Message of 9-3-08
Published: Mon, 09/01/08
"God makes Himself known to us, not through the conscious ego, but
as the still small voice of the true self. To hear that voice we
must know how to be recollected even amid the activity of the
workaday world. This in its turn implies that we 'see through'
mental concepts and words and conventions of behavior to their
underlying truth. What makes possible this mental attention,
however, is not insight alone, but a rightly adjusted will,
expressing itself in love."
- Dom Aelred Graham, "Zen Catholicism" -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ref=noism/0824514254/christianspiritu/
(Another way of saying: "Be here now in love." [This is an
excellent book, by the way; highly recommended]).
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
1 Cor 3:1-9; Ps 33:12-13, 14-15, 20-21; Lk 4:38-44
R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down;
he sees all mankind.
From his fixed throne he beholds
all who dwell on the earth,
He who fashioned the heart of each,
he who knows all their works.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from "Daily Reflections"
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In the Gospel today, the people again do the same thing- act on
their cultural cues. Jesus is healing people and of course the
people of the town do not want Jesus to leave. They want to honor
the healer and keep him available for others in THEIR village.
But Jesus is called for the many and not exclusively for this one
group and he tells them he must move on. He does not simply join
one synagogue, the custom of the day, but is called to visit them
all - to spread the Gospel to all.
The Church reminds us that it embraces all cultures - indeed there
is much in culture that is holy and good and expressive of God. On
the other hand we are also reminded that our faith stands in
judgment and challenge over all cultures also - that like
ourselves, culture, which is a human product, can also be sinful.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
Now rejoice, all ye powers of my soul, that you are so united with
God that no one may separate you from Him. I cannot fully praise
nor love Him therefore must I die, and cast myself into the divine
void, till I rise from non-existence to existence. If I should
remain entombed in flesh till the judgment day and suffer the pains
of hell, that would be for me a small thing to bear for my beloved
Lord Jesus Christ, if I had the certainty at last of not being
separated from Him. While I am here, He is in me; after this life,
I am in Him. All things are therefore possible to me, if I am
united to Him Who can do all things. - #5, The
Self-communication of God
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REVIEW OF DAY
- from, "Handbook for Spiritual Directees"
http://shalomplace.com/view/hndbk-lite.pdf
Here is a practice used by many at the end of the day to see what
lessons can be learned and how God was present and active through
the day. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of the
day for prayer and review of your day. A suggested format is
described below:.
1. Take a few moments of quiet. Breathe deeply. Ask God to help you
see yourself as you truly were during the day.
2. Look back over your day - not to see what you did wrong but to
honestly acknowledge what was going on with you and others.
* What happened? What did I do today?
* How did I feel? Why did I feel that way?
* Were my expectations and beliefs reasonable?
3. Affirm the healthy things you recognize.
4. Admit to yourself and God the unhealthy things. Ask God's
forgiveness, believe it is yours, then decide if you need to
apologize or make amends.
5. Use creative visualization to grow stronger. Honestly
acknowledge the troubling situations of the day. See and feel
yourself acting honestly and lovingly in these situations. Ask God
for the grace to help you act in this new way.
6. Close with simple awareness of the sights and sounds around you,
grateful for the good things in your life.
This process can be undertaken as a daily journal exercise or by
prayerfully reviewing your day in your own mind. I like to take a
walk before bedtime for examen. The important thing is to do it. It
is a discipline, to be sure, but a very important one.
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SHALOM PLACE PREMIUM GROUPS
- Life-long learning and formation in Christian spirituality.
Groups now open include the following:
A. Psychological Types and Spirituality
B. The Way of Christian Spirituality
C. Freedom from Codependency
D. Christian Spirituality Resources
E. Wonderfully Made (Christian Metaphysics)
F. Growing in Christ
G. Spiral Dynamics®
H. Discerning God's Will
I. Dark Night of the Soul
J. Silence, Solitude and Sabbath
K. Alpha Group -- includes all the above and all to come.
- see http://shalomplace.org/groups.html
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