Daily Prayer for May 4

Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14, RSV Dear Father in heaven, we thank you for guiding us on all our ways with power from on high. We thank you that again and again you have led us through the darkness on a path of light. Looking back, we cannot be thankful enough. May our hearts turn to you and be filled with quiet certainty in all we are still awaiting. Remember us and remember the many who lie under heavy bondage. Let the time come when you will bring a great deliverance to those who are in darkness. Then we can find meaning for our lives in all that happens, knowing that you have been faithful in everything. You have done more than we asked, more than we can understand. Amen. Daily Dig for May 4 Kathleen Noris I know from experience that when I allow busy little doings to fill the precious time of early morning, when contemplation might flourish, I open the doors to the demon of acedia. Noon becomes a blur – no time, no time – the wolfing down of a sandwich as I listen to the morning’s phone messages and plan the afternoon’s errands. When evening comes, I am so exhausted that vespers has become impossible. It is as if I have taken the world’s weight on my shoulders and am too greedy, and too foolish, to surrender it to God. Source: The Quotidian Mysteries www.plough.com



Sunday, May 3 Fifth Sunday of Easter

THERE CAN BE NO REAL FRUIT APART FROM JESUS

(A biblical refection on THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER [Year B] – May 3, 2015)

Gospel Reading: John 15:1-8

First Reading: Acts 9:26-31; Psalms: Psalm 22:26-28,30-32; Second Reading: 1 John 3:18-24

The Scripture Text

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that is may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he is the bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in Me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in Me, any words abide in you, as whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:1-8 RSV)

Have you ever seen a grapevine in the wild? Left to itself, the plant rambles through underbrush and clings to everything in its path. It puts its energy into wrapping itself around rocks, brambles, and tree trunks. It produces small, usually bitter fruit. A well-tended vine – something you’d expect to find on the slopes of wine country in California for instance – is another story entirely. This plant is tall, sturdy, and trained to produce. Thanks to careful pruning, it yields large clusters of healthy, sweet-tasting grapes.

Speaking to people who were well acquainted with the differences between wild and cultivated plants, Jesus used the image of the grapevine to convey an important spiritual truth. God our Father is the vine-grower par excellence, the master cultivator of the human vineyard. Wanting the best for His vines, He enables each one to tap into the source of true life – into an intimate, abiding relationship with His only Son. Maintain this connection, Jesus promises, and you will live an abundant, fruitful life (John 15:5,7).

Characteristically, vines have two kinds of branches: those that bear fruit and those that don’t. The non-producing branches must be carefully pruned so that the vine can devote all its resources to producing the best fruit possible. The same is true of the vines in the Father’s vineyard. Staying connected to Jesus and producing a healthy yield necessarily means allowing ourselves to be pruned. It means trusting in Jesus’ goodness and obeying His commands so that all that is not of Him can be stripped away. That’s how we can produce an abundant harvest, both in our inner lives and in our ability to bring His word and His love to the world around us.

Jesus said that there can be no real fruit apart from Him (John 15:5). There is simple truth here: We are either fruit-bearing or we are not. There is no in-between. Jesus promises us abundant fruit, provided we remain on with Him and say yes to His gentle, but firm, pruning our lives. The heavenly vine-grower awaits our answer. Will you allow Him to cultivate you?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, make my heart one with You and Your Son, so that I may bear fruit that brings You glory and honor. Amen.

Note: Please also read the biblical reflection entitled “TO ABIDE IN JESUS EACH DAY, AS HE ABIDES IN US” (reading for May 6, 2012) in the blog: A CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE.

Jakarta, 1 May 2015

A Christian Pilgrim

achristianpilgrim | May 2, 2015 at 5:13 am | Tags: JESUS CHRIST, LAST SUPPER | Categories: BIBLICAL REFLECTIONS 2015, DISCIPLESHIP, LENT AND EASTERTIDE, PARABLES OF JESUS | URL: http://wp.me/p1055h-2Oi

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April 29 Feast of Saint Catherine

Daily Prayer for April 29        Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:9–10, NIV Lord our God, we look to you in our many needs, in the distress of our hearts, in the anguish of the whole world. We beseech you, let light come to your people everywhere on earth to bring them your help and your victory. Remember the wretched, the sick, the poor. Let your living strength come to them so that they can bear their sufferings and hold out joyfully to the end. Remember us all, O Lord our God, for we all need you. We are weak and poor and cannot go forward alone. Your Spirit must help us. May the Savior come to us, and may his grace and his power be born in our hearts. Amen.

