Message of 4-30-10
Published: Sat, 04/24/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and poverty, and solitude,
where everything I touch is turned into prayer: where the sky is my
prayer, the birds are my prayers, the wind in the trees is my
prayer, for God is all in all.
- Thomas Merton
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11ab; Jn 14:1-6
R. You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.
"I myself have set up my king
on Zion, my holy mountain."
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
The LORD said to me, "You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you."
"Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall rule them with an iron rod;
you shall shatter them like an earthen dish."
And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
. . . Thomas is apparently the disciple who wants to make sure that
everything is in order before being convinced. Before being sure
that Jesus actually rose, he wanted to touch his hands and sides.
Then, even in the face of Jesus's soothing words that the Father's
house has many rooms and that Jesus will come back to guide the
disciples home, this isn't good enough for Thomas; he wants to know
exactly where Jesus is going for fear that Thomas will get left
behind. . .
We all have gifts and we all fail to use them at various points in
our lives. Maybe that makes us all a little bit like Thomas. But
look how much Jesus loved Thomas, because rather than rebuking him
Jesus responds with one of the most loving passages in the Gospels:
""I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me."
If Jesus was there for Thomas he's here for us now.
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SPIRITUAL READING
- Fenelon's "Maxims of the Saints"
One of the clearest and best established maxims of holiness is,
that the holy soul, when arrived at the second state mentioned,
ceases to have desires for anything out of the will of God. The
holy soul, when it is really in the state called the state of
non-desire, may, nevertheless, desire everything in relation to the
correction of its imperfections and weaknesses, its perseverance in
its religious state, and its ultimate salvation, which it has
reason to know from the Scriptures, or in any other way, that God
desires. It may also desire all temporal good, houses and lands,
food and clothing, friends and books, and exemption from physical
suffering, and anything else, so far and only so far, as it has
reason to think that such desire is coincident with the Divine
desire. The holy soul not only desires particular things,
sanctioned by the known will of God; but also the fulfillment of
His will in all respects, unknown as well as known. Being in
faith, it commits itself to God in darkness as well as in light.
Its non-desire is simply its not desiring anything out of God.
- Sixth Article
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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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