A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
- blogcast from http://dailyspiritualseed.blogspot.com (comments option open)
Message of the Day
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.- William James, The Varieties of Religious Experiences
(How is this "living religion" present in your life lately?)
Readings of the Day
- http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
DN 6:12-28; DN 3:68, 69-74; LK 21:20-28
R. (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.“Dew and rain, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
“Frost and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
“Ice and snow, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
“Nights and days, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
“Light and darkness, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
“Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
“Let the earth bless the Lord,
praise and exalt him above all forever.”
Reflection on the Scriptures
- http://www.dailysripture.net
The greatest gift which no one can take from us and which we can be most thankful for is our redemption through the precious blood of Jesus, which was shed on the cross for our sins, and our adoption through Christ as children of God our heavenly Father. Jesus Christ has redeemed us from slavery to sin, from fear of death, and from final destruction. We can be eternally thankful because our hope is anchored in heaven and in the promise that Jesus will return to fully establish his reign of peace and righteousness. Jesus speaks of his second coming as a known fact, a for certain event which we can confidently expect to take place in the Lord's time of choosing. This coming will be marked by signs that all will recognize – signs which will strike terror and grief in those who are unprepared and wonder and joy in those who are ready to meet the Lord. When the Lord Jesus returns he will fully establish his kingdom of justice and righteousness and he will vindicate all who have been faithful to him. His judgment is a sign of hope for those who have placed their trust in him. Do you hope in God and in the promise of Christ to return again to establish his reign of righteousness and peace?
"Lord Jesus, fill me with gratitude for the gift of redemption and increase my hope and longing for your return again in glory. May that day bring joy to my heart rather than sorrow. Help me to serve you faithfully and to make the best use of my time now in the light of your coming again."
Spiritual Reading
The Cloud of Unknowing, by Anonymous (late 14th C.)
- http://www.amazon.com/dp/ 0385030975/?tag=christianspiritu
(Link to the translation by William Johnson, S.J., which is easier to read than the public domain translation below).
And yet she wist well, and felt well in herself in a sad soothfastness, that she was a wretch most foul of all other, and that her sins had made a division betwixt her and her God that she loved so much: and also that they were in great part cause of her languishing sickness for lacking of love. But what thereof? Came she therefore down from the height of desire into the deepness of her sinful life, and searched in the foul stinking fen and dunghill of her sins; searching them up, by one and by one, with all the circumstances of them, and sorrowed and wept so upon them each one by itself? Nay, surely she did not so. And why? Because God let her wit by His grace within in her soul, that she should never so bring it about. For so might she sooner have raised in herself an ableness to have oft sinned, than to have purchased by that work any plain forgiveness of all her sins.
- Chapter 23
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