Message of 11-19-08
Published: Fri, 11/07/08
ANNUAL APPEAL
We have, from the beginning, made Daily Spiritual Seed available
without requiring payment, and our plan is to continuing doing so
as long as possible. It might also help to mention that I do not
maintain two separate lists -- one for those who send donations,
and the other for those who don't. There is one list only. I
mention this because, from time to time, I hear from people who've
been dropped from the list and promise they'll send a donation if I
place them back on it. That's not how it works, however. If
anyone is dropped from the list, it's because their email has
bounced and the listserve removes them; some have also had a
problem with Daily Seed being flagged as spam and blocked by their
provider. There's little I can do about these problems except to
encourage re-subscribing, or contacting your provider.
Even though we have no paid requirement and only one list, the
concept I've emphasized from the beginning is the "shareware"
ethic. Maybe you've used shareware before -- software you can
download, and if you enjoy it, you pay for it. Generally,
shareware quits functioning after 30 days or so if you don't
register it, so Daily Seed is different, in that respect. It will,
as noted above, be sent to everyone who subscribes regardless of
their status as a supporter. The shareware ethic is still what we
emphasize, however, which is to say that if you do subscribe and
you find benefit from this resource, please do consider a financial
contribution from time to time.
- see http://shalomplace.com/seed/donations.html for links to donate
online or voluntary subscription payments.
For checks or money orders, send to: Internet Ministry. Heartland
Center for Spirituality. 3600 Broadway. Great Bend, KS 67530.
Thanks!
Phil St. Romain
Editor
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
"Our Savior says that a good tree, that is, a good heart as well as
a soul on fire with charity, can do nothing but good and holy
works. For this reason St. Augustine said: 'Love and do what you
will,' namely, possess love and charity and then do what you will.
It is as if he had said: 'Charity is not able to sin.'"
St. Angela Merici
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Rv 4:1-11; Ps 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6; Lk 19:11-28
R. (1b) Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
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SCRIPTURE MEDITATION
- from "Daily Reflections"
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
In many ways, the message of Jesus is very counter-cultural. We
resist, even though we know the truth of what Jesus says, from so
many examples in life - muscles grow when we use them and they
atrophy when we don't use them. In our self-absorption culture, we
are often discouraged from taking personal risks. We are often told
- in hundreds of direct and subliminal ways - that we should always
choose what will keep us "healthy." Personal sacrifice - even for a
greater good - is not always seen as good for me, and is therefore
to be avoided. Being "stretched," denying myself, serving the needs
of others before my own, suffering greatly to stay faithful to a
commitment, giving my self away in love, are all viewed with
suspicion in a culture adverse to self risk.
Jesus frees us. The one who has given us the gifts we have will
give us even more. However, even in the spiritual life, the "rate
of return" is directly related to "the amount of risk" we take.
Jesus stimulates our desires with this parable, stirring in us a
confident desire to make better use of the gifts he has given us,
by risking more and more to invest them for a higher rate of return.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
Now the question arises what is sanctification, since it has so
lofty a rank. Thou shouldest know that real sanctification consists
in this that the spirit remain as immovable and unaffected by all
impact of love or hate, joy or sorrow, honour or shame, as a huge
mountain is unstirred by a gentle breeze. This immovable
sanctification causes man to attain the nearest likeness to God
that he is capable of. God's very essence consists of His immovable
sanctity; thence springs His glory and unity and impassibility. If
a man is to become as like God as a creature may, that must be by
sanctification. It is this which draws men upward to glory, and
from glory to unity, and from unity to impassibility, and effects a
resemblance between God and men. The chief agent in this is grace,
because grace draws men from the transitory and purifies them from
the earthly. And thou shouldest know that to be empty of all
creature's love is to be full of God, and to be full of
creature-love is to be empty of God.
- #6, Sanctification.
(Note: sometimes it seems to me that Eckhart of speaking of
"sanctification" more in the sense of detachment than in the way we
usually use the term these days.)
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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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