Message of 6-1-10
Published: Mon, 05/31/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Instead of allowing yourself to be so unhappy, just let your love
grow as God wants it to grow. Seek goodness in others. Love more
persons more--love them more impersonally, more unselfishly, without
thought of return. The return, never fear, will take care of itself.
... Henry Drummond (1851-1897)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
2 Pt 3:12-15a, 17-18; Ps 90:2, 3-4, 10, 14 and 16; Mk 12:13-17
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Before the mountains were begotten
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, "Return, O children of men."
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
Seventy is the sum of our years,
or eighty, if we are strong,
And most of them are fruitless toil,
for they pass quickly and we drift away.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
We rightfully belong, not to ourselves, but to God who created us
and redeemed us in the precious blood of his Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul the Apostle says that we
are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God (Romans
12:1). Do you acknowledge that your life belongs to God and not to
yourself? And do you give to God what rightfully belongs to Him?
"Lord, because you have made me, I owe you the whole of my love;
because you have redeemed me, I owe you the whole of myself;
because you have promised so much, I owe you all my being.
Moreover, I owe you as much more love than myself as you are
greater than I, for whom you gave yourself and to whom you promised
yourself. I pray you, Lord, make me taste by love what I taste by
knowledge; let me know by love what I know by understanding. I owe
you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I
cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the
fullness of love. I am wholly yours by creation; make me all
yours, too, in love." (prayer of Anselm, 1033-1109)
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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 . . .
(presented in previous messages).
Second Principle: making necessary distinctions (part one)
The first principle (the universal call to union with God) cannot
be taken out of its concrete existential realm and be automatically
translated into some sort of many paths, one reality theory of
irreducible pluralism in which what we believe doesn't really
matter. Even though all women and men are destined to the same goal
and are concretely achieving that goal according to the means they
have available to them, this does not mean that all doctrinal
systems or spiritual paths are equivalent. A doctrine of the
non-existence of the personal self, or the non-existence of God, is
not automatically equivalent to a doctrine of the existence of the
self and God. The two may be equivalent if we dig deep enough, but
we have to dig in order to find out. Or they may point to different
experiences based on different facets of reality, or one or both of
them may be partially wrong or poorly formulated. What we believe
and how we articulate those beliefs is important.
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