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The hell of the fallen condition is abolished in Christ. Everything now depends not on merits, but on faith and love, on the relationship of each individual with Christ and with the neighbor."
- Olivier Clement, The Roots of Christian Mysticism
(In a nutshell! What thoughts, feelings, and concerns does this raise for you? Express them to God this day.)
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Webinars
August 13, 2020: Can a Christian Believe in Evolution? by Philip
St. Romain
September 10, 2020: What does it Mean to be Pro-Life? by Philip
St. Romain
Book Studies
Fully Awake and Truly Alive: Spiritual Practices to Nurture Your Soul, by Rev. Jane E Vennard
Led By: Marcia Berchek and Ann Axman on Zoom
Dates: Wednesday August 5, 12,19 and 26, September 2
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JER 14:17-22; Psalm79:8, 9, 11 AND 13
MT 13:36-43
Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
USCCB Lectionary
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Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain,
2018 (3rd ed.)
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Matthew 13: 35-43 Parable of the weeds explalned
Again we find Jesus explaining his parables to his disciples, but he invites everyone to be open to his teaching. We live in a world that is both good and bad, Jesus tells us. God can purge the evil from our midst, but we must hear his words of love and put them into practice.
• Some philosophers have argued that goodness is merely the absence of evil; others, notably Augustine, argued that evil is the absence of good. Where do you stand on the issue of sources of good and evil?
• How does hearing God’s word help you to become a better person? Write down your thoughts. Spend some time thanking God for the gift of the Scriptures.
Paperback, Kindle and eBook
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Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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BOOK I: CONTAINING A PREPARATION FOR THE WHOLE TREATISE
Chapter 17: That we have not the power to love God above all things
Eagles have a great heart, and much strength of flight, yet they have incomparably more sight than flight, and extend their vision much quicker and further than their wings. So our souls animated with a holy natural inclination towards the divinity, have far more light in the understanding to see how lovable it is than force in the will to love it. Sin
has much more weakened man's will than darkened his intellect, and the rebellion of the sensual appetite, which we call concupiscence, does indeed disturb the understanding, but still it is against the will that it principally stirs up sedition and revolt: so that the poor will, already quite infirm, being shaken with the continual assaults which concupiscence directs against it, cannot make so great progress in divine love as reason and natural inclination suggest to it that it should
do.
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