Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A.


We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages rests with the Holy See of Rome.


I appear my children on this former bank building in Florida, Our Lady Clothed with the Sun.

November 1, 2001

November 2nd Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 1 Period 2.
The Novena Rosary Mystery
for November 2nd is Joyful.

               

The Nursing Home #3 video is now on the internet.

It is so beautiful and the sound is excellent!

         


                 

         There will be a rosary in Clearwater, Florida
                on November 5, 2001 at 6:20pm

         These rosaries will be broadcast to different locations, 
                call for details. Great grace can be released 
                when we pray as a body.

    


     

Today's Mass Readings

Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14

Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ And I heard how many had been sealed: a hundred and forty–four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.

The rewarding of the saints

After that I saw that there was a huge number, impossible for anyone to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted in a loud voice, ‘Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four living creatures, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words: 

    Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom, 
    thanksgiving and honour 
        and power and strength 
    to our God for ever and ever. Amen. 

    One of the elders then spoke and asked me, ‘Who are these people, dressed in white robes, and where have they come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, sir.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.

 


 

PSALM 24 (V 23)

For a solemn entry into the sanctuary

Psalm Of David

To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains, 
the world and all who live there; 
it is he who laid its foundations on the seas, 
on the flowing waters fixed it firm. 

Who shall go up to the mountain of Yahweh? 
Who shall take a stand in his holy place? 

The clean of hands and pure of heart, 
whose heart is not set on vanities, 
who does not swear an oath in order to deceive. 

Such a one will receive blessing from Yahweh, 
saving justice from the God of his salvation. 
Such is the people that seeks him, 
that seeks your presence, God of Jacob.

     


  

1 John 3: 1-3

You must see what great love 
    the Father has lavished on us 
by letting us be called God’s children—
which is what we are! 
The reason why the world 
    does not acknowledge us 
is that it did not acknowledge him. 
My dear friends, 
    we are already God’s children, 
but what we shall be in the future 
    has not yet been revealed. 
We are well aware that when he appears 
we shall be like him, 
because we shall see him as he really is.

First condition: to break with sin

Whoever treasures this hope of him 
purifies himself, to be as pure as he is.

  


       

Matthew 5: 1-12
The Beatitudes

Seeing the crowds, he went onto the mountain. And when he was
seated his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak. This is
what he taught them:

How blessed are the poor in spirit:
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the gentle:
they shall have the earth as inheritance.
Blessed are those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those
   who hunger and thirst for uprightness:
they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Blessed are the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers:
they shall be recognised
   as children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted
   in the cause of uprightness:
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and
speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this
is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

    


     

November 1, 2001

Messenger:     My dear Jesus, you have beckoned me to write 
                            for the world and I pray for the grace to do
                            exactly as you desire.

                        I want to include an excerpt from the Newsletter
                            2001 #1 on grace. This is also on tape and disc a most
                            powerful reading by Fr. Michael Paranuik.

  


    

Excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
   

Relationship with Members of the Church

e) Relationship with Members of the Church

There is but one true Church of Christ. Yet this one Church has three different states of existence. There is the pilgrim Church, the Church of this world, composed of members who have received the grace of Christ and strive for its development. They have not yet obtained the goal of their efforts, as have the members of the heavenly Church, who enjoy God in eternal happiness. The Church suffering is an intermediate state of existence necessary for those who had not achieved the required purification as members of the pilgrim Church. Although there are these three phases of the Church’s existence, there is a profound union existing between all the members. All these members possess the same basic life of grace in Christ, and this common life establishes the most intimate bonds of love. In our preceding chapter, we discussed the pilgrim Church. Let us now consider the Church suffering and the heavenly Church.

The members of the Church suffering are those who have departed from this life in an incomplete state of Christian development. Their development is incomplete in the sense that grace has not fully taken possession of them, and, as a result, they are yet closed in upon themselves to a greater or lesser degree. They as yet cannot open themselves out in complete love to the Triune God in the beatific vision. They must undergo a further purification, a purification which could have been achieved upon earth with merit. Now the purification must be achieved with no merit attached. The pain of this purification is mixed with the certain expectation of achieving the vision of God. We can hasten the advent of this vision for this people by the offering of prayers and other good works. Scripture itself refers to our action on behalf of those in purgatory in Chapter 12 of the Second Book of Maccabees beginning with verse 38.

The members of the heavenly Church are those in whom the life of grace has taken full possession and has reached its completion in the life of glory. Faith now is unnecessary, as the light of glory gives the human intellect a new strength and capacity for seeing God face-to-face. While the Christian was a wayfarer, he received the imprint of the indwelling Trinity as he shared in God’s own life. Now in heaven that grace-life and possession of God reaches its completion—the absolute completion is not achieved, however, until the resurrection of the body. The divine persons give Themselves to the beatified in a profound union far surpassing that of the indwelling of the Trinity experienced here below.

This life of heaven is still the Christ-life, for just as we possess a share in Trinitarian life here below as mediated by Christ, and exercise this grace-life as structured by Him, so also in heaven is the mediation of Christ present. In the words of Rahner, "One always sees the Father through Jesus. Just as immediately as this, for the directness of the vision of God is not a denial of the mediatorship of Christ as man."14 And not only does the humanity of Christ unite the blessed to God, but also, in some way, to the whole of creation. This is merely a completion of what is begun here below, namely, the union with Christ in His humanity establishing the Christian in a special relationship with God, with other men, and with the whole of creation. We have a glimpse, therefore, of the fullness of life which members of the heavenly Church possess.

