Weekend Edition - Daily Spiritual Seed
Published: Thu, 01/31/08
- readings, teachings, references and reviews -
Contents:
- Weekend Readings
- Lenten Spiritual Enrichment Series
- Saint of the Week
- Book of the Week
- Christian Spirituality Series
- Shalom Place Premium Groups
- Personal Spiritual Guidance
- Affiliate Web Sites
- Website of the Week
- Joke of the Week
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WEEKEND READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Saturday: Mal 3:1-4; Ps. 24:7, 8, 9, 10; Heb 2:14-18; Lk
2:22-40
Sunday: Zep 2:3; 3:12-13; Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Cor
1:26-31; Mt 5:1-12a
R. (Mt 5:3) Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is
theirs!
The LORD keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
The LORD gives sight to the blind;
the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.
The LORD loves the just;
the LORD protects strangers.
The fatherless and the widow the LORD sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The LORD shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
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- 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
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SAINT OF THE WEEK
- February 6th. St. Dorothy.
She was a martyr in Caesarea (Cappadocia, central Turkey) during
the great persecution of the Emperor Diocletian (313). Solid
historical fact is lacking, but that is compensated for by the
beautiful if legendary "Acts of St. Dorothy". According to this
account, as she was taken to her death for refusing to worship
idols, a lawyer named Theophilus made fun of her and asked her to
send him fruit from the 'garden of Paradise' where she maintained
she was going. In response to her prayer, an angel duly appeared
and presented to Theophilus a basket containing three roses and
three apples. This apparition was enough to cause his instant
conversion, and, in turn, his own martyrdom for the faith. The cult
of St. Dorothy was popular in Western Europe especially in the late
Middle Ages and her representation can be seen in surviving
pre-Reformation art in East Anglia, for example. The shrine of St.
Dorothy is in Rome, in the church dedicated to her in Trastevere
(i.e. the 'other side' of the Tiber). She is the patron saint of
florists and greengrocers, and her feast day is the occasion for a
blessing of a whole cornucopia of flowers, vegetables and fruits,
many of an exotic tropical kind such as she would never have known
in her lifetime in the arid steppes of Turkey.
- http://www.hullp.demon.co.uk/SacredHeart/saint/StDorothy.htm
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
"Shaking a Fist at God: Insights from the book of Job," by
Katherine Dell. Triumph Books, 1985.
-
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000OIJ8ME/christianspiritu/
"Why does God allow the sinless to suffer?" "Why does God allow
suffering at all?" These are the two main questions that Dell
attempts to answer in this book. She examines the problem of
undeserved suffering, basing her book principally on the Book of
Job. She saw Job as virtuous and sinless, but devastated by
terrible losses of his children and his flocks, and then victim of
a terrible illness. He was even reduced to beggary. Job who had
once been a faithful follower of God now began to cry out,
"Injustice!"'
Dell drew on stories of other literary personages, like Chaucer,
Hardy, and Tom Stoppard to further explore the problem of
undeserved suffering. She suggests that one may be justified to
shake a fist at God.
She dares to say that God cannot prevent suffering and should not
be blamed for it. Humanity has been gifted with free will to choose
good or evil, and sometimes the wrong choices bring on suffering.
She believes that God suffers along with the one in pain, and that
there are no definitive answers to suffering, only questions.
Finally Dell points to the concept of redemption, offering a
Christian response to the mystery of undeserved suffering.
- Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman, O.P. for this review.
Make the Christian Spirituality Bookstore your starting point for
online shopping at Amazon.com. You can buy books, cds, videotapes,
software, appliances and many other products at discount prices.
As Amazon.com affiliate, we are paid a small fee for purchases
originating from our web site. Every little bit helps!
http://shalomplace.com/books/index.html
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"The Way of Christian Spirituality"
- 24 teachings on Christian spirituality and practice
Conferences now available as free email subscription.
- see http://shalomplace.org/basXspir.html for more info and to
subscribe.
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SHALOM PLACE PREMIUM GROUPS
- Life-long learning and study and spiritual growth.
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. Communities in Transition (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 for only
$65.00.
- see http://shalomplace.org/groups.html for more info.
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- PERSONAL SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE -
Need a companion for the spiritual journey? We have several
wonderful people ready to help, using email and telephone
conferences to bridge the miles.
- Now providing -
Consultations: this option is best for short-term guidance
pertaining to a specific issue.
Spiritual Direction: ongoing relationship with a spiritual director
to become more attuned to God's presence in all of life.
See http://shalomplace.com/direction/
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AFFILIATE WEB SITES (please give them a visit)
Contemplative Rudder: "In the midst of Consecrated Silence'
atmospherics ... a Rudder!
http://www.contemplativerudder.com/
Holy Trinity: Old Catholic Orthodox Church. Corpus Christi, TX
http://www.holytrinityoldcatholic.org/
SeeScapes. Picturing the deeper dimensions of our spirituality.
http://www.seescapes.com
Contemplative Ministries of the Pacific Northwest: teaching and
support on contemplative practice
http://www.prayeroftheheart.com
Stillpoint: programs in spiritual direction, contemplative prayer.
http://www.stillpointnashville.org/
Solitude and Streets: an emerging faith community.
http://www.solitudeandstreets.org
Heartland Center for Spirituality (sponsoring Internet workshops
year-round).
http://www.heartlandspirituality.org/index.html
Kyrie Places of Pilgrimmage and Renewal.
http://www.kyrie.com/places/index.htm
Carry the Light CD: Piano Meditations for the Hopeful Heart
http://www.sharonkcooper.com/pages/1/index.htm
The Ark: Providing a variety of scripture and lectionary study
resources.
http://www.theark1.com
Temenos Catholic Worker: support for homeless youth in Polk Street
neighborhood, San Francisco
http://www.temenos.org/
Family Life Training and Counseling Center: an online Bible
college/seminary
http://www.familylifetrainingcenter.com/
Contemplative Outreach of St. Louis
http://www.centeringprayerstl.com/
Inner Explorations: a vast array of spirituality resources for the
mature Christian.
http://innerexplorations.com
Emanuella House of Prayer: a place for prayer and silence in
British Columbia
http://members.axion.net/~massf/
(Reach other people who have a similar interest in Christian
spirituality. Simply publish a link to Daily Spiritual Seed--
http://shalomplace.com/seed --on a prominent place on your web site
and we will reciprocate with a weekly link to your site in the
newsletter. Contact the Editor when you're ready to begin.)
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WEB SITE OF THE WEEK
All About Lent . . .
- http://www.churchyear.net/lent.html
Didn't we just put the Christmas ornaments away?
Yes. Lent is about as early as it is possible for it to be this
year. Easter is the first Sunday following the first full moon
after the vernal equinox: March 23rd this year, and Lent is the six
weeks prior to Easter.
This website explains the history of the Lenten season and has
helpful links to Lenten prayers and practices. A very helpful
resource.
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JOKE OF THE WEEK
A minister is driving down to New York to see the radio show and
he's stopped in Connecticut for speeding. The state trooper smells
alcohol on his breath and then he sees an empty wine bottle on the
floor, and he says, "Sir, have you been drinking?"
And the minister says, "Just water."
The sheriff says, "Then why do I smell wine?"
And the minister looks down at the bottle and says, "Good Lord,
He's done it again!"
- - -
When the waitress in a New York City restaurant brought him the
soup du jour, the Englishman was a bit dismayed. "Good heavens," he
said, "what is this?" "Why, it's bean soup," she replied. "I don't
care what it has been," he sputtered. "What is it now?"
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