knitternun

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

31/07/07 Tuesday in the week of the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A "MENU" FROM WHICH TO PICK AND CHOOSE ONE OR MORE MEDITATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO PRAY ALL OF IT. PLEASE THINK OF IT AS A BUFFET OF THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF CHRISTIANITY. IT IS HOPED THAT ALL WILL PRAY THE COLLECT, REFLECT ON THE DAY'S SCRIPTURES AND PRAY THE ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER. AFTER THAT, YOUR CHOICE. THANK YOU]

If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/


Blessed are those for whom Easter is...
not a hunt, but a find;
not a greeting, but a proclamation;
not outward fashions, but inward grace;
not a day, but an eternity.

Collect

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

O God, by whose grace your servant Ignatius, enkindled with the fire of your love, became a burning and a shining light in your Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and may ever walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/

AM Psalm 61, 62; PM Psalm 68:1-20(21-23)24-36
2 Samuel 3:6-21; Acts 16:6-15; Mark 6:30-46
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Mark 6:30-46. They were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

After Jesus spent several hours teaching a crowd, the time came to eat. The disciples gave Jesus five loaves and two fish, and with these he fed the crowd of 5,000. It was a concrete miracle we can all understand--who, after all, has never been hungry?


But something more important happened to that crowd than a miraculous dinner. There is a prayer at the end of the eucharist in which we thank God for feeding us with "spiritual food." Anyone in that crowd of 5,000 could have made it through the evening without dinner. The bread and fish did not change their lives. Being taught by Jesus, however, transformed them. It gave them spiritual food that would last far longer than a single evening.


Christ may not always perform concrete miracles in our lives. Our prayers for healing or comfort, for food or safety may not always be answered. But even though there may not always be enough bread to go around, there is enough spiritual food for all. God has given us his word, his covenant, and his Son. If we accept him, we will never be hungry.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm

Ignatius of Loyola
Psalm 34:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:31 - 11:1; Luke 9:57-62
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Speaking to the Soul: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/

Ignatius of Loyola

Daily Reading for July 31 • Ignatius of Loyola

The Spiritual Exercises is one of the most influential spiritual texts of all times. Despite their Reformation origins they are nowadays used as a medium for spiritual guidance and retreats among an ecumenical spectrum of Christians. The text is not intended to be inspirational but is a series of practical notes for a retreat-guide that suggest how to vary the process according to the needs of each person. The ideal is a month away from normal pressures but a modified form “in the midst of daily life” is allowed. Much of the text consists of advice about the structure and content of prayer periods, guidance about spiritual discernment and making a choice of life, and helpful hints about practical matters such as the physical environment for prayer, moderate use of penance, rules about eating, and about scruples.

The explicit aim of the Spiritual Exercises is to assist a person to grow in spiritual freedom in order to respond to the call of Christ. From the Exercises, it is possible to detect fundamental features of Ignatian spirituality. First, God is encountered above all in the practices of everyday life which themselves become a “spiritual exercise.” Second, the life and death of Jesus Christ is offered as the fundamental pattern for Christian life. Third, the God revealed in Christ offers healing, liberation, and hope. Fourth, spirituality is not so much a matter of asceticism as a matter of a deepening desire for God (“desire” is a frequent word in the text) and experience of God’s acceptance in return. The theme of “finding God in all things” suggests a growing integration of contemplation and action. The notion of following the pattern of Jesus Christ focuses on an active sharing in God’s mission to the world—not least in serving people in need. Finally, at the heart of everything is the gift of spiritual discernment—an increasing ability to judge wisely and to choose well in ways that are congruent with a person’s deepest truth.

From A Brief History of Spirituality by Philip Sheldrake (Blackwell Publishing, 2007).
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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php

> Deliver me, O Jesus
>
> from the desire of being loved
> from the desire of being extolled
> from the desire of being praised
> from the desire of being preferred
> from the desire of being consulted
> from the desire of being approved
> from the desire of being popular
>
> from the fear of being humiliated
> rom the fear of being despised
> from the fear of suffering rebuked
> from the fear of being calumniated
> from the fear of being forgotten
> from the fear of being wronged
> from the fear of being ridiculed
> from the fear of being suspected
>
> That others may be loved more than I,
> Jesus grant me the grace to desire it.
>
> That others may be esteemed more than I
> That in the opinion of the world,
> others may increase and I may decrease
> That others may be chosen, and I set aside
> that others may be praised, and I unnoticed
> that others may be preferred to me in everything
> That others may become holier than I,
> provided that I may become as holy as
> I should.

Mother Theresa
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html

The same Abba Theophilus, the archbishop, came to Scetis one day. The brethren who were assembled said to Abba Pambo, 'Say something to the Archbishop, so that he may be edified.' The old man said to them, 'If he is not edified by my silence, he will not be edified by my speech.'
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

Jesus' Loneliness

When Jesus came close to his death, he no longer could experience God's presence. He cried out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:47). Still in love he held on to the truth that God was with him and said: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46).

The loneliness of the cross led Jesus to the resurrection. As we grow older we are often invited by Jesus to follow him into this loneliness, the loneliness in which God is too close to be experienced by our limited hearts and minds. When this happens, let us pray for the grace to surrender our spirits to God as Jesus did.
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/

Tuesday’s Reflection

IN OUR SEARCH for identity Christ meets us right where we are. In his humanity Jesus also needed to know who he was. But he didn’t look inward, nor did he let others tell him who he was, nor did he look to his achievements to find his sense of identity. Instead, in order to know who he was, Jesus listened to the voice of his Heavenly Parent, trusted that voice, and claimed its truth for his life.

- Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant
The Way of Transforming Discipleship

From page 21 The Way of Transforming Discipleship by Trevor Hudson and Stephen D. Bryant. Copyright © 2005 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html

"In the Land of Francis"

(Recorded at Assisi) St. Francis, at the end of his life, said if he had to do one thing over, he would treat Brother Ass, which is what he called his body, a little better. But what characterizes all saints is a sort of fanaticism, a single-mindedness. They know one thing is important, and they hold onto that with a kind of feverish urgency and concern. Being in Assisi helps us to see St. Francis as a real person. He had to walk back to that piazza in the clothes of a dropout and have his old friends laugh at him. He had to walk through these streets and not be received, even by most of the established Church here who thought he was a nut. A fool, they called him. And he called himself that after awhile, the "idiot of God."

After awhile he moved outside the walls. He rebuilt a little church at San Damiano and there he heard Jesus speak to him. He lived outside the city a little, at Rivotorto and at the Portiuncula because the people here thought he was useless and disrespectful of his father and the proven economic system. Little did they think that eight hundred years later they would still be living off of him, as tourists from all over the world buy pictures and statues of Francis of Assisi.

from On Pilgrimage With Father Richard Rohr
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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

Let us bind ourselves to Christ

It is right that we follow the example of John the Baptist and listen to the outstanding works Christ has done, even when we are bound by the chains of our sins. So powerful is the word of God that we shall be set free by its efficacy and sing triumphantly with the prophet: Lord, you have broken my bonds; I will offer you the sacrifice of praise. Let us bind ourselves to Christ as his disciples and with ardent desire and constant prayer humbly beg him to be our teacher, so that, taught by him, we may believe in him as true Messiah and, as believers, may love him with pure hearts as we ought.

Finally, let us in every place keep our hearts focused on our king as a powerful example. By word and deed he makes it clear that he is Messiah and true Christ; let us likewise show ourselves complete Christians in his image by our faith that works through love, for the Lord says: Behold, I am coming quickly, to render each according to his works. If these works are holy, they will not leave their doers until they have led them into heaven and everlasting glory, by the the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit through all ages. Amen.

Alonso de Orozco, O.S.A.
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/

TILL YOU ARE ENTIRELY HIS


"Let your endurance be a finished product, so that you may be finished and complete, with never a defect." James 1:4 (MOFFATT)

Many of us are all right in the main, but there are some domains in which we are slovenly. It is not a question of sin, but of the remnants of the carnal life which are apt to make us slovenly. Slovenliness is an insult to the Holy Ghost. There should be nothing slovenly, whether it be in the way we eat and drink, or in the way we worship God.

Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the external expression of that relationship must be right. Ultimately God will let nothing escape, every detail is under His scrutiny. In numberless ways God will bring us back to the same point over and over again. He never tires of bringing us to the one point until we learn the lesson, because He is producing the finished product. It may be a question of impulse, and again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to the one particular point; or it may be mental wool-gathering, or independent individuality. God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right.

We have been having a wonderful time this Session over the revelation of God's Redemption, our hearts are perfect towards Him; His wonderful work in us makes us know that in the main we are right with Him. "Now," says the Spirit, through St. James, "let your endurance be a finished product." Watch the slipshod bits - "Oh, that will have to do for now." Whatever it is, God will point it out with persistence until we are entirely His.
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 49: On the Observance of Lent

Although the life of a monk
ought to have about it at all times
the character of a Lenten observance,
yet since few have the virtue for that,
we therefore urge that during the actual days of Lent
the brethren keep their lives most pure
and at the same time wash away during these holy days
all the negligences of other times.
And this will be worthily done
if we restrain ourselves from all vices
and give ourselves up to prayer with tears,
to reading, to compunction of heart and to abstinence.

During these days, therefore,
let us increase somewhat the usual burden of our service,
as by private prayers and by abstinence in food and drink.
Thus everyone of his own will may offer God
"with joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:6)
something above the measure required of him.
From his body, that is
he may withhold some food, drink, sleep, talking and jesting;
and with the joy of spiritual desire
he may look forward to holy Easter.

Let each one, however, suggest to his Abbot
what it is that he wants to offer,
and let it be done with his blessing and approval.
For anything done without the permission of the spiritual father
will be imputed to presumption and vainglory
and will merit no reward.
Therefore let everything be done with the Abbot's approval.

