Message of 9-14-12
Published: Fri, 09/14/12
A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
Message of the Day
Those who imagine they can attain to holiness by any wisdom or strength of their own will find themselves after many labours, and struggles, and wary efforts, only the farther from possessing it, and in proportion to their certainty that they of themselves have gained it.
- Bl. John of Avila -
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Lectionary Readings of the Day
http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
Nm 21:4b-9; Ps 78:1bc-2, 34-35, 36-37, 38; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17
R. (see 7b) Do not forget the works of the Lord!
Hearken, my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable,
I will utter mysteries from of old.
While he slew them they sought him
and inquired after God again,
Remembering that God was their rock
and the Most High God, their redeemer.
But they flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues,
Though their hearts were not steadfast toward him,
nor were they faithful to his covenant.
But he, being merciful, forgave their sin
and destroyed them not;
Often he turned back his anger
and let none of his wrath be roused.
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Reflection on the Scriptures
- http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
Today is the feast of the exaltation of the holy cross, in which we recognize the cross as the instrument of our salvation. The words of a song we sing on Good Friday resonate through my mind as I reflect on these passages - "Behold, behold, the wood of the Cross, on which is hung our salvation. Oh come, let us adore."
The first reading tells a familiar story of human frailty. "With their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained...." Often we set out on our daily adventures filled with expectations and hope, only to find barriers have been erected to spoil our plans. Life is hard sometimes. Humans are pretty good at adapting and working around these problems that inevitably come our way. But sometimes we lose our nobility and blow a gasket. That can happen more easily when we are tired and hungry. Our bodies can let us down, and many times perhaps all we need is a little nap and some food and drink to bring us back to our senses. And if you can just have a friend to encourage you along the way, it is much easier to be patient and bear up under adversity on the journey. . .
May God help us to get the rest and food we need, and to have friends to encourage us along the way so that we may persevere instead of grumbling. And may He also open our eyes to see and rejoice in the salvation He has brought for us. "Come, let us adore."
- by Edward Morse
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Spiritual Reading
On Cleaving to God
by St. Albert the Great
For the nature of love is of a unitive and transforming power which transforms the lover into what he loves, or alternatively, makes the lover one with the other, and vice versa, in so far as is possible. This is manifest in the first place with regard to the mental powers, depending on how much the beloved is in the lover, in other words depending on how sweetly and delightfully the beloved is recalled in the mind of the lover, and in direct proportion, that is, with how much the lover strives to grasp all the things that relate to the beloved not just superficially but intimately, and to enter, as it were, into his innermost secrets. It is also manifest with regard to the emotional and affective powers when the beloved is said to be in the lover, in other words when the desire to please the beloved is found in the will and established within by the happy enjoyment of him.
- Chapter 12. How powerful the love of God is.
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