Chains of self-reliance

23 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , ,

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” ~Mark 10:17-27 (CEB)

“There are some who resign themselves, but they attach conditions to it. They do not trust in God completely, so they take pains to provide for themselves just in case. Some offer everything at first, but later, beaten down by temptations, they go back to their old ways and thus make little progress in virtue. People like these will not gain the true freedom of a pure heart nor the grace of a joyful intimacy with me unless they surrender themselves unconditionally and offer themselves as a sacrifice to me each day. Without this total self-surrender a joyful union between us cannot exist, either now or ever.” ~From The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis

Almighty God, I come to You today seeking freedom that only You can give. Help me to break these chains of self-reliance. Help me to depend solely on You. Amen.

Ponder and meditation

22 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

I will ponder all your work,

and meditate on your mighty deeds.

Your way, O God, is holy.

 What god is great like our God?

You are the God who works wonders;

you have made known your might among the peoples.

You with your arm redeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. ~Psalm 77:12-15 (CEB)

“You will think, Sisters, that since so much has been said about this spiritual path it will be impossible for anything more to be said. Such a thought would be very foolish. Since the greatness of God is without limits, [God’s] works are too. Who will finish telling of [God’s] mercies and grandeurs? To do so is impossible, and thus not be surprised at what was said, and will be said, because it is but a naught in comparison to what there is to tell of God. [God] grants us a great favor in having communicated these things to a person through whom we can know about [God]. Thus the more we know about [God’s] communication to creatures the more we will praise [God’s] grandeur and make the effort to have esteem for souls in which the Lord delights so much. Each of us has a soul, but since we do not prize souls as is deserved by creatures made in the image of God we do not understand the deep secrets that lie in them.” ~From The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila

Almighty God, Help me ponder this day all the work You have done in my life. Help me to remember the mighty deeds You have performed. Thank You for the grace and mercy You have shown me. Amen.

To have vision

21 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , , ,

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law.”
Proverbs 29:18 (NASB)

“True mystics are not necessarily those who have visions, but rather those who have vision. They see the extraordinary, the mystical, in everyday events. If we desire such vision, we will have to give our brains a bath! Our minds must be cleansed of prejudgments about what God looks like. We will have to take a brush and scrub away all those grade school pictures of God and erase all the statements made by saints about their experience of the Divine Mystery. Only then can we begin to see the true picture.” ~From In Pursuit of the Great White Rabbit by Edward Hays

Heavenly Father, give me the vision this day to see the extraordinary in the everyday moments of my life. Help me to see this world and You as You truly would have me see. Amen.

Called

20 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , ,

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. ~John 12:20-26 (CEB)

“What has your attention at this very moment? This readying? Perhaps, but we all know that we can give modest attention to several things at once. We eat, read, and listen for the phone all at the same time. When our search for something consumes all our energy and all our faculties, everything else fades away and disappears. Even a ringing phone goes unanswered when we are seeking to give answer to another call deep within. What are you searching for that consumes all your energy and attention? The quest for God is a search worthy of such all-consuming passion and energy. The biblical record indicates that such a search is always generously rewarded.

Jesus asked two of John’s disciples (John 1:38) what they were looking for and invited them to come and see where and how he lived. The desire to know and be near to God has been placed within as an invitation to a lifelong quest for companionship with the divine. And yet, from personal experience we know that sometimes we look in all the wrong places. These disciples of Jesus were invited to continue their search where Jesus was and not where he was not. Our directions are certainly as plain as theirs are.

What are you looking for today and where will your search be successful? The quest for God is always successful when carried out where God is to be found. Where shall we begin our search? The deep inner rooms of our own soul, sacred scriptures, the book of history, current events, the lives of the saints, the poor and oppressed seeking our compassion, and the creation itself offer places where God has been most readily found in the past. Today pay attention to what has your undivided attention and follow the clues to a closer walk with God.” ~Rueben P. Job, A Guide to All Who Seek God

Almighty God, grant that in my worship of You this day that I may present my body as a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to You. By the power of Your holy spirit make me strong to follow Your will this day. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Enslaved

19 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romas 12:2 (ESV)

“The action of those whose lives are given to the Spirit has in it something of the leisure of Eternity; and because of this, they achieve far more than those whose lives are enslaved by the rush and hurry, the unceasing tick-tick of the world. In the spiritual life it is very important to get our timing right. Otherwise we tend to forget the God, Who is greater than our heart, is greater than our job too. It is only when we have learnt all that this means that we possess the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.” ~From The Spiritual Life by Evelyn Underhill

Almighty God, sometimes I get so busy with the things that need to get done that I forget what is most important in life. You. You are bigger than all my worries, You are bigger than all my troubles. You know my heart. Guide me in the direction that I need to go this day to connect more fully with You. Amen.

