Message of 2-21-11
Published: Sun, 02/20/11
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Joy is not gush: joy is not jolliness. Joy is simply perfect
acquiescence in God's will, because the soul delights itself in God
Himself... Rejoice in the will of God, and in nothing else. Bow
down your heads and your hearts before God, and let the will, the
blessed will of God, be done.
- Hanmer William Webb-Peploe (1837-1923)
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LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE DAY
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Sir 1:1-10; Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5; Mk 9:14-29
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
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REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"Fear of the Lord warms the heart, giving gladness and joy and
length of days."
We might wonder how fear of anything can bring warmth, gladness,
joy and blessing. The Hebrew term "fear of the Lord" refers here
not to abject terror before God, but to reverence for God
manifested in the practice of religion. We might think of it as the
deep, focused piety that we appropriately bring to worship. Of
course, we shouldn't be different in worship than we are at other
times. We should bring such a disposition to all we do, so let us
cultivate a greater appreciation for creation, for the beauty and
bounty our God provides, for a world imbued with Wisdom that
reveals to us our Creator.
"For deepening reverence and love for our God, we pray."
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SPIRITUAL READING
The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage
by St. John of Rusybroeck (1293-1381)
From this sweetness there springs a well-being of the heart and of
all the bodily powers, so that a man thinks himself to be inwardly
enfolded in the divine embrace of love. This delight and this
consolation are greater and more pleasant to the soul and the body
than all the satisfactions of the earth, even though one man should
enjoy them all together. In this well-being God sinks into the
heart by means of His gifts; with so much savoury solace and joy
that the heart overflows from within. This makes a man comprehend
the misery of those who live outside love. This well-being melts
the heart to such a degree, that the man cannot contain himself
through the fulness of inward joy.
- Chapter 18: Of the pure delight of the heart and sensible powers
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