Message of 2-17-15

Published: Tue, 02/17/15

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Tuesday: February 17, 2015
Message of the Day

Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him. In Hebrew, “Be silent in God, and let Him mould thee.” Keep still, and He will mould thee to the right shape.
- Martin Luther (1483-1546), quoted in Watchwords for the Warfare of Life, Elizabeth Rundle Charles, ed.

(Take quiet time today to let God be God for you.)
Lent 2015 Spiritual Growth Resources

Eight audio presentations (mp3 format) with handouts on topics pertaining to Christian spirituality. Private discussion forum option.

- see http://shalomplace.com/inetmin/lent15.html for more information and registration options.
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Daily Readings
 
GN 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10;    PS 29:1-4, 9-10;    MK 8:14-21

R.  The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire. 

The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic. 

The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever. 

USCCB Lectionary
 Reflection on the Scriptures
Jesus tries to teach his disciples that truth in the Gospel reading. He warns them of the “leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod,” who in yesterday’s Gospel had asked him for signs in order to prove he was speaking on behalf of heaven. To paraphrase, Jesus says, “Didn’t you see what I just did back there, feeding that huge crowd with seven loaves of bread? That was a sign, people!! How did you not get that? Open your eyes! The signs are happening right in front of you!” One gets the impression they might not have heard the thunderous glory of God mentioned in the psalm, even in the downpour of the flood. The signs the Pharisees and Herod asked for were tests of power. The signs Jesus did were out of love: he wanted to care for the crowds in their need.

The challenge for us, then, is to trust in God’s will even without a grand display of power to help our faith along. Jesus calls us to wake up to the acts of love God is already doing in our lives. When we focus on returning to God tomorrow, that trust will be important. We, like Noah, might not know exactly what awaits us when we follow God’s will.

- by Molly Mattingly

Creighton Online Ministries

Spiritual Reading

Stages of Growth in Christian Prayer
- by Philip St. Romain
  (based on the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross)

Active Prayer

 Sometimes called discursive prayer, active prayer includes all forms of prayer that we initiate through the use of our mental faculties (such as thinking, reasoning, imagining, acts of will, visualization, remembering).  Following is a typical description of progression in active prayer.

*  Sacred reading
*  Meditation on the reading: intellectual and imaginative reflection. Recognizing and applying principles.  Resolutions.
*  Affective prayer: petitions, thanksgiving, intercession, remorse, praise, adoration.
*  Simplicity, simple regard, centering prayer: this usually follows affective prayer and consists of simple acts of the will to focus lovingly on God and to give consent to live and act in the soul.


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