Message of 12-15-14

Published: Mon, 12/22/14

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Monday: December 22, 2014
Message of the Day
The coming of God’s Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the First Covenant. He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church, #522

(How do you long for the Christ? What signs in your life point to his presence?)
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Readings of the Day
 
1 SM 1:24-28;    1 SM 2:1, 4-8;    LK 1:46-56

R. My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

“My heart exults in the LORD,
my horn is exalted in my God.
I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in my victory.”

“The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry batten on spoil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.”

“The LORD puts to death and gives life;
he casts down to the nether world;
he raises up again.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles, he also exalts.”

“He raises the needy from the dust;
from the dung heap he lifts up the poor,
To seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.”

USCCB lectionary
Reflection on the Scripture
"My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my Savior." –Luke 1:46-47

The words of today's Gospel passage, commonly known as the Magnificat, are prayed every single day by Catholic priests, religious, and some lay people in the Liturgy of the Hours. These are words to unite people each day.

Mary had a heavy cross to bear. When she prayed her Magnificat, she didn't know if Joseph would receive her or reject her. She could have said, "My cross is heavy, my future unsure, and I'm scared." However, she focused on the Lord, rejoiced in Him, and praised Him and the great works He was doing, saying with her Old Testament matriarch Hannah: "My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God" (1 Sm 2:1).

By fixing our eyes on the world and its gift-giving and receiving, we magnify the world's Christmas. Instead, let us approach Christmas as Mary did: by praising and magnifying God. When we magnify the Lord, it is as if we look closely at Him as though looking through a magnifying glass. God becomes ever larger in our sight. We cannot help but be overwhelmed by His greatness and splendor. We thereby fix our eyes on Him (Heb 3:1), forget ourselves, and are lifted up.

With Mary, rejoice in Jesus and "be ready to greet Him when He comes" this Christmas.

PRAYER: Father, make me blind to everything that takes my focus away from Jesus.

PROMISE: "I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request." –1 Sm 1:27

PRAISE: "O King of all the nations, the only Joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature You fashioned from the dust."

mycatholic.com

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Spiritual Reading
A Christian Understanding of the Soul, by Philip St. Romain
- from Caring for the Self, Caring for the Soul

9. The Soul and Contemplation

It frequently happens that a mystic will be drawn to realize the deep, inner connection between God and the soul, wherein the soul enjoys ecstatic union with God or receives communication from God without going through the usual channels of sensation and conceptualization.  This is called infused contemplation, a deep union of love between God and the soul made possible by grace.

Infused contemplation is generally what is meant when the term contemplation is used in the Christian tradition.  Other uses of the word have become quite common, but they don't always refer to the same kinds of experiences described by the Christian mystics.

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