Message of 3-17-15

Published: Tue, 03/17/15

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

. . . we shall never have done beginning, if we determine to begin with proof. We shall ever be laying our foundations; we shall turn theology into evidences, and divines into textuaries... Life is for action. If we insist on proofs for everything, we shall never come to action: to act you must assume, and that assumption is faith.
-  John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) 

(How does faith move you to certain actions? What action does your faith move you to consider doing today?)
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Daily Readings
 
EZ 47:1-9, 12;    PS 51:12A, 14A;    JN 5:1-16

R. The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob. 

God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.

There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.

The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.

USCCB Lectionary
 Reflection on the Scriptures
There is no doubt that we do not go through this life alone.  Over and over again, I see evidence (living proof) that our journey is one with a constant companion – a loving God who enfolds us in His arms – in the good times and in the challenging ones.  Whether it is the story of footprints in the sand or just our own lived experience, we know we are not alone in this journey.
 
Our gospel shares one of the many miracles that Jesus performed.  I always am in awe that as Jesus performs all these miracles, there were still people who do not believe even though they were right there!  In our lives now, we, no doubt, see miracles, yet we do not always see (or believe) the hand of God in them.  For us, it is our faith that supports us in believing these miracles.  We are not usually standing there while it happens and certainly not alongside Jesus as He performs such actions.  Yet, I assert that we have miracles every day 
 
- by Nancy Shirley

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)

Stages of Contemplative Prayer (part three)

     *  Prayer of ecstatic union. Many, but not all, Christian
        mystics evidence this state.  In ecstasy, the soul is so
        completely united with God that all self-awareness is
        lost, along with sensory awareness and consciousness
        of space and time.  The activities of the corporal soul
        are diminished so that the soul, in a partly body-free
        state, may more fully contemplate the love and beauty
        of God.  The consequences of this prayer are many,
        including deep inner healing and great virtue.  It should
        be known, however, that there are other experiences of
        ecstasy besides contemplative ones.  Psychic and oc-
        cult ecstasies may also be found.  The mere fact of
        ecstasy is no indication of mystical contemplation or
        holiness.


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