Weekend Edition - A Daily Spiritual Seed
Published: Fri, 10/31/08
- readings, teachings, references and reviews -
Contents:
- Weekend Readings
- Commerce Corner (new)
- Saint of the Week
- Book of the Week
- Email Spirituality Series
- Shalom Place Premium Groups
- Spiritual Enrichment Resource
- Email Spirituality Series
- Shalom Place Discussion Board
- Affiliate Web Sites
- Website of the Week
- Joke of the Week
- - -
WEEKEND READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Saturday: Phil 4:10-19; Ps 112:1b-2, 5-6, 8a and 9; Lk 16:9-15
Sunday: Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9; 1 Cor
3:9c-11, 16-17; Jn 2:13-22
R. (5) The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy
dwelling of the Most High!
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
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SAINT OF THE WEEK
- November 11th. St. Martin of Tours.
He was born in what is now Hungary in 316 son of an officer in the
Roman army. He soon felt called to the life of Christ and served a
term of imprisonment as a conscientious objector who felt that
military service and Christianity were incompatible. After his
release there occurred the famous incident, which took place near
Amiens, when he gave half his cloak to a beggar in whom he saw
Christ and then dreamed a dream in which Christ appeared wearing
it. He became a disciple of St Hilary at Poitiers and was baptised.
From 360 onwards, Martin devoted himself to the monastic life;
indeed, he is regarded as the virtual founder of Western
monasticism. His houses were firstly at Ligugé near Poitiers and
after 372, when he was chosen Bishop of Tours by popular acclaim at
Marmoutier, which became a thriving monastery. In an age when
Christianity was largely confined to towns, Martin saw monasteries
as a way of promoting rural evangelisation based on spiritual
centres. He himself was a most assiduous Bishop, carrying out
frequent visitations and defending doctrine. Martin's followers
panicked when he told them he knew he was near death, but the saint
entrusted himself to the Lord's will in the words: "Lord if your
people still need me I do not refuse the work; let your will be
done". He died on November 8th., 397. Today is the anniversary of
his burial at Tours. His great popularity as a saint was promoted
largely by the biography of him, written by his friend Sulpicius
Severus. In England, 'Martinmas' was a key time of the year; it was
the time for hiring new servants and for beginning to salt meat to
last the winter through.
- http://www.hullp.demon.co.uk/SacredHeart/saint/StMartinoftours.htm
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
"With the Dawn Rejoicing: A Christian perspective on pain and
suffering," by Melannie Svoboda SND. 23 Publications, 2008.
-
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1585956996/ref=noism/christia
nspiritu/
Since pain and suffering are universal experiences, Svoboda
addresses her book to all humankind. The pains she writes about may
be physical, psychological, or spiritual and come in a variety of
forms. She aims to touch on the many ways suffering arrives and
tries to show ways to alleviate the ache.
The author shows how Sacred Scripture intertwines with real life
and remains rooted in Christians with faith. Her meditations deal
with some of these topics: the universality of pain, Jesus the
healer, how to deal with setbacks, how to befriend the imperfect,
biblical images of suffering, and the suffering of the saints. Each
chapter begins with a quotation from various sources, followed by a
meditation, and an appropriate prayer. The chapters conclude with a
question or two for personal reflection and a suggested action for
the day.
Svoboda believes that God is speaking in sorrows and in joys. She
knows from personal experience the meaning of a fatal disease as
she was recently diagnosed with polymyositis whereby the autoimmune
system begins to attack and destroy healthy cells. In the meantime
there in painful swelling, general muscle weakness, and chronic
fatigue. There is no promise of a cure. Twenty percent of people
who get it die within five years. Others are able to manage the
disease with medication. Her diagnosis occasioned the writing of
this book on suffering.
(Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review.)
Make the Christian Spirituality Bookstore your starting point for
online shopping at Amazon.com. You can buy books, cds, videotapes,
software, appliances and many other products at discount prices.
As Amazon.com affiliate, we are paid a small fee for purchases
originating from our web site. Every little bit helps!
http://shalomplace.com/books/index.html
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SHALOM PLACE PREMIUM GROUPS
- Life-long learning and study and spiritual growth.
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. Communities in Transition (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 for only
$65.00.
