Message of 4-26-11
Published: Sat, 04/23/11
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart,
and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here.
~St Augustine
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LECTIONARY READINGS FOR THE DAY
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20 and 22; Jn 20:11-18
R. (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
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REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
How easy it is to miss the Lord when our focus is on ourselves!
Mary did not at first recognize the Lord because her focus was on
the empty tomb and on her own grief. It took only one word from the
Master, when he called her by name, for Mary to recognize him.
Mary's message to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, is the very
essence of Christianity. It is not enough that a Christian know
about the Lord, but that we know him personally. It is not enough
to argue about him, but to meet him. In the resurrection we
encounter the living Lord who loves us personally and shares his
glory with us. The Lord gives us "eyes of faith" to see the truth
of his resurrection and victory over sin and death (Ephesians 1:18).
The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our hope - the hope
that we will see God face to face and share in his everlasting
glory and joy. "Without having seen him you love him; though you do
not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and
exalted joy. As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation
of your souls" (1 Peter 1:8-9). Do you recognize the Lord's
presence with you, in his word, in the "breaking of the bread", and
in his church, the body of Christ?
"Lord Jesus, may I never fail to recognize your voice nor lose
sight of your presence in your saving word."
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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.)
Where a convent is large I should like to see many friendships of
that type; but in this house, where there are not, and can never
be, more than thirteen nuns, all must be friends with each other,
love each other, be fond of each other and help each other. For the
love of the Lord, refrain from making individual friendships,
however holy, for even among brothers and sisters such things are
apt to be poisonous and I can see no advantage in them; when they
are between other relatives, they are much more dangerous and
become a pest. Believe me, sisters, though I may seem to you
extreme in this, great perfection and great peace come of doing
what I say and many occasions of sin may be avoided by those who
are not very strong. If our will becomes inclined more to one
person than to another (this cannot be helped, because it is
natural -- it often leads us to love the person who has the most
faults if she is the most richly endowed by nature), we must
exercise a firm restraint on ourselves and not allow ourselves to
be conquered by our affection. Let us love the virtues and inward
goodness, and let us always apply ourselves and take care to avoid
attaching importance to externals.
- Chapter 4
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