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.

May 4, 2004

May 5th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 7 Period I.
The Novena Rosary Mysteries
for May 5th are Joyful.

  

Tune into broadcast

May 5, 2004 

  

Rosary makers - we need your help please!

We have school orders that need to be filled

 and lack rosaries to fill them.

  

We need 6,000 rosaries
to fill the orders we have now.

Schools want the rosaries.

Please if you could send in
your rosaries for the schools
as soon as possible.

We have kits available for making rosaries.

1-888-211-3041

             

  

A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb
the Bridegroom of the soul

    Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.

   

  

Schedule for May 5, 2004

  
4:00 a.m. - Mass

4:37 a.m. - A Blue Book Reading or Two and a Tribute
                    to Mary on Mother's Day - May 11, 2003

5:57 a.m. - The Stations of the Cross

6:18 a.m. - A Song from Jesus

6:20 a.m. - 6:20 prayers led by Father Carter
                 Holy Spirit Novena
                 Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual
                 Rosary

7:24 a.m. - Glorious Rosary April 16, 1995
                    from the Red Rosary Book

8:51 a.m. - Choose Life

9:52 a.m. - Nursing Home #10

10:33 a.m. - Mary's Message

10:39 a.m. - Songs to Mary

11:58 a.m. - Mysteries of Light from
                    November 14, 2002

12:30 p.m. - Newsletter 2000 Issue #1 
                    (Christ Is Our Strength)

1:50 p.m. - Songs from Jesus

2:43 p.m. - Children's Joyful Mysteries
                    March 20, 1997
                    from the Children's Rosary Book

3:29 p.m. - Songs

4:00 p.m. - Mass

4:37 p.m. - The Spirituality of Fatima

5:20 p.m. - Special messages from Jesus
                    given to Father Carter
                    & Songs from Jesus

6:20 p.m. - 6:20 prayers led by Father Carter
                 Holy Spirit Novena
                 Shepherds of Christ Prayer Manual

                    May 5th Rosary

  

  

     

The apostle, associate,
Shepherds of Christ / St. Ignatius Retreat

officially begins Tuesday
May 11, 2004 at 6:20 p.m. in China , IN

formally begins
Wednesday
May 12, 2004 9:00 a.m.
until
May 15, 2004 

usual prayer service with Rita Ring
May 13, 2004 12:00-5:00  

(Please call Doris if you intend to come
to the retreat)

  

  

    

  

May 4, 2004  

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

p. 25

46. PRAYER.  In the preparatory prayer I will beg God
our Lord for grace that all my intentions, actions, 
and operations may be directed purely to the 
praise and service of His Divine Majesty.

 

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

p. 11

21.                     SPIRITUAL EXERCISES

    Which have as their purpose the conquest of self
    and the regulation of one's life in such a way that
    no decision is made under the influence of any
    inordinate attachment

 

                From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
                by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.  p. 12                     

            23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                                    Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                                     our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

  

   

    

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     Dear God, I kneel before you, I open my heart, I beg for
                        grace to be outpoured to me. I beg dear Holy Spirit for
                        your wisdom. I am a little child of the Father, I am
                        humbly kneeling before you wanting your will. I give
                        you myself, my Divine God, I want all my actions
                        to serve your Divine Majesty.

                        We direct our minds, we give ourselves to God, we tell Him
                        we want to do His will. We turn our minds and our wills to God.
                        We want to serve God. We want God to direct us. 

     

   

Prayer for Union with Jesus

    Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.

    I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.

    I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.

    When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.

    

Words of Surrender of a Soul

Today Lord, (today's date), I give You my entire will-

I give You all my liberties, I want to love and serve You as You desire.

I surrender myself to You.

I ask You to run my life.

I ask You to help me act like You, Jesus, and like Your Mother Mary.

God, this day I consecrate myself to You.

I am  (name) , Your beloved child, guide me on my way now as I go about my day (or if in Church) as I leave Your Eucharistic presence.

  

    

                        Sing: Mighty Lord

                        Sing: Take Lord Receive

                        Sing: Like a Sunflower

                        Sing: Before the Sun Burned Bright

Messenger:     So we turn our minds and our hearts to God.
                        We seek deep connection with God our Father as His little child. Jesus
                        is our spouse. Dear Holy Spirit fill our hearts with fire and wisdom.
                        Dear Spirit of God permeate our souls. We want to be filled with your grace.
                        We want grace to permeate our soul, we beg for a deeper presence of
                        God within us. I unite so deeply to the Masses going on around the world.

     

Excerpt from January 29, 2004

God the Father speaks:

                        Pray like this - say:

                            Dear Father, in the name of Your
                        Son Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, I give
                        you myself at this moment —
                        united to the Holy Sacrifice of the
                        Mass —
                        Oh Father, I love You so much and
                        I thank You for Your gifts to me.
                        Oh Father, You are so good.
                        Oh Father, help me.

                        Dear Father I pray through the
                        powerful intercession of Our
                        Lady of Clearwater and Father Carter.
                        I pray in union with the saints
                        and the souls in purgatory.