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Dynamis http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodoxdynamis/
Dynamis is a daily Bible meditation based upon the lectionary of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 (The Dormition Fast Begins Tomorrow) Righteous
Joseph of Arimathea
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 1:16-28 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:29-38 Gospel: St.
Matthew 21:23-27

The Seleucids II ~ Desecration: 1 Maccabees 1:16-28 LXX, especially vs.
25: “There was a great mourning in Israel, in every place where they
were.” As 1 Mac.1:11-15 reveals, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, having a pagan
Greek mindset, readily crushed Temple worship after his successful
campaign in Egypt (vss. 17-19). He plundered the Temple, ordered an end
to sacrifices and Sabbath observance, destroyed copies of the Law, and
required Jews to participate in pantheistic worship. Earlier in his
reign, he replaced the orthodox High Priest, Onias III, with Onias’
brother Jason, a man sympathetic to the King’s hellenizing policy. But
then, before the war with Egypt, Menalaus, an associate of Jason,
offered the king a handsome price for the High Priesthood, and Antiochus
‘appointed’ him as High Priest, a man not even in the lineage of Aaron,
but of the tribe of Benjamin - a grave scandal to pious Jews (Lev.
12:10-15).
Observe that the writer of Maccabees does not explain Antiochus’
withdrawal from Egypt (1 Mac 1:20) after his successful campaign there.
Actually, the decision was forced on him by a Roman envoy who drew a
circle around him in the sand and exacted his promise to quit Egypt. The
Romans were not about to have a Seleucid ruling both Egypt and
Mesopotamia. Understanding Roman power, Antiochus withdrew and came to
Jerusalem where with the help of Menalaus he enriched his royal
treasuries by taking “silver and gold, and the costly vessels; he took
also the hidden treasures which he found” (vs. 23) from the Temple.
Antiochus’ “massacre” (vs. 24) was carried out among known opponents of
Menalaus. His speaking “very proudly” (vs. 24) was a royal edict
requiring all nationalities of his empire to worship the Greek deities.
The pious, Hasidic Jews felt shame, anger, and “great mourning in
Israel, in every place” (vs. 25).
For Orthodox Christians, the profound pain and bitter offense that the
ancient People of God felt when Antiochus Epiphanes sacked, desecrated,
and stripped the Temple is entirely understandable. For, the Temple, its
“sanctuary...the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the
vessels thereof” (vs. 21) were consecrated, as were the Priests and
especially the High Priest - all being “holy to the Lord” (Ex. 30:1-10).
Similarly, our Orthodox churches, icons, sacred vessels, vestments,
Priests, and the Divine Liturgy are all consecrated and set apart as
holy to God. Therefore, we treat all these with great reverence, being
vehicles for knowing God.
The awe that the Jews felt and that Orthodox Christians know in relation
to holy things, persons, feasts, and practices derives from the fact
that these tangible forms of our Faith are used of God to disclose
Himself to the hearts and minds of the Faithful. Worship itself always
is reserved for God alone, but veneration is natural around holy things
used in the worship and ministry to the Lord. How sad are those who have
not opened their hearts to the Living God Who created them, nor have
faced His Holy Presence in awe and reverence. As Bishop Kallistos Ware
says, “Unless we start out with a feeling of awe and astonishment - with
what is often called a sense of the ‘numinous’ - we shall make little
progress on the Way.”
But dangerous are those who do not seek God and are determined to
inflict their beliefs, ideologies, and false religions on the Faithful.
History is replete with such antagonists and their desecrations. Two
examples Orthodox Christians remember in pain are the conversion of the
Hagia Sophia into a mosque by the Islamists, along with the defacing of
its icons. Churches closed or destroyed by the Bolsheviks, the
confiscation of holy vessels and icons, and the execution and
imprisonment of bishops, priests, monks, nuns, and devout lay members
still grieve our hearts.
Oh, immortal Savior, Son of the eternal Father, save Thy Churches,
redeem Thy People from battle, murder and sudden death, and grant us
forgiveness of sins and Thy deliverance.

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Monday, July 30, 2007

30/07/07 Monday in the week of the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A "MENU" FROM WHICH TO PICK AND CHOOSE ONE OR MORE MEDITATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO PRAY ALL OF IT. PLEASE THINK OF IT AS A BUFFET OF THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF CHRISTIANITY. IT IS HOPED THAT ALL WILL PRAY THE COLLECT, REFLECT ON THE DAY'S SCRIPTURES AND PRAY THE ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER. AFTER THAT, YOUR CHOICE. THANK YOU]

If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/


Blessed are those for whom Easter is...
not a hunt, but a find;
not a greeting, but a proclamation;
not outward fashions, but inward grace;
not a day, but an eternity.

Collect

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, enkindle in your Church the never-failing gift of love, that, following the example of your servant William Wilberforce, we may have grace to defend the children of the poor, and maintain the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/

AM Psalm 56, 57, [58]; PM Psalm 64, 65
2 Samuel 2:1-11; Acts 15:36-16:5; Mark 6:14-29
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Acts 15:36-16:5 Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy.

I attend St. Timothy's Church, so I am drawn to this passage in Acts where Paul meets Timothy. Timothy is almost always described as Paul's "companion." I like that word.


Often in life we feel alone--for whatever reason. But as Christians, we are called to be companions to one another. When I enter St. Timothy's, no matter how isolated I feel, I am surrounded by companions. When I travel, I often attend churches far from home, and I am always welcomed as a companion.


My life is blessed with many companions--my wonderful wife, my children, my family and friends. As a Christian, even during my loneliest times I have a companion--Jesus Christ.


Timothy was a model companion. He accompanied Paul through good times and bad, even following him to prison in Rome. As Christians, we too are called to be faithful companions to one another--to celebrate in joy and to comfort one another in sorrow. The darkest road is lighter when traveled with a companion; let us be that companion to one another and allow Christ to be a companion to us all.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm

William Wilberforce:
Psalm 146:4-9 or 112:1-9
Galatians 3:23-29; Matthew 25:31-40
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Newark
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Speaking to the Soul: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/

William Wilberforce

Daily Reading for July 30 • William Wilberforce

Compared with the work of the Quakers, the Salvation Army, or Anglo-Catholic “slum priests” later in the nineteenth century, the Evangelical movement has sometimes been accused of lacking a spirituality of social engagement. This is an unfair generalization. It is true that “action” implied an active spreading of the word of God (evangelism) expressed, for example, in the work of the Church Missionary Society throughout the British Empire. However, for many people action also implied social philanthropy. The former slave trader John Newton, later Rector of St Mary Woolnoth in the City of London, became a notable supporter of William Wilberforce’s campaign to abolish slavery. William Wilberforce (1759-1833) was the leading champion of the abolition of slavery as a result of his evangelical conversion. Wilberforce witnessed to the direct connection between spirituality and social action by beginning each working day with two hours of prayer and Bible reading. Wilberforce became the political leader of the Evangelical movement and on his death this role was taken on by Anthony Cooper, the Earl of Shaftesbury, a leading Conservative parliamentarian and one of the greatest social reformers of the nineteenth century.

From A Brief History of Spirituality by Philip Sheldrake (Blackwell Publishing, 2007).
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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php

It is God Himself who wishes to be the riches, comfort, and delightful glory of the religious.
St John of the Cross
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html

Abba Theodore of Pherme said, 'The man who remains standing when he repents, has not kept the commandment.'
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

Two Kinds of Loneliness

In the spiritual life we have to make a distinction between two kinds of loneliness. In the first loneliness, we are out of touch with God and experience ourselves as anxiously looking for someone or something that can give us a sense of belonging, intimacy, and home. The second loneliness comes from an intimacy with God that is deeper and greater than our feelings and thoughts can capture.

We might think of these two kinds of loneliness as two forms of blindness. The first blindness comes from the absence of light, the second from too much light. The first loneliness we must try to outgrow with faith and hope. The second we must be willing to embrace in love.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis: http://www.tssf.org/textonly/principles.shtml

Day Thirty - The Three Notes

The humility, love and joy which mark the lives of Tertiaries are all God given graces. They can never be obtained by human effort. They are gifts of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of Christ is to work miracles through people who are willing to be emptied of self and to surrender to him. We then become channels of grace through whom his mighty work is done.
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/

Love without Limits
July 30th, 2007
Monday’s Reflection

ALL-LOVING GOD,
we thank you for your love without limits.
Forgive our bent to turn away from you.
Give us courage to hear your call
and respond to your love.
We ask this in your Son’s name.
Amen.

- MarLu Primero Scott
The Upper Room Disciplines 2007

From page 223 The Upper Room Disciplines 2007. Copyright © 2006 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html

"The Holy Land Looks a Lot Like Home"

(Recorded at Nazareth) The Gospel stories take on a new and beautiful significance as we stand and celebrate in the very spot in which Mary lived and said yes to God. It was within three hundred yards of this spot that Mary and Joseph came to the life of faith that we now have come to participate in. I'm sure as you drive today across these very ordinary-looking hills, these very ordinary-looking villages and people, it must strike you, How could Mary, Joseph, anybody, have thought they were special?

We've idealized this land all our lives. And perhaps one of the great graces of a journey to the Holy Land is in fact to see that it's not only ordinary but perhaps not as pretty as many parts of the world. What makes it beautiful to our eyes is what happened here. As you see these little boys running around Nazareth, as you see young girls walking through these streets and young men in working clothes, it probably was no different in Jesus' time. And yet that woman Mary, that man Joseph, had to believe that they were the special ones of God. And that little boy Jesus who grew up in this town somehow had to dare to believe that he was God's son.

The word that comes to me at this place of the incarnation, this place where Mary said yes and the word became flesh, this place where they grew up in such ordinary circumstances, is a word of extraordinary faith. If they could believe, perhaps we can believe in our very ordinary-looking lives that God could somehow be taking flesh in us.

from On Pilgrimage With Father Richard Rohr
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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

The Church is a garden extending over the whole world

Christ became all things in order to restore all of us in himself. The man Christ received the mustard seed which represents the kingdom of God; as man he received it, though as God he had always possessed it. He sowed it in his garden, that is in his bride, the Church. The Church is a garden extending over the whole world, tilled by the plough of the gospel, fenced in by stakes of doctrine and discipline, cleared of every harmful weed by the labor of the apostles, fragrant and lovely with perennial flowers: virgins' lilies and martyrs' roses, set amid the pleasant verdure of all who bear witness to Christ and the tender plants of all who have faith in him.

