02/03/07 week of 1st Sunday in Lent
[Please remember this is a sort of "menu" from which to select. No one has to pray it all]
If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/
Collect
are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/
Psalm 95* & 40, 54; Psalm 51; Deut. 10:12-22; Heb. 4:11-16; John 3:22-36
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm
Deuteronomy 10:12-22. Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart.
Like infant baptism, circumcision is a choice made for the child, an ancient ritual of inclusion into the worshiping community. Today's reading invites adults to embrace that choice, to claim it as their own. Clearly we are not being called to open heart surgery, but to a deliberate, conscious "yes" to God.
What Deuteronomy also makes clear is that saying "yes" to God involves action: we are to participate in God's works of mercy, for it is with our help that God is able "to execute justice for the orphan and the widow, and love the strangers, giving them food and clothing." In recent years more and more of our own communities harbor "strangers," refugees battered by terror or tempest. If we claim membership in God's household, we are also called to action on their behalf.
Whatever the holy tasks we are called to, we are always offered strength to do them. Today's epistle invites us: "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." It is God who opens our hearts, it is God who calls us to action, and it is God who accompanies us along the way.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm
Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, 672
Psalm 84:7-12 or 23; Philippians 4:10-13 ; Luke 14:1,7-14
Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to step aside for others, (in honor preferring one another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him who washed his disciples' feet, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Missionary Area of Macau (Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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40 Ideas for Lent: A Lenten calendar http://ship-of-fools.com/lent/index.html
9. SOMEONE ELSE'S PREFERENCE
FRI 2 MAR
Pick out something that a friend or family member enjoys doing but that you aren't fond of. Then do it with them – without playing the martyr. You might even want to get them to suggest something.
Idea by: NicoleMRW
"There were some sailors in a boat, which started to ship water. One sailor began to dig a hole under his seat to let the water out. The others stopped him at once. He was very surprised and rather angry. 'What right have you got to stop me?' he said. 'I was digging a hole under my seat, not yours.'" – Jewish parable
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A Celtic lenten Calendar
http://www.oursanctuary.net/celticlent.html
Thanks to Thee, O God, that I have risen today,
To the rising of this life itself;
May it be to Thine own glory, O God of every gift,
And to the glory of my soul likewise.
O great God, aid Thou my soul
With the aiding of Thine own mercy;
Even as I clothe my body with wool,
Cover Thou my soul with the shadow of Thy wing.
Help me to avoid every sin,
And the source of every sin to forsake;
And as the mist scatters on the crest of the hills,
May each ill haze clear from my soul, O God.
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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php
In this temple of God, in this Mansion of His, He and the soul alone have fruition of each other in the deepest silence.
St Teresa of Jesus
Interior Castle, III.3
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html
Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion said, 'One day when we were walking beside the sea I was thirstty and I said to Abba Bessarion, "Father, I am very thirsty." He said a prayer and said to me, "Drink some of the sea water." The water proved sweet when I drank some. I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. I said to him, "Forgive me, it is for fear of being thirsty later on." Then the old man said, "God is here, God is everywhere." '
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/
God Covenant
God made a covenant with us. The word covenant means "coming together." God wants to come together with us. In many of the stories in the Hebrew Bible, we see that God appears as a God who defends us against our enemies, protects us against dangers, and guides us to freedom. God is God-for-us. When Jesus comes a new dimension of the covenant is revealed. In Jesus, God is born, grows to maturity, lives, suffers, and dies as we do. God is God-with-us. Finally, when Jesus leaves he promises the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Spirit, God reveals the full depth of the covenant. God wants to be as close to us as our breath. God wants to breathe in us, so that all we say, think and do is completely inspired by God. God is God-within-us. Thus God's covenant reveals to us to how much God loves us.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:
Day Two - The Object (cont.)
In the example of his own sacrifice, Jesus reveals the secret of bearing
fruit. In surrendering himself to death, he becomes the source of new life.
Lifted from the earth on the cross, he draws all people to himself. Clinging
to life causes life to decay; the life that is freely given is eternal.
