Message of 8-10-12
Published: Fri, 08/10/12
A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
Message of the Day
Were you to simply remain in God's presence, that would be a great help to you, supporting you in your troubles and helping you to bear them patiently. Be sure that God is more ready than ever to welcome you into his arms, and that as your distress increases so does his mercy towards you increase and abound."
- St. John Baptist de La Salle -
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Lectionary Readings of the Day
http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
2 Cor 9:6-10; Ps 112:1-9; Jn 12:24-26
R. (5) Blessed the one who is gracious and lends to those in need.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear
till he looks down upon his foes.
Lavishly he gives to the poor,
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
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Reflection on the Scriptures
- http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Paul quotes today's Psalm in this letter to the Corinthian community. He's encouraging them to generosity, something we pretty much take for granted - even when perhaps we're not all that generous ourselves. Things were different in the Mediterranean world. The Romans viewed mercy as a weakness, not a virtue, and in the Middle East, relationships were rigidly reciprocal. I do something for you; you owe me something in return. True generosity (anonymous and without payback) is not a cultural value in Paul's world.
Paul is concerned with a collection for the poor of Jerusalem, who could not possibly repay a Corinthian gift. It was, in a sense, a prophetic act - manifesting how God sees the running of things, not how human societies might organize their relationships. There can be little doubt that the Hebrew Bible had advocated making provisions for the poor (today's Psalm is but one instance), but the prevailing culture had nevertheless established reciprocity as its organizing principle. That's why Jesus had to tell the Pharisees, that, when inviting people to a dinner, they should invite those who couldn't repay them (Luke 14:12-14).
- by Robert P. Heany
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Spiritual Reading
On Cleaving to God
by St. Albert the Great
Now there is no one who approaches God with a true and upright heart who is not tested by hardships and temptations. So in all these temptations see to it that even if you feel them, you do not consent to them, but bear them patiently and calmly with humility and long suffering. Even if they are blasphemies and sordid, hold firmly on to this fact in everything, that you can do nothing better or more effective against them than to consider all this sort of fantasy as a nothing. Even if they are the most vile, sordid and horrible blasphemies, simply take no notice of them, count them as nothing and despise them. Don't look on them as yours or allow yourself to make them a matter of conscience. The enemy will certainly take flight if you treat him and his company with contempt in this way. He is very proud and cannot bear to be despised and spurned. So the best remedy is to completely ignore all such temptations, like flies flying around in front of your eyes against your will.
- Chapter 11. How one should resist temptations and bear trials.
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