Message of 7-2-10
Published: Thu, 06/24/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
If we try to contemplate God without having turned the face of our
inner self entirely in His direction, we will end up inevitably by
contemplating ourselves, and we will perhaps plunge into the abyss
of warm darkness which is our own sensible nature. That is not a
darkness in which one can safely remain passive.
- Thomas Merton
(Not all experiences of inner silence are of the divine. How do
you discern which ones really are?)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Am 8:4-6, 9-12; Ps 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131; Mt 9:9-13
R. One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes
from the mouth of God.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands.
My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus is challenged because of His
inclusion of all sorts of people at His table. His reply confronted
the righteous, among whom the Pharisees no doubt counted
themselves, with their need for some serious attitude adjustment.
If they wanted to take a seat at Jesus' table, they should be ready
to sit next to all kinds of folks. They could exclude themselves;
He would exclude no one.
Who are the people that we exclude from our tables? Those with whom
we disagree politically? Or about how to practice our faith with
authenticity? Or the worth of Tradition vs. Innovation? Or?
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SPIRITUAL READING
- Fenelon's "Maxims of the Saints"
But it (abandonment to God) takes away that uneasy hankering of the
soul after pleasure either inward or outward, and the selfish
vivacity and eagerness of nature, which is too impatient to wait
calmly and submissively for God's time of action. By fixing the
mind wholly upon God, it takes away the disposition of the soul to
occupy itself with reflex acts; that is, with the undue examination
and analysis of its own feelings. It does not take away the pain
and sorrow naturally incident to our physical state and natural
sensibilities; but it takes away all uneasiness, all murmuring
;-leaving the soul in its inner nature, and in every part of its
nature where the power of faith reaches, calm and peaceable as the
God that dwells there.
- Article Nine
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Benedictine Approach)
1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read a short passage of Scripture as though God were speaking
directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it
slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments
awakened by your meditation. When you're done, read another passage
and repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in
loving silence, put the Scripture aside and rest in God.
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