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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 18, 2019 2:54:05 GMT
SEPTEMBER 16 You Are a Work of God
If you praise the works of God, then you will also have to praise yourself, for you too are a work of God. Here is how you can praise yourself yet not be proud. Praise not yourself but God in you. Offer praise, not because you are this or that kind of person, but because God made you; not because you are capable of doing this or that, but because He works in you and through you. - Commentary on Psalm 144, 7
Prayer. Behold, O Lord, we are Thy little flock; we belong to Thee. - Confessions 10, 36
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 18, 2019 2:59:34 GMT
SEPTEMBER 17 One Goal
We know we are traveling together. If our pace is slow, go on ahead of us. We won't envy you but rather will seek to catch up with you. However, if you consider us capable of a quicker pace, run along with us. There is only one goal, and we are all anxious to reach it - some at a slow pace and others at a fast pace.
- Sermon on a New Canticle 4, 4
Prayer. Let everyone's sighs be uttered in longing for Christ. He should be the object of our desire since He, the all- beautiful One, loves repulsive people so that He might make them beautiful. Let us run to Him and cry out for Him.
- Sermon on John 10, 13
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 19, 2019 1:42:16 GMT
SEPTEMBER 18 Removal of Social Evils by Education
Clearly, it is not by harshness or by severity, or by overbearing methods, that social evils are removed. It is by education rather than by formal commands, by persuasion rather than by threats. This is the way to deal with people in general. Severity, however, should be employed only against the sins of the few.
- Letter 22, 5
Prayer. Lord, Thou are the light of my heart and the bread in the mouth of my soul. Thou are the virtue dwelling in my mind and the hiding place of my thoughts. - Confessions 1, 13
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 20, 2019 2:55:19 GMT
SEPTEMBER 19 True Superiors
Superiors are designated for the purpose of looking out for the good of their subjects. Hence, in the fulfillment of their office they should seek not their own advantage but that of their subjects. There are superiors who delight in being placed over others, seek their own honor, and look out only for their own convenience. These are fattening themselves, not their flocks! - Sermon 46, 1
Prayer. Lord, my own wrongdoing befouls me, and the offenses of others afflict me. Free me from theirs, and pardon me for mine. Take evil thoughts away from my heart, and keep me away from advisers of malice.
- Commentary on Psalm 18 (2), 13
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 21, 2019 2:33:00 GMT
SEPTEMBER 20 Love of Sinners
Essentially, the distinguishing mark of those who strive after Christian perfection is that they love the sinner and detest only the sins. When they must avenge wrongdoing, they do so, not with the cruelty of hatred, but with justice administered with moderation, lest forgiveness without satisfaction do more harm to the sinner than punishment. - Against Adimantus 17
Prayer. Lord, if the persecution of this world rises up against me, let me fix my hope on the prayer in my heart.
- Commentary on Psalm 16, 3
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 22, 2019 2:44:10 GMT
SEPTEMBER 21 The Fast and the Slow
Let those who are quicker than others in understanding reflect that they are walking along the road together with those who are slower. When one is faster than a companion, it is in the power of the faster to allow the slower to catch up, not vice versa. If the faster walks with all possible speed, the slower will not succeed in following. The faster must slow the pace so as not to abandon the slower companion. - Commentary on Psalm 90 (2), 1
Prayer. I want to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. In it lies something wonderful to see, the delight of the Lord Himself awaiting our contemplation. - Commentary on Psalm 26 (2), 8
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 22, 2019 18:22:27 GMT
SEPTEMBER 22 We All Have One Teacher
Remembering and bearing in mind the obligations of my servantship - such is my attitude as I teach you. Hence, I speak not as a master but as a minister, not to pupils but to fellow pupils since I speak not to servants but to fellow servants. We all have one Master, whose school is on earth and whose seat is in heaven. - Sermon 242, 1
Prayer. To those who love Thee, O Lord, according to Thy command, Thou show Thyself, and it is enough for them. Thus they do not fall away from Thee nor back into themselves. This is the house of God, made not of the earth, nor of any physical heavenly body, but it is a spiritual sharing in Thy eternity. - Confessions 12, 15
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 24, 2019 3:33:04 GMT
SEPTEMBER 23 Renewal in Christ