Such then is the mustard seed which Christ sowed in his garden. When he promised a kingdom to the patriarchs the seed took root in them; with the prophets it sprang up, with the apostles it grew tall, in the Church it became a great tree putting forth innumerable branches laden with gifts. And now you too must take the wings of the psalmist's dove, gleaming gold in the rays of divine sunlight, and fly to reap for ever among those sturdy, fruitful branches. No snares are set to trap you there; fly off, then, with confidence and dwell securely in its shelter.

Peter Chrysologus
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/

THE DISCIPLINE OF DISILLUSIONMENT


"Jesus did not commit Himself unto them for He knew what was in man." John 2:24-25

Disillusionment means that there are no more false judgments in life. To be undeceived by disillusionment may leave us cynical and unkindly severe in our judgment of others, but the disillusionment which comes from God brings us to the place where we see men and women as they really are, and yet there is no cynicism, we have no stinging, bitter things to say. Many of the cruel things in life spring from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts; we are true only to our ideas of one another. Everything is either delightful and fine, or mean and dastardly, according to our idea.

The refusal to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering in human life. It works in this way - if we love a human being and do not love God, we demand of him every perfection and every rectitude, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; we are demanding of a human being that which he or she cannot give. There is only one Being Who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Why Our Lord is apparently so severe regarding every human relationship is because He knows that every relationship not based on loyalty to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no man, yet He was never suspicious, never bitter. Our Lord's confidence in God and in what His grace could do for any man, was so perfect that He despaired of no one. If our trust is placed in human beings, we shall end in despairing of everyone.
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G. K. Chesterton Day by Day
http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/gkcday/gkcday.html

THE authority of priests to absolve, the authority of popes to define, the authority even of inquisitors to terrify: these were all only dark defences erected round one central authority, more undemonstrable, more supernatural than all the authority of a man to think. We know now that this is so; we have no excuse for not knowing it. For we can hear scepticism crashing through the old ring of authorities, and at the same moment we can see reason swaying upon her throne.

'Orthodoxy.'
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 48: On the Daily Manual Labor

On Sundays, let all occupy themselves in reading,
except those who have been appointed to various duties.
But if anyone should be so negligent and shiftless
that she will not or cannot study or read,
let her be given some work to do
so that she will not be idle.

Weak or sickly sisters should be assigned a task or craft
of such a nature as to keep them from idleness
and at the same time not to overburden them or drive them away
with excessive toil.
Their weakness must be taken into consideration by the Abbess.
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Dynamis http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodoxdynamis/
Dynamis is a daily Bible meditation based upon the lectionary of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Monday, July 30,
2007 The
Venerable Angelina of Serbia
Kellia: 1 Maccabees 1:1-15 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Gospel: St. Matthew 21:18-22

The Seleucids I ~ Cultural Aggression: 1 Maccabees 1:1-15 LXX,
especially vs. 11: "In those days went there out of Israel wicked men,
who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant with the
heathen that are round about us." Today, we begin a course reading
through the first four chapters of First Maccabees, a record of the
struggle of the ancient People of God to maintain their
Divinely-revealed faith and worship in purity during the time of the
Seleucid King, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 BC). During his reign,
he instituted a vicious repression of Judaism (167 BC), and a revolt
ensued, touched off by the martyrdom of seven brothers, their mother,
Solomona, and the Scribe Eleazar (see 2 Maccabees 6, 7 as well as 4
Maccabees).

The opening verses provide a preface to this time of antipathetical
Hellenism in Palestine, an era for which the conquests of Alexander the
Great in 333 BC set the stage. The kings of the Seleucid dynasty
reigned after the writing of the Hebrew Old Testament, the last books of
which were penned when the Persians ruled Palestine - after they
defeated the Babylonians in 539 BC. Persian policy supported the Jews'
return to the Holy Land, the restoration of the Temple, and the
rebuilding of Jerusalem, which deepened Jewish piety and worship.

Understand that the text refers to the start of a Greek cultural epoch.
The defeat of Darius III, "king of the Persians and the Medes" (vs. 1),
was the result of a series of brilliant military campaigns conducted by
Alexander the Macedonian. First, in 336 BC, he united the Greek cities
under him. Then in 334, he crossed the Hellespont into Asia with 30,000
to 40,000 troops. In 333, at the battle at Issis - where the south
coast of Anatolia ends in the east coast of the Mediterranean, Alexander
routed the huge army of Darius. In the next two years he conquered
Darius' province of Egypt, twice crossing Palestine, first south and
then north.

Alexander's next campaigns, in fact, were a pursuit of Darius across
what is now northern Syria and Iraq all the way to the Tigris river. He
then swept north and south through the Persian heartland (modern day
Iran) during 331 and 330 until Darius was assassinated by his own
nobles. Afterwards, Alexander continued his conquests into the Kabul
valley (modern Afghanistan), taking four years to destroy the remnants
of the Persian forces and some hill tribes. At last he followed the
Indus river south through what is now Pakistan to the sea (near modern
Karachi).

Alexander "plundered many nations" and "the earth became quiet before
him" (vs. 3). However, while retracing his steps, he died suddenly of
fever at Babylon, but not before dividing "his kingdom among [his
generals] while he was still alive" (vss. 6,7). To one of these
generals, Seleucus, fell the region including the Mesopotamian valley,
Syria, southern Turkey, Lebanon, and Palestine. The infamous Antiochus
IV Epiphanes (175-169 BC), whom the text calls "a sinful root"(vs. 10),
was a descendant of this Seleucus. Antiochus IV's father, Antiochus
III, was defeated by the Romans in 190 BC for sheltering Hannibal, the
Carthaginian, and for invading Greece, at which time the Romans took
Antiochus IV as a hostage (vs. 10).
Later still, the Romans permitted Antiochus IV to assume reign of his
kingdom. He then aggressively promoted Greek culture and religion. In
Judea his actions deeply divided the Jews (vss. 11-15). The gymnasium
mentioned in the text (vs. 14) was a planned part of a policy to end
Jewish separatism. Also, Antiochus plundered the Jewish Temple, ended
sacrifices and Sabbath observations, destroyed copies of the Law, and
required Jews to participate in pagan festivals. Some Jews actually
abandoned "the holy covenant [and] joined with the Gentiles" (vs. 15); yet.

Thy Martyrs, O Lord, have received imperishable crowns and crushed the
powerless might of Satan. Through their intercessions, O Christ our
God, save our souls.

Labels:

Sunday, July 29, 2007

29/07/07 Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A "MENU" FROM WHICH TO PICK AND CHOOSE ONE OR MORE MEDITATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO PRAY ALL OF IT. PLEASE THINK OF IT AS A BUFFET OF THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF CHRISTIANITY. IT IS HOPED THAT ALL WILL PRAY THE COLLECT, REFLECT ON THE DAY'S SCRIPTURES AND PRAY THE ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER. AFTER THAT, YOUR CHOICE. THANK YOU]

I


Blessed are those for whom Easter is...
not a hunt, but a find;
not a greeting, but a proclamation;
not outward fashions, but inward grace;
not a day, but an eternity.

Collect

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; 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/

AM Psalm 24, 29; PM Psalm 8, 84
2 Samuel 1:17-27; Rom. 12:9-21; Matt. 25:31-46
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Luke 11:1-13. Ask, and it will be given you.

My wife and I had walked twelve miles up and down rugged English countryside. We were on a four-day, fifty-mile walk to Canterbury Cathedral. We stumbled into a village to find the pub closed. Our water bottles were empty and we were limp with thirst. We still had four miles to go that afternoon.


Unsure what to do, I headed down the road in search of a shop. I found the village church. There, a woman arranging flowers took one look at me and asked, "Are you a pilgrim?" I was not the first to walk the road to Canterbury. Soon, I was in her kitchen, filling our water bottles. Never has water tasted so good; never had we appreciated a gift so much.


Jesus tells us that if we ask for something, it will be given to us, and while we know that not every prayer is answered in the way we expect, those moments when Christians give us what we need touch us deeply.


Finding those moments can mean trusting others, putting ourselves in situations we can't control. By allowing ourselves to be foot-weary pilgrims in a foreign land, my wife and I opened our lives to acts of Christian kindness we might otherwise never have known. May we, too, fulfill the needs of thirsty pilgrims.
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Rhode Island
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Speaking to the Soul: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/

Eucharistic fellowship

Daily Reading for July 28

Just as this Eucharistic action is the pattern of all Christian action, the sharing of this Bread the sign of the sharing of all bread, so this Fellowship is the germ of all society renewed in Christ.

From On Being the Church in the World by John A. T. Robinson (SCM, 1974).
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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

A brother came to Abba Theodore and began to converse with him about things which he had never yet put into practice. So the old man said to him, 'You have not yet found a ship nor put your cargo aboard it and before you have sailed, you have already arrived at the city. Do the work first; then you will have the speed you are making now.'
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen)
Spiritual Dryness

Sometimes we experience a terrible dryness in our spiritual life. We feel no desire to pray, don't experience God's presence, get bored with worship services, and even think that everything we ever believed about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is little more than a childhood fairy tale.

Then it is important to realise that most of these feelings and thoughts are just feelings and thoughts, and that the Spirit of God dwells beyond our feelings and thoughts. It is a great grace to be able to experience God's presence in our feelings and thoughts, but when we don't, it does not mean that God is absent. It often means that God is calling us to a greater faithfulness. It is precisely in times of spiritual dryness that we must hold on to our spiritual discipline so that we can grow into new intimacy with God.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis: http://www.tssf.org/textonly/principles.shtml

Day Twenty Nine - The Third Note, cont'd

This joy is a divine gift, coming from union with God in Christ. It is still there even in times of darkness and difficulty, giving cheerful courage in the face of disappointment, and an inward serenity and confidence through sickness and suffering. Those who possess it can rejoice in weakness, insults, hardship, and persecutions for Christ's sake; for when we are weak, then we are strong.
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/

Vital Attentiveness
July 29th, 2007
Sunday’s Reflection

IN OUR CROWDED and distracted days, one of the ancient paths to deepening communion with God is attentiveness. … This vital attentiveness is nourished … by love. It is reflected in the attention a young mother and father lavish upon their newborn infant, the finely honed appreciation shared by longtime friends, the alert care of an adult child at the bedside of a frail parent. Love pierces the fog of suspended animation that often surrounds us, and brings us to greater consciousness of God’s presence in what we are seeing and hearing.

