Message of 10-8-08
Published: Fri, 10/03/08
"If you observe anything evil within yourself, correct it; if
something good, preserve it; if something beautiful, foster it; if
something sound, maintain it; if sickly heal it. Read unwearingly
the precepts of the Lord and, sufficiently instructed by them, you
will know what to avoid and what to pursue."
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux -
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Gal 2:1-2, 7-14; Ps 117:1bc, 2; Lk 11:1-4
R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations,
glorify him, all you peoples!
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from "Daily Reflections"
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
The question we must answer when confronted with this Gospel
passage - when we pray the Lord's Prayer - is "Do we mean it?" "Do
we really want God to run things His way?" The Gospels are full of
Jesus telling us what that would be like. "The Kingdom of God is
like . . ." Like the prodigal father who welcomed home his lost
son. Like the vineyard owner who paid the laborers who worked only
one hour the same wage as those who worked all day. Like the person
who gave a feast and invited "...the poor, the maimed, the lame and
the blind..." Like little children.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
Various teachers have praised love greatly, as St Paul does, when
he saith, "to whatever height I may attain, if I have not love, I
am nothing." But I set sanctification even above love; in the first
place because the best thing in love is that it compels me to love
God. Now it is a greater thing that I compel God to come to me,
than that I compel myself to go to God. Sanctification compels God
to come to me, and I prove this as follows:--
Everything settles in its own appropriate place; now God's proper
place is that of oneness and holiness; these come from
sanctification; therefore God must of necessity give Himself to a
sanctified heart.
In the second place I set sanctification above love, because love
compels me to suffer all things for the sake of God; sanctification
compels me to be the recipient of nothing but God; now, it is a
higher state to be the recipient of nothing but God than to suffer
all things for God, because in suffering one must have some regard
to the person who inflicts the suffering, but sanctification is
independent of all creatures.
- #6, Sanctification
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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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