Message of the Day
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Grant me, O Lord, to know what I ought to know, to love what I ought to love, to praise what delights Thee most, to value what is precious in Thy sight, to hate what is offensive to Thee. Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of my eyes, nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant people; but to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual, and above all, always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Thy will. - Thomas a Kempis
(Suggestion: Go through this prayer slowly, meditatively, pausing to ask God's help for specific issues that come to mind as you do so.)
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Readings of the Day
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IS 7:10-14; 8:10; PS 40:7-8A, 8B-9, 10, 11; LK 1:26-38 R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
Your justice I kept not hid within my heart;
your faithfulness and your salvation I have spoken of;
I have made no secret of your kindness and your truth
in the vast assembly.
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Gospel
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The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Today we celebrate the Annunciation, the message of Gabriel to Mary and her answer, "May it be done to me according to your word." The power of these words redirected the path of humanity. By Jesus' teaching and his example, we came to believe that we are all brothers and sisters of the same Father and we have responsibilities to care for all in our family. These words to Mary are also addressed to us through her. We are to be bearers of Christ in our lives and in our interactions with all God's creation. Lord, may we accept your will, we pray.
- by Portia Clark
My Daily Bread
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Spiritual Reading
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The Sparkling Stone, by St. John of Rusybroeck (1293-1381) If, further, this good person would become an inward and spiritual man, he needs must have three further things. The first is a heart unencumbered with images; the second is spiritual freedom in his desires, the third is the feeling of inward union with God. [78]
Now let every one who thinks himself to be ghostly observe himself. He who would have a heart void of images may not possess anything with affection, nor may he cling to any one, or have intercourse with him with attachment of the will; for all intercourse and all affection which do not aim purely at the honour of God bring images into a man's¸ heart, since they are born, not of God, but of the flesh. And so if a man would become spiritual, he must forsake all fleshly lusts and loves and must cleave with longing and love to God alone, and thus possess Him. And through this, all imaginations and all inordinate love towards creatures are cast out. And this loving possession of God makes a man inwardly free from ungodly images; for God is a Spirit, of Whom no one can make to himself a true image. Certainly in this exercise a man should lay hold of good images to help him; such as the Passion of our Lord and all those things that may stir him to greater devotion. But in the possession of God, the man must sink down to that imageless Nudity which is God; and this is the first condition, and the foundation, of a spiritual life.
The second condition is inward freedom. Through this, the man should be able to raise himself towards God in all inward exercises, free from images and encumbrances; that is, in thanksgiving and praise, in worship, in devout prayer and fervent love, and in all those things that may be done by longing and love with the help of the grace of God and through inward zeal in all spiritual exercises.
Through this inward exercise, he reaches the third state; which is that he feels a spiritual union with God. Whosoever then has, in his inward exercise, an imageless and free ascent unto his God, and means nought else but the glory of God, must taste of the goodness of God; and he must feel from within a true union with God. And in this union, the inward and spiritual life is made perfect; for in this union, the desirous power is perpetually enticed anew and stirred to new inward activity. And by each act, the spirit rises upwards to a new union. And so activity and union perpetually renew themselves; and this perpetual renewal in activity and in union is a spiritual life. And so you are now able to see how a man becomes good through the moral virtues and an upright intention; and how he may become spiritual through the inward virtues and union with God. But without these said points, he can neither be good nor spiritual.
- Chapter Two: "Through Three Things A Person Becomes Inward"
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