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
Stations of the Crib: A Journey to Hope from Advent to Ephiphany, by Joseph Nassal. Forest of Peace, 2002.
- http://www.amazon.com/dp/0939516640/?tag=christianspiritu
Similar
to the 14 Stations for Lent, Joseph Nassal offers 15 stations of the
crib, as he leads his readers from the manger to the Saviour’s missions
beyond it. To accomplish this journey, Nassal draws on the Gospels of
Matthew and Luke. Each chapter shows a varied aspect of the story of the
birth of Jesus, offering an review of how “God in our midst”. A
down-to-earth God is presented in a style of writing that shows
excitement and imagination in every line. Written in a semi-poetic
style, Nassal emphasizes the virtue of Hope in times of suffering,
heart-break, and deep-seated sorrow, as well as in times of super joy,
Alleluia times. The Introduction urges the readers to stop and ponder on how the busy time of Advent includes a call to “take time to reflect”. The first station urges the readers to meet Zachary in the temple and come to complete silence at the magnitude of the news he received. The second station finds Mary at prayer, and the angel Gabriel as her alarm clock waking people out of slumber into deep commitment. In the third station Mary and Elizabeth reach out to each other, one too old to have a child, the other too young. In the 4th station, Mary speaks her greatest hit, “My soul does magnify the Lord”. In the 5th station, Zachary finds his voice again and says, “His name is John”.
In the 6th station, Joseph is visited by an angel and follows the angel’s directions to flee to safety with Mary and Jesus. The 7th station takes the reader back to Bethlehem to a sign that reads, “No room in the inn”. The angels receive a birth announcement in the 8th station.
After stopping at stations 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, Nassal brings readers in station 15 to acknowledge that each one is the work of God’s hands, and awaits the day when God announces, “Welcome home, my child”.
A delightful book, thanks to Father Joseph Nassal C.PP.S.
(Thanks to Sr. Irene Hartman OP for this review.)
Weekend Readings
- http://www.usccb.org/calendar/index.cfm?showLit=1&action=month
Saturday
1 JN 5:14-21
PS 149:1-6A, 9B
JN 3:22-30
Sunday
IS 42:1-4, 6-7
PS 29:1-4, 9-10
ACTS 10:34-38
MT 3:13-17
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. Gregory Nazianzen (329-390): January 14
After
his baptism at 30, Gregory gladly accepted his friend Basil’s
invitation to join him in a newly founded monastery. The solitude was
broken when Gregory’s father, a bishop, needed help in his diocese and
estate. It seems that Gregory was ordained a priest practically by
force, and only reluctantly accepted the responsibility. He skillfully
avoided a schism that threatened when his own father made compromises
with Arianism. At 41, Gregory was chosen suffragan bishop of Caesarea
and at once came into conflict with Valens, the emperor, who supported
the Arians. An unfortunate by-product of the battle was the cooling of
the friendship of two saints. Basil, his archbishop, sent him to a
miserable and unhealthy town on the border of unjustly created divisions
in his diocese. Basil reproached Gregory for not going to his see.When protection for Arianism ended with the death of Valens, Gregory was called to rebuild the faith in the great see of Constantinople, which had been under Arian teachers for three decades. Retiring and sensitive, he dreaded being drawn into the whirlpool of corruption and violence. He first stayed at a friend’s home, which became the only orthodox church in the city. In such surroundings, he began giving the great sermons on the Trinity for which he is famous. In time, Gregory did rebuild the faith in the city, but at the cost of great suffering, slander, insults and even personal violence. An interloper even tried to take over his bishopric.
His last days were spent in solitude and austerity. He wrote religious poetry, some of it autobiographical, of great depth and beauty. He was acclaimed simply as “the Theologian.”
Affliate Web Sites
- Please give them a visit
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/
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
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
Ritual
A ritual is an established ceremony (religious or nonreligious) with specific patterns that is aimed at imitating a past event, initiating a person into a belief system or practice, offering sacraments, or conveying a message. A ritual is most often a religious ceremony.
Discussion Board
- http://shalomplace.org/eve/forums
Topics being discussed at this time include:
Supernatural adoption
- Christian Morality and Theology forum
Losing, then getting back the Holy Spirit?
- Christian Spirituality Issues forum
Joke of the Week
- http://www.pacprod.com/jokes.pl
Grandmas's revenge
When my three-year-old son opened the birthday gift from his grandmother, he discovered a water pistol. He squealed with delight and headed for the nearest sink. I was not so pleased.
I turned to Mom and said, "I'm surprised at you. Don't you remember how we used to drive you crazy with water guns?"
Mom smiled and then replied....."I remember."
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Amazon Gift Cards: Good for any occasion.
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00067L6TQ/?tag=christianspiritu
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- http://heartlandspirituality.org/support.html
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