Message of 4-19-11
Published: Mon, 04/18/11
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
We must get rid of the pestilent, deadly notion that the amount of
things we get through is the standard. The steadiness with which we
radiate God is the standard.
- Evelyn Underhill
(How do you measure up to this standard? Pay close attention to
how Jesus does so through these Holy Week readings.)
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LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE DAY
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Is 49:1-6; Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17; Jn 13:21-33,
36-38
R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are my strength.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
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REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
Satan can twist love and turn it into hate. He can turn holiness
into pride, discipline into cruelty, affection into complacency. We
must be on our guard lest Satan turn us from the love of God and
the path which God has chosen for us. The Holy Spirit will give us
grace and strength in our time of testing. If we submit to Jesus we
will walk in the light of his truth and love. If we turn our backs
on him we will stumble and fall in the ways of sin and darkness.
Are you ready to follow Jesus in his way of the cross?
"Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart which no unworthy thought can
drag downwards; an unconquered heart which no tribulation can wear
out; an upright heart which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside.
Bestow upon me also, O Lord my God, understanding to know you,
diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that
may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ, our Lord." (Prayer
of Thomas Aquinas)
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SPIRITUAL READING
"The Way of Perfection"
- by Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
(Exhorts the nuns to keep their Rule and names three things which
are important for the spiritual life. Describes the first of these
three things, which is love of one's neighbour, and speaks of the
harm which can be done by individual, exclusivist friendships.)
With regard to the first -- namely, love for each other -- this is
of very great importance; for there is nothing, however annoying,
that cannot easily be borne by those who love each other, and
anything which causes annoyance must be quite exceptional. If this
commandment were kept in the world, as it should be, I believe it
would take us a long way towards the keeping of the rest; but, what
with having too much love for each other or too little, we never
manage to keep it perfectly. It may seem that for us to have too
much love for each other cannot be wrong, but I do not think anyone
who had not been an eye-witness of it would believe how much evil
and how many imperfections can result from this. The devil sets
many snares here which the consciences of those who aim only in a
rough-and-ready way at pleasing God seldom observe -- indeed, they
think they are acting virtuously -- but those who are aiming at
perfection understand what they are very well: little by little
they deprive the will of the strength which it needs if it is to
employ itself wholly in the love of God.
This is even more applicable to women than to men and the harm
which it does to community life is very serious. One result of it
is that all the nuns do not love each other equally: some injury
done to a friend is resented; a nun desires to have something to
give to her friend or tries to make time for talking to her, and
often her object in doing this is to tell her how fond she is of
her, and other irrelevant things, rather than how much she loves
God. These intimate friendships are seldom calculated to make for
the love of God; I am more inclined to believe that the devil
initiates them so as to create factions within religious Orders.
When a friendship has for its object the service of His Majesty, it
at once becomes clear that the will is devoid of passion and indeed
is helping to conquer other passions.
- Chapter 4
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