- John S. Mogabgab
Weavings Journal

From “Editor’s Introduction” in Weavings Journal, July/August 2002. Copyright © 2002 by The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/.
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html

"To Be Biblical"

To be biblical is not simply to quote the Bible. We need to tell that to the fundamentalists. To be biblical is not to quote Moses; it's to do what Moses did. To be biblical is to do what Abraham did; it's not it's not to quote the Abraham story. It's to do what Jesus did; it's not to simply quote Jesus. Christians are to be in touch with the same God Jesus was in touch with, the same wisdom tradition Jesus drew insight from. We are to be building that same unity and creating the same life that Jesus was creating and building. That's what it means to be biblical.

I don't see Moses quoting the Bible. I don't see Jesus quoting the Bible as much as pointing to reality. That's exactly why the people said, "He's not like the scribes and Pharisees" (Mark 1:22). He "teaches with authority" (Mark 1:27). But he didn't do that by justifying everything he said with a Bible quote, which proves only a lack of authority, the inner authority of truth.

The Bible is that two thousand-year graph of "listening history" that helps us guide ourselves into the future. It reveals and names the patterns that connect all things, the rhythms and seasons of faith. Jesus read reality, listened to God, gathered the tradition and then spoke truth. Now if we're truly Catholic, it seems to me that's what we've got to aim for: to be biblical by gathering the wisdom of the ages. I'm not trying to take away the authority of this book but to ground it. Its reference point is outside itself.

from The Price of Peoplehood
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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

Martha

You, Martha, if I may say so, are blessed for your good service, and for your labors you seek the reward of peace. Now you are much occupied in nourishing the body, admittedly a holy one. But when you come to the heavenly homeland will you find a traveler to welcome, someone hungry to feed, or thirsty to whom you may give drink, someone ill whom you could visit, or quarreling whom you could reconcile, or dead whom you could bury?

No, there will be none of these tasks there. What you will find there is what Mary chose. There we shall not feed others, we ourselves shall be fed. Thus what Mary chose in this life will be realized there in all its fullness; she was gathering fragments from that rich banquet, the Word of God. Do you wish to know what we will have there? The Lord himself tells us when he says of his servants, Amen, I say to you, he will make them recline and passing he will serve them.

Augustine of Hippo
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR CLOUDS?


"Behold, He cometh with clouds." Revelation 1:7

In the Bible clouds are always connected with God. Clouds are those sorrows or sufferings or providences, within or without our personal lives, which seem to dispute the rule of God. It is by those very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by faith. If there were no clouds, we should have no faith. "The clouds are but the dust of our Father's feet." The clouds are a sign that He is there. What a revelation it is to know that sorrow and bereavement and suffering are the clouds that come along with God! God cannot come near without clouds, He does not come in clear shining.

It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials: through every cloud He brings, He wants us to unlearn something. His purpose in the cloud is to simplify our belief until our relationship to Him is exactly that of a child - God and my own soul, other people are shadows. Until other people become shadows, clouds and darkness will be mine every now and again. Is the relationship between myself and God getting simpler than ever it has been?

There is a connection between the strange providences of God and what we know of Him, and we have to learn to interpret the mysteries of life in the light of our knowledge of God. Unless we can look the darkest, blackest fact full in the face without damaging God's character, we do not yet know Him.

"They feared as they entered the cloud . . ." - Is there anyone "save Jesus only" in your cloud? If so, it will get darker; you must get to the place where there is "no one any more save Jesus only."
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G. K. Chesterton Day by Day
http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/gkcday/gkcday.html

ONE of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night, or deep in sloping meadows, the feeling that every flower and leaf has just uttered something stupendously direct and important, and that we have by a prodigy of imbecility not heard or understood it. There is a certain poetic value, and that a genuine one, in this sense of having missed the full meaning of things. There is beauty, not only in wisdom, but in this dazed and dramatic ignorance.

'Robert Browning.'
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 48: On the Daily Manual Labor

From the Calends of October until the beginning of Lent,
let them apply themselves to reading
up to the end of the second hour.

At the second hour let Terce be said,
and then let all labor at the work assigned them until None.
At the first signal for the Hour of None
let everyone break off from her work,
and hold herself ready for the sounding of the second signal.
After the meal
let them apply themselves to their reading or to the Psalms.

On the days of Lent,
from morning until the end of the third hour
let them apply themselves to their reading,
and from then until the end of the tenth hour
let them do the work assigned them.
And in these days of Lent
they shall each receive a book from the library,
which they shall read straight through from the beginning.
These books are to be given out at the beginning of Lent.

But certainly one or two of the seniors should be deputed
to go about the monastery
at the hours when the sisters are occupied in reading
and see that there be no lazy sister
who spends her time in idleness or gossip
and does not apply herself to the reading,
so that she is not only unprofitable to herself
but also distracts others.
If such a one be found (which God forbid),
let her be corrected once and a second time;
if she does not amend,
let her undergo the punishment of the Rule
in such a way that the rest may take warning.

Moreover, one sister shall not associate with another
at inappropriate times.

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Dynamis http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodoxdynamis/
Dynamis is a daily Bible meditation based upon the lectionary of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Sunday, July 29, 2007 Tone
8 Theodosios, the Pious Emperor
Kellia: 1 Kings 17:57-18:9 LXX Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:9-17 Gospel:
St. Matthew 14:22-34

David and Goliath ~ Detachment: 1 Kings 17:57-18:9 LXX, especially vs.
17:57: "And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine,
Abner took him and brought him in before Saul, and the head of the
Philistine was in his hand." When a man chooses to submit to the Lord
Jesus Christ without question, waves of temptations begin. They come
and invite him to answer the call of old ties or even to return to ways
of the past that stifle the Life in Christ. For converts to Orthodoxy,
the first bloom of joy that comes with receiving the Holy Mysteries of
Christ is certain to diminish emotionally. Hopefully, it will be
followed by rejecting the appeal of past ties and determining to remain
steadfastly obedient to our Lord as King and God. For those raised in
the Faith, the bloom and joy of being Orthodox may rise and fall at
different times in the Life in Christ. The question is the same - to
compromise our Orthodoxy or to remain faithful. In truth the dilemma of
loyalty - of union or detachment - is a crucial issue for every servant
of God.

When the young shepherd David obeyed the call of the Lord, he was
faithful to his union with God as a member of ancient Israel. He did
not come to the battle line intending to detach from home, family, and
the shepherd's life; but, being appalled at Goliath defying "the army of
the living God" (1 Kngs. 17:26), he freely chose to enter into combat.
Doubtless he did not foresee what the impact his victory over the giant
would mean for him personally; but at each step that followed, he obeyed
God and detached from his former ties and way of life. Similarly, a day
comes for each Orthodox Christian to attack some giant appeal to leave
the Faith or to "enter into combat" as a true servant of the Master.
Obedience to Christ changes lives.

See the young David, fresh from his encounter with Goliath: lately a
shepherd, now he is met by the Commander-in-Chief of the King's army.
Abner brings him "in before Saul" (1 Kings 17:57)! Evidence that David
is a warrior of the Lord is in his hand. He does not demur, beg to
return home, or excuse himself. He follows the Commander into the
King's presence. Thus, each Orthodox Christian must come freely before
Christ our King after renouncing (detaching from) Satan - yes, and even
spitting on him. Would you go back from your Savior?

The King himself asks David, "Whose son art thou, young man?" (vs. 58).
David answers politely and also indicates that his father, Jesse, like
David himself, is a servant of the King (vs. 58). For those raised as
Orthodox Christians, their parents and grandparents are pleasing to the
Lord, but do not answer for us when we stand before our royal Master.
The decision to serve and follow is each servant's choice - to detach,
even from family if necessary. As the Lord Jesus says, "He that loveth
father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and....he that taketh
not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of Me" (Mt. 10,
37,38).

The bond that springs up spontaneously between David and Jonathan, the
warrior son of King Saul, is expressed by the investing of Jonathan's
military dress and weapons on David (1Kngs. 18:3,4). David is steadily
leaving all and following the path to which the Lord calls him.
Becoming Orthodox is a life-long process of accepting new duties,
"family" ties, and friendships. Let each of us ask, Is our union with
Christ steadily creating more detachments?

Notice: "David went out withersoever Saul sent him, and acted wisely"
(vs. 5). And his success was built upon rigorous obedience (vs. 5).
Furthermore, the new commander in Saul's army was not drawn from his
duties by the adulation of the women (vss. 6-7), even when "Saul eyed
David" in jealousy (vs. 9). Let us always remain faithful no matter how
others suspect us!

May I ever remember Thy grace and live not unto myself but unto Thee,
our Master and Benefactor, that when this life is ended, I may behold
the ineffable beauty of Thy face.

Labels:

Friday, July 27, 2007

27/07/07 Friday in the week of the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A "MENU" FROM WHICH TO PICK AND CHOOSE ONE OR MORE MEDITATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO PRAY ALL OF IT. PLEASE THINK OF IT AS A BUFFET OF THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF CHRISTIANITY. IT IS HOPED THAT ALL WILL PRAY THE COLLECT, REFLECT ON THE DAY'S SCRIPTURES AND PRAY THE ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER. AFTER THAT, YOUR CHOICE. THANK YOU]

If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/


Blessed are those for whom Easter is...
not a hunt, but a find;
not a greeting, but a proclamation;
not outward fashions, but inward grace;
not a day, but an eternity.

