Message of 6-7-10
Published: Sat, 06/05/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Let God operate in thee; hand the work over to Him and do not
disquiet thyself as to whether or no He is working with nature or
above nature, for His are both nature and grace.
- Meister Eckhart (1260-1327)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
1 Kgs 17:1-6; Ps 121:1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; Mt 5:1-12
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
Indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
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REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"He began to teach them, saying: 'Blessed are ...'"
We love the beatitudes. We have a real affinity with the ones Jesus
proclaims to be blessed. Even if we are not materially poor, we
have known utter reliance upon God -- the spirit of poverty -- in
illness, loneliness, the shame and guilt of sin, perhaps the losses
of aging. Likewise, we've known grief and humility. We've longed
for justice, felt compassion, sought purity; we have been the
person who makes peace. But even as the beatitudes console us,
they challenge us. They are at once about us now and about who we
have yet to become as we journey toward the kingdom, learning more
and more to stand in solidarity with the little ones of this world.
"For the blessings of God, we pray."
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THE ADORNMENT OF THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE
by St. John of Rusybroeck (1293-1381)
By inward and ghostly temperance and sobriety a man preserves
firmness and constancy of faith, purity of intelligence, that
tranquillity of reason necessary to the comprehension of truth, an
impulse towards all virtues according to the will of God, peace of
heart, and serenity of conscience. And herewith he possesses an
enduring peace, in God and in himself.
- Chapter 21: Of Temperance and Sobriety
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LECTIO DIVINA PROCESS
- http://heartlandspirituality.org/vocations/prayer.html
First, you choose a passage of Scripture that you will pray with.
It might be the Gospel reading used in the liturgy of the day, or
anything else you want. The process then follows these steps:
* Reading (lectio) After settling in and quieting yourself,
read the passage slowly, prayerfully. Just let it sink in for a
minute or two, then read it a second time, paying closer attention
to the words or phrases that speak to you.
* Reflecting (meditatio) What do you hear God saying to you in
this passage? What words or phrases caught your attention?
* Responding (oratio) What do you want to say to God in
response to what you've heard? Here you can also voice your prayers
of petition, remorse, thanksgiving, praise, and so forth. If you
sense God speaking to you in your thoughts, feelings or
imagination, you respond as you would in any conversation.
* Resting (contemplatio) If, at any time, you feel drawn to
simply rest in the awareness of God's loving presence, you let
yourself do so. Remain in loving silence as long as you feel
comfortable, perhaps using a simple word or phrase from the
Scripture passage to help deepen your openness to rest in God.
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