
presence.
B. Reading the text slowly, prayerfully.
C. Meditation: imaginative representation of the material;
reflection
on the meaning of the material and its application to one's life.
D. Affective prayer: conversation with God, attentive to sharing
feelings awakened in meditation. Prayer of petition, thanksgiving,
remorse.
E. Resting in God in silent loving awareness, if moved to do so.
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