Collect

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

O Lord our God, we thank you for instilling in the heart of your servant William Reed Huntington a fervent love for your Church and its mission in the world; and we pray that, with unflagging faith in your promises, we may make known to all peoples your blessed gift of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/

AM Psalm 40, 54; PM Psalm 51
1 Samuel 31:1-13; Acts 15:12-21; Mark 5:21-43
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Mark 5:21-43. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about.

Several years ago, I visited the remote Scottish island of Iona to see the remnants of a Celtic monastery. While standing in front of a 1200-year-old stone cross I heard a commotion outside a medieval chapel nearby. A fellow visitor informed me that a woman had stumbled and fallen, breaking her leg. Within minutes a helicopter landed and the woman was whisked away to a medical center on the mainland.


In Mark we read of Jesus performing miracles. A woman who has been bleeding for twelve years is healed; a little girl named Talitha is raised from the dead. But where are the miracles in the modern world?


I wonder what the people living in the first century would have thought if they had seen a roaring red machine descend from the sky and bear away an injured woman to a place where she would be healed? Surely they would have called this a miracle. Is it possible that, in looking for miracles, we miss the fact that God surrounds us in our daily lives? Maybe the miracles are everywhere.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm

William Reed Huntington
Psalm 133 or 145:8-13
Ephesians 4:11-16 or 1:3-10; John 17:20-26
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Remo (Lagos, Nigeria)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Speaking to the Soul: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/

A more flexible Prayer Book

Daily Reading for July 27 • William Reed Huntington, Priest, 1909

Three years later at the 1880 Convention, the persistent Dr. Huntington tried again. He proposed a joint committee to consider “whether in view of the fact that this Church is soon to enter upon the second century of its organized existence in this country, the changed conditions of national life do not demand certain alterations in the Book of Common Prayer, in the direction of Liturgical enrichment and increased flexibility of use.” A joint committee, consisting of seven bishops, seven presbyters, and seven laymen, was appointed and ordered to report to the Convention of 1883. . . .

The 1892 Convention was businesslike and determined that nothing would be permitted to set aside or delay the completion of Prayer Book revision. The task was completed by noon, October 11, 1892. The Church had a new Book of Common Prayer. It was a very conservative revision of the Book, especially considering the years of discussion and the number of proposed changes. Unquestionably, the primary force behind the movement for revision was Dr. William Reed Huntington. It was his resolution which had set the process in motion back in 1880. He was secretary of the first joint Committee on Revision which served until 1886 and was the recognized floor leader in the debates on the subject in all five Conventions, 1880-1892. Huntington was respected and admired by his colleagues, not only for his ability but also for his affability and kind consideration of everyone. The Churchman of October 22, 1892, spoke of him as a man of “consummate tact . . . so conciliatory that his very opponents cannot help wishing they could agree with him, even when they are compelled to differ.”

From The Prayer Book Through the Ages by William Sydnor. Copyright © 1978. Used by permission of Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. www.morehousepublishing.com

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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php

In the evening of this life you will be examined in love. Learn then to love as God desires to be loved and abandon your own ways of acting.
St John of the Cross
Sayings of Light and Love, 60.
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html

(Abba Isaiah) also said 'When God wishes to take pity on a soul and it rebels, not bearing anything and doing its own will, he then allows it to suffer that which it does not want, in order that it may seek him again.'
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

A Window on Our Spiritual Lives

Even though our emotional and spiritual lives are distinct, they do influence one another profoundly. Our feelings often give us a window on our spiritual journeys. When we cannot let go of jealousy, we may wonder if we are in touch with the Spirit in us that cries out "Abba." When we feel very peaceful and "centered," we may come to realise that this is a sign of our deep awareness of our belovedness.


Likewise our prayer lives, lived as faithful response to the presence of the Spirit within us, may open a window on our emotions, feelings, and passions and give us some indication of how to put them into the service of our long journey into the heart of God.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis: http://www.tssf.org/textonly/principles.shtml

Day Twenty Seven - The Second Note, cont'd

The Third Order is Christian community whose members, although varied in race, education, and character, are bound into a living whole through the love we share in Christ. This unity of all who believe in him will become, as our Lord intended, a witness to the world of his divine mission. In our relationship with those outside the Order, we show the same Christ-like love, and gladly give of ouselves, remembering that love is measured by sacrifice.
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/

The Purpose of Praying
July 27th, 2007
Friday’s Reflection

JESUS’ TEACHING SHOWS that the purpose of our praying is not to provide information to God, as though God were not paying attention to our situation. Nor is prayer our way of giving advice so that God might make the world a better place. Prayer’s ultimate purpose is to deepen our intimacy with a God who wants to be in a personal relationship — one that’s akin to the healthiest, most life-giving affection between parents and children.

- Terry A. DeYoung
The Upper Room Disciplines 2007

From page 220 of The Upper Room Disciplines 2007 by Steve Harper. Copyright © 2006 by Upper Room Books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html

"Father's Day Cards"

When I was giving priest's retreats in Peru, a sister working in the main prison in Lima told me a story I have never forgotten. She said as Mother's Day was approaching, the prisoners kept asking for Mother's Day cards. She brought card after card so they could write to Mama. As Father's Day approached she decided to be better prepared. She brought in an entire case of Father's Day cards, so she could give them to the prisoners when they asked. She told me that case is still sitting in her office because no one asked for a Father's Day card. She couldn't give them away.

My friend looked at me with tears in her eyes because she understood the source of so much suffering. She realized so many of the men were in prison because they had never been told who they were, they had never been believed in by a man. So they moved into a violent and false masculinity, the destructive masculinity that occurs when one's manhood is not affirmed by other men.

I wonder if the jails and prisons of the world would not be much empties if young boys had true mentors, guides and fathers to bless them and initiate them into manhood.

from A Man's Approach to God
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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

Weakness becomes strength

Idid not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.Those were strong people who taunted Christ's disciples because their master entered the homes of the sick and ate with them. Why, they asked, does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners? O you strong ones who do not need the doctor! Yours is not the strength of health but of madness! God grant that we may never imitate that kind of strength. We should dread the possibility of anyone wanting to imitate it.

The teacher of humility, who shared our weakness and gave us a share in his own divinity, came to earth in order to teach us the way, even to be the Way himself. It was his humility, above all else, that he impressed upon us. He willingly submitted to baptism at the hands of one of his servants, so that we might learn to confess our own sins and to become weak in order to be truly strong, repeating with the apostle: When I am weak, then I am strong.

Augustine of Hippo
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/

THE WAY TO KNOW


"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine . . ." John 7:17

The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect, but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide; but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.

No man ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test over it. We disobey and then wonder why we don't go on spiritually. 'If when you come to the altar,' said Jesus, 'there you remember your brother hath ought against you . . . don't say another word to Me, but first go and put that thing right.' The teaching of Jesus hits us where we live. We cannot stand as humbugs before Him for one second. He educates us down to the scruple. The Spirit of God unearths the spirit of self-vindication; He makes us sensitive to things we never thought of before.

When Jesus brings a thing home by His word, don't shirk it. If you do, you will become a religious humbug. Watch the things you shrug your shoulders over, and you will know why you do not go on spiritually. First go - at the risk of being thought fanatical you must obey what God tells you.
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G. K. Chesterton Day by Day
http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/gkcday/gkcday.html

THE best men of the Revolution were simply common men at their best. This is why our age can never understand Napoleon. Because he was something great and triumphant, we suppose that he must have been something extraordinary, something inhuman. Some say he was the Devil; some say he was the Superman. Was he a very, very bad man? Was he a good man with some greater moral code? We strive in vain to invent the mysteries behind that immortal mask of brass. The modern world with all its subtleness will never guess his strange secret; for his strange secret was that he was very like other people.

'Charles Dickens.'
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 47: On Giving the Signal for the Time of the Work of God

The indicating of the hour for the Work of God
by day and by night
shall devolve upon the Abbot
either to give the signal himself
or to assign this duty to such a careful brother
that everything will take place at the proper hours.

Let the Psalms and the antiphons be intoned
by those who are appointed for it,
in their order after the Abbot.
And no one shall presume to sing or read
unless he can fulfill that office
in such a way as to edify the hearers.
Let this function be performed
with humility, gravity and reverence,
and by him whom the Abbot has appointed.


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Dynamis http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodoxdynamis/
Dynamis is a daily Bible meditation based upon the lectionary of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Friday, July 27, 2007 The
Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon
Kellia: 1 Kings 17:28-40
Of the Saint ~ Epistle: 2 Timothy
2:1-10 Gospel: St. John 16:17-16:2

David and Goliath III ~ Humble Trust: 1 Kings 17:28-40 LXX, especially
vs. 32: "And David said to Saul, Let not, I pray thee, the heart of my
lord be dejected within him: thy servant will go, and fight with this
Philistine." Contrasts abound in this passage: the soldiers' fear
contrasts with David's bravery. The men in the trenches are preoccupied
with rewards, but David is distressed at the pagan's defiance of God.
Eliab believes his brother has a perverse and presumptuous desire to see
a battle, while David is ready to present himself for combat. Saul
perceives David as incapable of defeating Goliath, yet David believes
his experience as a shepherd will prevail. Saul attempts to equip
David, which, though humorous, contrasts with David's own concept of how
to prepare and fight. Most of all there is the obvious contrast in size
between David and Goliath along with their respective military experience.

Look carefully at the passage. What fuels these contrasts? Why is
it that David stands out from everyone around him? What in him makes
his responses and his attitude so very different from others? The
account provides the obvious answer: David trusted in God truly and
guilelessly; the others did not. His indignation and his meeting with
King Saul reveal an underlying humble trust in God (Kngs. 17:26,36,37).
David's balanced confidence was neither arrogant nor timorous, but a
dependence supported by noble motives, considered reasoning, and proven
skill. David manifests a most wise and humble trust in God.

