Message of 1-30-08
Published: Mon, 01/21/08
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
- - -
MESSAGE OF THE DAY
No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle,
pure and good without the world being better for it, without
somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that
goodness.
- Phillips Brooks
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- Lenten spiritual enrichment series:
THE FIVE CONSENTS: Co-operating With the Spirit to Grow in Grace
Internet/email series begins Ash Wednesday and continues through
Easter week.
Leader: Philip St. Romain, M.S., D. Min.
Cost: free-will donation
This spiritual enrichment series will consist of 35 messages sent
to your email through Lent and the first week of Easter. Themes
for the presentations will focus on giving consent to:
1. Life, and living to the full (the virtue of hope)
2. God's providential care (the virtue of faith)
3. Loving service (the virtue of love and the gift of community)
4. Hardship, suffering and death (the way of the Cross)
5. The gift of the present moment (resurrection living)
A special discussion board forum will also be available for
participants to interact and share experiences. For more
information this series and and to register for it, see
http://shalomplace.org/fiveconsents
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
2 Sm 7:4-17; Ps. 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30; Mk 4:1-20
R. (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages."
"He shall cry to me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock that brings me victory!'
I myself make him firstborn,
Most High over the kings of the earth."
"Forever I will maintain my love for him;
my covenant with him stands firm.
I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
REFLECTION ON THE SCRIPTURES
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
We've all had experiences like David's. We have what seems like a
great idea, something we know will please God, only to have God say
"No." So how do we discern God's will? David knew he should bounce
his ideas off of the prophet Nathan before moving forward. We, too,
should confer with prophets -- wise, godly folk who help us hold
"great ideas" up to the light. Parents, siblings, spouses or
trusted friends may act for us in this capacity. We may rely on a
counselor, a confessor or a spiritual director. We might also
regularly review the good things God has done for us already, which
can help us to remain grateful and hopeful about the goodness
planned for our future.
For holy discernment, we pray.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
Now, there are three natural means of attraction with which Christ
on the Cross drew to Himself between the third and the ninth hour,
more people than He had drawn before during the three and thirty
years of His life. The first means by which He draws is affinity,
that affinity which brings creatures of the same species together,
and like to its like. With this cord of affinity he drew men to the
Godhead, Whom He always resembles. In order that God may draw more
to Himself, and forget His wrath, the Son saith, "Beloved Father,
seeing that Thou wouldest not forgive sins because of all the
former sacrifices offered, lo I, Thine Only begotten Son, Who
resemble Thy Godhead in all things, in Whom Thou hast hidden all
the riches of divine love, I come to the Cross, that I may be a
living sacrifice before Thine eyes; that out of Thy fatherly
compassion Thou mayest bend and look on Me, Thine only Son, and on
My Blood flowing from My wounds, and slake the fiery sword with which
in the angel's hands Thou hast barred the way to Paradise, that all
who have repented and bewailed their sins through Me, may enter
therein."
- Sermon on "The Attractive Power of God"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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
_________________________________________________
* Web Archive: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?dailyseed
* RSS: http://www.aweber.com/z/rss/?dailyseed