Lord Jesus, in your servant Francis you displayed the wonderful power of the
cross: help us always to follow you in the way of the cross, and give us
strength to resist all temptation, and to you, Lord, with the Father and the
Holy Spirit be all glory for ever. Amen
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/
I LOVE THE LONGING I hear in Jesus’ voice when he says “How often have I desired …” His desire to help is very much like that of a parent, and in his voice, I hear the pain a parent feels when a child is out of reach. We all go through times when we refuse help. … We sometimes cannot accept the words, the actions, the help we need, maybe because we are afraid and wary of change. We resist the very thoughts, events or people that could help us most.
I had a friend recently tell me that I have an “abundance box,” and all I have to do is open it. This box might contain all that I need, and maybe I have it right here with me, but for some reason, I can’t see it, can’t understand it, can’t figure out how to open it. And maybe that breaks Jesus’ heart just as Jerusalem does — by missing the abundance, refusing the abundance of wisdom and love offered over and over.
- Sarah Parsons
The Upper Room Seasonal Reflections
From The Upper Room Seasonal Reflections, 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The Upper Room.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
"Confession"
Confession is not just for the confessional. Sometimes, maybe even more often, it needs to be done with a wife, husband, child, friend - someone who has the power to recognize and receive the sinner. What is not received is not redeemed: That's the principle of redemption, as far as I'm concerned. Redemption isn't experienced until the wound is received, until the hole in the soul - the weakness within that shows the way out - is recognized and somewhere looked at and named exactly for what it is. In jail we try to talk without euphemisms and niceties: Don't say the money got stolen; say, I stole the money. Take responsibility. Your mother hurt you, your father didn't love you, we all know that. Now will you take personal responsibility for what you did? The sense of personhood that comes from truthfulness is immense. It's the sacred no, the ability to say no to the false self. That gives one a sense of having boundaries, of knowing what is part of oneself and what isn't. Until a person can do that there is an endless, amorphous kind of personality without dignity or self-respect. Good morality provides good boundaries and good identity.
from Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps
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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.htm
Compassion
People whose inner vision has been cleansed by the exercise of charity toward their neighbor can delight in the contemplation of truth in itself, for it is love of truth which makes them take upon themselves the misfortunes of others. But can people find the truth in their neighbor if they refuse to support their brothers and sisters in this way—if on the contrary they either scoff at their tears or disparage their joys, being insensitive to all feelings but their own? There is a popular saying which well suits them: A healthy person cannot feel the pains of sickness, nor can one who is well-fed feel the pangs of hunger. The more familiar we are with sickness or hunger, the greater will be our compassion for others who are sick or hungry.
Just as pure truth can only be seen by the pure in heart, so the sufferings of our fellow men and women are more truly felt by hearts that know suffering themselves. However, we cannot sympathize with the wretchedness of others until we first recognize our own. Then we shall understand the feelings of others by what we personally feel, and know how to come to their help. Such was the example shown by our Savior, who desired to suffer himself in order that he might learn to feel compassion, and to be afflicted in order that he might learn how to show mercy.
Bernard of Clairvaux,(1090 - 1153), abbot of Clairvaux, was a monk whose writings show an intimate knowledge of scripture and mysticism.
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/
HAVE YOU FELT THE HURT OF THE LORD?
"Jesus said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me?" John 21:17
Have you felt the hurt of the Lord to the uncovered quick, the place where the real sensitiveness of your life is lodged? The devil never hurts there, neither sin nor human affection hurts there, nothing goes through to that place but the word of God. "Peter was grieved because Jesus said unto him the third time. . . ." He was awakening to the fact that in the real true centre of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus, and he began to see what the patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest strand of delusion left in Peter's mind, he never could be deluded again. There was no room for passionate utterance, no room for exhilaration or sentiment. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he said - "Lord, Thou knowest all things." Peter began to see how much he did love Jesus; but he did not say - "Look at this or that to confirm it." Peter was beginning to discover to himself how much he did love the Lord, that there was no one in heaven above or upon earth beneath beside Jesus Christ; but he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord came. The Lord's questions always reveal me to myself.
The patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the right time. Rarely, but probably once, He will get us into a corner where He will hurt us with His undeviating questions, and we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than any profession can ever show.
