Message of 4-9-08
Published: Sat, 04/05/08
Love is always new!
Those who live in Love,
are renewed each day
and through their frequent acts of goodness
are born all over again.
- Hadewijch, "Poems in Stanzas"
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 8:1b-8; Ps. 66:1-3a, 4-5, 6-7a; Jn 6:35-40
R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, "How tremendous are your deeds!"
"Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!"
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.
He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from "Daily Bread"
http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
"Saul was trying to destroy the church."
By his lights as a Pharisee, Saul was doing God's will when he
dragged those early Christian men and women out of their houses and
sent them to prison. We know what happened on the road to Damascus
as Saul-become-Paul saw the light. One wonders how this man trusted
his own perception ever again. Perhaps the memory of those
Christians he persecuted haunted him in his darker hours.
Meanwhile, Philip was preaching in Samaria and those outcasts, the
enemies of temple Jews, were joyfully turning over their lives to
Jesus. If Jesus comes for outcasts and sinners, where does that
place us? In pretty interesting company.
"O God, save us from complacency and self-righteousness and fill us
with the joy of turning over our lives to you."
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
- "Meister Eckhart's Sermons"
Schoolmen have often asked how it is possible for the soul to know
God. It is not from severity that God demands much from men in
order to obtain the knowledge of Himself: it is of His kindness
that He wills the soul by effort to grow capacious of receiving
much, and that He may give much. Let no man think that to attain
this knowledge is too difficult, although it may sound so, and
indeed the commencement of it, and the renouncement of all things,
is difficult. But when one attains to it, no life is easier nor more
pleasant nor more lovable, since God is always endeavouring to
dwell with man, and teach him in order to bring him to Himself. No
man desires anything so eagerly as God desires to bring men to the
knowledge of Himself. God is always ready, but we are very unready.
God is near us, but we are far from Him. God is within, and we are
without. God is friendly; we are estranged. The prophet saith, "God
leadeth the righteous by a narrow path into a broad and wide place,
that is into the true freedom of those who have become one spirit
with God." May God help us all to follow Him that He may bring us
to Himself. Amen.
- #2, The Nearness of the Kingdom
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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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