Message of 5-18-10
Published: Mon, 05/10/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Many things seem to be good and yet are not, because they be not
done with a good mind and intention; and therefore our Saviour
saith in the Gospel, "If thy eye has naught, all thy body shall be
dark." For when the intention is wicked, all the work that follows
is naught, although it seemed to be never so good.
- St. Gregory the Great (540?-604), "The Dialogues of Saint
Gregory"
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 20:17-27; Ps 68:10-11, 20-21; Jn 17:1-11a
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished;
Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
What is eternal life? It is more than simply endless time. Science
and medicine today looks for ways to extend the duration of life;
but that doesn't necessarily make life better for us here. Eternal
life is qualitative more than quantitative. To have eternal life is
to have the life of God within us. When we possess eternal life we
experience here and now something of God's majesty, his peace, joy
and love and the holiness which characterizes the life of God.
Jesus also speaks of the knowledge of God. Jesus tells his
disciples that they can know the only true God. Knowledge of God is
not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know
God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it
distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God
as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally
know God as our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In
Jesus we see the perfect love of God - a God who cares intensely
and who yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of
laying down his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the
revelation of God - a God who loves us completely, unconditionally
and perfectly. Do you seek unity of heart, mind and will with God
and unity of love and peace with your neighbor?
"If only I possessed the grace, good Jesus, to be utterly at one
with you! Amidst all the variety of worldly things around me, Lord,
the only thing I crave is unity with you. You are all my soul
needs. Unite, dear friend of my heart, this unique little soul of
mine to your perfect goodness. You are all mine; when shall I be
yours? Lord Jesus, my beloved, be the magnet of my heart; clasp,
press, unite me for ever to your sacred heart. You have made me
for yourself; make me one with you. Absorb this tiny drop of life
into the ocean of goodness whence it came." (Prayer of Francis de
Sales, 1567-1622)
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Ignatian Method)
A. Preparation: acts of faith and reverence in the presence of God;
asking grace of a good meditation; petition for specific graces
sought in meditation.
B. Reading the Scriptures slowly, prayerfully.
C. Exercise of the memory, imagination, and intellect:
consideration of the material.. What practical applications are
suggested?
D. Expression of feelings and sentiments awakened in meditation.
Conversation with God.
E. Exercise of will and imagination in making resolutions. Prayer
for grace to fulfill resolutions.
F. Vocal prayer (Our Father, Hail Mary, other prayers).
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PRINCIPLES OF EAST-WEST DIALOGUE
by James and Tyra Arraj (all rights reserved)
www.innerexplorations.com
(Editor's note: the Arraj's have given permission to reprint this
article, which can be found along with many other related topices
on their website.)
There are two fundamental principles that Christians need to keep
in mind when looking at the possibility of East-West Contemplative
dialogue.
First Principle: the universal call to union with God (part one).
God wishes to draw all women and men to share in the divine life of
grace. Our hearts are made for this goal, and ceaselessly long for
it and try to achieve it. Naturally this is a Christian belief,
which our dialogue partners might not explicitly share. But it is a
vital principle from the Christian side because it asserts the
fundamental equality of the people on both sides of the dialogue.
Christians must presume that their dialogue partners share in the
life of grace and grow in it by their good actions. They cannot
imagine that they, themselves, are actually closer to God, or
somehow more pleasing in God's sight in view of their explicit
profession of Christian beliefs.
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