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Nothing is too great and nothing is too small to commit into the hands of the Lord.
- A. W. Pink (1886-1952)
(Begin with yourself and your life, and continue.)
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Eccl 3:1-11; Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3-4
Lk
9:18-22
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He rebuked them and directed them not to
tell this to anyone.
He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
USCCB Lectionary
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Luke 9: 8-22 (Jesus and prayer)
Luke characteristically portrays Jesus as a man of prayer. Before undertaking major endeavors, Jesus is shown
spending time in prayer, a model we should never ignore. In today’s reading, prayer precedes Jesus’ disclosure to his apostles that he is a suffering redeemer.
- Why do you pray? How has prayer helped you lately?
- Why do you believe Jesus had to “endure many sufferings, be rejected by the elders, the high priests and the scribes, and be put to death”?
- Pray for the grace to be more centered in the Spirit of Jesus.
Paperback, Kindle
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The Way of Perfection, by Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Speaks of the fear of God and of how we must keep ourselves from venial sins.
So try, my daughters, to bear in mind that God does not pay great attention to all the trifling matters which occupy you, and
do not allow these things to make your spirit quail and your courage fade, for if you do that you may lose many blessings. As I have said, let your intention be upright and your will determined not to offend God. But do not let your soul dwell in seclusion, or, instead of acquiring holiness, you will develop many imperfections, which the devil will implant in you in other ways, in which case, as I have said, you will not do the good that you might, either to yourselves or to
others.
You see that, with these two things -- love and fear of God -- we can travel along this road in peace and quietness, and not think at every step that we can see some pitfall, and that we shall never reach our goal. Yet we cannot be sure of reaching it, so fear will always lead the way, and then we shall not grow
careless, for, as long as we live, we must never feel completely safe or we shall be in great danger. And that was our Teacher's meaning when at the end of this prayer He said these words to His Father, knowing how necessary they were: "But deliver us from evil. Amen."
- Chapter 41 (Keep in mind that she is writing to sisters in a cloistered contemplative order.)
Paperback, Kindle
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