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The power to appreciate and to open the heart is indispensable to the awakening and the maintenance of the mystical appetite. But all the raptures they bring put together are not so effective as the icy chill of a disappointment in knowing that you alone, my God, are stable. It is through sorrow, and not through joy, that your Godhead gradually assumes, in our sentient faculty, the higher Reality it possesses in the nature
of things."
- Teilhard de Chardin, Writings in Times of War -
(What disappointments are you experiencing at this time in life? How can they help you lean on God more fully?)
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Webinars
July 9, 2020: Covid-19 Conspiracies and the "Mark of the Beast," by
Philip St. Romain and Jerry Truex.
August 13, 2020: Can a Christian Believe in Evolution? by Philip
St. Romain
September 10, 2020: What does it Mean to be Pro-Life? by Philip
St. Romain
Book Studies
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, by Brene Brown, Ph.D., L.M.S.W.
Led By: Ann Axman and Pattie McGurk on Zoom
Dates: Tuesday June 23 and 30 July 7, 14, 21 and 28
Fully Awake and Truly Alive: Spiritual Practices to Nurture Your Soul, by Rev. Jane E Vennard
Led By: Marcia Berchek and Ann Axman on Zoom
Dates: Wednesday August 5, 12,19 and 26, September 2
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2 KGS 19:9B-11, 14-21, 31-35A, 36; PS 48:2-3AB, 3CD-4, 10-11
MT 7:6, 12-14
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”
USCCB Lectionary
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Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain,
2018 (3rd ed.)
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Matthew 7: 6, 12-14 (The narrow gate)
Today’s reading includes three loosely related teachings. As we strive to walk the difficult path of love, we are warned that we should not profane sacred truths and rituals by sharing them with people who cannot receive them or are not ready to. This caution does not mean that we should become exclusive or elitist, however.
• What golden rule sums up your philosophy about relationships with other people? How does this differ from verse 12?
• With what kinds of people do you find it difficult to share your beliefs about Christianity? How do you relate to these people?
Paperback, Kindle and eBook
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Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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BOOK I: CONTAINING A PREPARATION FOR THE WHOLE TREATISE
Chapter 15: Of the affinity there is between God and man
Mothers' breasts are sometimes so full that they must offer them to some child, and though the child takes the breast with great avidity, the nurse offers it still more eagerly, the child pressed by its necessity, and the mother by her abundance.
The sacred spouse wished for the holy kiss of union: O, said she, let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. But is there affinity enough, O well-beloved spouse of the well-beloved, between thee and thy loving one to bring to the union which thou desirest? Yes, says she: give me it; this kiss of union, O thou dear love of my heart: for thy breasts are
better than wine, smelling sweet of the best ointment. New wine works and boils in itself by virtue of its goodness, and cannot be contained within the casks; but thy breasts are yet better, they press thee more strongly, and to draw the children of thy heart to them, they spread a perfume attractive beyond all the scent of ointments. Thus, Theotimus, our emptiness has need of the divine abundance by reason of its want and necessity, but God's abundance has no need of our poverty but by reason
of the excellency of his perfection and goodness; a goodness which is not at all bettered by communication, for it acquires nothing in pouring itself out of itself, on the contrary it gives: but our poverty would remain wanting and miserable, if it were not enriched by the divine abundance.
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