The heavenly Church, as St. Thomas says, is the true Church.15 The Church of this earth and the Church of purgatory are, each in its own way, reaching out in loving hope for the heavenly Jerusalem. Vatican II puts it very simply: "The Church, to which we are called in Christ Jesus, and in which we acquire sanctity through the grace of God, will attain her full perfection only in the glory of heaven."16

The members of the heavenly Church can help us in living our life of grace until we too share its fullness with them. Their power of intercession on our behalf is but another ramification of the communal aspect of Christianity. We are meant to help others grow in Christ. We, in turn, are intended by God to receive aid from others—yes, from members of the heavenly Church, as well as from those with whom we dwell here below.

Not only can we be aided by the saints’ intercession, but the example of the canonized saints can also be of great value to us. They have concretely proved that full holiness is possible. Such an inspiration is of real worth when we are tempted to think that Christian sanctity in its higher degrees is impossible of attainment. Moreover, the canonized saints, in their diversity, teach us that there are many authentic versions of Christian holiness. They can be innovators in showing us that there are numerous possibilities in assimilating the mystery of Christ, although the basic assimilation remains the same for all Christians of all times. In the opinion of Rahner this is one of the chief roles the canonized saints exert in the life of the Church.17

 


NOTES:

16. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, No. 48.
17. Cf. Karl Rahner, Op. cit., pp. 100-101.

end of excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1

       


     

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    We are imperfect, the saints are the saints triumphant,
                            we pray through their powerful intercession.
                            The saints were once on this earth and lived here.
                            I know Fr. Carter and the love I have for him
                            as my spiritual father and founder of our
                            Movement. This has helped me to have a deeper love
                            union with the saints. 

                        "Our hearts are merged," Fr. Carter said this daily 
                           
all the way up to his last day. Dwelling in
                            the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, being members
                            of the Church makes us one in God.

                        The more we pray, the prayers given to Fr. Carter the
                            more Our Lord promised to take us deeply into
                            His Heart and the heart of His Mother.
                            Here is the promise he made to Fr. Carter.

  


         

13th Promise

Jesus speaks: "I am calling many to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."

- July 31, 1994

 


   

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    I remember the Spiritual Exercises well, because
                            Fr. Carter always had me take a yearly retreat
                            which he directed. I am not encouraging a retreat using
                            other materials if you are in this mission as a Shepherd
                            of Christ Apostle, Servant and Handmaid.

                        We are given so much material which is based on
                            the writings of St. Ignatius. Our mission is
                            to help renew the Church and the world.
                            Our Lord wants us as leaders of this mission
                            to stick to the writings given here through
                            Father Carter and the messages,
                            using scriptures and other documents of
                            the Church.

                        Jesus is spiritually directing us through these
                            writings to help lead the world into the
                            Reign of the Sacred Heart.

                        Other directors may not understand the
                            Shepherds of Christ Movement at all. They may think
                            we pray too much, they may think certain
                            things about the Movement.
                        Jesus has directed us through the writings of
                            Fr. Carter and the writings and
                            messages I have received. He has given us a certain 
                            way of life. If you follow this way of life
                            you are following the Shepherds of Christ way of life
                            which is to help lead us into the Reign
                            of the Sacred Heart.

                        Apostles, Servants and Handmaids and
                            future priests follow this way of life.
                            Jesus is really the spiritual director.
                            The materials were given to us and 
                            discerned by Fr. Edward Carter S.J.
                            Jesus gives to us and the Priests the writings
                                Jesus gave to Fr. Carter.
                                He set before us these writings and the
                                way of life of the Shepherd of Christ Movement.
                            Fr. Carter guided us as a spiritual Father.
                                The influence of the Jesuits is very
                                    strong in these writings and
                                    the Spiritual Exercises were a very
                                    big part of Father Carter's life and my
                                    life.

                            Fr. Carter directed me this way.
                            Other directors may not lead us in the same
                                way we are being led here.
                            Private Revelation has been pushed
                                back in very many circles.

                            It is very difficult for me, since Mary and Jesus
                                have really appeared to me and given me
                                messages.
                            I cannot lie. Mary appeared everyday.
                            To make someone feel comfortable, so they don't
                                have to change, defeats the role of the prophet.

                            God has given me messages.
                            I was strongly under the direction of a very
                                competent theologian in the Church.
                            I was trained by Jesus under the guidance
                                of Fr. Carter.
                            I have never not had a priest directing me.
                            Our Lord has always provided a priest
                                to help me.

                            I have had theological direction from
                                the beginning.

                            Our Lord has given us this Movement to help
                                renew the Church and the World.

                            Today there are fewer and fewer priests.
                                Our Lord has given us these prayers to
                                pray for the priests, the Church
                                and the world.

                            The corner of an old seminary fell off
                                and Mary appeared daily in the
                                other corner after that for some time.

  

  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    I write as a messenger of God to help renew the
                                Church and the world.

