Message of 8-8-08

Published: Sat, 08/02/08

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A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth

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MESSAGE OF THE DAY

He has loved us without being loved... We are bound to Him, and not
He to us, because before He was loved, He loved us... There it is,
then: we cannot... love Him with this first love. Yet I say that
God demands of us, that as He has loved us without any second
thoughts, so He should be loved by us. In what way can we do this,
then? ... I tell you, through a means which he has established, by
which we can love Him freely; ... that is, we can be useful, not to
Him -- which is impossible -- but to our neighbor... To show the
love that we have for Him, we ought to serve and love every
rational creature and extend our charity to good and bad -- as much
to one who does us ill service and criticizes us as to one who
serves us. For, His charity extends over just men and sinners.
- Catherine of Siena

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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/

- Feast of St. Dominic

Na 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7; Dt. 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41; Mt
16:24-28

R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.

Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.

"Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them."

I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
"With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me."

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GOSPEL MEDITATION
from "Praying the Daily Gospels," by Philip St. Romain:
- http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=6614

- Matthew 16: 24-28 (The meaning of self-denial)

The gospel says we must die to ourselves, so it is important that
we understand what this means. Jesus neither calls us to despise
ourselves nor to deny our personal dreams and ambitions--unless they
lead to sin. The self we are to deny is that strong tendency in
each of us to be selfish and unconnected to others--to be ruled by
instinct and desire rather than by truth and love. The cross is the
way to grow into the higher, spiritual self.

- Review your past day, focusing on a few key events. What
decisions did you make? What were your motives behind these
decisions?

- "Incarnation happens with every decision to love" is a doctrine
of the mystics. How do you understand this? Pray for the grace to
be more conscious of the loving alternatives you have for each
decision you make.

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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Benedictine Approach)

1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read a short passage of Scripture as though God were speaking
directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it
slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments
awakened by your meditation. When you're done, read another passage
and repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in
loving silence, put the Scripture aside and rest in God.

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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "The Practice of the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence

Brother Lawrence taught:

That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love
of GOD, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love
with which it is performed. That we should not wonder if, in the
beginning, we often failed in our endeavours, but that at last we
should gain a habit, which will naturally produce its acts in us,
without our care, and to our exceeding great delight.

- Fourth Conversation

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