At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written: One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written: He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, “All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.
In this week’s lecture, Sharon continues to guide us through Romans. She begins with a nice explanation about Paul’s use of diatribe, a literary technique where the speaker engages in a dialogue with imaginary opponents. Understanding this technique is essential to understanding Paul’s intended message. Using Romans 5 as a spring-board, Sharon then goes on to give us an in-depth teaching on the theological virtues of faith, hope and love. Another theme that runs through Romans is summed up in the doxology of the Lord’s Prayer; it is “Through Him, With Him and In Him.” Everything goes through Jesus: freedom from sin, freedom from death. Sharon concludes with this wonderful insight: God always creates through water and Spirit. From the creation of the world, to the recreation after the flood, to the creation of the nation of Israel, to the creation of the Church, to the creation of our new lives through Baptism, God creates through water and Spirit.
Sharon Doran serves as the teaching director of “Seeking Truth.” An experienced Bible Study teacher, Sharon has a passion for scripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God’s Word and apply His message to your everyday life.
“Seeking Truth” is an in-depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to:www.seekingtruth.net
St. Teresa exhorts the nuns to keep their Rule and names three things which are important for the spiritual life. Describes the first of these three things, which is love of one’s neighbour, and speaks of the harm which can be done by individual friendships
THE WAY OF PERFECTION by ST. TERESA OF AVILA Translated & Edited by E. ALLISON PEERS from the Critical Editon of P. SILVERIO DE SANTA TERESA, C.D.
Fr. Gallagher continues to discuss the third step – REVIEW – which is where the “The Discernment of Spirits” intersects with “The Examen”. Then we approach the fourth step – FORGIVENESS – which is what all the actions in the prayer are leading to.
Father Timothy M. Gallagher, O.M.V., was ordained in 1979 as a member of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, a religious community dedicated to retreats and spiritual formation according to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Fr. Gallagher is featured on the EWTN series “Living the Discerning Life: The Spiritual Teachings of St. Ignatius of Loyola”.
As outlined from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola
(translated from the autograph by Fr. E. Mullan, S.J. 1909 in the public domain)
METHOD FOR MAKING THE GENERAL EXAMEN
It contains in it five Points.
First Point.The first Point is to give thanks to God our Lord for the benefits received. Second Point.The second, to ask grace to know our sins and cast them out. Third Point.The third, to ask account of our soul from the hour that we rose up to the present Examen, hour by hour, or period by period: and first as to thoughts, and then as to words, and then as to acts, in the same order as was mentioned in the Particular Examen. Fourth Point. The fourth, to ask pardon of God our Lord for the faults. Fifth Point.The fifth, to purpose amendment with His grace.
Exhorts the nuns to keep their Rule and names three things which are important for the spiritual life. Describes the first of these three things, which is love of one’s neighbour, and speaks of the harm which can be done by individual friendships
Appendix
THE WAY OF PERFECTION by ST. TERESA OF AVILA Translated & Edited by E. ALLISON PEERS from the Critical Editon of P. SILVERIO DE SANTA TERESA, C.D.
Episode 1 – The Holy Rule of St. Benedict: A Spiritual Path for Today’s World with Fr. Mauritius Wilde O.S.B., PhD. Materialism vs Gratitude is the subject addressed in our first episode. How to deal with things. “Do you really need it?” This is the question we are called to ask ourselves.
From the Holy Rule of St. Benedict:
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Whether all ought equally to receive what is needful.
As it is written: “Distribution was made to every one, according as he had need.”177 By this, we do not say that there should be accepting of persons, which God forbid, but that due consideration should be shown to each one’s infirmities. Therefore, let him who needeth less, give God thanks, and be not grieved; and let him who needeth more, be humbled for his infirmity, and not lifted up for the mercy that is shown him; and thus all the members shall be in peace. Above all things, take heed there be no murmuring, by word or sign, upon any occasion whatsoever, If any one shall be found faulty in this respect, let him be subjected to most severe discipline.
Father Mauritius Wilde, OSB, Ph.D., did his philosophical, theological and doctoral studies in Europe. He is the author of several books and directs retreats regularly. He serves as Prior at Sant’Anselmo in Rome.
FG#1 – Interior Freedom episode 1 – Fountains of Grace: reflections on contemporary spiritual classics with Donna Garrett
Join host Donna Garrett, with Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC, as they discuss the spiritual classic “Interior Freedom” by Fr. Jacques Philippe a priest of Communaute des Beatitudes, an international association of the faithful of Pontifical Right founded in France in 1973. The members of the Community, which has a contemplative vocation based on Carmelite spirituality, are actively engaged in the service of the poor and the proclamation of the Gospel.
Discussed in this episode, among other topics, from “Interior Freedom” page 12
Donna Garrett is joined in this particular series by Fr. Daniel Brandenburg, LC
“Human beings were not created for slavery but to be the lords of creation. This is explicitly stated in the Book of Genesis. We were not created to lead drab, narrow, or constricted lives, but to live in the wide-open spaces. We find confinement unbearable simply because we were created in the image of God, and we have within un an unquenchable need for the absolute and the infinitive. That is our greatness and sometimes our misfortune.
We have this great thirst for freedom because our most fundamental aspiration is for happiness; and we sense that there is no happiness without love, and no love without freedom. This is perfectly true. Human beings were created for love, and they can only find happiness in loving and being loved.”
From the Holy Rule of St. Benedict:
