Weekend Edition - A Daily Spiritual Seed
Published: Fri, 03/12/10
- readings, teachings, references and reviews -
Contents:
- Ad - Amazon.com gift cards
- Spiritual Growth Resource of the Month
- Weekend Readings
- Theology Note of the Week
- Saint of the Week
- Book of the Week
- Shalom Place Discussion Board
- Personal Spiritual Guidance
- Affiliate Web Sites
- Website of the Week
- Joke of the Week
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Amazon.com gift cards
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067L6TQ/?tag=christianspiritu
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SPIRITUAL GROWTH RESOURCE OF THE MONTH
eHandouts and Worksheets
- http://shalomplace.com/res/index2.html
A variety of short sketches and resources on a wide range of
topics.
- free-will donation appreciated.
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WEEKEND READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Saturday: Hos 6:1-6; Ps. 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab; Lk 18:9-14
Sunday: Jos 5:9a, 10-12; Ps 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7; 2 Cor
5:17-21; Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
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THEOLOGY NOTE OF THE WEEK
- Fission
Fission is a copyist error in which the copyist incorrectly
divides one word into two words. An example of this would be
'nobody' being copied as 'no body' changing the meaning of word. In
the case of the biblical manuscripts, this error in copying would
create a textual variant which could be responsible for an apparent
contradiction in the text, which did not appear in the autograph.
- http://www.carm.org/f
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SAINT OF THE WEEK
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem
The crises that the Church faces today may seem minor when compared
with the threat posed by the Arian heresy, which denied the
divinity of Christ and almost overcame Christinity in the fourth
century. Cyril was to be caught up in the controversy, accused
(later) of Arianism by St. Jerome, and ultimately vindicated both
by the men of his own time and by being declared a Doctor of the
Church in 1822. Raised in Jerusalem, well-educated, especially in
the Scriptures, he was ordained a priest by the bishop of Jerusalem
and given the task of catechizing during Lent those preparing for
Baptism and during the Easter season the newly baptized. His
Catecheses remain valuable as examples of the ritual and theology
of the Church in the mid-fourth century.
There are conflicting reports about the circumstances of his
becoming bishop of Jerusalem. It is certain that he was validly
consecrated by bishops of the province. Since one of them was an
Arian, Acacius, it may have been expected that his "cooperation"
would follow. Conflict soon rose between Cyril and Acacius, bishop
of the rival nearby see of Caesarea. Cyril was summoned to a
council, accused of insubordination and of selling Church property
to relieve the poor. Probably, however, a theological difference
was also involved. He was condemned, driven from Jerusalem, and
later vindicated, not without some association and help of
Semi-Arians. Half his episcopate was spent in exile (his first
experience was repeated twice). He finally returned to find
Jerusalem torn with heresy, schism and strife, and wracked with
crime. Even St. Gregory of Nyssa, sent to help, left in despair.
They both went to the (second ecumenical) Council of
Constantinople, where the amended form of the Nicene Creed was
promulgated. Cyril accepted the word consubstantial (that is, of
Christ and the Father). Some said it was an act of repentance, but
the bishops of the Council praised him as a champion of orthodoxy
against the Arians. Though not friendly with the greatest defender
of orthodoxy against the Arians, Cyril may be counted among those
whom Athanasius called "brothers, who mean what we mean, and differ
only about the word [consubstantial]."
- http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1326
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
"Complicit: how greed and collusion made the credit crisis
unstoppable" by Mark Gilbert. Bloomberg Press, 2010.
-
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1576603466/ref=noism/christianspiritu/
We've all intuited that the latest financial crisis was caused by
greed for filthy lucre. The only question is, What was the
mechanism? Journalist Mark Gilbert sets out to provide the answer
in "Complicit: How Greed and Collusion Made the Credit Crisis
Unstoppable."
His point is that almost everyone was in on this, not least
individuals who had scraped together the down-payment on a house.
Banks didn't mind taking on these high-risk mortgages: they could
bundle the loans into securities and flip the risk to someone else.
Not only that, but securitization brought them the capital to make
even more of these dubious loans. And realtors, working on
percentages, had no objection to seeing ever more sales at ever
higher prices.
Bankers then packaged asset-backed securities and esoteric
derivatives into collateralized debt obligations, instruments so
complex that no one could realistically assess their riskiness.
Most people didn't even try. Instead they purchased risk
assessments from ratings agencies, who were happy to have this
extra source of revenue. Only later was it learned that the ratings
agencies' methodology had been no more sophisticated than assuming
that the future would be the same as the past. And banking
executives, pleased with their ever higher returns, had no interest
in shining a light on the murky area of risk management, to which
they paid only lip service.
Eventually, the accident-waiting-to-happen, happened. As the
housing bubble passed its peak, banks in London found it impossible
to assess the impairment in the value of their assets. Not knowing
how much cash they needed in reserve, they stopped lending
altogether. Panic set in. Customers lined up outside one British
bank to get their money back. In the United States, clients pulled
their money out of Lehman Brothers, which then went bankrupt. Only
tax dollars, issued under the notorious "too big to fail" doctrine,
kept more firms from failing.
Mark Gilbert ends his account of the crisis, which is illustrated
with telling charts, with some prescriptions for reform. What his
proposed systemic changes don't do, of course, is reform human
nature. The question is not if another bubble will happen, but when.
(Thanks to Derek at the shalomplace.org forums for this review.)
Make the Christian Spirituality Bookstore your starting point for
online shopping at Amazon.com. You can buy books, cds, videotapes,
software, appliances and many other products at discount prices.
As Amazon.com affiliate, we are paid a small fee for purchases
originating from our web site. Every little bit helps!
http://shalomplace.com/books/index.html
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- PERSONAL SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE -
Need a companion for the spiritual journey? We have several
wonderful people ready to help, using email and telephone
conferences to bridge the miles.
- Now providing -
Consultations: this option is best for short-term guidance
pertaining to a specific issue.
Spiritual Direction: ongoing relationship with a spiritual director
to become more attuned to God's presence in all of life.
See http://shalomplace.com/direction/
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SHALOM PLACE DISCUSSION BOARDS
A variety of topics are under discussion. Also, you can use the
Find tab to search the forum, or scroll through forum topics to
find one that interests you.
Could Jesus have sinned? - Christian Morality and Theology forum.
Bhagavan and oneness movement - Christian Morality and Theology
forum.
Health care reform - Religion and Politics forum.
Global warming - Religion and Culture forum.
Yoga and Body Work - Christian Spirituality Issues forum.
- http://shalomplace.org/eve/forums
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AFFILIATE WEB SITES (please give them a visit)
Temenos Catholic Worker: support for homeless youth in Polk Street
neighborhood, San Francisco
http://www.temenos.org/
Contemplative Ministries of the Pacific Northwest: teaching and
support on contemplative practice
http://www.prayeroftheheart.com
Heartland Center for Spirituality (retreat center in central
Kansas).
http://heartlandspirituality.org/index.html
Emanuella House of Prayer: a place for prayer and silence in
British Columbia
http://members.axion.net/~massf/
Serenity of the Mind: supportint those who served and who suffer
from PTSD.
http://serenityofthemind.com/default.html
The Ark: Providing a variety of scripture and lectionary study
resources.
http://www.theark1.com
Kyrie Places of Pilgrimmage and Renewal.
http://www.kyrie.com/places/index.htm
Contemplative Rudder: "In the midst of Consecrated Silence'
atmospherics ... a Rudder!
http://www.contemplativerudder.com/
Inner Explorations: a vast array of spirituality resources for the
mature Christian.
http://innerexplorations.com
The Sanctuary Foundation for Prayer: resources for spiritual growth.
http://fromholyground.org/index.htm
SeeScapes. Picturing the deeper dimensions of our spirituality.
http://www.seescapes.com
(Reach other people who have a similar interest in Christian
spirituality. Simply publish a link to Daily Spiritual Seed--
http://shalomplace.com/seed --on a prominent place on your web site
and we will reciprocate with a weekly link to your site in the
newsletter. Contact the Editor when you're ready to begin.)
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WEB SITE OF THE WEEK
Spiritual Gifts Inventory
- http://www.kodachrome.org/spiritgift/
Veoh
- http://veoh.com/
This site is similar to hulu.com in that it provides access to a
wide variety of movies and tv shows online. One signficant
difference is that you can also download these to your computer and
view them with the free veoh web player. I was searching for
something on St. Therese Lisieux and found it here -- the
full-length movie in English, albeit with Spanish captions. There
are also a few episodes of Rawhide, which my wife and I enjoy
watching. Now you tell me what Therese and Rawhide have in common?
;-)
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JOKE OF THE WEEK
- The Donation
Father O'Malley answers the phone ..."Top of the morning to you!"
"Hello, is this Father O'Malley?"
"It is."
"This is the IRS. Can you help us?"
"I can."
"Do you know a Ted Houlihan?"
"I do."
"Is he a member of your congregation?"
"He is."
"Did he donate $10,000 to the church?"
"He will."
( Thanks, Mark)
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- For more info on tax-deductible donations, see
http://shalomplace.com/seed/donations.html.
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