Spiritual Life: September 2012 Archives

... as God himself revealed through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, / your ways are not my ways" (Isaiah 55:8). This is why following the Lord always demands of man - of all of us - a profound conversion, a change in our way of thinking and living, it demands that we open our hearts to listen, to let ourselves be interiorly enlightened and transformed. A key point on which God and man differ is pride: in God there is no pride, because he is the complete fullness of love and is entirely disposed to love and give his life; in us men, however, pride is deeply rooted and requires constant vigilance and purification. We, who are little, aspire to appear big, to be the first, while God, who is truly great, is not afraid to abase himself and become last. And the Virgin Mary is perfectly in "synch" with God: let us invoke her with confidence so that she might teach us how to faithfully follow Jesus on the path of love and humility. 

Pope Benedict XVI
Sunday Angelus, excerpt
30 September 2012

I would hope that Catholics know and utilize the work of of the Apostleship of Prayer. You would know the Apostleship because of their publication of the Pope's monthly prayer intentions, the advocacy of the Morning Offering and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Well, there is good work being done to make the ministry of these faithful Jesuits more known so as to lead all to Christ. 

Cindy Wooden of CNS notes, 

"Membership in the Apostleship of Prayer involves a commitment to beginning each day with a prayer offering one's life to God and praying for the needs of the universal church and the intentions of the pope. Members promise to end each day prayerfully reviewing their blessings and failings.

The morning offering and prayers are the basic membership requirements, and in many countries the apostleship has no registration, no groups, no fees, and no special meetings. The Jesuits estimate that about 50 million people fulfill the membership requirements in the apostleship and its youth wing, the Eucharistic Youth Movement."

The September 17th article is here.

Please join the Apostleship of Prayer (see the link above).

Dolan meet Colbert

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Dolan and Martin.jpg
One of the most clever, that is, funny men in show biz today is Stephen Colbert. He's also practicing his Catholicsm and serves as a catechist.

Mr Colbert, with a friend, Jesuit Father James Martin of American Magazine will host a show with New York's archbishop, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan. Get ready for a laugh!

Followup:

On the Cardinal's blog there's his article "Humor, Joy and the Spiritual Life."

Laurie Goodstein from the NY Times wrote, "A Comedian and a Cardinal Open Up on Spirituality."

On the AP is Rachel Zoll's article: "Colbert to NY Fordham students: 'I love my church.

Prayer enables us to discern the events of history in the light of God's plan for the spread of his Kingdom. That plan is symbolized by the book closed with seven seals which only the Lamb, the crucified and risen Lord, can open. In prayer, we see that Christ's final victory over sin and death is the key to all history. While giving thanks for this victory, we continue to beg God's grace for our earthly journey. Amid life's evils, the Lord hears our prayers, strengthens our weakness, and enables us to trust in his sovereign power. The Book of Revelation concludes with Jesus' promise that he will soon come, and the Church's ardent prayer "Come, Lord Jesus!". In our own prayer, and especially in our celebration of the Eucharist, may we grow in the hope of Christ's coming in glory, experience the transforming power of his grace, and learn to discern all things in the light of faith. 

Pope Benedict XVI 
General Audience
12 September 2012

About the author

Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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This page is a archive of entries in the Spiritual Life category from September 2012.

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