Message of 4-21-11
Published: Mon, 04/18/11
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
- Holy (Maundy) Thursday -
Passion is a kind of waiting - waiting for what other people are
going to do. Jesus went to Jerusalem to announce the good news to
the people of that city. And Jesus knew that he was going to put a
choice before them: "Will you be my disciple, or will you be my
executioner?" There is no middle ground here. Jesus went to
Jerusalem to put people in a situation where they had to say "Yes"
or "No." That is the great drama of Jesus' passion: he had to wait
upon how people were going to respond. How would they come? To
betray him or to follow him? In a way, his agony is not simply the
agony of approaching death. It is also the agony of having to wait.
- Henri J. M. Nouwen, "A Spirituality of Waiting"
(What kind of "waiting" are you doing these days? How is God
present to you during the "waiting times?")
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LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE DAY
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Ex 12:1-8, 11-14; Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18; 1 Cor
11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15
R. (cf. 1 Cor 10:16) Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood
of Christ.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
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MEDITATION ON THE GOSPEL
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so you
must do."
By washing the feet of the apostles, Jesus shows them how to be
servants to one another. Jesus is not uncomfortable as he bathes
each man's feet. Today, we avoid menial or degrading tasks by
paying others to do them, and we pay them very little. Think of
those who bathe others today: nurses' aides in hospitals or in
nursing homes; people who prepare bodies for burial. Jesus
demonstrates that a life of service is sometimes messy, humbling,
even misunderstood. If Jesus, our Teacher and Lord, can do this,
what are we waiting for?
"Lord, give us the humility to put into practice your example of
service, we pray."
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SPIRITUAL READING
- "Imitation of Christ," by Thomas A. Kempis
- The Disciple
Whatever is wanting in me, good Jesus, Savior most holy, do You in
Your kindness and grace supply for me, You Who have been pleased to
call all unto You, saying: "Come to Me all you that labor and are
burdened and I will refresh you."
I, indeed, labor in the sweat of my brow. I am torn with sorrow of
heart. I am laden with sin, troubled with temptations, enmeshed and
oppressed by many evil passions, and there is none to help me, none
to
deliver and save me but You, my Lord God and Savior, to Whom I
entrust
myself and all I have, that You may protect me and lead me to
eternal
life. For the honor and glory of Your name receive me, You Who have
prepared Your Body and Blood as food and drink for me. Grant, O
Lord,
my God and Savior, that by approaching Your Mysteries frequently,
the
zeal of my devotion may increase.
- Book 4, Chapter 4
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