Prayer & Readings – Christ stands out for us as the example of this teaching: if Christ laid down his life for us, so we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

When: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 7:45 AM-8:30 AM.

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Dear Lord God, once again I cried out and You answered me! Now while I seek Your righteousness, I know I fall short and often backwards, but I get up now looking for You for I do seek Your righteousness. To reflect the fruit of the Spirit, the image of Jesus Christ is all I could ever hope for or to be; yet I fully know that I do understand or have not figured out or is it that I do not want to hear Jesus’ words for while I am far from a rich man, the message is the same; yet I cannot get past my need to care for those that I have brought with me to this point in time and state of life. I know that it is this vision of providing material comforts and security, as earthly as it was and is and as poorly as I have performed in doing it that as put me in this state, but I believe there must and is away to server Your will and provide for those I love and those in need. I feel You are calling me to find that away, but You are teaching me what it is not first. O Lord there is so much I do not understand, but I know what I need to know and to do and that may mean waiting on You. So I will continue to seek Your will and propose, listening with an attentive ear and open heart, or at least this is my prayer that in and through Jesus and in His Blessed Holy name You would direct me and used me while providing me with clarity, so that I am not viewed as all the other hypocrites that hide their true selves behind false righteousness and works. Hear me Lord God, provide me that which You know I need to do what You direct of me and know that I see every blessing and give thanks and praise to You and all the glory and honor to Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
 
The good Shepherd lays down his life, says the Lord, that is, his physical life, for His sheep; this he does because of his authority and love. Both in fact, are required: that they should be ruled by him, and that he should love them. The first without the second is not enough. Christ stands out for us as the example of this teaching: if Christ laid down his life for us, so we also ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
— St. Thomas Aquinas
 
6 As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fulness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him.
1 I will extol thee, my God and King, and bless thy name for ever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless thee, and praise thy name for ever and ever. 8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made. 10 All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O LORD, and all thy saints shall bless thee! 11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power,
12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 17 And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; 18 and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all.
 

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