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/
Chapter 25: On Weightier Faults
Let the brother who is guilty of a weightier fault
be excluded both from the table and from the oratory.
Let none of the brethren join him
either for company or for conversation.
Let him be alone at the work assigned him,
abiding in penitential sorrow
and pondering that terrible sentence of the Apostle
where he says that a man of that kind is handed over
for the destruction of the flesh,
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Cor. 5:5).
Let him take his meals alone
in the measure and at the hour
which the Abbot shall consider suitable for him.
He shall not be blessed by those who pass by,
nor shall the food that is given him be blessed.
Commentary: http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html
site needs to be updated
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Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan
Read Excerpts from the Church Fathers during Lent
http://www.churchyear.net/lentfathers.html
St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Philadelphians
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DON'T WORRY, EVERYTHING NEW IS ALSO OLD
To exercise or to finish my work? I had a deadline and an eMo hanging over my head, but was also a bit stiff and, as always, aware that not exercising is really dangerous for me. One day of not exercising is apt to lead to two or three more, and an entire winter can pass before you know it.
Perhaps I could do both. Make as much headway on the deadline as possible before leaving for the gym and then write the eMo in whatever time was left before my first appointment. Yes, that was a good plan.
At the gym, I realized that the partially finished piece in the computer needed another paragraph or two in order to make sense, so it was a good thing that I hadn't finished it before I left. Of course, I still had no eMo in my mind, but that happens. When it does, I remember that the Lord will provide. Art teaches a person trust like nothing else can. You just take out your pencil and begin. The Lord will provide.
Well, how will the Lord provide? From what will the Lord provide? From my two little fishes and five loaves of day-old pita bread, I guess. We think we have to make the plan every time in order to be at peace about it, that we need a detailed blueprint of what will happen and when it will happen -- but sometimes God just does it, and we are always surprised when that happens. As always, God will create the future from the leavings of the past, melting them down and reshaping them into something else. Every new thing in the universe is made of stuff that was lying around -- me, you, your new baby, the daffodils thinking about coming up in your garden. It's all old.
So we're always at home in our comfy clothes, no matter where we go and what we're wearing. No matter how strange a situation is, parts of it are familiar. We have seen some of it before.
Copyright © 2007 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org
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From the Greek Orthodox:
Opposing God: Isaiah 7:1-15 LXX, especially vss. 10-12: "And the Lord
again spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask for thyself a sign of the Lord thy God,
in the depth or in the height. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither
will I tempt the Lord." Who has not seen otherwise intelligent people
"fly in the face " of all wise counsel and wreak havoc on themselves and
others? Take a man dominated by alcohol: he refuses the pleas of wife
and children, scoffs at the warnings of his employer, argues with his
Pastor and friends, and ignores the counsel of his physician. When he
gets his paycheck, opposing all the loving warnings he has been given,
he heads off to the bar.
Do not think that opposition to loving advice is a problem solely of
alcoholics. Almost all of us, at one time or another, have set
ourselves against a mountain of truly sound counsel and godly advice.
Only because of the lovingkindness of God, (usually) we survived the
results of foolish choices and went on, only "a little the worse for the
wear." Later, thinking back, we regret, or even lament, our obstinacy -
older, sadder, and by grace, perhaps a little wiser.
The worst kind of obstinacy before wisdom given-in-love is to reject the
counsel of God through His Church. The Prophet Isaiah records God's
gracious counsel, the consequences of stubborn refusal by an ancient
king, God's persistent love, as well as His great, surprising mercy.
Isaiah's offer to King Ahaz is a waving banner of caution that we should
beware of hasty decisions. Sales promotions rely on now-or-never
devices: "You have just five days to respond to this amazing offer!" "I
can't guarantee you this price later!" "We have just two of these left!"
We understand King Ahaz of Judah and his people being thunderstruck to
learn of a military coalition attacking them: "And his soul was amazed,
and the soul of his people, as, in a wood, a tree is moved by the wind.
