Message of 6-3-10
Published: Mon, 05/31/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
We have forgotten that evil is infectious, as infectious as
small-pox; and we do not perceive that if we allow whole
departments of our life to become purely secular, and to create and
maintain moral or immoral standards on their own, in time the whole
of life is bound to become corrupt.
... G. A. Studdert Kennedy (1883-1929), "The Wicket Gate"
[What part(s) of your life have you "kept" to yourself, away from
God's providence?]
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
2 Tm 2:8-15; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14; Mk 12: 28-34
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
from "Praying the Daily Gospels," by Philip St. Romain:
- http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=6614
- Mark 12:28-34 (The two great commandments)
The two great religious questions are: What kind of God is God? and
What does God expect of human beings? Jesus answers these questions
in today's reading by emphasizing the importance of love.
- Write a short statement about what it means to love God with all
your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Do these reflections describe
your love of God?
- Augustine maintained that loving and praising God is the
greatest joy a human being can experience. Do you agree?
- Pray for the grace to love God more deeply
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Imitation of Christ," by Thomas A. Kempis
The Disciple
O LORD, my God, Who created me to Your own image and likeness,
grant
me this grace which You have shown to be so great and necessary
for
salvation, that I may overcome my very evil nature that is
drawing me
to sin and perdition. For I feel in my flesh the law of sin
contradicting the law of my mind and leading me captive to serve
sensuality in many things. I cannot resist the passions thereof
unless
Your most holy grace warmly infused into my heart assist me.
There is need of Your grace, and of great grace, in order to
overcome
a nature prone to evil from youth. For through the first man,
Adam,
nature is fallen and weakened by sin, and the punishment of that
stain
has fallen upon all mankind. Thus nature itself, which You
created
good and right, is considered a symbol of vice and the weakness
of
corrupted nature, because when left to itself it tends toward
evil and
to baser things. The little strength remaining in it is like a
spark
hidden in ashes. That strength is natural reason which,
surrounded by
thick darkness, still has the power of judging good and evil, of
seeing the difference between true and false, though it is not
able to
fulfill all that it approves and does not enjoy the full light of
truth or soundness of affection.
- chapter 55
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Carmelite Method)
A. Introduction: settling in, relaxing in awareness of God's
presence.
B. Reading the text slowly, prayerfully.
C. Meditation: imaginative representation of the material;
reflection
on the meaning of the material and its application to one's life.
D. Affective prayer: conversation with God, attentive to sharing
feelings awakened in meditation. Prayer of petition, thanksgiving,
remorse.
E. Resting in God in silent loving awareness, if moved to do so.
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