Celtic Daily Reading (March 7)

[Celtic Daily]

7 March

Feast Day: St. Deifer of Bodfari, St. Enodoch, St. Esterwine of
Wearmouth, Ss. Kynesburga, Kyneswide and Tibba of Castor

Theme:To work is to pray

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Declaration of faith

To whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life,
and we have believed and have come to know
that You are the Holy One of God.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ,
King of endless glory.

Psalm 85:
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. LORD, thou wast
favorable to thy land; thou didst restore the fortunes of Jacob. Thou
didst forgive the iniquity of thy people; thou didst pardon all their
sin. [Selah] Thou didst withdraw all thy wrath; thou didst turn from thy
hot anger. Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away thy
indignation toward us! Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou
prolong thy anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again,
that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show us thy steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us thy salvation. Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn
to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who
fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and
faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look
down from the sky. Yea, the LORD will give what is good, and our land
will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him, and make his
footsteps a way.
Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:18-29
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and said, "Who am I, O
Lord GOD, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far? And
yet this was a small thing in thy eyes, O Lord GOD; thou hast spoken
also of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast shown me
future generations, O Lord GOD! And what more can David say to thee? For
thou knowest thy servant, O Lord GOD! Because of thy promise, and
according to thy own heart, thou hast wrought all this greatness, to
make thy servant know it. Therefore thou art great, O LORD God; for
there is none like thee, and there is no God besides thee, according to
all that we have heard with our ears. What other nation on earth is like
thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his people, making
himself a name, and doing for them great and terrible things, by driving
out before his people a nation and its gods? And thou didst establish
for thyself thy people Israel to be thy people for ever; and thou, O
LORD, didst become their God. And now, O LORD God, confirm for ever the
word which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his
house, and do as thou hast spoken; and thy name will be magnified for
ever, saying, 'The LORD of hosts is God over Israel,' and the house of
thy servant David will be established before thee. For thou, O LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel, hast made this revelation to thy servant,
saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore thy servant has found
courage to pray this prayer to thee. And now, O Lord GOD, thou art God,
and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this good thing to thy
servant; now therefore may it please thee to bless the house of thy
servant, that it may continue for ever before thee; for thou, O Lord
GOD, hast spoken, and with thy blessing shall the house of thy servant
be blessed for ever."
Meditation:
A monk's life

David believed that monks should live simply, and he prescribed a harsh
life for his followers.

As well as praying and celebrating mass, the brothers had to work hard.

They rose at dawn for prayer, and then worked in the monastery and the
fields around it. David would not allow them to make animals work for
them, but made them pull the plough themselves, saying, "every man his
own ox." And while they worked, they continued to pray. They had a spare
diet, too, eating only vegetables and bread, and having only milk and
water to drink. St David himself drank only water, and is sometimes
known in Welsh as 'Dewi Ddyfrwr' (David the water drinker). St David's
monks were expected to remain silent, except for prayer or in emergency.

But though it was a hard life, David's holiness and personal charisma
were enough to hold the community together in the service of God.

The example of his life, and the modernity of his most famous saying -
that we should concentrate on "doing the little things in God's presence
with conscientiousness and devotion," make St David a figure with a very
contemporary appeal.
In his last sermon David told his monks to "do the little things, the
small things you've seen me doing".- bbc/christianity/saints

New Testament: 2 Thessalonians 3
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed on
and triumph, as it did among you, and that we may be delivered from
wicked and evil men; for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful;
he will strengthen you and guard you from evil. And we have confidence
in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things which
we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to
the steadfastness of Christ. Now we command you, brethren, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is
living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you
received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us;
we were not idle when we were with you, we did not eat any one's bread
without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we
might not burden any of you. It was not because we have not that right,
but to give you in our conduct an example to imitate. For even when we
were with you, we gave you this command: If any one will not work, let
him not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere
busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort
in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work in quietness and to earn their
own living. Brethren, do not be weary in well-doing. If any one refuses
to obey what we say in this letter, note that man, and have nothing to
do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not look on him as an enemy, but
warn him as a brother. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace
at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all. I, Paul, write this
greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it
is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, when I am hungry,
give me someone in need of food;
when I am thirsty,
send me someone needing a drink;
when I am cold,
send me someone to warm;
when I am grieved,
offer me someone to console;
when my cross grows heavy,
let me share another’s cross;
when I am poor,
lead me to someone in need;
when I have no time,
give me someone I can help a little while;
when I am humiliated,
let me have someone to praise;
when I am disheartened,
send me someone to cheer;
when I need understanding,
give me someone who needs mine;
when I need to be looked after,
send me someone to care for;
when I think only of myself,
draw my thoughts to another… …

Mother Teresa’s co-workers in Japan.


Sent out at approximately midnight G.M.T.

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