Message of 6-11-10
Published: Sat, 06/05/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
The Present is the point at which Time touches Eternity. Of the
present moment, and of it only, humans have an experience analogous
to the experience which [God] has of reality as a whole; in it
alone, freedom and actuality are offered them. He would therefore
have them continually concerned either with Eternity (which means
being concerned with Him) or with the Present--either meditating on
their eternal union with, or separation from, Himself; or else
obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross,
receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure.
- C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), "The Screwtape Letters"
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Ez 34:11-16; Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6; Rom 5:5b-11
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
The Gospel reading is the story of the shepherd who leaves the
ninety-nine to find the lost sheep. What a beautiful picture! The
shepherd searches for the lost until he finds it, puts it on his
shoulders with great joy, carries it home, and then throws a party
for his friends and neighbors. Do I really feel that way about the
people in our world who seem to have no moral compass, no hope for
the future, no knowledge of the love God has for them, who can only
be described as lost? When was the last time I rejoiced because the
lost had been found? Do I care about the lost? Do I believe that
anybody actually is lost, that anyone might be a sinner who needs
to repent? Could this partially explain the lack of joy that we
sometimes experience as disciples of Jesus? Perhaps it is a thing
of the past to believe that people are lost and need to repent. If,
in fact, people are lost, won't the love of God within us cause us
to seek them even as the Good Shepherd sought us?
- by George Butterfield
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SPIRITUAL READING
- Fenelon's "Maxims of the Saints"
The state of abandonment, or entire self-renunciation, is generally
attended, and perhaps we may say, carried out and perfected, by
temptations more or less severe. We cannot well know, whether we
have renounced ourselves, except by being tried on those very
points to which our self-renunciation, either real or supposed,
relates. One of the severest inward trials is that by which we are
taken off from all inward sensible supports, and are made to live
and walk by faith alone. Pious and holy men who have been the
subjects of inward crucifixion, often refer to the trials which
have been experienced by them. They sometimes speak of them as a
sort of inward and terrible purgatory. "Only mad and wicked men,"
says Cardinal Bona, "will deny the existence of these remarkable
experiences, attested as they are by men of the most venerable
virtue, who speak only of what they have known in themselves."
Trials are not always of the same duration. The more cheerfully
and faithfully we give ourselves to God, to be smitten in any and
all of our idols, whenever and wherever He chooses, the shorter
will be the work. God makes us to suffer no longer than He sees to
be necessary for us.
- Eighth 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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