Message of 2-15-11
Published: Mon, 02/14/11
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
. . . and you have not the Spirit of Love in you till you have
this will to all goodness at all times and on all occasions. You
may indeed do many works of love and delight in them, especially at
such times as they are not inconvenient to your state or temper or
occurrences in life. But the Spirit of Love is not in you till it
is the spirit of your life, till you live freely, willingly, and
universally according to it.
- William Law (1686-1761), "The Spirit of Love" [1752-4]
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LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE DAY
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Gn 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10; Ps 29:1a and 2, 3ac-4, 3b and 9c-10; Mk
8:14-21
R. (11b) The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, "Glory!"
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
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REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
Jesus warned his disciples to avoid the evil influence of the
Pharisees and of Herod who sought their own counsels rather than
the will of God. As the apostles continued to worry about their
lack of bread, Jesus reminded them of his miraculous provision of
bread in the feeding of the four thousand. He then upbraided them
for their lack of trust in God. Do you not yet understand? It's
easy to get preoccupied with the problems and needs of the present
moment and to forget the most important reality of all - God's
abiding presence with us and his abundant provision for our lives
as well. Do you pray with joyful confidence, Father, give us this
day our daily bread?
"Lord Jesus, you alone can sustain me with your life-giving Word
and Spirit. Give me joy and strength to serve you always and help
me to turn away from the leaven of sin and worldliness which brings
corruption and death."
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SPIRITUAL READING
"The Way of Perfection"
- by Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
(Continues the subject begun in the first chapter and persuades the
sisters to busy themselves constantly in beseeching God to help
those who work for the Church. Ends with an exclamatory prayer.)
Now why have I said this? So that you may understand, my sisters,
that what we have to ask of God is that, in this little castle of
ours, inhabited as it is by good Christians, none of us may go over
to the enemy. We must ask God, too, to make the captains in this
castle or city -- that is, the preachers and theologians -- highly
proficient in the way of the Lord. And as most of these are
religious, we must pray that they may advance in perfection, and in
the fulfillment of their vocation, for this is very needful. For,
as I have already said, it is the ecclesiastical and not the
secular arm which must defend us. And as we can do nothing by
either of these means to help our King, let us strive to live in
such a way that our prayers may be of avail to help these servants
of God, who, at the cost of so much toil, have fortified themselves
with learning and virtuous living and have labored to help the Lord.
- Chapter 3
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