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When God works in us, the will, being changed and sweetly
breathed upon by the Spirit of God, desire and acts, not from compulsion, but responsively.
- Martin Luther
(". . . for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Phil. 2:13)
- share your comments at http://dailyspiritualseed.blogspot.com
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1 KGS 8:22-23, 27-30; PS 84:3-5, 10,
11; MK 7:1-13
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a
home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young-
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of
the wicked. USCCB Lectionary
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Reflection on the Scriptures |
In the gospel, Jesus holds us to task that we go beyond the letter of the law and live the spirit. The critics were focusing on very specific behaviors (the washing of the hands) without regard to the broader picture and intent of why we need to be doing these particular things. It reminded me of how we sometimes in our daily lives lose
track of why we are doing certain things - what the true picture may be. For instance, if I spend all my time assuring that my house is immaculate because that is what my children need to be healthy yet spend no time with them what does it matter? Of course, that was never a concern from my children, they never worried I was spending too much time cleaning (perhaps the opposite). If my goal is the well-being of my children, then every
action should be consistent with that intent not just performing arbitrary tasks. If my goal is to be closer to God and to prepare myself for a life beyond this one on earth, then every action and how I live my life should be consistent with that intent not just following the letter of the law.
- by Nancy
Shirley
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 Living Flame of
Love
Stanza 1. #19. God wars against all the imperfect habits of the soul
and, purifying the soul with the heat of His flame, He uproots these habits from it and prepares it so that at last He may enter it and be united with it by His sweet, peaceful and glorious love, as is the fire when it has entered the wood.
#24. At death the rivers of love of the soul are about to enter the
sea. Burning with sweetness. Consuming not but enlightening.
- compiled by James and Tyra Arraj Paperback edition: Kindle edition available
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