Message of 9-24-10
Published: Fri, 09/17/10
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
God, though present everywhere, has His special residence, as being
a pure Spirit, in our minds. "In Him we live, and move, and have
our being." He is somewhere in the recesses of our soul, in the
springs of our existence, in that mysterious, dark, cavernous
region of our nature where the wishes, feelings, thoughts, emotions
take their earliest rise... The mind is a sanctuary, in the center
of which the Lord sits enthroned, the lamp of the consciousness
burning before Him.
-- Edward Meyrick Goulburn, "Thoughts on Personal Religion."
1871.
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LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE DAY
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Eccl 3:1-11; Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3-4; Lk 9:18-22
R. (1) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
my mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust.
LORD, what is man, that you notice him;
the son of man, that you take thought of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days, like a passing shadow.
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MEDITATION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
All in God's Time . . .
What is it that is so attractive about the well-known verses from
the Book of Ecclesiastes which we hear today? Is it the rhythm
that sways back and forth (A time . . ., a time)? Is it the stark
contrasts that mark each verse (born/die, weep/laugh, love/hate)?
Perhaps it is a combination of all the above.
As much as these characteristics may unite to attract our
attention, the "commentary" provided in the text defines most of
all the attraction of these haunting verses: "There is an
appointed time for everything. . . . [God] has made everything
appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their
hearts." The breadth of human experience chronicled by
Ecclesiastes exhausts us until we relax into the truth that no part
of human experience escapes God's view, God's presence.
- by Rev. Rich Gabuzda
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SPIRITUAL READING
- Fenelon's "Maxims of the Saints"
A suitable repression of the natural appetites is profitable and
necessary. We are told that the body should be brought into
subjection. Those physical mortifications, therefore, which are
instituted to this end, denominated austerities, are not to be
disapproved. When practiced within proper limits, they tend to
correct evil habits, to preserve us against temptation, and to give
self-control.
The practice of austerities, with the views and on the principles
indicated, should be accompanied with the spirit of recollection,
of love, and prayer. Christ himself, whose retirement to solitary
places, whose prayers and fastings are not to be forgotten, has
given us the pattern which it is proper for us to follow. We must
sometimes use force against our stubborn nature. "Since the days
of John, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence; and the violent
take it by force."
- Article 15
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