A Daily Spiritual Seed
- resources for prayer and spiritual growth
- blogcast from http://dailyspiritualseed.blogspot.com (comments option open)
Message of the Day
“The different kinds of vice, the use of drugs, in the literal or metaphorical sense of the word, all such things constitute the search for a state where the beauty of the world will be tangible. The mistake lies precisely in the search for a special state. False mysticism is another form of this error.”
(Simone Weil [20th C.], “Waiting on God”
(The One we are really waiting for is God, who becomes visible and even tangible for us with the Incarnation. How are you "waiting" during this Advent season?)
Readings of the Day
- http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
NM 24:2-7, 15-17; PS 25:4-9; MT 21:23-27
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord. Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
Reflection on the Scriptures
- http://www.preacherexchange.com/daily_bread.htm
I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near.
Advent and Lent may be popular partly because they are a microcosm of the whole of life: that place between the already and the not-yet where we all live. In The Denial of Death, Ernst Becker refers to humans as (please excuse the crude language) “angels with assholes.” We long for the sublime eternal and we can, on occasion, find ourselves there in the midst of prayer or listening to a beautiful song or even as we gaze on a sleeping child with so much love that we feel our hearts will burst. But the child wakes, the song ends, and our bodies remind us that we are not eternal beings yet, but oh-so-limited by time and space and needs -- so many needs! Perhaps during these days before Christmas we can take a moment to enjoy eternity, found in this life only in the present moment. Enjoy the twinkling lights, the smiles of children, the music of the season. And give thanks, even as the moment passes, for someday we shall live in the moment that will never end.
For your presence, Lord.
- by Paige Byrne Shortal
Spiritual Reading
The Sparkling Stone, by St. John Rusybroeck (1293-1381)
And so, that the Name of Christ may be exalted and glorified in us, we should follow Him up the mountain of our bare intelligence, even as Peter, James and John followed Him on to mount Thabor. Thabor means in our tongue an increase of light. So soon as we are like Peter in knowledge of truth, and like James in the overcoming of the world, and like John in fulness of grace possessing the virtues in righteousness; then Jesus brings us up on to the mountain of our bare intelligence to a hidden solitude, and reveals Himself to us in glory and in Divine brightness. And, in His name, His Father in heaven opens to us the living book of His Eternal Wisdom. And the Wisdom of God enfolds our bare vision and the simplicity of our spirit in a wayless, simple fruition of all good without distinction; and here there are indeed seeing and knowing, tasting and feeling, essence and life, having and being: and all this is one in our transcendence in God. And before this transcendence we are all set, each in his own particular way; and our heavenly Father, of His wisdom and goodness, endows each one in particular according to the nobility of his life and his practice. And therefore, if we ever remained with Jesus on mount Thabor, that is, upon the mountain of our bare thought, we should continually experience a growth of new light and new truth; for we should ever hear the voice of the Father, Who touches us, pouring forth with grace, and drawing us inward into the unity.
- Chapter 12. Of the transfiguration of Christ on Mount Thabor
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Amazon Gift Cards: Good for any occasion.
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067L6TQ/?tag=christianspiritu
- - - -
Please support this ministry with a tax-deductible donation.
- http://heartlandspirituality.org/support.html
_________________________________________________
* Web Archive: http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?dailyseed
* RSS: http://www.aweber.com/z/rss/?dailyseed
* To subscribe by email: http://heartlandspirituality.org/dailyseed.html
* Blog subscription (includes comment options): http://dailyspiritualseed.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment