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I insist again: your foundation must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the virtues and practice them, you will always be dwarfs;
and no worse fate may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go back-if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill."
- St. Teresa of Avila {1515-82}, The Interior Castle
(What virtues do you need to
give more attention to? How could these help you to deepen your growth?)
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ACTS
15:1-6; PS 122:1-5; JN 15:1-8
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
USCCB Lectionary
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Jesus offers true life - the abundant life which comes from God and which results in great fruitfulness. How does the vine become fruitful? The vinedresser must carefully prune the vine before it can bear
good fruit. Vines characteristically have two kinds of branches - those which bear fruit and those which don't. The non-bearing branches must be carefully pruned back in order for the vine to conserve its strength for bearing good fruit. Jesus used this image to describe the kind of life he produces in those who are united with him - the fruit of "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Jesus says there can be no fruit in our lives apart from him. The fruit he speaks
of here is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).
There is a simple truth here: We are either fruit-bearing or non-fruit-bearing. There is no in-between. But the bearing of healthy fruit requires drastic pruning. The Lord promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in him and allow him to purify us. Do you trust in the Lord's abiding presence with you?
"Lord Jesus, may I be one with you in all that I say and do. Draw me close that I may glorify you and bear fruit for your kingdom. Inflame my heart with your love and remove from it anything that would make me ineffective or unfruitful in loving and serving you as my All."
DailyScripture.net
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The Way of Perfection, by Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Describes the nature of the Prayer of Recollection and sets down some of the means by which we can make it a habit.
If one prays in this way, the prayer may be only vocal, but the mind will be recollected much sooner; and this is a prayer which brings with it many blessings. It is called recollection because the soul collects together all the faculties and enters within itself to be with its God. Its Divine Master comes more speedily to teach it, and to grant it the Prayer of Quiet, than in any other way. For, hidden there within itself, it can think
about the Passion, and picture the Son, and offer Him to the Father, without wearying the mind by going to seek Him on Mount Calvary, or in the Garden, or at the Column.
- Chapter 28 (Keep in mind that she is writing to sisters in a cloistered contemplative order.) Paperback (Kindle edition available)
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