Message of 9-6-10
Published: Sat, 09/04/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
"God is creating us in the present moment,
loving us into being...
our very presence in the present moment
is the manifested presence of God."
- James Finley
(Be still and let yourself come to experience the reality of this
truth.)
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LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE DAY
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
1 Cor 5:1-8; Ps 5:5-6, 7, 12; Lk 6:6-11
R. (9) Lead me in your justice, Lord.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
You hate all evildoers.
You destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the LORD abhors.
But let all who take refuge in you
be glad and exult forever.
Protect them, that you may be the joy
of those who love your name.
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REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"Jesus heals on the Sabbath."
Jesus heals, and his reward is death. Yet he does what he came on
this earth to do, and he does it without hesitation, without
second-guessing, without regard for the negative consequences to
himself. Perhaps his perfect knowledge came from being so connected
to the divine that he was not burdened with doubt. For us,
discovering the work we are meant to do is less sure. We respond to
appreciation and criticism, reward and punishment, and we lose
sight of our vocation. As we celebrate Labor Day in the United
States, we should give some thought to the work we value. We do not
adequately acknowledge many who provide necessary services --
caregivers in nursing homes, teachers of at-risk children, those
who provide the hidden labors that keep us safe, fed and
comfortable.
"For those who labor without reward and those who cannot find the
work meant for them, we pray."
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SPIRITUAL READING
The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage
by St. John of Rusybroeck (1293-1381)
We should have God in mind in all our good works; in evil works we
cannot do this. We should not have in mind two ends; that is to
say, we should mean God alone and nothing else. All other ends
should be subordinate to God, not opposed to God; they should be,
in their order, a help and a furtherance, that we may the better
come to God. And then we are in the right way.
We should also rather seek our rest upon Him and in Him Whom we
mean and love, than in any of the messengers He sends; that is to
say, His gifts. The soul should also rest in God above all the
jewels and all the gifts which it may send back to God by its own
messengers. The messengers of the soul are intention, love, and
desire: these carry all good deeds and all virtues up to God. But
above all these things, above all multiplicity, the soul should
rest in its Beloved. In this way and in this wise we should go out
to meet Christ with an upright intention during all our lives, and
in all our works, and in all our virtues; so that we may also meet
Him in the light of glory at the hour of death.
This method and this way, of which you have now heard, is called
the Active Life. It is needful for all men; and these, at least,
should not live contrary to virtue, even though they may not
possess all the virtues in this perfection. For, to live contrary
to virtue is to live in sin; for Christ says: He that is not with
Me is against Me. Whosoever is not humble, he is proud; and
whosoever is proud and not humble does not belong to God. And thus
it is with all the sins and all the virtues; either a man has the
virtue and lives in grace, or else he has its opposite and lives in
sin. Let each man try himself, and live according to that which has
here been shown.
- Chapter 25: Of a Spiritual Meeting of God and Ourselves
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