Message of 3-3-15

Published: Tue, 03/03/15

Message of the Day

The one who seeks God in everything is sure to find God in everything. When we thus live wholly unto God, God is wholly ours, and we are then happy in all the happiness of God; for by uniting with Him in heart, and will, and spirit, we are united to all that He is and has in Himself. This is the purity and perfection of life that we pray for in the Lord’s Prayer, that( God’s kingdom may come and His will be done in us, as it is in Heaven. And this we may be sure is not only necessary, but attainable by us, or our Saviour would not have made it a part of our daily prayer.
- William Law (1686-1761)

(. . . we are then happy in all the happiness of God." Is this what you seek?)

Daily Readings

IS 1:10, 16-20; PS 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23; MT 23:1-12

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,

for your burnt offerings are before me always.

I take from your house no bullock,

no goats out of your fold.”

“Why do you recite my statutes,

and profess my covenant with your mouth,

Though you hate discipline

and cast my words behind you?”

“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.

He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;

and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

USCCB Lectionary

Reflection on the Scriptures

. . . Jesus, with typical hyperbole, tells us to drop our honorifics and titles. Forget about being called rabbi, father or master. Such titles elevate us, fill our egos, pre-occupy us and get in the way of our calling to serve God and others. If Katharine Drexel allowed her status as the daughter of a wealthy banker to get in the way of her calling, then she probably would never have joined the Sisters of Mercy, helped establish the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament or endured the racial prejudices entailed in ministering to African and Native Americans.

So forget your titles. Humble yourself and drop your ill-conceived perception of yourself. Only with true humility can we see ourselves as we truly are – beloved children of God. Our love for others flows from this primary identity. Only when we first recognize this, are we free to love others as mothers, fathers, sisters, doctors and teachers.

- by John Shea, S.J.

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)

Stages of Contemplative Prayer (part one)

* Prayer of quiet. God is united with the deeper levels of

the will, but the faculties of thinking, imagination, and

sensation remain untouched by this contemplation and

often roam about freely. Nevertheless, one is aware of

being embraced by God. This is a rather common experience,

which most who make a serious commitment to prayer will

taste at some time.

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