Message of 1-9-08
Published: Sat, 01/05/08
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.
Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with
love, grace, and gratitude.
- Dennis Waitley
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps. 72:1-2, 10, 12-13; Mk 6:45-52
R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
St John vi. 44.--"No one can come unto Me, except the Father
which hath
sent Me draw him."
(Continuing -- reflections on "deadly sin")
Therefore deadly sin is a breach of nature, a death of the soul, a
disquiet of the heart, a weakening of power, a blindness of the
sense, a sorrow of the spirit, a death of grace, a death of virtue,
a death of good works, an aberration of the spirit, a fellowship
with the devil, an expulsion of Christianity, a dungeon of hell, a
banquet of hell, an eternity of hell. Therefore, if thou committest
a deadly sin thou art guilty of all these and incurrest their
consequences. Regarding the first point: Deadly sin is a breach of
nature, for every man's nature is an image and likeness and mirror
of the Trinity, of Godhead and of eternity. All these together are
marred by a deadly sin; therefore, it is a breach of nature. Such
sin is also the death of the soul, for death is to lose life. Now
God is the life of the soul, and deadly sin separates from God;
therefore it is a death of the soul. Deadly sin is also a disquiet
of the heart, for everything rests nowhere except in its own proper
place; and the proper resting-place of the soul is nowhere except
in God as St Augustine saith, "Lord! Thou hast made us for Thyself,
therefore we may not rest anywhere save in Thee." Deadly sin is
also a weakening of the powers, for by his own power no one can
throw off the load of sin nor restrain himself from committing sin.
It is also a blindness of the sense, for it prevents a man
recognizing how brief is the space of time that can be spent in the
pleasure of voluptuousness, and how long are the pains of hell and
the joys of heaven. Deadly sin is also a death of all grace, for
whenever such a sin is committed, the soul is bereft of all grace.
Similarly, it is the death of all virtue and good works, and an
aberration of the spirit.
- from Sermon 1, "The Attractive Power of God"
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REVIEW OF DAY
- from, "Handbook for Spiritual Directees"
http://shalomplace.com/view/hndbk-lite.pdf
Here is a practice used by many at the end of the day to see what
lessons can be learned and how God was present and active through
the day. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of the
day for prayer and review of your day. A suggested format is
described below:.
1. Take a few moments of quiet. Breathe deeply. Ask God to help you
see yourself as you truly were during the day.
2. Look back over your day - not to see what you did wrong but to
honestly acknowledge what was going on with you and others.
* What happened? What did I do today?
* How did I feel? Why did I feel that way?
* Were my expectations and beliefs reasonable?
3. Affirm the healthy things you recognize.
4. Admit to yourself and God the unhealthy things. Ask God's
forgiveness, believe it is yours, then decide if you need to
apologize or make amends.
5. Use creative visualization to grow stronger. Honestly
acknowledge the troubling situations of the day. See and feel
yourself acting honestly and lovingly in these situations. Ask God
for the grace to help you act in this new way.
6. Close with simple awareness of the sights and sounds around you,
grateful for the good things in your life.
This process can be undertaken as a daily journal exercise or by
prayerfully reviewing your day in your own mind. I like to take a
walk before bedtime for examen. The important thing is to do it. It
is a discipline, to be sure, but a very important one.
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SHALOM PLACE PREMIUM GROUPS
- Life-long learning and formation in Christian spirituality.
Groups now open include the following:
A. Psychological Types and Spirituality
B. The Way of Christian Spirituality
C. Freedom from Codependency
D. Christian Spirituality Resources
E. Wonderfully Made (Christian Metaphysics)
F. Growing in Christ
G. Spiral Dynamics®
H. Discerning God's Will
I. Dark Night of the Soul
J. Silence, Solitude and Sabbath
K. Alpha Group -- includes all the above and all to come.
- see http://shalomplace.org/groups.html
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