- see http://shalomplace.org/groups.html for more info.
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SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT RESOURCE
"Reflecting on the Serenity Prayer," by Philip St. Romain
"The Serenity Prayer" is admired and prayed by those who seek to
find an inner peace in the face of life's difficult challenges.
This book uses the complete prayer as the basis for reflecting on
how we can surrender our lives to God's care. Each chapter provides
a meditation on one of the principles from the prayer and proposes
specific ways to implement the principle it embodies. Reflection
questions are proposed at the end of each chapter. Great for
individual spiritual growth or group discussion. 86 pages. 1997.
- see http://tinyurl.com/6b9a2n to order your copy.
- http://tinyurl.com/6a4ucv for Amazon.com orders
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EMAIL SPIRITUALITY SERIES
"The Way of Christian Spirituality"
- 24 teachings on Christian spirituality and practice. Conferences
now available as free email subscription.
- see http://shalomplace.org/basXspir.html for more info and to
subscribe.
"The Five Consents"
- 35 lessons to your email. Topics pertain to faith, hope, loving
service, redemptive suffering, and joyful living. Free-will
donation.
- see http://shalomplace.org/fiveconsents for more info and
subscription form.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- PERSONAL SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE -
Need a companion for the spiritual journey? We have several
wonderful people ready to help, using email and telephone
conferences to bridge the miles.
- Now providing -
Consultations: this option is best for short-term guidance
pertaining to a specific issue.
Spiritual Direction: ongoing relationship with a spiritual director
to become more attuned to God's presence in all of life.
See http://shalomplace.com/direction/
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SHALOM PLACE DISCUSSION BOARDS
- Discussions this past week covered a variety of topics:
- see http://shalomplace.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php to read these
topics -
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AFFILIATE WEB SITES (please give them a visit)
Contemplative Rudder: "In the midst of Consecrated Silence'
atmospherics ... a Rudder!
http://www.contemplativerudder.com/
Inner Explorations: a vast array of spirituality resources for the
mature Christian.
http://innerexplorations.com
The Sanctuary Foundation for Prayer: resources for spiritual growth.
http://fromholyground.org/index.htm
SeeScapes. Picturing the deeper dimensions of our spirituality.
http://www.seescapes.com
Temenos Catholic Worker: support for homeless youth in Polk Street
neighborhood, San Francisco
http://www.temenos.org/
Contemplative Ministries of the Pacific Northwest: teaching and
support on contemplative practice
http://www.prayeroftheheart.com
Heartland Center for Spirituality (sponsoring Internet workshops
year-round).
http://www.heartlandspirituality.org/index.html
Emanuella House of Prayer: a place for prayer and silence in
British Columbia
http://members.axion.net/~massf/
The Ark: Providing a variety of scripture and lectionary study
resources.
http://www.theark1.com
Kyrie Places of Pilgrimmage and Renewal.
http://www.kyrie.com/places/index.htm
(Reach other people who have a similar interest in Christian
spirituality. Simply publish a link to Daily Spiritual Seed--
http://shalomplace.com/seed --on a prominent place on your web site
and we will reciprocate with a weekly link to your site in the
newsletter. Contact the Editor when you're ready to begin.)
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WEB SITE OF THE WEEK
The Poetry of Robert Frost
- http://www.internal.org/list_poems.phtml?authorID=7
For those who don't want to spend money on a paper book collection
of his works, here's an alternative. The page provides a brief
bio, with links to many of his poems.
Here's "My November Guest" -- a timely reflection.
My Sorrow, when she's here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list:
She's glad the birds are gone away,
She's glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.
From "A Boy's Will", 1913
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JOKE OF THE WEEK
- How Wall Street Works
Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the
villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers,
seeing that there were many monkeys around, went into the forest
and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 and, as
supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He
further announced that he would now buy monkeys at $20 for each.
This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching
monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people
started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each,
and the supply of monkeys became so small that it was an effort to
even find a monkey, let alone catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However,
since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant
would now buy on behalf of him.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers. "Look
at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I
will sell them to you at $35, and when the man returns from the
city, you can sell them to him for $50 each."
The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the
monkeys. They never saw the man nor his assistant again, only
monkeys everywhere!
(Thanks to Sr. Louise for this one!)
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