Observe the motive of a man who genuinely relies upon God. Speaking of
Goliath to King Saul, David reiterates his concern that "this
uncircumcised Philistine...has defied the army of the living God" (vs.
36). He cannot brook defiance of the Lord in Whom he trusts. Reliance
on God is fundamental to David. He does not even reply to Eliab's
accusation of evil motives (vs. 28). Very simply, "he turned from him
toward another, and he spoke after the same manner" (vs. 30). Trust in
God was so natural for David that he moved through the ranks of Israel's
army seeking fellowship with some other soul who also believed that God
helps His beloved. As he himself said later: "The words of the Lord are
tried in the fire; defender is He of all that hope in Him." (Ps. 17:30
LXX). Let us trust in God with our whole life.

Note that David's faith in God was not contrary to his reason or
experience. His open confidence brought him before the king. When King
Saul questioned his ability to fight with the giant Goliath, David made
a reasonable case for his being delivered "out of the hand of this
uncircumcised Philistine" (1 Kngs. 17:37). "Thy servant was tending the
flock for his father; and when a lion came and a she-bear, and took a
sheep out of the flock, then I went forth after him, and smote him, and
drew the spoil out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I
caught hold of his throat, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant
smote both the lion and the bear, and the uncircumcised Philistine shall
be as one of them" (vss. 34,35,36). As children of God, let us use the
reason our Lord has given us when faced with the insolence of those who
oppose God, always assessing our experience and ability as David did in
preparing to fight for the Lord.

Finally, consider how David's reliance on God shaped his methods. The
ludicrous image of a young man
unable to move in the armor of a huge veteran (vss. 38,39) reminds us to
rely on what God has given us in selecting our methods in answer to His
call. Of Saul's armor, he says, "I shall not be able to go with these"
(vs. 39). He chooses instead what God gave him as a shepherd. And
through these the Lord God would give him victory.

O Master establish in us a reasonable and humble faith in Thee;
strengthen us in hope; perfect us in love; make us honorable members of
Thy Christ, Who gave Himself for us.

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

26/07/07 Thursday in the week of the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A "MENU" FROM WHICH TO PICK AND CHOOSE ONE OR MORE MEDITATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO PRAY ALL OF IT. PLEASE THINK OF IT AS A BUFFET OF THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF CHRISTIANITY. IT IS HOPED THAT ALL WILL PRAY THE COLLECT, REFLECT ON THE DAY'S SCRIPTURES AND PRAY THE ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER. AFTER THAT, YOUR CHOICE. THANK YOU]

If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/


Blessed are those for whom Easter is...
not a hunt, but a find;
not a greeting, but a proclamation;
not outward fashions, but inward grace;
not a day, but an eternity.

Collect

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in thanksgiving this day the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the heavenly family of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Today's Scripture http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/

AM Psalm 50; PM Psalm [59, 60] or 8, 84
1 Samuel 28:3-20; Acts 15:1-11; Mark 5:1-20
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Psalm 66. Be joyful in God, all you lands; sing the glory of his Name; sing the glory of his praise.

Maybe it's because I've been singing in church choirs since I was nine, but music has always had a special place in my spiritual life. From the mournful songs of Good Friday to the joyful hymns of Easter and Christmas, music has been a part of my worship experience. I don't think it's a coincidence that music is so often a part of worship.


As a good Jew, Christ himself sang the Psalms in the temple, and music has been a part of Christianity ever since. Music is a wonderful metaphor for God's creation--its variety is breathtaking. Even in the realm of "church music," the gamut runs from gospel to classical, from rock to folk. Whatever sort of music speaks to you can also help you speak to God.


It is sometimes difficult to find words to describe our spiritual life; music speaks a language that words never can. It is like the purest form of poetry--all metaphor, all emotion, uncluttered by language. Rejoice in the Lord and in his gift of music. Let us offer that gift back to him.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm

Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
Psalm 132:11-19 or 85:8-13
Genesis 17:1-8; Luke 1:26-33

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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Rejaf (Sudan)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Speaking to the Soul: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/

Mary's parents

Daily Reading for July 26 • Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The blessed and glorious ever-virgin Mary, sprung from the royal stock and family of David, born in the city of Nazareth, was brought up at Jerusalem in the temple of the Lord. Her father was named Joachim, and her mother Anna. Her father's house was from Galilee and the city of Nazareth, but her mother's family from Bethlehem. Their life was guileless and right before the Lord, and irreproachable and pious before men. For they divided all their substance into three parts. One part they spent upon the temple and the temple servants; another they distributed to strangers and the poor; the third they reserved, for themselves and the necessities of their family. Thus, dear to God, kind to men, for about twenty years they lived in their own house, a chaste married life, without having any children. Nevertheless they vowed that, should the Lord happen to give them offspring, they would deliver it to the service of the Lord; on which account also they used to visit the temple of the Lord at each of the feasts during the year....

Now, when Joachim had been at the temple for some time, on a certain day when he was alone, an angel of the Lord stood by him in a great light. And when he was disturbed at his appearance, the angel who had appeared to him restrained his fear, saying: Fear not, Joachim, nor be disturbed by my appearance; for I am the angel of the Lord, sent by Him to you to tell you that your prayers have been heard, and that your charitable deeds have gone up into His presence. . . . Conceptions very late in life, and births in the case of women that have been barren, are usually attended with something wonderful. Accordingly your wife Anna will bring forth a daughter to you, and you shall call her name Mary: she shall be, as you have vowed, consecrated to the Lord from her infancy, and she shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from her mother's womb. She shall neither eat nor drink any unclean thing, nor shall she spend her life among the crowds of the people without, but in the temple of the Lord, that it may not be possible either to say, or so much as to suspect, any evil concerning her. Therefore, when she has grown up, just as she herself shall be miraculously born of a barren woman, so in an incomparable manner she, a virgin, shall bring forth the Son of the Most High, who shall be called Jesus, and who, according to the etymology of His name, shall be the Saviour of all nations. And this shall be the sign to you of those things which I announce: When you shall come to the Golden gate in Jerusalem, you shall there meet Anna your wife, who, lately anxious from the delay of your return, will then rejoice at the sight of you. Having thus spoken, the angel departed from him.

From the apocryphal Gospel of the Nativity of Mary.

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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php

In my Little Way there are only very ordinary things.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html

(Abba Isaiah) also said that when there was an agape and the brethren were eating in the church and talking to one another, the priest of Pelusia reprimanded them in these words, 'Brethren, be quiet. For I have seen a brother eating with you and drinking as many cups as you and his prayer is ascending to the presence of God like fire.'
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

The Dynamics of the Spiritual Life

Our emotional lives and our spiritual lives have different dynamics. The ups and downs of our emotional life depend a great deal on our past or present surroundings. We are happy, sad, angry, bored, excited, depressed, loving, caring, hateful, or vengeful because of what happened long ago or what is happening now.

The ups and downs of our spiritual lives depend on our obedience - that is, our attentive listening - to the movements of the Spirit of God within us. Without this listening our spiritual life eventually becomes subject to the windswept waves of our emotions.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis: http://www.tssf.org/textonly/principles.shtml

Day Twenty Six - The Second Note, cont'd

Therefore, we seek to love all those to whom we are bound by ties of family or friendship. Our love for them increases as their love for Christ grows deeper. We have a special love and affection for members of the Third Order, praying for each other individually and seeking to grow in that love. We are on our guard against anything which might injure this love, and we seek reconciliation with those from whom we are estranged. We seek the same love for those with whom we have little natural affinity, for this kind of love is not a welling up of emotion, but is a bond founded in our common union with Christ.
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/

Keep Praying
July 26th, 2007
Thursday’s Reflection

KEEP PRAYING WHEN LIFE DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. Keep praying in the face of insufficient evidence that prayer “works.” I appeal to you to base your beliefs about prayer on revelation, not speculation; on the long haul, not the short run; on heaven and earth combined, not earth alone. If you continue to talk in the dark and pray when life doesn’t make sense, you will be no farther behind in the life of prayer than the greatest saint. Those women and men who prayed before us left footprints that go through the deepest valleys as well as the mountaintops.

- Steve Harper
Talking in the Dark

From page 115 of Talking in the Dark: Praying When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Steve Harper. Copyright © 2007 by the author. Published by Upper Room books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html

"The Rise of Fundamentalism"

The foundation of fundamentalism is fear. When people feel distance from the Father, they may feel they can't trust him because he is hard and out to get them. When they believe they can't please the Father, they get into what the Church has so often gotten into, in almost every denomination, the merit/demerit system. They need to make sure they are right with the distant Father.

In Catholicism it takes the form of legalism and near idolatry of the institution. In Protestantism, at least today, it takes the form of fundamentalism. Fundamentalism creates a system of words, bible quotes and techniques for salvation that are supposedly certain, so you can always know the ground on which you stand and keep the feared Father on your side. It's very popular today in America, and wherever else the family system is collapsing and fathers are absent or abusive.

I would say that people who are attracted to fundamentalism are suffering from a lack of masculine energy, a lack of union with the Father. When you are in union with the Father, you don't need petty certitudes to overcome your fear. You can relax with God; you can even feel free to make mistakes. You resonate with the words of the Father, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased," and such perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).

from A Man's Approach to God
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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

Having been forgiven, be merciful to others

Athird time the girl repeated: You too were with that man yesterday, but a third time he denied it. Finally Jesus looked at him, reminding him of his previous assertion. Peter understood, repented of his sin, and began to weep. Mercifully, however, Jesus forgave him his sin, because he knew that Peter, being a man, was subject to human frailty.

Now, as I said before, the reason God's plan permitted Peter to sin was because he was to be entrusted with the whole people of God, and sinlessness added to his severity might have made him unforgiving toward his brothers and sisters. He fell into sin so that remembering his own fault and the Lord's forgiveness, he also might forgive others out of love for them. This was God's providential dispensation. He to whom the Church was to be entrusted, he, the pillar of the churches, the harbor of faith, was allowed to sin; Peter, the teacher of the world, was permitted to sin, so that having been forgiven himself he would be merciful to others.

