Sections The Daily B.R.E.A.D. Aug. 21, 2010—Saturday Meditation (“Seek God in All!” According to St. Ignatius)
| Aug. 21, 2010—Saturday Meditation (“Seek God in All!” According to St. Ignatius) |
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| Sections - The Daily B.R.E.A.D. | |||
| Friday, 20 August 2010 05:34 | |||
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When asked how his followers were to pray Ignatius wrote: “…they should practice the seeking of God’s presence in all things, in their conversations, in their walks, in all that they see, taste, hear, understand, in all their actions, since His divine majesty is truly in all things by His presence, power and essence.” Memorial of St. Pius X, pope Ezekiel 43:1-7ab Psalm 85:9ab+10, 11-12, 13-14 M atthew 23:1-12 Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, (2) "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; (3) so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. (4) They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. (5) They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, (6) and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, (7) and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. (8) But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. (9) And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. (10) Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. (11) He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; (12) whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Meditation W here do we find the glory of God? In an age driven by technology, instant communication, massive search engines and all the gadgets we dexterously use to the point of distraction, I ask, are we losing a sense of the “sacred,” losing sight of the importance of the “holy” in our life? I have no intention of tackling that question; each of you can wrestle with it in your personal prayer. However, I raise the question because it is clearly evident in our first reading from Ezekiel: “I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east … the earth shone with His glory…I fell prone as the glory of the LORD entered the temple. And I saw the temple was filled with the glory of the LORD.” So we can ask, is that our experience of church; our experience when reading scripture; the experience of our homes and work places; the experience of our relationships? For the glory of the LORD is certainly in all of these places. Indeed at the heart of Jesuit spirituality is the concept of finding God in all things. In essence that means that nothing is excluded from the spiritual life. This spirituality considers everything an important element of our lives---religious services, prayer, charitable works, family, friends, work, relationships, suffering and joy, as well as nature, music and pop culture. God is ever present, constantly in touch, communicating with us in the many ways just mentioned, but also through the events of our lives—through the people we meet and the work we do, through the things we see and hear, through our interior moods and affections, in our decisions and choices. It has been noted that “Ignatian spirituality seeks God’s voice in all the things of the world. It is the difference between a drab black-and-white movie and a feature film in full sound and color”—filled with God’s glory! Reflect for a moment on St. Ignatius’ own words. When asked how his followers were to pray Ignatius wrote: “…they should practice the seeking of God’s presence in all things, in their conversations, in their walks, in all that they see, taste, hear, understand, in all their actions, since His divine majesty is truly in all things by His presence, power and essence.” This same sentiment is found in Gerard Manley Hopkins’s observation that “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” And again in St. Irenaeus’ belief that “the glory of God is a woman/man fully alive.” The glory of God, the presence of God, can be found in every dimension of our life; in everything, in everyone! All of this is implied in theologian Walter Burghardt’s definition of prayer as “a long, loving look at the real.” Even in this busy, complex, imperfect and suffering world we can find that GLORY of God of which Ezekiel speaks by simply taking a look around your own place and space and loving it. Supplementary Grace for Today
G od has grace in store for you every single day. Grace is His supernatural empowerment, His unmerited favor on your life. All throughout scripture, we see God giving daily grace, empowerment and provision to His people. For example, when the people of In the same way, God doesn't give us grace for a year at a time or even a month at a time. No, every 24 hours God has a fresh, new supply of grace, favor, wisdom and forgiveness. How are you going to make it through the seasons of your life? One day at a time. Look for His grace today. Look for His provision today. Look for His hand of favor and blessing today because He promises to supply everything you need for today.
GOD BLESS US O Theos Na Mas Evlogisi!
For past gospel meditations or to browse spiritual readings, you may visit the following: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=216458741502#!/home.php?sk=mynotes http://his-ways-better-than-our-ways.blogspot.com
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Quote of the Day
Benjamin Franklin said in 1817: In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. But never in his wildest dream did he realize that by 2010, death would be synonymous with taxes~Bobby M. Reyes
In the Gospel of today’s Mass (Matt 23:1-12) we read of Our Lord’s warning his disciples against the Scribes and Pharisees who had set themselves up in Moses’ chair and taught the Scriptures to the people, but whose lives were far removed from what they taught: Practise and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach but do not practise. Saint John Chrysostom comments: Is there anything more lamentable than a teacher whose only way of saving his pupils is to tell them not to heed the life of the one speaking to them? (St John Chrysostom, Homilies on St Matthew’s Gospel, 72, 1).
Our Lord asks everyone to give good example in their daily lives and in a fruitful apostolate. There are many admirable examples around us, but we have to pray that, among Christians, those who lead and govern, people of influence, parents, teachers, priests and everyone who is in any way a good shepherd for others will grow daily in holiness. The world is in need of living examples.
Christ is the fullness of unity of life; his words and deeds are profoundly consistent. What He says is perfectly consistent with what He does, which is always something marvellous and complete. We have seen strange things today (Luke 5:26), as people said when He had forgiven the sins of the paralytic man and then cured him. Even the Pharisees exclaimed, disconcerted: What are we to do? For this man performs many signs (John 11:47). However, they rejected the witness of the deeds and so became blameworthy: If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin (John 15:24). On other occasions He invited them to believe through what was obvious to all: Believe me for the sake of the works themselves (John 14:11). Our Lord considered his deeds a means of making his teaching known: These very works which I am doing bear me witness (John 5:36). Christ proclaimed the marvellous truth of revelation in word and deed, both in his hidden life and in his public ministry.
We have to show everyone that Christ is still alive by living heroically the events of our daily lives. The apostolic vocation which we all received at Baptism means giving witness in word and deed to the life and teaching of Christ. People said of the early Christians See how they love one another. The pagans were really edified by this behaviour and those who conducted themselves in this way had favour with all the people (Acts 2:47), as the Acts of the Apostles tell us. As a result, the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (ibid). Those who were converted to the faith made good use of every opportunity to explain the reason for their hope (cf 1 Pet 3:15), and in order to spread their joy to others: Those who were scattered went about preaching the word (Acts 8:4).
Many gave the supreme witness of martyrdom to the faith they professed. We too are ready to go to that extreme if Our Lord asks for it. In his apparent madness the martyr becomes a powerful attractive force that leads people to Christ: many conversions are the result of having beheld a martyr’s example. Hence the name martyr, meaning witness, signifies having given testimony for Christ.
With permission from Scepter UK. Short excerpt from IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD by Francis Fernandez.
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