A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
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Message of the Day
A man’s personality actuates and quickens his whole body. If anyone said it was unsuitable for the man’s power to be in the toe, he would be thought silly, because, while granting that a man penetrates and actuates the whole of his body, he denied his presence in the part. Similarly, no one who admits the presence of the Word of God in the universe as a whole should think it unsuitable for a single human body to be by Him actuated and enlightened.
- St. Athanasius (293-373), "The Incarnation of the Word of God" [4th century]
(Christ fills the universe and all its parts [Eph. 1:23] -- you being one such. Let this awareness stay with you this day.)
Readings of the Day
- http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
JAS 4:13-17; PS 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11; MK 9:38-40
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom
of heaven is theirs!Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all who dwell in the world,
Of lowly birth or high degree,
rich and poor alike.
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast.
Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one’s life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction.
For he can see that wise men die,
and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away,
leaving to others their wealth.
Lenten Study Series
Topic: God and I: Exploring the connections between God, Self and Ego (spiritual theology)
Learning Process: 9 written conferences; private discussion forum for participants; video conferences.
See http://shalomplace.com/inetmin/GodandI for more information and registration options.
Reflection on the Scriptures
- http://www.dailysripture.net
Every one in need has a claim on us because they are dear to God who created them in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). God created us in love for love. We are most free and happy when we love as he loves. The love and charitable help we show to our neighbor also expresses the gratitude we have for the abundant mercy and kindness of God towards us. Jesus declared that any kindness shown and any help given to those in need would not lose its reward. Jesus never refused to give to anyone in need who asked for his help. As his disciples we are called to be kind and generous as he is. Are you grateful for God’s mercy and kindness towards you and are you ready to show that same kindness and generosity towards your neighbor?
Gregory of Nyssa, an early church father (330-395 AD), comments on this passage: “God never asks his servants to do what is impossible. The love and goodness of his Godhead is revealed as richly available. It is poured out like water upon all. God furnished to each person according to his will the ability to do something good. None of those seeking to be saved will be lacking in this ability, given by the one who said: ‘whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward’” (Mark 9:41). Ask the Lord Jesus to increase your generosity in doing good for others.
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may radiate the joy of the gospel to others. May your light and truth shine through me that others may find new life and freedom from sin and the corruption of evil."
Spiritual Reading
The Way of Perfection, by St. Teresa of Avila
- http://www.amazon.com/dp/1456569856/?tag=christianspiritu
Continues the
description of a method for recollecting the thoughts.
Describes means of doing this. This chapter is very
profitable for those who are beginning prayer.You will ask me, sisters, how you can possibly do all this, and say that, if you had seen His Majesty with your bodily eyes at the time when He lived in the world, you would have done it willingly and gazed at Him for ever. Do not believe it: anyone who will not make the slight effort necessary for recollection in order to gaze upon this Lord present within her, which she can do without danger and with only the minimum of trouble, would have been far less likely to stand at the foot of the Cross with the Magdalen, who looked death (as they say) straight in the face. What the glorious Virgin and this blessed saint must have suffered! What threats, what malicious words, what shocks, what insults! For the people they were dealing with were not exactly polite to them. No, indeed; theirs was the kind of courtesy you might meet in hell, for they were the ministers of the devil himself. Yet, terrible as the sufferings of these women must have been, they would not have noticed them in the presence of pain so much greater.
- Chapter 26
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