Message of 5-6-08
Published: Sat, 05/03/08
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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MESSAGE OF THE DAY
Why is it so important that you are with God and God alone on the
mountain top? It's important because it's the place in which you
can listen to the voice of the One who calls you the beloved. To
pray is to listen to the One who calls you "my beloved daughter,"
"my beloved son," "my beloved child." To pray is to let that voice
speak to the center of your being, to your guts, and let that voice
resound in your whole being.
--Henri Nouwen
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SCRIPTURE READINGS
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/
Acts 20:17-27; Ps. 68:10-11, 20-21; Jn 17:1-11a
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance;
you restored the land when it languished; Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy.
Blessed day by day be the Lord,
who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation.
God is a saving God for us;
the LORD, my Lord, controls the passageways of death.
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GOSPEL MEDITATION
- from http://www.dailyscripture.net/
The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from
Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father.
Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as
our Father. To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we
see the perfect love of God - a God who cares intensely and who
yearns over men and women, loving them to the point of laying down
his life for them upon the Cross. Jesus is the revelation of God -
a God who loves us completely, unconditionally and perfectly. Do
you seek unity of heart, mind and will with God and unity of love
and peace with your neighbor?
"If only I possessed the grace, good Jesus, to be utterly at one
with you! Amidst all the variety of worldly things around me,
Lord, the only thing I crave is unity with you. You are all my
soul needs. Unite, dear friend of my heart, this unique little
soul of mine to your perfect goodness. You are all mine; when
shall I be yours? Lord Jesus, my beloved, be the magnet of my
heart; clasp, press, unite me for ever to your sacred heart. You
have made me for yourself; make me one with you. Absorb this tiny
drop of life into the ocean of goodness whence it came." (Prayer
of Francis de Sales, 1567-1622)
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PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE (Ignatian Method)
A. Preparation: acts of faith and reverence in the presence of God;
asking grace of a good meditation; petition for specific graces
sought in meditation.
B. Reading the Scriptures slowly, prayerfully.
C. Exercise of the memory, imagination, and intellect:
consideration of the material.. What practical applications are
suggested?
D. Expression of feelings and sentiments awakened in meditation.
Conversation with God.
E. Exercise of will and imagination in making resolutions. Prayer
for grace to fulfill resolutions.
F. Vocal prayer (Our Father, Hail Mary, other prayers).
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NOTES FROM A CLASSICAL WORK
"Sayings of Light and Love," by St. John of the Cross (jottings
from his notebooks)
60. When evening comes, you will be examined in love. Learn to love
as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting.
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