A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
- blogcast from http://dailyspiritualseed.blogspot.com (comments option open)
Contents:
- Book/Resource of the Week
- Weekend Readings
- Spiritual Guidance
- Saint of the Week
- Affiliate Web Sites
- Theology Note of the Week
- Discussion Board
- Joke of the Week
- Advertising and Archives
- Subscribe/Unsubscribe links. Attributions.
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Book/Resource of the Week
Preparing for Advent: Daily Meditations for Advent, by Richard Rohr. Franciscan Media. 2012.
- http://www.amazon.com/dp/1616364785/?tag=christianspiritu
Richard
Rohr never fails to impart fresh perspectives. The following overview
from the December 19 reflection in Preparing for Christmas is a good
example.Fr. Rohr recalls the scripture story of Elizabeth's miraculous pregnancy (Lk 1:5-25). Noting how often wives of patriarchs failed to conceive, he suggests that barrenness/fertility may be symbolic. Not only that, he writes, but "Maybe all of the healing stories are more about real transformation than medical cures.
In discussing scripture stories about lepers, Rohr explains that in Jesus' time "leprosy" was a broad term applied to people who were seen as physically unacceptable in some way, and therefore excluded from society. He points out that Jesus always touches the "lepers," becoming ritually unclean himself--an act of solidarity and compassion. In addition, Jesus frequently sends the healed lepers to a new community, allowing them to gain or regain social acceptability, Rohr writes. "That is the healing!" Perhaps barren women and lepers, as well as fertile women and reintegrated lepers, are stand-ins for all of us. "Authentic God encounters make us all spiritually fertile and humanly connected."
Richard Rohr, a priest of the New Mexico Province, is an internationally known teacher who has published numerous recorded talks and books. Preparing for Christmas provides scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day of advent.
(Amazon.com reviewer.)
Weekend Readings
- http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
Saturday
ROM 10:9-18
PS 19:8-11
MT 4:18-22
Sunday
IS 2:1-5
PS 122: 1-9
ROM 13:11-14
MT 24:37-44
Spiritual Guidance
- http://shalomplace.com/direction
Need a companion for the spiritual journey?
We have several wonderful people ready to help, using email, telephone and/or video conferences to bridge the miles.
Consultations and spiritual direction available.
Saint of the Week
- http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saintofday/default.aspx
St. John Damascene (676-749): December 5
John
spent most of his life in the monastery of St. Sabas, near Jerusalem,
and all of his life under Muslim rule, indeed, protected by it. He was
born in Damascus, received a classical and theological education, and
followed his father in a government position under the Arabs. After a
few years he resigned and went to the monastery of St. Sabas.He is famous in three areas. First, he is known for his writings against the iconoclasts, who opposed the veneration of images. Paradoxically, it was the Eastern Christian emperor Leo who forbade the practice, and it was because John lived in Muslim territory that his enemies could not silence him. Second, he is famous for his treatise, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, a summary of the Greek Fathers (of which he became the last). It is said that this book is for Eastern schools what the Summa of Aquinas became for the West. Thirdly, he is known as a poet, one of the two greatest of the Eastern Church, the other being Romanus the Melodist. His devotion to the Blessed Mother and his sermons on her feasts are well known.
Affliate Web Sites
- Please give them a visit
Contemplative Ministries of the Pacific Northwest: Teaching and support on contemplative practice.
- http://www.prayeroftheheart.com/
Shalom Place: Resources on Christian spiritual living.
- http://shalomplace.com/
Inner Explorations: a vast array of spirituality resources for the mature Christian.
- http://innerexplorations.com
SeeScapes: picturing the deeper dimensions of our spirituality.
- http://www.seescapes.com/
Heartland Center for Spirituality: sponsoring Internet workshops year-round.
- http://heartlandspirituality.org/
Emanuella House of Prayer: a place for prayer and silence in British Columbia.
- http://emmanuellahouse.shawwebspace.ca/
Kyrie Places of Pilgrimmage and Renewal
- http://www.kyrie.com/places/index.htm
Temenos Catholic Worker: support for homeless youth in Polk Street neighborhood, San Francisco.
