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Mar192020

The Prototype Dreamer: St Joseph

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.

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Mar182020

TIME

If we tried to live like that and deepen our relationship with God in our prayer life, so that we can perceive his presence within us and live as much as possible in communion with his indwelling, we shall discover something wonderful: the interior rhythm of grace that our life follows at its deepest level.

It might be said that there are two modes of time: time of the head and time of the heart. The first is psychological time, the time in our minds, which we make calculations about, and divided into hours and days to be managed in planned. This kind of time always goes either too fast or too slowly.

But there is another sort of time, experienced at certain moments of happiness or grace, though it always exists. This is God’s time, the time of the deep rhythms of grace in our lives. It is composed of a succession of moments harmoniously linked. Each of those moments is complete in itself, full, because in it we do what we have to do, in communion with God’s will. That time is communion with eternity. It is time we receive as a gift.

If we always lived in that time, we would have much less opportunity for harm and wrongdoing. The devil slips into time we live badly because we are refusing something or grasping too eagerly at something else.

The saints habitually lived in that interior time. To do that required great inner freedom, total detachment from our own plans and programs and inclinations. We must be ready to do in an instant just what we hadn’t expected, to live in total self-abandonment, with no other concern than doing God’s will and being fully available to people and events. We also need to experience in prayer God’s presence within us and to listen inwardly to the Holy Spirit so as to follow his suggestions.

There is nothing left to chance. Often we may journey in darkness, but we sense that our lives are unfolding in a rhythm we do not control but to which we are happy to abandon ourselves and by which all events are arranged with infinite wisdom. –Father Jacques Philippe ‘Interior Freedom’

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Mar172020

Daily 1st Reading: Daniel from chapter 3

Azariah stood in the heart of the fire,
praying aloud thus:
Do not abandon us for ever,
for the sake of your name;
do not repudiate your covenant,
do not withdraw your favour from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your friend,
of Isaac, your servant,
and of Israel, your holy one,
to whom you promised
to make their descendants
as many as the stars of heaven
and as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Lord, we have become the least of all nations,
we are put to shame today throughout the world,
because of our sins.

We now have no leader,
no prophet,
no prince,
no burnt offering,
no sacrifice,
no oblation,
no incense,
no place where we can make offerings to you
and win your favour.

But may the contrite soul,
the humbled spirit,
be as acceptable to you
as burnt offerings of rams and bullocks,
as thousands of fat lambs:
such let our sacrifice be to you today,
and may it please you
that we follow you whole-heartedly,
since those who trust in you
will not be shamed.
And now we put our whole heart
into following you,
into fearing you
and seeking your face
once more.
Do not abandon us to shame
but treat us
in accordance with your gentleness,
in accordance with the greatness of your mercy.
Rescue us
in accordance with your wonderful deeds
and win fresh glory
for your name, O Lord.

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Mar112020

Lenten thought

Confessional advice from a priest: “Never grow weary of seeking a new solution for the same old problem, over and over again.”

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Mar052020

Origin, a Life, Guiding to an End

Messy,
Uncomfortable and uneasy,
Peaks and valleys,
Sunshine and rain,
Seeking,
Humbly circular,
Life advances,
Lacking and accumulation,
And through it all,
Through resistance,
Interiorly,
Trust and wisdom,
As something undeserved,
Sublimely emerge.

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Mar052020

Certain within uncertainties

Father Jacques Philippe ‘Interior Freedom’

… for purification. If we were always sure we were doing God’s Will and walking in the truth, we would soon become dangerously presumptuous and at risk of spiritual pride. Not always being absolutely sure we are doing God’s will is humbling and painful, but it protects us. It preserves us in an attitude of constant seeking and prevents the sort of false security that would dispense us from abandoning ourselves to God.

When uncertain about God’s will, it is very important that we tell ourselves: “Even if there are aspects of God’s will that escape me, there are always others that I know for sure and can invest in without any risk, knowing that this investment always pays dividends”…. a defect…needs to be recognized and avoided: finding ourselves in darkness about God’s will on an important question–a large scale vocational choice or some other serious decision–we spend so much time searching and doubting or getting discouraged, that we neglect things that are God’s will for us every day, like being faithful to prayer, maintaining trust in God, loving the people around us here and now (avoiding sin, recognizing afflictions). Lacking answers about the future, we should prepare to receive them by living today to the full.

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