Message of 10-30-08
Published: Sat, 10/25/08
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
"Amma Syncletica said, 'Many live on the mountains and behave as if
they were living amidst the uproar of a city, and they are lost.
It is possible while living amongst a crowd to be inwardly
solitary, and while living alone to be inwardly beset by the crowd.'"
["Sayings of the Desert Fathers," Syncletica]
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Eph 6:10-20; Ps 144:1b, 2, 9-10; Lk 13:31-35
R. (1b) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war.
My mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust,
who subdues my people under me.
O God, I will sing a new song to you;
with a ten-stringed lyre I will chant your praise,
You who give victory to kings,
and deliver David, your servant from the evil sword.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"Put on the armor of God that you may be able to resist on the evil
day and ... hold your ground."
The paradox is as real today as it was in the first-century church:
The will of God has triumphed in the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ, but the forces of evil are still present under
various guises. We share in the victory of Jesus, yet we must
continually fight against the lure of false gods, like consumerism,
greed and violence, that tempt us to grasp an unjust share of the
world's goods, to exploit the poor and to abuse the earth's
resources.
"Lord Jesus, help us with your grace to triumph over those forces
which oppose the kingdom of God."
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Carmelite Method)
A. Introduction: settling in, relaxing in awareness of God's
presence.
B. Reading the text slowly, prayerfully.
C. Meditation: imaginative representation of the material; reflection
on the meaning of the material and its application to one's life.
D. Affective prayer: conversation with God, attentive to sharing
feelings awakened in meditation. Prayer of petition, thanksgiving,
remorse.
E. Resting in God in silent loving awareness, if moved to do so.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Imitation of Christ," by Thomas A. Kempis
The Disciple
LORD, what is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man
that
You visit him? What has man deserved that You should give him Your
grace? What cause have I, Lord, to complain if You desert me, or
what
objection can I have if You do not do what I ask? This I may
think and
say in all truth: "Lord, I am nothing, of myself I have nothing
that
is good; I am lacking in all things, and I am ever tending toward
nothing. And unless I have Your help and am inwardly
strengthened by
You, I become quite lukewarm and lax."
-------- Bk. 3, Chapter 40
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