Daily Dig for April 29 Eberhard Arnold It is a simple thing: joy in everything that lives. Anyone who can rejoice in life, in other people, in the fellowship of church community – anyone who feels joy in the mutual relationships of trust and inner fellowship – such a person experiences what love is. Anyone who cannot feel joy cannot live.… Only where there is joy do love and justice dwell. We need the spirit of joy to overcome the gloomy spirit of covetousness, the spirit of unjust mammon and its deadly hate. We can only have such joy if we have faith, and if we believe that the earth has a future. Source: Salt and Light

Tuesday April 28 - Ten Ways to Love

TEN WAYS TO LOVE – LET US OPEN OUR BIBLES by achristianpilgrim

Jakarta, 28 April 2015

 

Daily Dig for April 28

Dorothy Day

The mystery of the poor is this: That they are Jesus, and what you do for them you do for him. It is the only way we have of knowing and believing in our love. The mystery of poverty is that by sharing in it, making ourselves poor in giving to others, we increase our knowledge of and belief in love. Source: Dorothy Day: Selected Writings Daily Prayer for April 28 Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11, NIV Dear Father in heaven, you show us the way of life; in your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand is delight forever. In your presence we want to rejoice together as your children, under your protection. May we become firm in every part of our life on earth. Grant that soon something of your kingdom, of your heaven, may encircle us like a blessing, enabling us to fight on in joy and exultation. We entrust ourselves to you, our faithful and loving God, and we thank you. Amen. www.plough.com



Monday - April 27 - Prayers for Nepal. And Tibetan Singing bowl Prayer

Daily Dig for April 27                                     Sadhu Sundar Singh God uses suffering to call us into the peace of his presence. If God could not use pain and suffering for our good, then he would not allow such things to remain in the world. The grain of wheat must lie in the dark womb of the earth before it can be called forth into the open air by the light and the warmth of the sun. Then it grows into a healthy plant and bears fruit. Source: Wisdom of the Sadhu Daily Prayer for April 27 You answered me when I called to you; with your strength you strengthened me. Psalm 138:3, TEV     Dear Father in heaven, we thank you that we are your children and that your eyes watch over us and see all that is in our hearts. You hear the request of each heart, and you will answer at the right time. Stretch out your strong hand to us, for we are weak and often heavy-hearted, not knowing what to do nor how to find you. But you are with us in every need in spite of all our faults and shortcomings. You are with us; you lead us through everything to our life’s true goal, until each of us can rejoice over all you have done, to the praise of your name, our Father. Amen. More Daily Prayers



April 26 Sunday - 4th of Easter

New post on A CHRISTIAN PILGRIMAGE

THE GOOD SHEPHERD by achristianpilgrim Gospel Reading at today's Mass: John 10:11-18 Jakarta, 26 April 2015 A Christian Pilgrim

 

 

The Lord is my Shepherd

there is nothing I shall want.

 



Thursday April 23 Blessings and Gratitude to God for His Goodness to Us.

Daily Prayer for April 23 Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt I look for your deliverance, Lord. Genesis 49:18, NIV Lord our God, help us in these days that are so difficult for us. Help us never to lose our expectation of the time that is to come, the time of Jesus Christ, Lord of heaven and earth. Strengthen us, we pray, and strengthen those all over the world who have to endure great suffering, especially the destitute and the dying. May your heavenly hosts come down to the many who are in misery, so that your name is praised in life and in death, in whatever we have to go through. For we shall praise you, no matter what happens now or in the days ahead. May your glory remain in our hearts, with the joy that you, O God, are the Father of all. Amen.