- http://www.temenos.org/
The Sanctuary Foundation for Prayer: resources for spiritual growth.
- http://fromholyground.org/index.htm
Philothea.net: promoting the love of God as expressed in The First Great Commandment
- http://philothea.net/
Hearts on Fire: a blog to spark inspiration, thought, wonder, laughter and prayer.
- http://heartsonfire33.wordpress.com/
Stillpoint: Programs in spiritual direction, contemplative prayer.
- http://www.stillpointnashville.org/
The Ark: Providing a variety of scripture and lectionary study resources.
- http://theark1.com/
Reach hundreds of people who have a similar interest in Christian spirituality. Simply publish a link to Daily Spiritual Seed-- http://heartlandspirituality.org/dailyseed.html --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.
Theology Note of the Week
- http://carm.org/r
Resurrection, Resurrection Bodies
Resurrection means to be raised from the dead (John 5:28,29). The word is used in different contexts in the Bible. Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11:43). This is a resurrection, but it is not part of the resurrection that occurs when we receive our new bodies when Christ returns (1 Thess. 4:13-18), on the last day (John 6:39-44) when the last trumpet is blown (1 Cor. 15:51-55). Lazarus died again. The resurrection of Jesus is promissory in that as we know he was raised, so we will be raised also. In that context, Jesus is the only one who has received a resurrected body. That is why he is called the first-fruit from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20-23). We will receive our bodies either at the rapture or when Jesus returns to earth.
The resurrected body is not subject to death or sin. We know very little about it except what was manifested by Jesus after his resurrection; namely, that He was able to move about as he desired -- in and out of rooms without the use of doors. Other than that, the rest is conjecture. (See 1 Cor. 15).
Discussion Board
- http://shalomplace.org/eve/forums
Topics being discussed at this time include:
Strange sounds heard around the world
- Shalom Place Lounge forum.
Obamacare experiences
- Religion and Culture forum
Supernatural adoption
- Christian Morality and Theology forum
Joke of the Week
- http://www.pacprod.com/jokes.pl
A few more zingers . . .
A minister parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and couldn't find a space with a meter.
Then he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: "I have circled the block 10 times. If I don't park here, I'll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses."
When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I don't give you a ticket I'll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation."
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There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation: "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we have enough money to pay for our new building program. The bad news is, it's still out there in your pockets."
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While driving in Pennsylvania, a family caught up to an Amish carriage. The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor, because attached to the back of the carriage was a hand printed sign...
"Energy efficient vehicle: Runs on oats and grass. Caution: Do not step in exhaust."
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A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question, "Boys and girls, what do we know about God?"
A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!" said the kindergarten boy.
"Really? How do you know?" the teacher asked.
"You know - Our Father, who does art in Heaven... "
(Thanks, Carol)
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- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067L6TQ/?tag=christianspiritu
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- http://heartlandspirituality.org/support.html
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R. Give glory and eternal praise to him!
Religion
is nothing if it be not the vital act by which the entire mind seeks to
save itself by clinging to the principle from which it draws its life.
This act is prayer, by which term I understand no vain exercise of
words, no mere repetition of certain sacred formulae, but the very
movement itself of the soul, putting itself in a personal relation of
contact with the mysterious power of which it feels the presence—it may
be before it even has a name by which to call it. Whenever this interior
prayer is lacking, there is no religion; wherever, on the other hand,
this prayer rises and stirs the soul, even in the absence of forms or
doctrines, we have living religion.
R. (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
R. (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Getting
our total beings right…that is the goal Gerard offers in this book. He
begins with ways to get started , such as knowing what nonviolence is
all about in one’s own spiritual journey. Before one can make any real
impact in helping the world become violence-free, one must set one’s own
life style in peaceful order. 
This
story of the Germans who as early as the 16th century were
disillusioned by the economic, political, and religious situation had
visions of emigrating from Germany to a neighboring nation. Service in
the military and denial of religious freedom were the final straws that
precipitated their move to Russia in the 18h century. 
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