John Chrysostom
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/

HE ACCOUNT WITH PURITY


"Out of the heart proceed . . ." Matthew 15:18-20

We begin by trusting our ignorance and calling it innocence, by trusting our innocence and calling it purity; and when we hear these rugged statements of Our Lord's, we shrink and say - But I never felt any of those awful things in my heart. We resent what Jesus Christ reveals. Either Jesus Christ is the supreme Authority on the human heart, or He is not worth paying any attention to. Am I prepared to trust His penetration, or do I prefer to trust my innocent ignorance? If I make conscious innocence the test, I am likely to come to a place where I find with a shuddering awakening that what Jesus Christ said is true, and I shall be appalled at the possibility of evil and wrong in me. As long as I remain under the refuge of innocence I am living in a fool's paradise. If I have never been a blackguard, the reason is a mixture of cowardice and the protection of civilized life; but when I am undressed before God, I find that Jesus Christ is right in His diagnosis.

The only thing that safeguards is the Redemption of Jesus Christ. If I will hand myself over to Him, I need never experience the terrible possibilities that are in my heart. Purity is too deep down for me to get to naturally: but when the Holy Spirit comes in, He brings into the centre of my personal life the very Spirit that was manifested in the life of Jesus Christ, viz., Holy Spirit, which is unsullied purity.
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G. K. Chesterton Day by Day
http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/books/gkcday/gkcday.html

CHRISTIANITY is always out of fashion because it is always sane; and all fashions are mild insanities. When Italy is mad on art the Church seems too Puritanical when England is mad on Puritanism the Church seems too artistic. When you quarrel with us now you class us with kingship and despotism; but when you quarrelled with us first it was because we would not accept the divine despotism of Henry VIII. The Church always seems to be behind the times, when it is really beyond the times; it is waiting till the last fad shall have seen its last summer. It keeps the key of a permanent virtue.

'The Ball and the Cross,'
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 46: On Those Who Fail in Any Other Matters

When anyone is engaged in any sort of work,
whether in the kitchen, in the cellar, in a shop,
in the bakery, in the garden, while working at some craft,
or in any other place,
and she commits some fault,
or breaks something, or loses something,
or transgresses in any other way whatsoever,
if she does not come immediately
before the Abbess and the community
of her own accord
to make satisfaction and confess her fault,
then when it becomes known through another,
let her be subjected to a more severe correction.

But if the sin-sickness of the soul is a hidden one,
let her reveal it only to the Abbess or to a spiritual mother,
who knows how to cure her own and others' wounds
without exposing them and making them public.

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

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Dynamis http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodoxdynamis/
Dynamis is a daily Bible meditation based upon the lectionary of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Thursday, July 26, 2007 The Priest Jacob,
Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska
Kellia: 1 Kings 17:17-27 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 14:6-19
Gospel: St. Matthew 20:17-28

David and Goliath II ~ Outrage: 1 Kings 17:17-27, especially vs. 26:
"For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has defied the army of
the living God?" Realizing that
almost always "the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of
God" (Jas. 1:20), the Holy Fathers are wary of human wrath, anger, and
indignation. Still, it seems that outrage does have a rightful place in
the spiritually mature. Such a recognition led St. John Cassian to say
cautiously, "Our incessive power can be used in a way that is according
to nature only when turned against our own impassioned or self-indulgent
thoughts. This is what the Prophet David teaches when he says, 'Be
angry and sin not' (Ps. 4:5 LXX)." Hence, as we gain the grace of
detachment within ourselves through godly struggle, the desire for God
predominates in our souls. That alone will give rise to an anger "in
accordance with nature," a godly anger that, as St. Isaac the Solitary
says, "flares up against all the tricks of the enemy."

The Lord Jesus Himself warns the Faithful against the nearly ubiquitous
anger of fallen mankind: "I say to you that whoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Mt. 5:22).
Even here, St. John Cassian cautions us about this teaching of the Lord,
for he leaves out the phrase, "without a cause," explaining that "this
is the text of the best manuscripts; for it is clear from the purpose of
Scripture in this context that the words 'without a cause' were added
later. The Lord's intention is that we should remove the root of anger,
its spark - so to speak - in whatever way we can, and not keep even a
single pretext for anger in our hearts. Otherwise, we will be stirred
to anger initially for what appears to be a good reason and then find
that our incessive power is totally out of control."

Today's reading reveals an instance of true, godly indignation, an
outrage awakened within the anointed of God, David the Prophet - anger
precipitated by the insolence of the Philistine champion, Goliath,
against "the army of the living God" (1 Kngs. 17:26). David beheld as
"the Champion advanced...and spoke as before, and David heard" (vs.
23). Furthermore, he saw that "all the men of Israel fled from...were
greatly terrified of Goliath" (vs. 24). Knowing that the desires of the
People of God always should long for the Lord alone - both constantly
and entirely, David's indignation awoke in a natural and righteous
manner. He exemplified St. Peter of Damaskos' teaching: "the incessive
power should actively oppose only what obstructs this longing, and
nothing else." Goliath plainly opposed the desire of God for His
people, and so we may fairly say that David's outrage fit the exception
set by St. Peter.

It is clear that God Himself unleashes His righteous anger upon His
enemies who persistently, stubbornly, and arrogantly oppose His
purposes. The Psalmist recalls that God wrought His signs in Egypt as
"He sent forth against them the wrath of His anger, anger and wrath and
affliction, a mission performed by evil angels. He had made a path for
His wrath, and He spared not from death their souls, and their cattle He
shut up in death" (Ps. 77:53,54 LXX). Also, in His zeal, Christ Jesus
our Savior drove out the moneychangers doing business in the Temple with
the command: "Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise" (Jn.
2:16).

Often when Holy Scripture reports moments of anger arising in
God's Prophets, it uses the phrase, "then the Spirit of God came
upon..." (Jdgs. 14:19; 1 Kngs. 11:6). Surely the Spirit of God came
upon David, as God's anointed, upon observing Goliath's outrageous
actions. Pray that our anger always is "of the Lord" and never insults
"the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29).

Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, Thy helping grace, that we may
obediently walk in Thy holy commandments and lead a sober, righteous,
and godly life, ever remembering Thy mercies.

Labels:

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

25/07/07 Tuesday in the week of the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A "MENU" FROM WHICH TO PICK AND CHOOSE ONE OR MORE MEDITATIONS. PLEASE DO NOT THINK YOU HAVE TO PRAY ALL OF IT. PLEASE THINK OF IT AS A BUFFET OF THE DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF CHRISTIANITY. IT IS HOPED THAT ALL WILL PRAY THE COLLECT, REFLECT ON THE DAY'S SCRIPTURES AND PRAY THE ANGLICAN CYCLE OF PRAYER. AFTER THAT, YOUR CHOICE. THANK YOU]

If you would like these meditations to come directly to your in box, please click here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitternunMeditation/


Blessed are those for whom Easter is...
not a hunt, but a find;
not a greeting, but a proclamation;
not outward fashions, but inward grace;
not a day, but an eternity.

Collect

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

O gracious God, we remember before you today your servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the Name of Jesus Christ; and we pray that you will pour out upon the leaders of your Church that spirit of self-denying service by which alone they may have true authority among your people; through Jesus Christ 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/

AM Psalm 119:49-72; PM Psalm 49, [53]
1 Samuel 25:23-44; Acts 14:19-28; Mark 4:35-41
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From Forward Day by Day: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm

Psalm 53. The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."

I have friends who don't believe in God and they're not happier because of it. They don't object to my faith, but they don't share it. I invite them to come to church; they politely decline. When their lives are going well, they give credit to themselves or those around them. When things go wrong, they often suffer deeply--feeling betrayed, unloved, and alone. I'm not saying these friends are fools, but what do I lose by believing in God?


I gain a sense of wonder, of being a part of something much bigger than myself, something so vast I can't begin to comprehend it. I gain a sense of safety and security, a feeling of being loved even in my worst moments. I gain a source of strength. And yes, I gain doubt, for belief and doubt go hand in hand.


When I look at the beauty of the world, the infinite majesty of creation, and the limitless power of human love, how can I not believe? When I see the vast scale of human suffering, man's inhumanity to man, how can I not doubt? Some would call me a fool for believing, others would call me a fool for doubting; but I do both, and my life is richer because of it.
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Today we remember: http://satucket.com/lectionary/Calendar.htm

St. James the Apostle
AM Psalm 34; Jeremiah 16:14-21; Mark 1:14-20
PM Psalm 33; Jeremiah 26:1-15; Matthew 10:16-32
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Today in the Anglican Cycle of Prayer we pray for the Diocese of Recife (Brazil)
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
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Speaking to the Soul: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/

St. James the Apostle

Daily Reading for July 25 • St. James the Apostle

The next martyr we meet with, according to St. Luke, in the History of the Apostles’ Acts, was James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John, and a relative of our Lord; for his mother Salome was cousin-german to the Virgin Mary. It was not until ten years after the death of Stephen that the second martyrdom took place; for no sooner had Herod Agrippa been appointed governor of Judea, than, with a view to ingratiate himself with them, he raised a sharp persecution against the Christians, and determined to make an effectual blow, by striking at their leaders. The account given us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be overlooked; that, as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle’s extraordinary courage and undauntedness, and fell down at this feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus did the first apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told our Savior he was ready to drink. These events took place A.D. 44.

From Fox’s Book of Martyrs (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1926).

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Carmelite.com: Reflections http://www.carmelite.com/spirituality/reflection.php

In giving us His Son, His only Word (for He possesses no other), God spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word - and He has no more to say ... because what He spoke before to the prophets in parts, He has now spoken all at once by giving us the All who is His Son.

St John of the Cross
Romances
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Reading from the Desert Christians http://www.cin.org/dsrtftin.html

(Abba Isaiah) said to those who were making a good beginning by putting themselves under the direction of the holy Fathers, 'As with purple dye, the first colouring is never lost.' And, 'Just as young shoots are easily trained back and bent, so it is with beginners who live in submission.'
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Daily Meditation (Henri Nouwen) http://www.henrinouwen.org/home/free_eletters/

Digging Into Our Spiritual Resources

When someone hurts us, offends us, ignores us, or rejects us, a deep inner protest emerges. It can be rage or depression, desire to take revenge or an impulse to harm ourselves. We can feel a deep urge to wound those who have wounded us or to withdraw in a suicidal mood of self-rejection. Although these extreme reactions might seem exceptional, they are never far away from our hearts. During the long nights we often find ourselves brooding about words and actions we might have used in response to what others have said or done to us.