Old age has its many complaints: coughing, shaking, failing eyesight, anxiety, and weariness. The world is old, and it too is full of pressing tribulations. Do not refuse to regain your youth in Christ Who says: The world is passing away. Do not fear. Your youth shall be renewed. - Sermon 81, 8
Prayer. Thou, O Lord, Who always are, both before we were and before the world was, have become a refuge for us, within which we turn to Thee. - Commentary on Psalm 89, 3
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 25, 2019 3:52:40 GMT
SEPTEMBER 24 Putting a Vocation to the Test
How will you get to know the ones you want to exclude from the monastery? If you want to find out that they are unfit, you must put them to the test. Many have promised themselves that they will generously respond to the holiness of that life. They have been put in the fire, and they have crumbled. - Commentary on Psalm 99, 11
Prayer. Lord, be my helper, and do not abandon me. See, I am on Thy path. I have asked for only one thing from Thee, to live in Thy house all the days of my life. - Commentary on Psalm 26 (2), 17
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 26, 2019 3:46:09 GMT
SEPTEMBER 25 The Grace of God
No one of us does anything good unless aided by Christ's grace. What we do badly comes from ourselves; what we do well, we do with the help of God. Therefore, let us give thanks to God Who made it possible. And when we do well, let us not insult anyone who does not act in the same way. Let us not extol ourselves above such a person. - Commentary on Psalm 93, 15
Prayer. Lord, I have seen Christ the Bridegroom. Let no one now lure me away from among the members of Thy Bride. Be not my Head if I fail to be among her members. - Commentary on Psalm 147, 18
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 27, 2019 3:03:09 GMT
SEPTEMBER 26 You Owe Love
Prayer is greatly aided by fasting and watching and every kind of bodily chastisement. In this regard each of you must do what you can. Thus, the weaker will not hold back the stronger, and the stronger will not press the weaker. You owe your conscience to God. But to no one else do you owe anything more except that you love one another. - Letter 130, 16
Prayer. Let me know Thee, O Thee Who know me. Let me know Thee just as I am known to Thee. Virtue of my soul, come into it and make it over for Thy own use, that Thou may possess it without spot. - Confessions 10, 1
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 28, 2019 2:36:09 GMT
SEPTEMBER 27 Praying for Bodily Health
Undoubtedly, it is good that you request bodily health from God. If He knows that it is for your greater good, He will give it to you. If He does not give it, then it was not for your advantage. God knows, therefore, what is better for us. Let us seek only that our heart be free from sin. - Sermon on John 7, 12
Prayer. Be a protecting God for me. I will not be saved unless it is in Thee. Unless Thou were my rest, my sickness would not be healed. - Commentary on Psalm 70 (1), 5
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 29, 2019 3:03:53 GMT
SEPTEMBER 28 God's Correction Is for Our Good
Manifestly, it is not true that the screams of someone undergoing a painful operation should hold back the hand of the surgeon who is skillfully operating! Is the surgeon cruel for continuing in order to heal the patient?
Seek nothing but God's help whenever you are corrected by Him. See to it that you do not perish, that you do not depart from the Lamb and be devoured by the lion! - Sermon on John 7, 12
Prayer. Lord, Thou are the virtue dwelling in my mind and the hiding place of my thoughts. - Confessions 1, 13
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Post by Elizabeth on Sept 29, 2019 19:35:07 GMT
SEPTEMBER 29 Helping the Needy
Walking by faith, let us do good works. In these let there be a free love of God for His own sake and an active love for our neighbor. For there is nothing we can do for God. But because we have something we can do for our neighbor, we shall by our good offices to the needy gain the favor of Him Who is the source of all abundance. Let us then do what we can for others; let us freely bestow upon the needy out of our abundance. - Sermon 41, 9
Prayer. Keep your eyes fixed on the Lord Who guides you, and do not look back. - Commentary on Psalm 75, 16
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Post by QMaryLArmy on Sept 30, 2019 3:50:03 GMT
SEPTEMBER 28 God's Correction Is for Our Good
Manifestly, it is not true that the screams of someone undergoing a painful operation should hold back the hand of the surgeon who is skillfully operating! Is the surgeon cruel for continuing in order to heal the patient?
Seek nothing but God's help whenever you are corrected by Him. See to it that you do not perish, that you do not depart from the Lamb and be devoured by the lion! - Sermon on John 7, 12
Prayer. Lord, Thou are the virtue dwelling in my mind and the hiding place of my thoughts. - Confessions 1, 13
No one is fond of pains, but there are ways which can turn them into benefits.
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