Message of 12-1-08
Published: Sat, 11/29/08
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Let us accept the invitation, ever-open, from the Stillness, taste
its exquisite sweetness, and heed its silent instruction.
- Paul Brunton, "Perspectives"
(Our Advent "work")
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Is 2:1-5; Ps 122:1-2, 3-4b, 4cd-5, 6-7, 8-9; Mt 8:5-11
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
May those who love you prosper!
May peace be within your walls,
prosperity in your buildings.
Because of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you!"
Because of the house of the LORD, our God,
I will pray for your good.
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REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks."
In Isaiah's idyllic vision -- a world where nations no longer wage
or even train for war -- the peoples of the world are resourceful
participants in its transformation, refashioning weapons into farm
implements. But how can we dismantle the modern war machine, bound
as it is to our economy and mindset? We should not be put off by
the enormity and complexity of this task; rather, the scale of the
challenge highlights our necessary participation in it. Let us
begin by imagining our world retooled for peace. As we walk in the
light of the Lord, let us see clearly our role as ambassadors of
peace.
"For willingness to be agents of God's love and justice, we pray."
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LECTIO DIVINA PROCESS
- http://heartlandspirituality.org/vocations/prayer.html
First, you choose a passage of Scripture that you will pray with.
It might be the Gospel reading used in the liturgy of the day, or
anything else you want. The process then follows these steps:
* Reading (lectio) After settling in and quieting yourself,
read the passage slowly, prayerfully. Just let it sink in for a
minute or two, then read it a second time, paying closer attention
to the words or phrases that speak to you.
* Reflecting (meditatio) What do you hear God saying to you in
this passage? What words or phrases caught your attention?
* Responding (oratio) What do you want to say to God in
response to what you've heard? Here you can also voice your prayers
of petition, remorse, thanksgiving, praise, and so forth. If you
sense God speaking to you in your thoughts, feelings or
imagination, you respond as you would in any conversation.
* Resting (contemplatio) If, at any time, you feel drawn to
simply rest in the awareness of God's loving presence, you let
yourself do so. Remain in loving silence as long as you feel
comfortable, perhaps using a simple word or phrase from the
Scripture passage to help deepen your openness to rest in God.
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THEOLOGICAL GEMS FROM EMIL MERCH'S "THEOLOGY OF THE MYSTICAL BODY"
from http://www.innerexplorations.com/chtheomortext/theolgems.htm
459. The supernatural involves a change of a different order, a
change that is at once far more radical and more delicate, a change
that affects a being by causing it to be the very thing it was but
in a different way.
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