Message of 1-29-10
Published: Sun, 01/24/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Our wickedness shall not overpower the unspeakable goodness and
mercy of God; our dullness shall not overpower God's wisdom, nor
our infirmity God's omnipotence.
- John of Kronstadt
(God's kingdom come, God's will be done, on earth as in heaven.)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
2 Sm 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17; Ps. 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11;
Mk 4:26-34
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
I have done such evil in your sight
that you are just in your sentence,
blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty,
a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
the bones you have crushed shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Our human condition has trouble grasping the nature of a God that
knows all of our sins from the day we are born, but who can just
turn his face away from our evil and in great compassion cleanse us
from our offenses. Jesus gives us some insight into that God and
His Kingdom. Jesus says that we don't know how seeds sprout, grow,
and yield fruit but they do. The potential is all in the earth and
in the seeds. It is not because of the labor of the man who
scatters the seeds. Even a small mustard seed can become a great
plant. The Kingdom of God is like that. It is the place where
miraculous things happen without our knowledge or intervention
because God makes it happen.
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SPIRITUAL READING
- "Enjoying One Moment at a Time"
from: "Reflecting on the Serenity Prayer," by Philip St.
Romain, D. Min.
see http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=6735
Attentive Living (pt. 2)
Dropping the past does not mean that we forget it but that we quit
acting in compensation for past hurts. Past hurts keep some of our
attention in the past and cause us to anxiously project negative
possibilities into the future (and thus, perhaps, bring them to
pass). We can never fully surrender into the now of life as long as
such past hurts weigh us down. We can know occasional moments of
freedom from self-concern, and that can spur us onward. Living
fully in the present requires complete healing of the past,
however. A simple discipline, then, is to strive to be here now in
love. Each moment presents a new and unique intersection between
vertical and horizontal time, which the spiritual nature of human
consciousness is privileged to experience. The present moment is
where life is really happening; if we are not here, then we miss
life. We can live in the now-moment only when our attitude is that
of being-in-love. Otherwise we approach the moment with defenses
and expectations that turn our experience of time into a linear or
chairotic experience. By love I mean that we must be open to
receiving what the moment has to offer and willing to give in
return what is required of us. It is natural and unavoidable for us
to bring to each moment our expectations of what we would like to
have happen; but we must hold these expectations lightly and be
willing to surrender them if the needs of love so require. Only
those who love in this manner can experience eternal life. Is this
not the essence of the good news?
(Part 8 of 10-part series)
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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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