Christian love is the only kind of love in which there is no rivalry, no jealousy. There is jealousy among the lovers of art; there is jealousy among the lovers of song; there is jealousy among the lovers of beauty. The glory of natural love is its monopoly, its power to say, 'It is mine.' But the glory of Christian love is its refusal of monopoly. 
- George Matheson

(Where do you experience this kind of loving in your life?)

DT 4:32-40;    PS 77:12-16, 21;    MT 16:24-28

R. I remember the deeds of the Lord.

I remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I remember your wonders of old. 
And I meditate on your works;
your exploits I ponder.

O God, your way is holy;
what great god is there like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
among the peoples you have made known your power.

With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
You led your people like a flock
under the care of Moses and Aaron.





In today's first reading, Moses exhorts the people to think, to reflect, to open their eyes and hearts to the miracles in their midst.

He begins with, "Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of?" and goes on to enumerate specific examples of God's power, mercy and love that they have been privileged to experience.

This type of reflection, looking back to see the wonders I have experienced in my life, is not only healthy and right, it is mandatory to see the hand of God in my life. Like the Israelites, I tend to get caught up in the everyday trivia and travails of my life and forget the big picture and the many times I have been saved from physical danger, my own and others' ignorance, and my mistakes and sinfulness.

If we set aside time periodically to remember - even writing down the miracles in our lives, the prayers that were answered in amazing yet perhaps unexpected ways, the "coincidences" that dot our lives and direct our paths - we will see God's guiding grace. We will be awed enough to say, like Moses, "Did anything so great ever happen before?" 

Selected Quotes from St. John of the Cross on the Journey of the Soul to God by Contemplation

- from Dark Night of the Soul

Bk 1, Ch 9,  #6. If those souls to whom this comes to pass knew how to be quiet at this time then they would delicately experience this inward refreshment in that ease and freedom from care; it is like the air which, if one would close one's hand upon it, escapes. 

#7. In this state of contemplation, it is God Who is now working in the soul. He binds its interior faculties, and allows it not to cling to the understanding, nor to have delight in the will, nor to reason with the memory. 

#8. God communicates by pure spirit. From this time forward imagination and fancy can find no support in any meditation.

- compiled by James and Tyra Arraj