It is precisely here that we have to dig deep into our spiritual resources and find the center within us, the center that lies beyond our need to hurt others or ourselves, where we are free to forgive and love.
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From the Principles of the Third Society of St. Francis: http://www.tssf.org/textonly/principles.shtml

Day Twenty Five - The Second Note -

Love

Jesus said, "I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) Love is the distinguishing feature of all true disciples of Christ who wish to dedicate themselves to him as his servants.
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Upper Room Daily Reflection http://www.upperroom.org/reflections/

God Searches for Us
July 25th, 2007
Wednesday’s Reflection

WE DO NOT NEED to beg God to have mercy on us, because we have already been told that God is love. From before the beginning of time, God has had mercy on us and longed for our response. These forms of prayer are, indeed, ancient liturgical phrases, still widely used in our liturgies as well as in our personal prayers. The problem with them, however, is that they imply that it is God who will change when we pray. This implication can arouse a deep inner fear that a God who has asked to hear us or to have mercy might, after all, be sometimes deaf or merciless. The more we repeat these prayers, the deeper our fear might go.

We do not need to search for God, because it is God who forever searches for us. It is God who says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in” (Rev. 3:20).

- Flora Slosson Wuellner
Prayer and Our Bodies

From pages 52-53 of Prayer and Our Bodies by Flora Slosson Wuellner. Copyright © 1987 by the author. Published by Upper Room books. All Rights Reserved. Used with permission. http://www.upperroom.org/bookstore/
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Richard Rohr's Daily Reflection
http://cacradicalgrace.org/getconnected/getconnected_index.html


"Wax Wings"

Our shadow is somehow the other side of our gift. If Mercury is our gift-image, I guess I would have to say that Icarus is our shadow-image. As you may remember, Icarus is the other mythological son with wings, but his inflated self-image leads him to fly too close to the sun, revealing and melting the wax that holds his wings together. His pride, his non-listening, his false self-assurance are shown forth as he crashes into the sea.

In our case, Icarus is the American Catholic Church that is more American than Catholic, more individualistic than communitarian, more anti-authoritarian than authoritative, more psychological than radically gospel, more into freedom of choice than the real and discilplined freedom of the children of God. The wax of such wings is sure to melt because it is not gospel. Our shadowy tendencies are very difficult to describe and very hard not to be defensive about. I ask you to pray for the grace and gift of ego-detachment, so we can all move to a wider and wiser place where the future of the American Catholic Church can reveal itself.

from "The Future of the American Church"
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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

James, the apostle

We salute you, James, fervent preacher of the gospel truth, who with Peter and John hold the highest position and the chief dignity among the apostles. We salute you, as one who drank Christ's cup in advance of your fellow disciples, and were baptized with the baptism of your Savior as he promised you, and are adorned with the double crown of apostle and martyr!

We salute you, blessed eyewitness of the Word, you who see God, for you have changed one fishing-ground for another, one desire for another, and one inheritance for another; in place of things unstable you have gained those that last, and in place of an earthly passing world you have gained a changeless heavenly world.

We salute you who, as you formerly had direct physical contact with the God-man on earth, so do you now, united with him in spirit, converse with him face to face in heaven.

Nicetas of Paphlagonia
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Daily Readings From "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers
http://www.myutmost.org/

AM I BLESSED LIKE THIS?


Blessed are . . ." Matthew 5:3-10

When we first read the statements of Jesus they seem wonderfully simple and unstartling, and they sink unobserved into our unconscious minds. For instance, the Beatitudes seem merely mild and beautiful precepts for all unworldly and useless people, but of very little practical use in the stern workaday world in which we live. We soon find, however, that the Beatitudes contain the dynamite of the Holy Ghost. They explode, as it were, when the circumstances of our lives cause them to do so. When the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance one of these Beatitudes we say - 'What a startling statement that is!' and we have to decide whether we will accept the tremendous spiritual upheaval that will be produced in our circumstances if we obey His words. That is the way the Spirit of God works. We do not need to be born again to apply the Sermon on the Mount literally. The literal interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount is child's play; the interpretation by the Spirit of God as He applies Our Lord's statements to our circumstances is the stern work of a saint.

The teaching of Jesus is out of all proportion to our natural way of looking at things and it comes with astonishing discomfort to begin with. We have slowly to form our walk and conversation on the line of the precepts of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit applies them to our circumstances. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations: it is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting His way with us.
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Today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/

Chapter 45: On Those Who Make Mistakes in the Oratory

When anyone has made a mistake
while reciting a Psalm, a responsory,
an antiphon or a lesson,
if he does not humble himself there before all
by making a satisfaction,
let him undergo a greater punishment
because he would not correct by humility
what he did wrong through carelessness.

But boys for such faults shall be whipped.

Sr. Gloriamarie's Commentary: In reading this I wish that the website with Sr. Joan Chitister's commentary were up to date as I am certain Sr. would have something practical to say about this passage. I myself find I have only 2 thoughts.

The first is that the Divine Office is to be taken seriously. We are to concentrate on it and not let our minds wander. If we make a mistake, it is certain to be a distraction to others. It is only courteous to take responsibility for that and acknowledge our error. If we do not voluntarily make amends, then amends will be placed upon us. Many people have a very hard time saying "I did wrong. I am sorry. Will you please forgive me?" Benedict would have us embrace this sort of humility.

My second thought is this: whether I like it or not, Sr. Benedict was a product of his times and corporal punishment was part of those times. When we stop to think about it, our own concept that corporal punishment is wrong is a very modern one, maybe only 40 or 50 years old. This creates a dichotomy within me with which I am uncomfortable. I am very much a product of my times and I would consider such treatment of boys to be abuse and I would leap and i have so lept to the phone to dial 911 to report it. I don't want to see this instruction in the Rule. But it is there and In have to live with it and with the ambivalence within me. When I stop to think about it, that's life, isn't it?

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Dynamis http://groups.yahoo.com/group/orthodoxdynamis/
Dynamis is a daily Bible meditation based upon the lectionary of the Holy Orthodox Church.


Wednesday, July 25, 2007 The Dormition of Righteous Anna the Mother of
the Theotokos
Kellia: 1 Kings 17:1-11 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 13:4-14:5
Gospel: St. Matthew 20:1-16

David and Goliath I ~ Facing Fear: 1 Kings 17:1-11 LXX, especially vss.
10, 11: "And the Philistine said, Behold, I have defied the armies of
Israel this very day: give me a man, and we will both of us fight in
single combat. And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the
Philistine, and they were dismayed, and greatly terrified." After the
rupture of King Saul's relationship with the Lord, denounced by the
Prophet Samuel, Scripture reports that "Samuel departed to
Ramah...and...did not see Saul again till the day of his death, for
Samuel mourned after Saul, and the Lord repented that he had made Saul
king over Israel." (1 Kngs.15:34,35).

Perhaps a report of a breach between Samuel and Israel's king encouraged
the Philistines to foray up the valley of Elah from the coastal plain
toward the heart of Saul's kingdom in the Judean highlands. But Saul
roused his forces and met them in the low, rolling hill country between
Philistia and Israel. However, the Philistines had a surprise
super-weapon for the army of Israel, the giant "Goliath, by name, out of
Gath" (1 Kngs. 17:4), an imposing warrior whose immense size caused the
ranks of Israel's army to be "dismayed and greatly afraid" (vs. 11).

However, the Prophet David teaches that fright enervates those whose
hearts are not established in God. They shall fear to "look down upon
[their] enemies" (Ps. 111:7 LXX). Dread is the plight of fallen man
since that bitter day when Adam heard the voice of God in the garden and
hid himself (Gen. 3:10). The devil never ceases to lure men into
despair whenever possible. As St. Seraphim of Sarov points out: "Judas
the betrayer was fainthearted and unskilled in battle, and so the enemy,
seeing his despair, attacked him and forced him to hang himself, but
Peter, a firm rock, when he fell into great sin, like one skilled in
battle did not despair nor lose heart, but shed bitter tears from a
burning heart and the enemy...fled far from him wailing in pain."

The Holy Fathers clearly teach that pride is the source of fear. St.
John of the Ladder says: "A proud soul is a slave of cowardice; it
vainly trusts in itself, and is afraid of any sound or shadow of
creatures." Hence, the apparent invincibility of Goliath unmasked the
pride and fear of Saul and his army. The giant taunts the ranks of
Israel: "Why are ye come forth to set yourselves in battle array against
us?" (1 Kngs. 17:8). Goliath portrays the war in the realm of the
flesh, and the ranks of Israel and their king, being filled with pride
from victory in earlier campaigns against the Philistines (1 Sam.
14:47), imbibe his perspective and are stupefied by fear.

St. Peter of Damaskos offers other light both on Israel and Goliath of
Gath: the "two passions of overbearingness and cowardice, though they
appear to be opposites, are both caused by weakness." The imperiousness
displayed by Goliath pulled him upward into "something startling and
frightening, like some powerless bear," while the cowardice of the
Israelites caused them "to flee like a chased dog." And St. Peter
continues, "No one who suffers from either of these two passions puts
his trust in the Lord,.and, therefore, he cannot stand firm in battle."

How then do we break out of the grip of fear? The Prophet David, who
shortly would enter this very field of battle, surveyed the massive
Goliath and the fear-filled ranks of Israel, and himself disdained "the
pangs of death...and torrents of iniquity" (Ps. 17:4 LXX). Indeed, let
us heed St. John of Kronstadt: "Do not fear the conflict, do not flee
it. Where there is no struggle, there is no virtue; where faith and
love are not tempted, it is not possible to be sure whether they are
really present. They are proved and revealed in adversity." Instead,
let us say, "I shall not fear; but as for me I will hope in Thee"
(Ps.55:2 LXX).

O Master, graciously illumine our hearts with the light of Thy
countenance, maintain the shield of our faith unassailed by the enemy,
upholding us inviolate by Thy grace.

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