Message of 12-5-08
Published: Sat, 11/29/08
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
- - -
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
"I really don't want a God who is solicitous of my every need,
fawning for my attention, eager for nothing in the world so much as
the fulfillment of my self-potential. One of the scourges of our
age is that all of our deities are house-broken and eminently
companionable. Far from demanding anything, they ask only how they
can more meaningfully enhance the lives of those they serve."
- Belden C. Lane, "The Solace of Fierce Landscapes"
(Ask not what God can do for you, but what you can do for God this
day.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Is 29:17-24; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; Mt 9:27-31
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life's refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
GOSPEL MEDITATION
from "Praying the Daily Gospels," by Philip St. Romain:
- http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=6614
Matthew 9: 27-31 (Jesus cures two blind men)
Jesus was very aware that his actions and words were misinterpreted
by those who had their own ideas about what the messiah should be.
He did not fit the role of the political monarch some wanted, nor
was he committed to the cause of Jewish nationalism. He saw
himself more as a loving servant and sought frequently to deflect
attention away from himself toward his Father.
- If you could ask and receive one gift from God, what would you
choose? Hear Jesus ask you, "Are you confident I can do this for
you?"
- Ask for the grace to strengthen your faith in God's providence.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Benedictine Approach)
1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read a short passage of Scripture as though God were speaking
directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it
slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments
awakened by your meditation. When you're done, read another passage
and repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in
loving silence, put the Scripture aside and rest in God.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "The Practice of the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence
As for what passes in me at present, I cannot express it. I have no
pain or difficulty about my state, because I have no will but that
of GOD, which I endeavour to accomplish in all things, and to which
I am so resigned, that I would not take up a straw from the ground
against His order, or from any other motive but purely that of love
to Him.
- Second letter
______________________________
* Web Archive: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?dailyseed
* RSS: http://www.aweber.com/z/rss/?dailyseed