Weekend Edition - A Daily Spiritual Seed
Published: Fri, 07/27/12
A Daily Spiritual Seed
Weekend Edition: July
27-29, 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: 2 Kgs 4:42-44; Ps 145:10-11, 15-18; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15 R. (cf. 16) The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.  Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,and let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might. The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. - - - Amazon
Gift Cards - - - Spiritual Guidance - see http://shalomplace.org/eve/forums
for these and hundreds of other
discussions. Theology Note of the
Week Oracles are the divine revelations given to God's people. God's method of communicating these oracles varied from dreams and visions (Num. 12:6-8), to wisdom (Prov. 30:1), and even the Urim and Thummim (Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 14:37). |
Featured Spiritual
Growth Resources
 SpiritLife* Spiritual Enrichment * Spiritual Director Formation (optional) Classes begin August 25, 2012 Heartland Center for Spirituality. Great Bend, KS See http://heartlandspirituality.org/spiritlife Online Option (whole course or individual classes) - - - Book (movie, CD) of the Week The Mastery of Love: A Practical Guide to the Art of Relationship, by Don Miguel Ruiz. Amber-Allen Publishing Com. 1999. - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1878424440/ref=noism/christianspiritu/ - Paperback and Kindle editions available  The mystery of love? Have
you often wondered where it lies? Ruiz says it can only come from
you and is the result of your own love. He maintains that no one can
"make you happy" and that happiness only happens when one loves. He
says there are many fear-based beliefs and assumptions that undermine
love and lead to suffering and drama in relationships. In this
book, he offers ways to heal these wounds and recover freedom and a
spirit of playfulness that is a vital part of loving relationships. The book begins with a story of a man who was intent on making a banquet for a person he considered a great personage, called the Master. He purchased the best ingredients and went to great pains to prepare a meal fit for a king. Who arrived? A starving woman, followed by a wandering stranger from the desert, followed by a child who was freezing in the cold. Each time the man shared the best he had as he wondered why the Master had not arrived. He slept well and dreamed that the Master finally arrived. He asked the Master why he didn't come earlier and the Master replied, "I did. I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was cold and you gave me clothes." When the man awake, he realized that the Master loved him so much that he came to let him know that the Master lives in everyone. This book revolves around these themes: a) The war of control that destroys relationships b) Why we hunt for love in others and how to capture the love inside us c) How to finally accept and forgive ourselves and others. Prayer for self-love Today, Creator of the Universe, we ask that you help us to accept ourselves just the way we are, without judgment. Help us to accept our mind the way it is, with all our emotions, our hopes and dreams, our personality, our unique way of being. Help us to accept our body just the way it is, with all its beauty and perfection. Let the love we have for ourselves be so strong that we never again reject ourselves or sabotage our happiness, freedom, and love. (Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review.) 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=1093 - St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556): July 31  The founder of the Jesuits was
on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannon ball shattered
his leg. Because there were no books of romance on hand during his
convalescence, Ignatius whiled away the time reading a life of Christ
and lives of the saints. His conscience was deeply touched, and a long,
painful turning to Christ began. Having seen the Mother of God in a
vision, he made a pilgrimage to her shrine at Montserrat (near
Barcelona). He remained for almost a year at nearby Manresa, sometimes
with the Dominicans, sometimes in a pauper's hospice, often in a cave
in the hills praying. After a period of great peace of mind, he went
through a harrowing trial of scruples. There was no comfort in
anything--prayer, fasting, sacraments, penance. At length, his peace of
mind returned.It was during this year of conversion that Ignatius began to write down material that later became his greatest work, the Spiritual Exercises. He finally achieved his purpose of going to the Holy Land, but could not remain, as he planned, because of the hostility of the Turks. He spent the next 11 years in various European universities, studying with great difficulty, beginning almost as a child. Like many others, his orthodoxy was questioned; Ignatius was twice jailed for brief periods. In 1534, at the age of 43, he and six others (one of whom was St. Francis Xavier) vowed to live in poverty and chastity and to go to the Holy Land. If this became impossible, they vowed to offer themselves to the apostolic service of the pope. The latter became the only choice. Four years later Ignatius made the association permanent. The new Society of Jesus was approved by Paul III, and Ignatius was elected to serve as the first general. When companions were sent on various missions by the pope, Ignatius remained in Rome, consolidating the new venture, but still finding time to found homes for orphans, catechumens and penitents. He founded the Roman College, intended to be the model of all other colleges of the Society. Ignatius was a true mystic. He centered his spiritual life on the essential foundations of Christianity--the Trinity, Christ, the Eucharist. His spirituality is expressed in the Jesuit motto, ad majorem Dei gloriam--"for the greater glory of God." In his concept, obedience was to be the prominent virtue, to assure the effectiveness and mobility of his men. All activity was to be guided by a true love of the Church and unconditional obedience to the Holy Father, for which reason all professed members took a fourth vow to go wherever the pope should send them for the salvation of souls. - - - Joke of the Week - Skydiving... The skydiving instructor was going through the question and answer period with his new students when one of them asked the usual question always asked: "If our chute doesn't open; and the reserve doesn't open, how long would we have till we hit the ground?" The jump master looked at him and in perfect deadpan answered: "The rest of your life." - - - Web
Resource of the Week
Institute for Contemplative Living - http://www.institute-contemplativeliving.org/index.html The Institute for Contemplative Living (the ICL) is a site for discovery, study, exploration, and creative engagement with the contemplative tradition for active and engaged people who yearn for spiritual depth in their day-to-day lives. - from the home page Emphasized throughout the site is "tactical contemplation," which is described as "a set of contemplative practices that serves as a resource from which we can draw to respond contemplatively to the realities and contingencies of daily, active living." |
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