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"Jesus doesn't want to impose himself upon us, but always leaves us to request his company. He wants us to act freely. And it is easy for us to act as though we have not heard him or recognized him, so that we are spared the trouble of asking him in. .
. No one is more docile than Christ. No one is so readily available to heed our wishes. He is faithful always."
- Louis Evely, "Joy"
(If you haven't done so lately, ask for the
company of Jesus, and his guidance for your life.)
- share your comments at http://dailyspiritualseed.blogspot.com
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2 SM 6:12B-15, 17-19; PS 24:7-10; MK 3:31-35
R. Who is this king of glory? It is the Lord!
Lift up, O gates, your lintels;
reach up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may come in!
Who is this king of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle.
Lift up, O gates, your lintels;
reach up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may come in!
Who is this king of glory?
The LORD of hosts; he is the king of
glory. USCCB Lectionary
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Reflection on the Scriptures |
Jesus stuns the crowd, and probably his family, by identifying with - as family - those who do the will of God. Upon
reflection, it seems so easy to understand. For Jesus, who would be the closest to him, who would be family to him? It would be those who place themselves next to his heart. To say it another way, we can't be close to Jesus while opposing God's action in our lives. Jesus is inviting us to surrender to God's love for us. He tells us, of course, that if we want to find ourselves - and our happiness and our purpose - we have to lose ourselves, in loving
others the way we have been loved..
Jesus says what he desires
for us so clearly when he says, in Luke's Gospel, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." [Luke 6:36] I have spent a lot of my life trying to be in relationship with God, and in service of others, without always being merciful. It is not easy to forgive when we've been hurt - sometimes even when we've been slighted. We tend to hold on to memories of what we have against others. We can ask God to forgive us, over and over again, and we can
celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation many times, and still struggle with forgiving someone close to us. Jesus is asking us to be with him and like him in letting go of all of that.
- by Andy Alexander, S.J.
Creighton Online Ministries
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Selected Quotes from St. John of the Cross on the Journey of the Soul to God by Contemplation - from The Spiritual
Canticle Stanza 13. #1. The soul is drawing nearer to Him, and so she has greater experience within herself of the void of God, of very heavy darkness, and of spiritual fire which dries up and purges her, so that thus purified she may be united with
Him.
- compiled by James and Tyra Arraj Paperback edition: Kindle edition available
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