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As long as I am content to know that He is infinitely greater than I, and that I cannot know Him unless He shows Himself to me, I will have
Peace, and He will be near me and in me, and I
will rest in Him.
- Thomas Merton (20th C.), Thoughts in Solitude
(Can't find your way to God? Let God find you instead. Let the Spirit take the initiative in
leading your prayer and actions through the day.)
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Sg 2:8-14; Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21; Lk 1:39-45 R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song. Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust. USCCB Lectionary
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Just imagine the young girl Mary skipping, running, flying, leaping "like a gazelle" through the hill country on her way to be with Elizabeth whose baby is due. Elizabeth's time of joyful expectancy nears fulfillment. Elizabeth has waited many long years for her promised child. Mary, young and newly pregnant is full of Love and joyful expectations. She has only months not years to wait for her fulfillment. Imagine their greeting, tears of joy and anticipation running down their cheeks. Each one reaching for the other while awkwardly maneuvering their arms around Elizabeth's swollen belly. Their mutual longing is gratified. They are overcome with delight.
The Love Mary carries blesses Elizabeth who is "filled with the Holy Spirit". Elizabeth cannot suppress the thrill she feels "... the moment the sound of your (Mary) greeting reached my ears (my) infant (John) leaped for joy". Elizabeth reverently sings the praises of Mary and the infant (Jesus) she carries. "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." In their sisterly confidences there is unbridled joy in the midst of longing and waiting. They live in expectation for the fulfillment of their confinements and for the fulfillment of the Promise.
The love song and the love story are lived out experiences of joy, longing, desire, waiting and fulfillment . The Lover sings, "...the rains are over and gone... The flowers appear on the earth ...and the song of the dove is heard in our land." In the love story, Mary's greeting, the infant's leaping and Elizabeth's song proclaim the certainty of the promise. - by Joan Blandin Howard Creighton Online Ministries
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On Cleaving to God, by St. Albert the Great
Certainly if we are to come directly, safely and nakedly to our Lord God without hindrance, freely and peacefully, as explained above, and be securely joined to him with even mind in prosperity or adversity, whether in life or in death, then our job is to commit everything unhesitatingly and resolutely, in general and individually, to his unquestionable and infallible providence. - Chapter 16. How God's providence includes everything.
Paperback (Kindle edition available)
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