Acceptance and delight

18 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , ,

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live. ~Ecc. 5:18-20 (MSG)

“If I am not at home with myself I won’t feel at home anywhere else. It is such a delight to come home to myself, to become my own friend. I experienced this kind of homecoming once when I was living alone. Under the guise of ministering to others I had become alienated from myself. In my everyday maddening ministerial rush I suddenly discovered myself eating on the run- grabbing a sandwich and eating it while standing up or going out to the door. The violence of this great irreverence to myself suddenly occurred to me. I was not at home with myself. It took a while to slow down, but I was finally able to make a decision to spend time with myself. I began to experience the joy of being with me. I put a flower on the table, lit a candle, turned on soft music, ate slowly. I learned the joy of simply being with myself without rushing. It was like taking myself out to dinner. It was a kind of coming home to myself. When you can lovingly be present to yourself, your presence to others takes on a deeper quality also.” ~From A Tree Full of Angels by Macrina Wiederkehr

Heavenly Father, help me to slow down today. Help me to take care of myself, to take time to laugh and to do my best whatever task I may be about. Help me this day to make the most of what You give me and the ability to fully enjoy it. Amen.

Finding the time

17 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , ,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~Phil. 4:13

“How often people today cry out in exasperation or despair, ‘I just don’t have enough time!’ There is so much to do: earn a living, fulfill a vocation, nurture relationships, car for dependents, exercise, clean the house. Moreover, we hope to maintain sanity while doing all this, and to keep growing faithful and loving people at the same time. We are finite, and the demands seem too great, the time too short. . . .

Puritan Sabbath keepers agreed that ‘good Sabbaths make good Christians.’ They meant that regular, disciplined attention to the spiritual life was the foundation of faithfulness. Another dimension of the saying opens up if we imagine a worshiping community helping one another step off the treadmill of work-and-spend and into the circle of glad gratitude for the gifts of God. Taken this way, good Sabbaths make good Christians by regularly reminding us of God’s creative, liberation, and redeeming presence, not only in words but also through a practice we do together in response to that presence. ~From “Keeping Sabbath” by Dorothy C. Bass in Practicing Our Faith

Help me this day O Lord, to be faithful to You in all I do. Help me to step off the treadmill of life so that I may be grateful for the gifts You have placed in my life. Amen.

Finding time

16 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , ,

While Jesus and his disciples were traveling, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his message. By contrast, Martha was preoccupied with getting everything ready for their meal. So Martha came to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to prepare the table all by myself? Tell her to help me.”

The Lord answered, ” Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. It won’t be taken away from her.” ~Luke 10:38-42

“When the Master invited the Governor to practice meditation and the Governor said he was too busy, this is the reply he got: ‘You put me in mind of a man walking blindfolded into the jungle- and being too busy to take the blindfold off.’

When the Governor pleaded lack of time, the Master said, ‘It is a mistake to think that meditation cannot be practiced for lack of time. The real reason is agitation of the mind.’ ~From Taking Flight by Anthony de Mello

Heavenly Father, Help me to not be overly busy this day. Help me to make time for You for I know when I make time for You, so much more of my day falls into place. Amen.

Dark night

15 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , , , ,

My God! My God,

why have you left me all alone?

Why are you so far from saving me—

so far from my anguished groans?

My God, I cry out during the day,

but you don’t answer;

even at nighttime I don’t stop.

~Psalm 22:1-2 (CEB)

“We may say that there are three reasons for which this journey mad by the soul to union with God is called night. The first has to do with the point from which the soul goes forth, for it has gradually to deprive itself of desire for all the worldly tings which it possessed by denying them to itself; the which denial and deprivation are, as it were, night to all the senses of man. The second reason has to do with the mean, or the road along which the soul must travel to this union- that is, faith, which is likewise as dark as night to understanding. The third has to do with the point to which it travels- namely, God, Who, equally, is dark night to the soul in this life. These three nights must pass through the soul- or, rather, the soul must pass through them- in order that it may come to Divine union with God.” ~From Ascent of Mount Carmel by Saint John of the Cross

Heavenly Father, when I find myself adrift and alone, guide me back into Your light. May all my travels find me closer to Divine union with You. Amen.

In this moment

14 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by jennifermcintyreblog in Devotions Tags: , , , , ,

“Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~Matt. 6:25-34 (CEB)

“As we grow older, we tend to become  control freaks. We need to control everybody and everything, moment by moment, to be happy. If the now has never been full or sufficient, we will always be grasping, even addictive or obsessive. If you’re pushing yourself and others around, you have not yet found the secret of happiness. It’s okay as it is. This moment is as perfect as it can be. The saints called it the ‘sacrament of the present moment.'”~From Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr

Heavenly Father, Help me to live in this moment. Help me not to be in a rush for tomorrow to come or blinded by my past regrets. Help me to see the beauty and joy that You have sent my way for this day. Amen.

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