" (vs. 2). In our panic, let us embrace God's counsel: "Take care to be
quiet, and fear not, neither let thy soul be disheartened" (vs. 4). May
He Who governs all things well, give us grace to be attentive, measuring
our souls by this guidance from Isaiah.
Also, here, the Lord teaches us to be wary of easy, obvious, and
workable solutions. Examine each element in any answer that first
presents itself. Does it brush past the wisdom of Holy and wholesome
Tradition? Consider: "In what ways does the easy answer not square with
the teachings of the Prophets, the Apostles, and the Holy Fathers?"
Isaiah warned the King against the plans of the king of Syria and the
king of Ephraim: "they have devised an evil counsel" (vs. 5), but far
more important was his next word, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, This
counsel shall not abide" (vs. 7). The book of Second Kings records that
this king of Judah went against godly counsel. Ahaz begged the king of
the Assyrian Empire to aid him, with terrible consequences for himself
and his nation, Judah (see 4 Kngs. 16). Seek the Lord's counsel!
Do not miss the grace of God: before King Ahaz made his foolish choice,
God sent Isaiah to him a second time (vss. 10-17). The Lord gave him
fair opportunity to have confidence that God would solve the insoluble:
"Ask a sign of the Lord your God" (vs.11). The horror is that King Ahaz
refused. It is true that he couched his refusal in pious language, but
he refused God (vs. 12). May we never reject a clear commandment to
seek the Lord's help. The outcome of King Ahaz' decision gave the
Assyrians access to the kingdom of Judah - an unholy alliance that
weakened the nation and made possible its conquest by the Babylonians a
hundred years later. However, God announced a miracle for all nations:
a Virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call His Name Emmanuel." (vs. 14).
Save us, O Lord! Holding steadfastly the foresayings of the Prophet, let
us shout with a loud voice with Isaiah, saying: Behold the Virgin shall
conceive in the womb and give birth to a Son, Immanuel.
If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/
Collect
are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/
Psalm 95* & 40, 54; Psalm 51; Deut. 10:12-22; Heb. 4:11-16; John 3:22-36
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm
Deuteronomy 10:12-22. Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart.
Like infant baptism, circumcision is a choice made for the child, an ancient ritual of inclusion into the worshiping community. Today's reading invites adults to embrace that choice, to claim it as their own. Clearly we are not being called to open heart surgery, but to a deliberate, conscious "yes" to God.
What Deuteronomy also makes clear is that saying "yes" to God involves action: we are to participate in God's works of mercy, for it is with our help that God is able "to execute justice for the orphan and the widow, and love the strangers, giving them food and clothing." In recent years more and more of our own communities harbor "strangers," refugees battered by terror or tempest. If we claim membership in God's household, we are also called to action on their behalf.
Whatever the holy tasks we are called to, we are always offered strength to do them. Today's epistle invites us: "with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." It is God who opens our hearts, it is God who calls us to action, and it is God who accompanies us along the way.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm
Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, 672
Psalm 84:7-12 or 23; Philippians 4:10-13 ; Luke 14:1,7-14
Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to step aside for others, (in honor preferring one another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him who washed his disciples' feet, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Missionary Area of Macau (Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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40 Ideas for Lent: A Lenten calendar http://ship-of-fools.com/lent/index.html
9. SOMEONE ELSE'S PREFERENCE
FRI 2 MAR
Pick out something that a friend or family member enjoys doing but that you aren't fond of. Then do it with them – without playing the martyr. You might even want to get them to suggest something.
Idea by: NicoleMRW
"There were some sailors in a boat, which started to ship water. One sailor began to dig a hole under his seat to let the water out. The others stopped him at once. He was very surprised and rather angry. 'What right have you got to stop me?' he said. 'I was digging a hole under my seat, not yours.'" – Jewish parable
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A Celtic lenten Calendar
http://www.oursanctuary.net/celticlent.html
Thanks to Thee, O God, that I have risen today,
To the rising of this life itself;
May it be to Thine own glory, O God of every gift,
And to the glory of my soul likewise.
O great God, aid Thou my soul
With the aiding of Thine own mercy;
Even as I clothe my body with wool,
Cover Thou my soul with the shadow of Thy wing.
