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If any are inclined to despond, because they do not have... patience, let them be of good courage. It is in the course of our feeble and very imperfect waiting that God Himself, by His hidden power, strengthens us and works out in us the patience of the saints, the patience of Christ Himself.
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(How do you experience the limitations of your patience? How can you rely more on the patience of Christ?)
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RV 1:1-4; 2:1-5; PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6; LK 18:35-43
R. Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of
life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due
season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
USCCB lectionary
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"Jesus asked him, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' " –Luke 18:40-41
Jesus spoke of "the necessity of praying always and not losing heart" (Lk 18:1). We are to never stop praying (1
Thes 5:17). Many centuries ago, a Christian went on pilgrimage and asked holy person after holy person how it could be possible to pray always. The answer he finally received was what is called the "Jesus prayer." This prayer is a combination of Luke 18:39 and Luke 18:13. The Jesus prayer is: "Lord Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner." The prayer is sometimes shortened to "Lord Jesus, mercy" or even to only the name "Jesus." The Christian pilgrim was taught to pray this many times,
to pray it almost with every breath to the point that he was thinking of Jesus even when he was not praying it. Thus, he was obeying the Lord's command to pray always.
Be like the Christian pilgrim. Try to learn to pray always. Keep trying no matter how long it takes. Even if others discourage you, cry "out all the more, 'Son of David, have pity on me!' " (Lk 18:39) Because there is the necessity to pray
always, there is the necessity to learn to pray always. The Holy Spirit will teach you (Jn 14:26). Pray in the Spirit (see Jude 20). Pray always. PRAYER: Father, by the Holy Spirit, may I not only have a life of prayer but a life of praying always. PROMISE: "Happy is the one who reads this prophetic message, and happy are
those who hear it and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near!" –Rv 1:3
mycatholic.com
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A Christian Understanding of the Soul, by Philip St. Romain - from Caring for the Self, Caring for the Soul
4. Soul and Body
The human soul is spiritual,
like that of angels, possessing all the characteristics of other spiritual beings (summarized during the previous two lessons). It is not like angels, however, in that it requires a physical body and sensory information in order to activate its spiritual intelligence. Without a physical body, the spiritual soul is metaphysically deficient. This is why a complete restoration of the soul calls for a body in and through which the soul may express itself. A human soul differs
from an angelic spirit in this regard, for an angelic spirit is created to know and express itself in a purely spiritual state of being.
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