                            I cannot hide the apparitions of Our Lord.
                                He appeared transfigured before me in the
                                Front of Holy Cross Immaculata
                                several times early January 1996. 

  

  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    At the end of 1996, December 5, 1996, Jesus appeared
                                on the cross at the point of death—
                                this was after Mary appeared on the 5ths
                                since July 5, 1994. He said later, He appeared December 5, 1996
                                with His mouth moving because no one was listening.
                                Then Mary appeared on the building
                                    in Florida 12 days later. 

  

  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:         Jesus appeared transfigured to me in the
                                Sacred Heart Statue under Mary's 
                                image when we opened the rosary
                                factory February 5, 2000, Fr. Carter came 
                                that day.

  

  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:        Jesus appeared after that opening of the
                                Rosary Factory under the image.

                                This picture was taken one year later
                                    at the end of the rosary after 6:20 prayers
                                   
February 5, 2001. 

  

February 5, 2001

  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    Jesus and Mary had sent
                            me there to do the rosary.
                         It was the same place where Jesus had appeared transfigured,
                            February 5, 2000, where I took this picture of Jesus 
                            February 5, 2001.

                        I want to write about the light and the top of
                            the mountain.
                        When I am taken into ecstasies I am so one
                            with Him.
                            My heart is consumed with love.
                            Before these special presences I cannot give
                                into temptations of satan to get me
                                divided with people.
                            I have to let go of distractions, even though
                                they may be present and focus on Him.
                                That is why it is important for me
                                    many times, not to talk on the phone
                                    before Mass, before a message,
                                    I want to be so deeply connected to
                                    Him.

                            I remember in the Spiritual Exercises of 
                                St. Ignatius he was talking about
                                the evil one when he presses in, he said
                                how noisy the evil one is when he comes.

  


      

Excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.
    

328. RULES FOR DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
II

Further rules for understanding the different movements produced in the soul. They serve for a more accurate discernment of spirits and are more suitable for the second week
  

329.  I.  It is characteristic of God and His Angels, when they act upon the soul, to give true happiness and spiritual joy, and to banish all the sadness and disturbances which are caused by the enemy.
   It is characteristic of the evil one to fight against such happiness and consolation by proposing fallacious reasonings, subtilties, and continual deceptions.

330.  2.  God alone can give consolation to the soul without any previous cause. It belongs solely to the Creator to come into a soul, to leave it, to act upon it, to draw it wholly to the love of His Divine Majesty. I said without previous cause, that is, without any preceding perception or knowledge of any subject by which a soul might be led to such a consolation through its own acts of intellect and will.

331.  3.  If a cause precedes, both the good angel and the evil spirit can give consolation to a soul, but for a quite different purpose. The good angel consoles for the progress of the soul, that it may advance and rise to what is more perfect. The evil spirit consoles for purposes that are the contrary, and that afterwards he might draw the soul to his own perverse intentions and wickedness.

332.  4.  It is a mark of the evil spirit to assume the appearance of an angel of light. He begins by suggesting thoughts that are suited to a devout soul, and ends by suggesting his own. For example, he will suggest holy and pious thoughts that are wholly in conformity with the sanctity of the soul. Afterwards, he will endeavor little by little to end by drawing the soul into his hidden snares and evil designs.

333.  5.  We must carefully observe the whole course of our thoughts. If the beginning and middle and end of the course of thoughts are wholly good and directed to what is entirely right, it is a sign that they are from the good angel. But the course of thoughts suggested to us may terminate in something evil, or distracting, or less good than the soul had formerly proposed to do. Again, it may end in what weakens the soul, or disquiets it; or by destroying the peace, tranquility, and quiet which it had before, it may cause disturbance to the soul. These things are a clear sign that the thoughts are proceeding from the evil spirit, the enemy of our progress and eternal salvation.

334.  6.  When the enemy of our human nature has been detected and recognized by the trail of evil marking his course and by the wicked end to which he leads us, it will be profitable for one who has been tempted to review immediately the whole course of the temptation. Let him consider the series of good thoughts, how they arose, how the evil one gradually attempted to make him step down from the state of spiritual delight and joy in which he was, till finally he drew him to his wicked designs. The purpose of this review is that once such an experience has been understood and carefully observed, we may guard ourselves for the future against the customary deceits of the enemy.

335.  7.  In souls that are progressing to greater perfection, the action of the good angel is delicate, gentle, delightful. It may be compared to a drop of water penetrating a sponge.
    The action of the evil spirit upon such souls is violent, noisy, and disturbing. It may be compared to a drop of water falling upon a stone.
    In souls that are going from bad to worse, the action of the spirits mentioned above is just the reverse. The reason for this is to be sought in the opposition or similarity of these souls to the different kinds of spirits. When the disposition is contrary to that of the spirits, they enter with noise and commotion that are easily perceived. When the disposition is similar to that of the spirits, they enter silently, as one coming into his own house when the doors are open.

336.  8.  When consolation is without previous cause, as was said, there can be no deception in it, since it can proceed from God our Lord only. But a spiritual person who has received such a consolation must consider it very attentively, and must cautiously distinguish the actual time of the consolation from the period which follows it. At such a time the soul is still fervent and favored with the grace and aftereffects of the consolation which has passed. In this second period the soul frequently forms various resolutions and plans which are not granted directly by God our Lord. They may come from our own reasoning on the relations of our concepts and on the consequences of our judgments, or they may come from the good or evil spirit. Hence, they must be carefully examined before they are given full approval and put into execution.

end of excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius

   


   

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:       Satan really comes to drag us down.
                             A person comes who may be needing some
                                spiritual renewal in their life.
                                They can bring us news to get us so focused
                                on negative things.

                            Problems exist in our lives, but satan wants
                                a grip.

                            I put here the message Jesus wanted in the 1st
                                Blue Book
                                   
May 13, 1993.

    


      

Picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Cling to Me

God's Blue Book I CoverMay 13, 1993 

Jesus speak: My dear child, if you stay close to Me, then I live in you and you live in Me. I am He Who created you and I love you with such an intensity that you will never know. My words are your truth. You must abide in My heart in all things. There is no room for doubt. My ways are steadfast, direct, and without error.

    You must stay rooted in Me to ward off the power of the evil one. His grip is paralyzing and crippling. His power is stronger every day.

    When you live in Me, I am in your heart and he has no power over Me. I am your God. I am your true lover. I want to protect you. I want to guard you from this force. Stay rooted firmly in Me and he will have no power.

    I am He Who comforts you. My hand is upon you. Hold tight to Me, My child. My eyes are fixed right on you. You are My most precious child. I love you as no other can. My arms are about you. My tenderness surrounds you. My love is in your heart. You go not alone. I walk with you.

    I share every aspect of your life with you. Cling to Me, feel My presence. It is warm and secure within your chest. There is no room for fear, for I cast out fear and bring you comfort and joy.

end of May 13, 1993 message

     


    

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    I see the Newsletter as a tool given to Fr. Carter
                                to help spiritually direct the priests
                                through the writings Jesus gave him.

                            The spirit moves in every individual.
                                Many habits are passed down
                                and taught that can lead us
                                away from a deeper love union
                                with God.

                            Some habits we need to change are:

                            Habits like not spending time before Jesus
                                in the tabernacle.

                            Habits of being so busy we don't have time
                                to spend alone with our God.

                            Habits on not doing proper thanksgiving
                                after we receive the Eucharist, running
                                from the Church, talking about the
                                weather, right after communion.

                            Habits of priests not doing 
                                the Divine Office.

                            Habits that skips a daily examination
                                of conscience.

                            Habits that keep us fixing everybody else,
                                like we are perfect and not looking
                                at ourselves.

                            Habits that do not include the daily
                                rosary.

                            Habits that leave the morning offering
                                out of our lives.

                            Where children could be taught about Jesus
                                and Mary from the beginning and
                                about God, they can be taught
                                about everything else including
                                sports at the age of 9 months and taught
                                nothing about God.

                            RENEW—
                            PUT THINGS IN THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE—

                            It is funny when everything is rosy—
                                A man and woman may be married and have
                                    a baby and then find out the child
                                    is terminally ill or malformed.

                            All of a sudden the cold reality that we are not
                                here forever sets in and then they need
                                to really turn it over to God and put
                                their lives in His hands.

                            We think we own things, we think we are
                                secure, we don't want to feel
                                insecure, but our very health can
                                fail and we may not be able to explain it.
                                Lightning can strike and kill us. We
                                could be killed in a car wreck. Things are not all secure.

                            Life on this earth is promised to no man.

                            I want to write about the mountain.
                            The devil can create confusion and havoc
                                people can dig up anger way deep down inside. Generations
                                upon generations can pass on anger. Then someone 
                                tries to pin their vile blackness
                                inside of them on a victim.

                            We need to be healed.
                            Some people can't even see they were trained to
                                always look at the negative.
                                Some children were taught to be angry, blame people, hate
                                people, feel rejected. Some were trained to be victims.
                                But now we must be healed.
                            Ten things can happen wonderful and a person
                                can wail and tell a tale of doom for
                                they look for the one thing they can
                                complain about.

                            Do we want the mountain?

  

  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    Do we want the dirt
   


    

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:       Some people just fail to see themselves as
                                being a problem, they see themselves
                                as perfect and they walk away and its like
                                a house of cards falls behind them.

                            Confession is important.
                            Repentance is important.

                            If we don't forgive we aren't being like
                                    Jesus.
                            He forgave the sinners. If we want to be forgiven we must
                                forgive. God is compassionate. He is merciful. He is love.
                            Forgiving doesn't mean we have to run with our
                                  enemies, it means we can't harbor
                                  ill will and hatred in our hearts  
                                  toward those who have hurt us or
                                  we think have hurt us.

                            Working through problems should lead
                                us to forgiveness and love.

                            Some people blame others their whole life. They
                                blame others for their
                                bad moods inside.
                            They just don't see the stars when they
                                look out the window, they see
                                the mud. They see the things wrong,
                                dark, negatively.

                             Satan can keep creating endless havoc at
                                the bottom of the mountain.

                            There are fires of anger, if all we do is
                                treat the fire over and over again
                                and there are so many people with
                                more anger—how can we ever put
                                all the fires out?
                            We must be healed.

                             The answer is in focusing on God.
                             The answer is in healing.
                             The answer is in loving, loving the
                                person, hating the sin.

                            The answer is in God.

                            Look at this picture.
                      
It is so beautiful.

   

         

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    Look at a picture of the resurrected Lord.

  

  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:     The Lord said to Cain in Genesis

   


  

Genesis 4: 7

If you are doing right, surely you ought to hold your head high! But if you are not doing right, Sin is crouching at the door hungry to get you. You can still master him.’

  


 

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:        God says we can be master over sin.

                            He says satan is tempting us.

                            It may take a lot of prayers to resist
                                the temptation, but we have to
                                know it can be done with God's
                                grace, we can become more pure.

                            For apostles, servants and handmaids
                                God has given this way of life.
                            Following it will help us to be able to fight the temptations
                                of satan.

                                   1. daily Mass
                                   2. one hour of adoration
                                   3. hourly prayer
                                   4. the rosary
                                   5. Shepherds of Christ prayers
                                in addition the morning offering

                            How does the bouquet you are presenting
                                to the Father look today.

   


 

Excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1

The pages of the book of our lives are being written. These moments of our lives are so dear to God, for we offer our lives as a sacrifice for souls.

Are we spending the precious moments of our lives offering sacrifice to God for His honor and glory and giving our lives as a sacrifice for souls?

Write a short page every day or the following day, similar to an examination of conscience, seeing the good (so much good we accomplish we overlook, so many precious moments of joy we forget) and the times we were troubled.

The devil tries to keep us focused on the problems.

We are His shepherds, helping to shepherd His flock, there is so much good we can accomplish every day.

We should write a short page every day, date it, read over it when we are troubled, keep it in a book, see how many joyful moments we have every day.

Give them to God as a bouquet of flowers placed at His feet on that last day, the pages of the life of our book.

We will want all pages to be done in love, all for the honor and glory of God....

...The moments of our lives are being written. He has them all recorded in our book of life.

August 8, 1946.

Today is the day I was born into the world.

What a glorious day it was, for I came and had the opportunity to gain heaven and help others do likewise.

end of excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1

   


      

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    When we write down good things that
                                happened in a letter to the Father
                                we see lots of positive things.

                            The devil can get us so focused on one person
                                and the wrong they did to us, it can immobilize us.

                            They become our "scapegoat," so to speak,
                                we want to heap all our anger on them.

                            We can try to use things outside ourselves to make us happy.
                                We can become so focused on these things outside
                                    ourselves.

                            We can become a slave to satan. We can rationalize about
                                a person we blame "...if he didn't do this", 
                                we can say, "if things weren't 
                                 that way... then I would be happy."

                            We have a free will.

                             If we truly believe God has put us
                                somewhere and it is His will
                                for us to be there, why don't
                                we work positively in what
                                we are doing.

                            Always unsettled?
                            Always irritated?

                            Always looking for a change?

                            Running on a moments notice?

                            The tranquility we need comes in spending
                                time with God.

                                "Blooming where we are planted"

                            Satan wants us to focus on ourselves and
                                focus on what others think of us.
                                We can miss all the precious
                                moments wherever we are worrying about 
                                what people think of us. We can miss the 
                                precious moments at Mass.

                            Satan works in some people to want
                                them to flee, always feeling
                                like they are in an ejection
                                seat.

                            Reading the Blue Books really help.

                            Focusing on His undaunted love for us
                                will help us.

                            Being stable inside comes from a 
                                deep interior life with Him.

                            We don't live in a vacuum.

                            We can't see everything just from behind our
                                own eyes.

  


        

Excerpt from Response to God's Love

Chapter 8
 
The Christian Encounters Others and the World
 

    The true Christian is imbued with consciousness of others. That is to say, the true Christian is keenly aware that, to a great degree, God intends each of us to press on toward maturity in the spiritual life through a proper encounter with others. Indeed, the Christian imperative reminds us that we are to walk life's path, not in isolation, but hand in hand with our fellow human beings.

end of excerpt from Response to God's Love

   


    

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:    Oh how could we ever sort out all the
                                different ways people could
                                act from their woundedness and
                                deal with it.
                           The devil can help to create a problem every split
                                second or faster.

Some people grew up in homes
     that were very unsettled. There
     was always a crisis and tension.
     Some people are so used to tension
     they feel they must have it because
     it feels normal to them.
Some people cannot just let others
     be in a setting  -  let them be
     themselves, they want to control
     their responses and know what
     is going on inside them.

Some people are quiet. They may be united
     and very loving, and the other person coming
     from a dysfunctional family may be
     hypervigilant looking for little
     signs that might indicate problems
     or division. They suspect things by
     the way the person smiles.

All kinds of subconscious things can go on
     that we are unaware of.
     My dad always wanted the lights out.
     My husband always wanted the lights on.

                            The answer is in prayer.
                            The answer is in healing.
                            The answer is in frequent prayer.
                            The answer is in love.
                            The answer is in stepping back and seeing
                                the gifts we are given.

                            We will all be held accountable for all we
                                did.

                            All the love we gave is seen by God.
                            Also all the times we caused disharmony is seen by God.
                            We cannot hate people. We can hurt lots of people.
                            This can act like ripples on a pond.
                            likewise love acts like ripples on a pond.

                            Jesus gave His all.

                            HE WAS SELFLESS.

    


       

Excerpt from the Priestly Newsletter 2000 - Issue 2

Chief Shepherd of the Flock

Suffering: A Source of Life

    I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep; he runs away because he is only a hired man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep. (Jn 10:11-15)1

    Yet ours were the sufferings he was bearing, ours the sorrows he was carrying, while we thought of him as someone being punished and struck with affliction by God; whereas he was being wounded for our rebellions, crushed because of our guilt; the punishment reconciling us fell on him, and we have been healed by his bruises. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and Yahweh brought the acts of rebellion of all of us to bear on him. Ill-treated and afflicted, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb before its shearers he never opened his mouth. (Is 53:4-7)

    Truly the Good Shepherd had laid down His life for His sheep. That magnificent Heart, overflowing with love for His Father and all of us, had beat its last.

    On the third day, Jesus rose: ‘Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple: are you going to raise it up again in three days?’ But he was speaking of the Temple that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and what he had said. (Jn 2:19-22)

    Yes, the Good Shepherd died and rose for our salvation. Behold, the paschal mystery of Jesus!

    When we are baptized we are incorporated into Christ's paschal mystery of death and resurrection. St. Paul speaks of this marvelous union with Jesus: You cannot have forgotten that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into his death. So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life. (Rm 6:3-4)

    Christ has structured the Christian life by the way He lived, died, and rose from the dead. It is obvious, then, as Paul tells us above that the pattern of death-resurrection must be at the heart of the Church’s life. Individually and collectively, we continually die in Christ so that we may continually rise in Him. Thus we pass over in a process of ongoing religious transition to a greater participation in Christ’s resurrection. It is true that our participation in Christ’s resurrection will reach its completion only in eternal life. Nevertheless, we begin the life of resurrection here upon earth, in the here and now of human life, in the midst of joy and pain, in the experience of success and failure, in the sweat of our brow, in the enjoyment of God’s gifts. As Christians, we should have a sense of dynamic growth concerning our here and now life of resurrection.

    We cannot maintain the life of resurrection or grow in it without a willingness to suffer. This does not mean that we need to feel overwhelmed and heavily burdened in our lives. The greater portion of suffering for most Christians seems to be an accumulation of ordinary hardships, difficulties, and pains. At times, however, deep suffering, even suffering of agonizing proportions can enter into one’s life. Whether the sufferings one encounters are of the more ordinary variety or of the more rare and extreme type, Christians must convince themselves that to relate properly to the cross is to grow in resurrection, and growth in resurrection means we will also have an increased capacity to help give resurrection to others.

    "Those who share in Christ’s sufferings have before their eyes the paschal mystery of the cross and resurrection, in which Christ descends, in a first phase, to the ultimate limits of human weakness and impotence: Indeed, he dies nailed to the cross. But if at the same time in this weakness there is accomplished his lifting up, confirmed by the power of the resurrection, then this means that the weaknesses of all human sufferings are capable of being infused with the same power of God manifested in Christ’s cross. In such a concept, to suffer means to become particularly susceptible, particularly open, to the working of the salvific powers of God offered to humanity in Christ. In him God has confirmed his desire to act especially through suffering, which is man’s weakness and emptiness of self." 2

    "Instead of making us compassionate for others we can squander compassion on ourselves. Suffering is meant to enlarge our hearts, not shrink them. With suffering goes the grace of patience, peace, fortitude, penitence and love. All this can be missed if we make the mistake of turning in upon ourselves as the result of our trials.

    "To the Jews the cross was a stumbling block, and to the gentiles foolishness. What is it to us? Often it can be an emblem merely, the significance of the symbol forgotten. The cross is something in which we are, by reason of our Christian inheritance, inextricably involved. Do we yield to it or harden ourselves against it? The cross is not just two planks fitted together on a certain day in the history of the world, and of all the relics which we venerate the most sacred, but a fact of our human experience which may or may not be sacred according to what we do about it." 3

    "Apart from the consideration of the life of the Redeemer, certain undeniable facts of history justify this contention. The saints, in all ages, have been persons whose lot it was, generally speaking, to undergo greater trials and sufferings than others are called upon to endure. Yet they were habitually happy, buoyant and joyous human beings…

    "The saints were not violently wresting words from their literal meaning when they proclaimed themselves happy. For the happiness they enjoyed was that which is proper to, and satisfying for man…

    "God planned an unbroken life of happiness for man. The Fall modified, but did not prevent the realization of this plan. Suffering, but not unhappiness, becomes the condition of the earthly portion of men’s existence. God does not make unhappiness here to be the price to pay for happiness hereafter. To be happy, in the minds of all men, is to fare well, that is, to live excellently... The Saviour Himself suffered intensely, but He lived the highest life possible for men. He was, therefore, happy. He assured men that He could share His own blissful experience with them. It may appear paradoxical to associate happiness with the mental image of One Who is called the Man of Sorrows. But an analysis of the nature of happiness will show that it was fully realized in the earthly life of the Saviour…" 4

    "He comes to it gladly! This is a strange thing, for the cross is a symbol of shame, and it is to be His deathbed. Already He sees the very shape of His death in the wide-spread arms. From this moment He will be inseparable from it, until He dies on it. He will labour and struggle under the weight of it… Yet Christ welcomes the cross. He embraces it. He takes it into His arms. He lays His beautiful hands on it tenderly, those strong hands of a carpenter that are so familiar with the touch of wood." 5


NOTES:

1. Scripture quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday.
2. Pope John Paul II, On The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering, United States Catholic Conference, Nos. 19 and 23.
3. Dom Hubert Van Zeller, More Ideas for Prayer, Templegate, p. 112.
4. Edward Leen, C. S. Sp., Why the Cross?, Sheed & Ward, pp. 246-247, 255, 285.
5. Caryll Houselander, The Way of the Cross, Sheed & Ward, p. 21.
6. Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude, Ave Maria Press, p. 57.

end of excerpt from Newsletter 2000 - Issue 2

     


     

Matthew 5: 21-26

    ‘You have heard how it was said to our ancestors, You shall not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you, anyone who is angry with a brother will answer for it before the court; anyone who calls a brother "Fool" will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and anyone who calls him "Traitor" will answer for it in hell fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.

  


 

Matthew 5: 43-48

    ‘You have heard how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

   


  

1 John 1: 5-10

I: TO WALK IN THE LIGHT

This is what we have heard from him and are declaring to you:
God is light,
    and there is no darkness in him at all.
If we say that we share in God’s life
while we are living in darkness,
we are lying,
    because we are not living the truth.
But if we live in light,
as he is in light,
we have a share in another’s life,
and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
cleanses us from all sin.

First condition: to break with sin

If we say, ‘We have no sin,’
we are deceiving ourselves,
and truth has no place in us;
if we acknowledge our sins,
he is trustworthy and upright,
so that he will forgive our sins
and will cleanse us from all evil.
If we say, ‘We have never sinned,’
we make him a liar,
and his word has no place in us.

     


  

1 John 2: 1-11

My children, I am writing this 
    to prevent you from sinning; 
but if anyone does sin, 
we have an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ, the upright. 
He is the sacrifice to expiate our sins, 
and not only ours, 
but also those of the whole world.

Second condition: 
to keep the commandments, 
especially that of love

In this way we know 
that we have come to know him, 
if we keep his commandments. 
Whoever says, ‘I know him’ 
without keeping his commandments, 
is a liar, 
and truth has no place in him. 
But anyone who does keep his word, 
in such a one 
    God’s love truly reaches its perfection. 
This is the proof 
that we are in God. 
Whoever claims 
    to remain in him 
must act as he acted. 
My dear friends, 
this is not a new commandment 
    I am writing for you, 
but an old commandment 
that you have had from the beginning; 
the old commandment 
    is the message you have heard. 
Yet in another way, I am writing 
    a new commandment for you
    —and this is true for you, 
    just as much as for him—
for darkness is passing away 
and the true light is already shining. 
Whoever claims to be in light 
but hates his brother 
is still in darkness. 
Anyone who loves his brother 
    remains in light 
and there is in him 
    nothing to make him fall away. 
But whoever hates his brother 
    is in darkness 
and is walking about in darkness 
not knowing where he is going, 
because darkness has blinded him.

   


  

1 Corinthians 13: 1-13

Though I command languages both human and angelic—if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move mountains—if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned—if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever. 

    Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes. 

    Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with. For we know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will be done away with. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways. Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known. 

    As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.

   


    

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:         Here is part of the writing
                                I wrote for the apostles in the
                                Shepherds of Christ today.

 


   

November 1, 2001

Messenger:        Dear Apostles,

                                I give my heart to Jesus and Mary

                            with you in love. Please pray for

                            several urgent intentions. The

                            devil is pressing down.

                                We want to be one with Jesus and experience His 

                            love. To do this we must focus on Jesus and His

                            love for us. Many times we ignore the love He

                           gives us and we focus on other things 

                           that we think others have done to us.

                           This can distract us before Mass.

                                The devil wants us focusing

                            on ourselves derogatorily.

                            This is not to say we should not

                                look at our sins. We should

                                always be looking inward

                                trying to be like Jesus, being

                                humble, wanting harmony

                                and loving our brothers

                                who are hurting.

                            When we have lots of angry

                                thoughts toward others the

                                devil can be pressing in.

                                Sometimes the other person may

                                have hardly done anything and we

                                are so angry. We sometimes

                                build cases in our mind

                                against others.

                                Sometimes we just feel angry

                            because of our own sin and

                            project things on others.

                                We say "Oh I feel bad because he is

                            the cause" and we blame someone

                            else because we feel bad.

                                The "blaming game" can really

                            make us one unhappy person

                            because many times what we think is

                            not the whole truth. We see things from

                            our perspective sometimes and don't

                            even know for sure the others persons side.

                                Please read the scripture

                            from yesterday's message

                            at the end.

                                Are we acting the way we should, like

                            Jesus tells us in the scriptures.

                            Some people cannot bend.

                            They act superior most of the time.

                            They hurt others when they deal with them.

                            Blaming, judging, criticizing,

                                complaining, take lots

                                of time and energy and drags

                                every body else down.

                            You can feel the negative spirit many

                                times when someone comes who is

                                being pressed on.

  


 

   1 John 1: 5        

...God is light,
    and there is no darkness in him at all.

  


 

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:         The devil wants our actions to be

                                negative. The devil wants that chain

                                reaction where someone in a bad mood

                                drags everybody around them down

                            Jesus wants us to work to build up His Kingdom.

                            God is so — so good to us.

                            If you miss your hour in

                                front of the tabernacle

                                you miss a lot of grace to

                                fight off satan's temptations.

                                Your mind may be focused on

                                dark things, others faults,

                                how you have been persecuted.

                            You can all pray hourly and think

                                of everyone praying, this will help.

                            Our Lady says — "the family that

                                prays together stays together."

                            Offer up your suffering for all our needs.

                            Pray for the Priestly Newsletter Book II—

                            Do not complain and think dark blaming

                                thoughts.

                            Live to do God's will.

                            Look out and see how you can

                                create harmony.

                            Be like Jesus.

                            Be a lover.

   


        

Excerpt from the Priestly Newsletter 1999 - Issue 5
  
       

Various Thoughts


NOTE:

21. St. John of the Cross, "Sayings of Light and Love", 
        The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross

        translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. and 
        Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D., Doubleday and Co., No. 70.

end of excerpt from Newsletter 1999 - Issue 5

   


   

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:         When we die — we will be

                                judged on how we loved:

                                loved God and one another —

                            GOD IS LOVE ——

                                IN HIM there is

                                no darkness.

                            The bad moods we have are

                                inside of us.

                            HAPPINESS COMES

                            FROM INSIDE OF US.

                       WE ARE TO BE

                            LIGHTS ————

                       ARE YOU A LIGHT?

                       ARE YOU SELF CENTERED?

                       ARE YOU LIKE JESUS WANTS?

                       BE POSITIVE ——

                            YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED TO

                                AN IMPORTANT JOB—

                                STICK TO THE TRUTH

                                AND THE MESSAGES.

                            LOVE

                            THE Messenger

   


  

Messenger:        We can miss the beautiful day,

                            We can miss the love others
                                are giving us because we
                                see ourselves as being
                                persecuted and rejected.

                            We can always look for something else.

   


    

From a Lenten Homily, March 24, 2000
given in China, Indiana at Mass
by Father Carter

Live in the Moment

    Today’s Gospel in its story certainly points ahead to Jesus in His Passion and death. And as we read passages such as this during the Lenten season, we are reminded once again that the Church in her Liturgy of the Word gives us an opportunity to undergo a purification, an ever deepening cleansing of ourselves so that we may be a more fit instrument for receiving the great graces which are to be given to us at the time of the Resurrection memorial on Easter. And so all in all, Lent is a time of purification to prepare us for ever-greater gifts of the Lord. It’s a time of self-discipline, a time to renew our efforts to be self-disciplined in the service of the Lord. Self-discipline is an aspect of purification. And I suggest that one of the most difficult acts of self-discipline in the spiritual journey is to concentrate on the present moment. We have a very strong tendency to disregard the importance of the present moment by focusing in a wrong way on the past or in a wrong way on the future. There are proper occasions for thinking of the past and the future. For example, we have to learn from the past and we have to prepare for the future, but our great emphasis has to be upon the present. There is a Latin axiom which says, age quod agis, age quod agis, which means: do what you are doing, concentrate on the present. And of course we are familiar with that term in the history of spirituality: the sacrament of the present moment. And so the discipline of Lent certainly encourages us to include in a deeper self-discipline a greater determination to get as much as we can out of the present moment. People with a terminal illness have an opportunity as they prepare for death for increased prayer, contrition, love of God. However, some are taken very, very quickly. But for those who have the opportunity of knowing with some certainty the time of their death, I’m sure as they look back on their lives, they are saddened by the many times they did not use time and opportunities for the service of the Lord properly, and are overjoyed at those times in which they did use the present opportunity properly. A great means we have of living in the present properly is a greater focus upon our Lord. For if I have that awareness of the fact I am united with Jesus here and now, why should I be concerned so much about the future or the past? Yes, a great help in living in the present and deriving all the good we can from it for ourselves and others is an ever greater focus upon Jesus, because the more I focus upon Jesus and the more I live with Him in the present moment, the more I am satisfied with the present moment. And so let us in our Lenten activity resolve to grow in that self-discipline - which is very difficult at times - to really live in the present with the fullness of our being as much as is possible, with the help of God’s grace. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the day of salvation.

end of Father Carter's homily

  


           

Psalm 118: 24

This is the day which Yahweh has made, 
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.

 


  

November 1, 2001 message continues

Messenger:        God is LOVE.

                            If we are like Him, we

                                must love.

                            Even in deep suffering, we can have

                                joy and peace.

       


       

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SofC LogoCopyright © 2001 Shepherds of Christ.
Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted:
May be copied in its entirety, but neither re-typed nor edited.
Translations are welcome but they must be reviewed for moral and 
theological accuracy by a source approved by Shepherds of Christ Ministries 
before any distribution takes place. Please contact us for more information.
All scripture quotes are from the New Jerusalem Bible, July 1990, published by Doubleday.
Revised:
November 1, 2001
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