Help me to avoid every sin,
And the source of every sin to forsake;
And as the mist scatters on the crest of the hills,
May each ill haze clear from my soul, O God.
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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php
In this temple of God, in this Mansion of His, He and the soul alone have fruition of each other in the deepest silence.
St Teresa of Jesus
Interior Castle, III.3
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html
Abba Doulas, the disciple of Abba Bessarion said, 'One day when we were walking beside the sea I was thirstty and I said to Abba Bessarion, "Father, I am very thirsty." He said a prayer and said to me, "Drink some of the sea water." The water proved sweet when I drank some. I even poured some into a leather bottle for fear of being thirsty later on. Seeing this, the old man asked me why I was taking some. I said to him, "Forgive me, it is for fear of being thirsty later on." Then the old man said, "God is here, God is everywhere." '
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/
God Covenant
God made a covenant with us. The word covenant means "coming together." God wants to come together with us. In many of the stories in the Hebrew Bible, we see that God appears as a God who defends us against our enemies, protects us against dangers, and guides us to freedom. God is God-for-us. When Jesus comes a new dimension of the covenant is revealed. In Jesus, God is born, grows to maturity, lives, suffers, and dies as we do. God is God-with-us. Finally, when Jesus leaves he promises the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Spirit, God reveals the full depth of the covenant. God wants to be as close to us as our breath. God wants to breathe in us, so that all we say, think and do is completely inspired by God. God is God-within-us. Thus God's covenant reveals to us to how much God loves us.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis:
Day Two - The Object (cont.)
In the example of his own sacrifice, Jesus reveals the secret of bearing
fruit. In surrendering himself to death, he becomes the source of new life.
Lifted from the earth on the cross, he draws all people to himself. Clinging
to life causes life to decay; the life that is freely given is eternal.
Lord Jesus, in your servant Francis you displayed the wonderful power of the
cross: help us always to follow you in the way of the cross, and give us
strength to resist all temptation, and to you, Lord, with the Father and the
Holy Spirit be all glory for ever. Amen
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/
I LOVE THE LONGING I hear in Jesus’ voice when he says “How often have I desired …” His desire to help is very much like that of a parent, and in his voice, I hear the pain a parent feels when a child is out of reach. We all go through times when we refuse help. … We sometimes cannot accept the words, the actions, the help we need, maybe because we are afraid and wary of change. We resist the very thoughts, events or people that could help us most.
I had a friend recently tell me that I have an “abundance box,” and all I have to do is open it. This box might contain all that I need, and maybe I have it right here with me, but for some reason, I can’t see it, can’t understand it, can’t figure out how to open it. And maybe that breaks Jesus’ heart just as Jerusalem does — by missing the abundance, refusing the abundance of wisdom and love offered over and over.
- Sarah Parsons
The Upper Room Seasonal Reflections
From The Upper Room Seasonal Reflections, 2004. Copyright © 2004 by The Upper Room.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html
"Confession"
Confession is not just for the confessional. Sometimes, maybe even more often, it needs to be done with a wife, husband, child, friend - someone who has the power to recognize and receive the sinner. What is not received is not redeemed: That's the principle of redemption, as far as I'm concerned. Redemption isn't experienced until the wound is received, until the hole in the soul - the weakness within that shows the way out - is recognized and somewhere looked at and named exactly for what it is. In jail we try to talk without euphemisms and niceties: Don't say the money got stolen; say, I stole the money. Take responsibility. Your mother hurt you, your father didn't love you, we all know that. Now will you take personal responsibility for what you did? The sense of personhood that comes from truthfulness is immense. It's the sacred no, the ability to say no to the false self. That gives one a sense of having boundaries, of knowing what is part of oneself and what isn't. Until a person can do that there is an endless, amorphous kind of personality without dignity or self-respect. Good morality provides good boundaries and good identity.
from Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps
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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.htm
Compassion
People whose inner vision has been cleansed by the exercise of charity toward their neighbor can delight in the contemplation of truth in itself, for it is love of truth which makes them take upon themselves the misfortunes of others. But can people find the truth in their neighbor if they refuse to support their brothers and sisters in this way—if on the contrary they either scoff at their tears or disparage their joys, being insensitive to all feelings but their own? There is a popular saying which well suits them: A healthy person cannot feel the pains of sickness, nor can one who is well-fed feel the pangs of hunger. The more familiar we are with sickness or hunger, the greater will be our compassion for others who are sick or hungry.
