13/9/02/07, weel of Epiphany 6

[Please remember this is a sort of "menu" from which to select. No one has to pray it all]

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Collect

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/

Ps 97, 99, (100) * 94, (95); Isa 63:7-14; 1 Tim 1:18-2:8; Mark 11:12-26
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Mark 11:12-26. May no one ever eat fruit from you again!

You won't hear this one read in church on Sundays--we tend toward the more edifying Jesus, not this Jesus. If you needed more proof that Jesus was human, though, this would be your passage. It's the equivalent of Jesus' stubbing his toe and letting out an oath, or losing his temper at his mom and snapping at her.

I have heard that computer repair people sometimes arrive at an office to find that a frustrated user has plunged something through the screen of his machine or thrown his office chair at it, doing real damage. A veteran of computer battles myself--the machine always wins--I can understand the irresistible impulse to murder the thing.

They're not alive, though. You can't kill them. A tree is alive--but you won't get the bloody satisfaction of revenge you crave from killing one. You'll just get the foolish feeling of having engaged an insentient being in conversation, and hope that nobody was observing you.

A good thing to do is to stop what you're doing and just breathe. Slow down. Maybe admit defeat, and begin thinking about Plan B. Acknowledge your anger as anger names the beast--"Boy, am I mad!"--and might also save the furniture.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm

ABSALOM JONES

Psalm 137:1-6 or 126 ; Isaiah 61:1-4 or 42:5-9 ; John 15:12-15

Set us free, heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice and fear: that, honoring the steadfast courage of your servants Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

mazing Grace Sunday: http://www.amazinggracesunday.com/index.html

A Thanksgiving Sermon preached by Fr. Jones:
http://www.uoregon.edu/~mjdennis/courses/history_456_absalom%20jones.htm
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Masvingo (Zimbabwe, Central Africa)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php

Our most holy King has much more to give: He would rejoice to do nothing but give could He find souls capable of receiving.
St Teresa of Jesus
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html

On Gentleness

Abba Theon ate vegetables, but only those that did not need to be cooked. They say that he used to go out of his cell at night and stay in the company of the wild animals, giving them drink from the water he had. Certainly one could see the tracks of antelopes and wild asses and gazelles and other animals near his hermitage. These creatures always gave him pleasure.
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

Celebrating Being Alive

Birthdays are so important. On our birthdays we celebrate being alive. On our birthdays people can say to us, "Thank you for being!" Birthday presents are signs of our families' and friends' joy that we are part of their lives. Little children often look forward to their birthdays for months. Their birthdays are their big days, when they are the center of attention and all their friends come to celebrate.

We should never forget our birthdays or the birthdays of those who are close to us. Birthdays keep us childlike. They remind us that what is important is not what we do or accomplish, not what we have or who we know, but that we are, here and now. On birthdays let us be grateful for the gift of life.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:

Day Thirteen - The three Ways of Service
Tertiaries desire to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, whom we
serve in the three ways of Prayer, Study and Work. In the life of the Order
as a whole these three ways must each find full and balanced expression, but
it is not to be expected that all members devote themselves equally to each
of them. Each individual's service will vary according to his or her
abilities and circumstances, yet each individual member's Personal Rule of
Life must include each of the three ways.

God, you resist the proud and give grace to the humble: help us not to think
proudly, but to serve you with the humility that pleases you, so we may walk
in the steps of your servant Francis and receive the gift of your grace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/

HOLY AND MIGHTY ONE,
Open our eyes to your presence,
Open our hearts to your love.
Help us to see we belong to you
and to know you never cease to love us.
Lord, you call us in our loneliness,
You call us in our hunger,
You call us In our emptiness,
You call us back to you and your great love.
Lord, this day we give ourselves,
our whole being, to you:
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- David Adam
Forward to Freedom

From pages 62-63 of Forward to Freedom: From Exodus to Easter by David Adam. Copyright © 2001 by David Adam.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html

"Love Thyself"

There's no way you can love until you forgive yourself for not being perfect, for not being the saint you thought you were going to be. To use Franciscan imagery, until you've leapt across the chasm and embraced the leper, until you've recognized that really the leper is not on the other side of the chasm but the leper is, first of all, the leper within, you won't really know your passion, or be capable of com-passion. Compassion comes from a spacious place where a lot of things are put together and coexist, where we recognize, forgive and make friends with the enemy within. There's nothing you hate, there's nothing you fear over there in other people that you haven't met and forgiven in your own soul. The passionate struggle with your own shadow becomes compassion for the struggles of our neighbor.

from The Passion of God and the Passion Within
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From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
http://www.artsci.villanova.edu/dsteelman/tradition/sources.html

The poor save the rich

In God's plan the poor serve the advantage of the rich, for the rich are saved by the poor when no other door to salvation is open to them. The rich do not fast, they do not toil, they are not persecuted, they do not endure harsh conditions, and they do not pray, being ensnared by their interests. The Lord therefore takes thought: What else is there? What is left for you? Give alms, and, behold, everything is clean for you; and the wise man says: The rich and the poor have met; the Lord is Creator of them both. He created the rich for the sake of the poor, and the poor for the sake of the rich. To the rich he has given riches that they might feed the poor, and for this reason too he often multiplies and increases their wealth. To the poor he has given neediness, sores, and hardships, that they might move the hearts of the rich and so the rich might be saved.

Love the poor, therefore, you who are rich, for they are your brothers and sisters, your redeemers, your helpers, since theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Give what is temporal that you may receive what is eternal.

Thomas of Villanova, O.S.A., Thomas of Jesus (1529 - 1582), an Augustinian friar, while in prision in Africa and ministering to his fellow prisoners, wrote the book The Sufferings of Jesus, a work which has guided many people on the path to holiness, particularly Saint Elizabeth Ann Seaton of the United States who was greatly influenced by the work.
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 11: How the Night Office Is to Be Said on Sundays

On Sunday
the hour of rising for the Night Office should be earlier.
In that Office let the measure already prescribed be kept,
namely the singing of six Psalms and a verse.
Then let all be seated on the benches in their proper order
while the lessons and their responsories are read from the book,
as we said above.
These shall be four in number,
with the chanter saying the "Glory be to the Father"
in the fourth responsory only,
and all rising reverently as soon as he begins it.

After these lessons
let six more Psalms with antiphons follow in order, as before,
and a verse;
and then let four more lessons be read with their responsories
in the same way as the former.

After these let there be three canticles
from the book of the Prophets,
as the Abbot shall appoint,
and let these canticles be chanted with "Alleluia."
Then when the verse has been said
and the Abbot has given the blessing,
let four more lessons be read,
from the New Testament,
in the manner prescribed above.

After the fourth responsory
let the Abbot begin the hymn "We praise You, O God."
When this is finished
the Abbot shall read the lesson from the book of the Gospels,
while all stand in reverence and awe.
At the end let all answer "Amen,"
and let the Abbot proceed at once
to the hymn "To You be praise."
After the blessing has been given,
let them begin the Morning Office.

This order for the Night Office on Sunday
shall be observed the year around,
both summer and winter;
unless it should happen (which God forbid)
that the brethren be late in rising,
in which case the lessons or the responsories
will have to be shortened somewhat.
Let every precaution be taken, however,
against such an occurrence;
but if it does happen,
then the one through whose neglect it has come about
should make due satisfaction to God in the oratory.

Commentary: http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html

This site needs to be updated.
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