July 22
"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."
-2 Timothy 2:20-21 (RSV)
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July 21
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "the human person, created in the image and likeness of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual" (#362). That is, we are comprised of a body and soul. "In sacred Scripture the term 'soul' often refers to human life or the entire human person" (#363).
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July 20
"For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."
- Mark 7:21-23
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July 19
"The soul of a woman must...be expansive and open to all human beings; it must be quiet, so that no small weak flame will be extinguished by stormy winds; warm, so as not to benumb fragile buds; clear, so that no vermin will settle in dark corners and recesses; self-contained, so that no invasions from without can peril the inner life; empty of itself, in order that extraneous life may have room in it; finally, mistress of itself, and also of its body, so that the entire person is readily at the disposal of every call."
- St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)
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July 18
"And he said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'"
- Luke 23:42 (RSV)
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July 17
"He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."
- Philippians 1:6 (RSV)
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July 16
"Among those around you, apostolic soul, you are the stone fallen into the lake. With your word and example produce a first ripple...and it will produce another...and then another, and another...each time wider."
- St. Josemaría Escrivá
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July 15
"Everyone knows that a guide is needed in order to climb a mountain without difficulty. The same thing happens when it is a matter of a spiritual climb...and even more so in that here one must avoid the pitfalls set by the devil, who dearly wants to bring us down.'"
-The Three Ages of the Interior Life,
Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
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July 14
"Our sensible appetites, inclined to sensuality and to sloth, need to be vivified by contact with the virginal body of Christ, who endured most frightful sufferings for love of us. We, who are always inclined to pride, to lack of consideration, to forgetfulness of the greatest truths, to spiritual folly, need to be illumined by contact with the sovereignly luminous intellect of the Savior, who is 'the way, the truth, and the life.'"
-The Three Ages of the Interior Life,
Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange
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July 13
"The experience of contemplative prayer 'is a delightful, loving attention, at times a dry purifying desire, at other times a strong thirsting for Him. In the beginnings it is usually delicate and brief, but as it develops it becomes burning, powerful, absorbing, prolonged. Always it is transformative of the person.'"
--Fire Within, Thomas Dubay, S.M.
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