Just as pure truth can only be seen by the pure in heart, so the sufferings of our fellow men and women are more truly felt by hearts that know suffering themselves. However, we cannot sympathize with the wretchedness of others until we first recognize our own. Then we shall understand the feelings of others by what we personally feel, and know how to come to their help. Such was the example shown by our Savior, who desired to suffer himself in order that he might learn to feel compassion, and to be afflicted in order that he might learn how to show mercy.
Bernard of Clairvaux,(1090 - 1153), abbot of Clairvaux, was a monk whose writings show an intimate knowledge of scripture and mysticism.
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/
HAVE YOU FELT THE HURT OF THE LORD?
"Jesus said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me?" John 21:17
Have you felt the hurt of the Lord to the uncovered quick, the place where the real sensitiveness of your life is lodged? The devil never hurts there, neither sin nor human affection hurts there, nothing goes through to that place but the word of God. "Peter was grieved because Jesus said unto him the third time. . . ." He was awakening to the fact that in the real true centre of his personal life he was devoted to Jesus, and he began to see what the patient questioning meant. There was not the slightest strand of delusion left in Peter's mind, he never could be deluded again. There was no room for passionate utterance, no room for exhilaration or sentiment. It was a revelation to him to realize how much he did love the Lord, and with amazement he said - "Lord, Thou knowest all things." Peter began to see how much he did love Jesus; but he did not say - "Look at this or that to confirm it." Peter was beginning to discover to himself how much he did love the Lord, that there was no one in heaven above or upon earth beneath beside Jesus Christ; but he did not know it until the probing, hurting questions of the Lord came. The Lord's questions always reveal me to myself.
The patient directness and skill of Jesus Christ with Peter! Our Lord never asks questions until the right time. Rarely, but probably once, He will get us into a corner where He will hurt us with His undeviating questions, and we will realize that we do love Him far more deeply than any profession can ever show.
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/
Chapter 25: On Weightier Faults
Let the brother who is guilty of a weightier fault
be excluded both from the table and from the oratory.
Let none of the brethren join him
either for company or for conversation.
Let him be alone at the work assigned him,
abiding in penitential sorrow
and pondering that terrible sentence of the Apostle
where he says that a man of that kind is handed over
for the destruction of the flesh,
that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Cor. 5:5).
Let him take his meals alone
in the measure and at the hour
which the Abbot shall consider suitable for him.
He shall not be blessed by those who pass by,
nor shall the food that is given him be blessed.
Commentary: http://www.eriebenedictines.org/Pages/INSPIRATION/insights.html
site needs to be updated
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Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan
Read Excerpts from the Church Fathers during Lent
http://www.churchyear.net/lentfathers.html
St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Philadelphians
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DON'T WORRY, EVERYTHING NEW IS ALSO OLD
To exercise or to finish my work? I had a deadline and an eMo hanging over my head, but was also a bit stiff and, as always, aware that not exercising is really dangerous for me. One day of not exercising is apt to lead to two or three more, and an entire winter can pass before you know it.
Perhaps I could do both. Make as much headway on the deadline as possible before leaving for the gym and then write the eMo in whatever time was left before my first appointment. Yes, that was a good plan.
At the gym, I realized that the partially finished piece in the computer needed another paragraph or two in order to make sense, so it was a good thing that I hadn't finished it before I left. Of course, I still had no eMo in my mind, but that happens. When it does, I remember that the Lord will provide. Art teaches a person trust like nothing else can. You just take out your pencil and begin. The Lord will provide.
Well, how will the Lord provide? From what will the Lord provide? From my two little fishes and five loaves of day-old pita bread, I guess. We think we have to make the plan every time in order to be at peace about it, that we need a detailed blueprint of what will happen and when it will happen -- but sometimes God just does it, and we are always surprised when that happens. As always, God will create the future from the leavings of the past, melting them down and reshaping them into something else. Every new thing in the universe is made of stuff that was lying around -- me, you, your new baby, the daffodils thinking about coming up in your garden. It's all old.
