Message of 12-11-08
Published: Thu, 12/04/08
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
"Waiting on God is a bore; but what fun to argue, to score off
opponents, to lose one's temper and call it 'righteous
indignation,' and at last to pass from controversy to blows, from
words to what St. Augustine so deliciously described as the
'beningnant asperity' of persecution and punishment."
- Aldous Huxley, "The Perennial Philosophy" -
(Waiting on God . . . how are you practicing this discipline these
days?)
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Is 41:13-20; Ps 145:1 and 9, 10-11, 12-13ab; Mt 11:11-15
R. (8) The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger, and of
great kindness.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
Let them make known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"I, the Lord, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not
forsake them."
We all have prayed for patience and have become frustrated when
neither patience nor that which tests our patience arrives
immediately. We wish away the minutes in secret fear that what we
long for will never come. As if our patience is not already rare,
Advent by its very nature intensifies our longings. There's grace
in our anticipation, an opportunity to grow in faith and trust. The
Lord will answer. Rest assured the Holy One of Israel approaches.
At long last, our Redeemer comes.
"That all may see and know, observe and understand," we pray.
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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 Voice of Christ
MY CHILD, if you place your peace in any creature because of
your own
feeling or for the sake of his company, you will be unsettled and
entangled. But if you have recourse to the ever-living and abiding
Truth, you will not grieve if a friend should die or forsake
you. Your
love for your friend should be grounded in Me, and for My sake you
should love whoever seems to be good and is very dear to you in
this
life. Without Me friendship has no strength and cannot endure.
Love
which I do not bind is neither true nor pure.
-------- Bk. 3, Chapter 42
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