Weekend Edition - A Daily Spiritual Seed
Published: Fri, 01/06/12
A Daily Spiritual Seed
Weekend Edition:
January 6-8, 2012
| Contents: - Weekend Scripture Readings - Spiritual Guidance - Discussion Board highlights - Affiliate Web Sites - Theology Note of the Week - Spiritual Growth Resources. - Book of the Week - Saint of the Week - Joke of the Week - Web Resource of the Week - - - Sunday: Is 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12 R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.  O God, with your judgment endow the
king,and with your justice, the king's son; He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him. For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. - - - Amazon
Gift Cards - - - Spiritual Guidance Contemplative
Rudder: "In the midst of Consecrated Silence'
atmospherics ... a Rudder! - - - Theology Note of the
Week Monism is the view that there is only one basic and fundamental reality, that all existence is this one reality even though we perceive different aspects of this reality. It is the idea that all that exists is of one substance. |
Featured Spiritual
Growth Resources
Shalom Place Worksheets and Booklets - http://shalomplace.com/res Here you will find a variety of short resources on spiritual living, including a number of one-page handouts that get to the point and stay with it. Almost all are free, though a donation to support our ministry is always welcomed. - Be sure to click the link to "short, miscellaneous reflections" to access the worksheets. - - - Book (movie, CD) of the Week Blind Spot, War and Christian Identity, by Dorothy Garrity Ranaghan. New City Press, 2011. - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565483952/ref=noism/christianspiritu/  This book can be
called a "wake up call" for Christians of all denominations for it
offers teaching on a very complex topic, war and violence. The author
presents her thoughts in a very straightforward and thought-provoking
manner and makes her readers face the reality of her topic. Her opening
statement is "We must choose sides now; not between nations at war but
between the world's way and Christ's way."In her opening chapter on the Civil War, Ranaghan says "They carried the same Bible. They believed in the same God. One side fought for God's glory; the other for His Kingdom on Earth. But for the duration of the war, God refused to take sides." She wonders if God takes sides in a war. She ponders the question of whether Christians should take up arms to smite the enemy and should other Christians be the enemy? She believes that many Christians have a blind spot concerning the culture of war, and should be seeking a healing in their dilemma. Ranaghan urges her readers to re-examine the Christian response in modern warfare. Past decisions or viewpoints on war in general need to be set aside because the nuclear option changes the nature of the conversation. She sees that many Christians now look more like broken mirrors which distort the image of Christ. Monika Hellwig questioned how Christians can claim to understand the nature, power, and purpose of the Eucharist while they engage in war, especially in poor countries. "The Eucharist of Christian community celebrates the liberating power of God for these very people, and that challenges in a stark and penetrating way any decision of a Christian people to declare war against another nation." The book ends with a ray of hope coming from a Christian who experienced a personal healing in one of her eyes. She wants her book to cause discomfort and lead to a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit who comes to "renew the face of the earth". Make the Christian Spirituality Bookstore your starting point for online shopping at Amazon.com. You can buy books, cds, videotapes, software, appliances and many other products at discount prices. As Amazon.com affiliate, we are paid a small fee for purchases originating from our web site. Every little bit helps! http://shalomplace.com/books/index.html - - - Saint of the Week - http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1258 St. Marguerite Bourgeoys (1620-1700): January 12 
"God closes a door and then opens a window," people sometimes say when
dealing with their own disappointment or someone else's. That was
certainly true in Marguerite's case. Children from European as well as
Native American backgrounds in seventeenth-century Canada benefited
from her great zeal and unshakable trust in God's providence.Born the sixth of 12 children in Troyes, France, Marguerite at the age of 20 believed that she was called to religious life. Her applications to the Carmelites and Poor Clares were unsuccessful. A priest friend suggested that perhaps God had other plans for her. In 1654, the governor of the French settlement in Canada visited his sister, an Augustinian canoness in Troyes. Marguerite belonged to a sodality connected to that convent. The governor invited her to come to Canada and start a school in Ville-Marie (eventually the city of Montreal). When she arrived, the colony numbered 200 people with a hospital and a Jesuit mission chapel. Soon after starting a school, she realized her need for coworkers. Returning to Troyes, she recruited a friend, Catherine Crolo, and two other young women. In 1667 they added classes at their school for Indian children. A second trip to France three years later resulted in six more young women and a letter from King Louis XIV, authorizing the school. The Congregation of Notre Dame was established in 1676 but its members did not make formal religious profession until 1698 when their Rule and constitutions were approved. Marguerite established a school for Indian girls in Montreal. At the age of 69, she walked from Montreal to Quebec in response to the bishop's request to establish a community of her sisters in that city. By the time she died, she was referred to as the "Mother of the Colony." Marguerite was canonized in 1982. - - - Joke of the Week A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. 1. Don't change horses . . . until they stop running. 2. Strike while the . . . bug is close. 3. It's always darkest before . . . Daylight Saving Time. 4. Never underestimate the power of . . . termites. 5. You can lead a horse to water but . . . how? 6. Don't bite the hand that . . . looks dirty. 7. No news is . . . impossible. 8. A miss is as good as a . . . Mr. 9. You can't teach an old dog . . . new math. 10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll . . . stink in the morning. 11. Love all, trust . . . me. 12. The pen is mightier than the . . . pigs. 13. An idle mind is . . . the best way to relax. - thanks, Dan - - - Web
Resource of the Week
Historical Jesus Theories - http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html "The purpose of this web page is to explain and explore some of the theories offered up by contemporary scholars on the historical Jesus and the origins of the Christian religion. Issues include the nature of the historical Jesus, the nature of the early Christian documents, and the origins of the Christian faith in a risen Jesus Christ. An attempt has been made to include historical Jesus theories across the spectrum from Marcus Borg to N.T. Wright and to describe these historical Jesus theories in an accurate and concise way.: - from the web site (Thanks, Derek, for bringing this to our attention. Methinks Jesus was everything that all of these authors describe! |
|