So we're always at home in our comfy clothes, no matter where we go and what we're wearing. No matter how strange a situation is, parts of it are familiar. We have seen some of it before.
Copyright © 2007 Barbara Crafton - http://www.geraniumfarm.org
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From the Greek Orthodox:
Opposing God: Isaiah 7:1-15 LXX, especially vss. 10-12: "And the Lord
again spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask for thyself a sign of the Lord thy God,
in the depth or in the height. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither
will I tempt the Lord." Who has not seen otherwise intelligent people
"fly in the face " of all wise counsel and wreak havoc on themselves and
others? Take a man dominated by alcohol: he refuses the pleas of wife
and children, scoffs at the warnings of his employer, argues with his
Pastor and friends, and ignores the counsel of his physician. When he
gets his paycheck, opposing all the loving warnings he has been given,
he heads off to the bar.
Do not think that opposition to loving advice is a problem solely of
alcoholics. Almost all of us, at one time or another, have set
ourselves against a mountain of truly sound counsel and godly advice.
Only because of the lovingkindness of God, (usually) we survived the
results of foolish choices and went on, only "a little the worse for the
wear." Later, thinking back, we regret, or even lament, our obstinacy -
older, sadder, and by grace, perhaps a little wiser.
The worst kind of obstinacy before wisdom given-in-love is to reject the
counsel of God through His Church. The Prophet Isaiah records God's
gracious counsel, the consequences of stubborn refusal by an ancient
king, God's persistent love, as well as His great, surprising mercy.
Isaiah's offer to King Ahaz is a waving banner of caution that we should
beware of hasty decisions. Sales promotions rely on now-or-never
devices: "You have just five days to respond to this amazing offer!" "I
can't guarantee you this price later!" "We have just two of these left!"
We understand King Ahaz of Judah and his people being thunderstruck to
learn of a military coalition attacking them: "And his soul was amazed,
and the soul of his people, as, in a wood, a tree is moved by the wind.
" (vs. 2). In our panic, let us embrace God's counsel: "Take care to be
quiet, and fear not, neither let thy soul be disheartened" (vs. 4). May
He Who governs all things well, give us grace to be attentive, measuring
our souls by this guidance from Isaiah.
Also, here, the Lord teaches us to be wary of easy, obvious, and
workable solutions. Examine each element in any answer that first
presents itself. Does it brush past the wisdom of Holy and wholesome
Tradition? Consider: "In what ways does the easy answer not square with
the teachings of the Prophets, the Apostles, and the Holy Fathers?"
Isaiah warned the King against the plans of the king of Syria and the
king of Ephraim: "they have devised an evil counsel" (vs. 5), but far
more important was his next word, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, This
counsel shall not abide" (vs. 7). The book of Second Kings records that
this king of Judah went against godly counsel. Ahaz begged the king of
the Assyrian Empire to aid him, with terrible consequences for himself
and his nation, Judah (see 4 Kngs. 16). Seek the Lord's counsel!
Do not miss the grace of God: before King Ahaz made his foolish choice,
God sent Isaiah to him a second time (vss. 10-17). The Lord gave him
fair opportunity to have confidence that God would solve the insoluble:
"Ask a sign of the Lord your God" (vs.11). The horror is that King Ahaz
refused. It is true that he couched his refusal in pious language, but
he refused God (vs. 12). May we never reject a clear commandment to
seek the Lord's help. The outcome of King Ahaz' decision gave the
Assyrians access to the kingdom of Judah - an unholy alliance that
weakened the nation and made possible its conquest by the Babylonians a
hundred years later. However, God announced a miracle for all nations:
a Virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call His Name Emmanuel." (vs. 14).
Save us, O Lord! Holding steadfastly the foresayings of the Prophet, let
us shout with a loud voice with Isaiah, saying: Behold the Virgin shall
conceive in the womb and give birth to a Son, Immanuel.
posted by Gloriamarie Amalfitano @ 10:02 AM
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