w Daily Dig for April 23 Carlo Carretto If God exists, why evil? If God is love, why sorrow? If God is a father, why death? If I have knocked, why has he not opened to me? Wait! Believe in him not out of self-interest, but out of love! If you want to reach the Promised Land, you must accept the scandal of all the things you don’t understand right to the limits. Having faith means believing that he fills all space, that no leap can cast me out from his arms. Having faith means believing that he knows everything, that before I arrive he runs through the infinitely complicated plan of my existence all the way to its conclusion, like an ever new problem solved by his infinite love: my final entry into his kingdom. Source: The God Who Comes

Ortronics: Earth Untouched 2015 Photos April 22, 2015

Daily Dig for April 22 Eberhard Arnold We love the soil because God’s spirit spoke and created the earth,  and because he called it out of its uncultivated natural state so that it might be cultivated  by the communal work of human beings. We love physical work –  the work of muscle and hand – and we love the craftsman’s art, in which the spirit guides the hand. In the way spirit and hand work together and through each other, we see the mystery of community.  God – the creative Spirit – has formed nature, and he has entrusted the earth to us,  his sons and daughters,  as an inheritance but also as a task: our garden must become his garden,  and our work must further his kingdom. Source: Plough Quarterly No.4: Earth

www.plough.com

April 22, 2015 Earth Day

 

Our Sister gardeners  love the earth and tend it well after the example of  Francis and Clare

 

It is our  Franciscan Tradition to love all of creation after our patrons Saints Francis and Clare.

 

Saint Francis of Assisi rejoiced in all

the works of the Lord's Hands.

In beautiful things he intuited Beauty itself.

Francis savored in each and every creature

----the goodness given them by God. (St. Bonaventure's Major Work of St. Francis)

Clare considered herself the Little Plant of Francis

and followed his love for creation.



April 22 Earth day - San Francis - The Canticle of the Creatures" - www.ascoltalibri.it

Earth Day April 22 - I Am The Lord Of The Dance, Cover by Beth Cassidy

  Meister  Eckhart says, " Every creature is a Word of God".
and N.T.Wright says in his new book "Surprised by Scripture,
               " The resurrection of Jesus is the reaffirmation of the goodness of creation, and the gift of the Spirit is there to make us the fully human beings we were supposed to be precisely so that we can fulfill that madate at last.  What are we waiting for?

                     Jesus is coming.
                     Let's go plant a Tree.

                     

Wednesday April 15 God so loved the world

 

 

Daily Dig for April 15 Søren Kierkegaard And this is the simple truth: that to live is to feel oneself lost. He who accepts it has already begun to find himself, to be on firm ground. Instinctively, as do the shipwrecked, he will look around for something to which to cling, and that tragic, ruthless glance, absolutely sincere, because it is a question of his salvation, will cause him to bring order into the chaos of his life. These are the only genuine ideas; the ideas of the shipwrecked. All the rest is rhetoric, posturing, farce. Source: Provocations Daily Prayer for April 15 Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Psalm 31:14–16, NIV Dear Father in heaven, we turn to you. Hear our longing, hear our hopes, hear our faith! Our future lies in your hands. Free each heart from discouragement and sadness over the many evils of the world. Make us free from earthly things, free yet bound in spirit with you, O God. Help us on our pilgrimage toward eternity. As we walk with you, fill us with hope that the whole world will see the light, for in your light alone can we find fullness of life. Protect us and bless us through your Spirit. Amen. www.plough.com

April 14 Tuesday God is all around us.

Even when we don’t sense God’s presence, His loving care is all around us.

by achristianpilgrim

Jakarta, 14 April 2015

A Christian Pilgrimage

 

Daily Dig for April 14 Eduardo Galeano I don’t believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is so vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person and learns from the other. I have a lot to learn from other people. Source: Louder than Bombs Daily Prayer for April 14 Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25–26, NIV Dear Father in heaven, to you we entrust everything, for you have given us life and will call us to resurrection. You will help your children, your humankind, to reach what you have called them to. Protect your Church on earth. Let her soon see your glory. Let her see Jesus Christ intervening in people’s lives and destinies until, shaken and trembling, they have to recognize that they should love and honor Jesus alone, to your honor, O Father in heaven. We thank you for all you have given us in your Word, which enables us to become your children and to find your way for us on earth. Bless us and give us the Holy Spirit. Protect us this night. Protect us so that nothing evil can harm us. Amen. www.plough.com