                        Oh Father, I love You, I love
                            You, I love You and beg
                            for Your mercy.

                        Oh Father, please forgive the
                            human race for their sins,
                            we are sorry for offending
                            God, please Father outpour
                            Your grace and Your mercy —
                            help us to be united in love
                            as You desire.

                                Dear Father cast the devil far
                            from us and spread us with the
                            Blood of Your Divine Son.

                            Oh Father please protect us
                                from the snares of the devil.

                            Please protect our children.
                            Please help us now, Father,
                            We pray for this particular need.
                            end of prayer

     

                From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
                by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.  p. 12                     

            23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                                    Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                                     our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

       

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     This is truth.

     

Genesis Chapter 1

In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters. 

    God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness. God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day. 

    God said, ‘Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was. God made the vault, and it divided the waters under the vault from the waters above the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven’. Evening came and morning came: the second day. 

    God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was. God called the dry land ‘earth’ and the mass of waters ‘seas’, and God saw that it was good. 

    God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed–bearing plants, and fruit trees on earth, bearing fruit with their seed inside, each corresponding to its own species.’ And so it was. The earth produced vegetation: the various kinds of seed–bearing plants and the fruit trees with seed inside, each corresponding to its own species. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the third day. 

    God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth, to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day. 

    God said, ‘Let the waters be alive with a swarm of living creatures, and let birds wing their way above the earth across the vault of heaven.’ And so it was. God created great sea–monsters and all the creatures that glide and teem in the waters in their own species, and winged birds in their own species. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters of the seas; and let the birds multiply on land.’ Evening came and morning came: the fifth day. 

    God said, ‘Let the earth produce every kind of living creature in its own species: cattle, creeping things and wild animals of all kinds.’ And so it was. God made wild animals in their own species, and cattle in theirs, and every creature that crawls along the earth in its own species. God saw that it was good. 

    God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’ 

    God created man in the image of himself, 
    in the image of God he created him, 
    male and female he created them. 

    God blessed them, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that move on earth.’ God also said, ‘Look, to you I give all the seed–bearing plants everywhere on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seed–bearing fruit; this will be your food. And to all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the plants as their food.’ And so it was. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day. 

  

        From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
                by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.  p. 12                     

            23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                                    Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                                     our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

    

Genesis 2: 8-9

    Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. From the soil, Yahweh God caused to grow every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

  

Genesis 2: 15-18

    Yahweh God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it. Then Yahweh God gave the man this command, ‘You are free to eat of all the trees in the garden. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat; for, the day you eat of that, you are doomed to die.’ 

    Yahweh God said, ‘It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper.’

  

May 4, 2004 message continues

                        Sing: Before the Sun Burned Bright

                        Sing: Mighty Lord

Messenger:     We look up to God as the source of our being, God made us, 
                            He has a plan for us.

  

Excerpt from Response to God's Love

The Mystery of Christ and

Christian Existence

 

   In reference to Christianity, God himself is the ultimate mystery. Radically, God is completely other and transcendent, hidden from man in his inner life, unless he chooses to reveal himself. Let us briefly look at this inner life of God.

    The Father, in a perfect act of self-expression, in a perfect act of knowing, generates his son. The Son, the Word, is, then, the immanent expression of God's fullness, the reflection of the Father. Likewise, from all eternity, the Father and the Son bring forth the Holy Spirit in a perfect act of loving.

    At the destined moment in human history, God's self-expression, the Word, immersed himself into man's world. God's inner self-expression now had also become God's outer self-expression. Consequently, the mystery of God becomes the mystery of Christ. In Christ, God tells us about himself, about his inner life, about his plan of creation and redemption. He tells us how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit desire to dwell within us in the most intimate fashion, how they wish to share with us their own life through grace. All this he has accomplished and does accomplish through Christ. St. Paul tells us: "I became a minister of this Church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from ages and generations past but now revealed to his holy ones. God has willed to make known to them the glory beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles—the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ" (Col 1:25-28).

    The Christian life, then, is rooted in the great event of the Incarnation. We must, consequently, always focus our gaze upon Christ, realizing that everything the Father wishes to tell us has been summed up in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. It only remains for us, then, to fathom ever more deeply the inexhaustible truth of the Word Incarnate: "In times past, God spoke in fragmentary and varied ways to our fathers through the prophets; in this, the final age, he has spoken to us through his Son, whom he has made heir of all things and through whom he first created the universe" (Heb 1:1-2).

end of excerpt from Response to God's Love

     

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     God gives us a share in His joy, a special sharing in His life through grace.
                        In prayer we can contemplate our relationship with God. We can
                            contemplate the reason for our being.

  

Acts 17: 28

since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: 

    We are all his children.

  

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     I came from God. I receive my life from God. My relationship with
                            God is vital. I love Him so much, I desire to praise Him,
                            worship Him. I reverence Him, never wanting to take 
                            His name in vain. He is my God. I am in awe of Him.

                            It is my duty as a human person created by God to worship
                                and love Him and show respect for my Creator.
                                I am dependent on God for my very being. I belong to Him.

    

                From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
                by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.  p. 12                     

            23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                                    Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                                     our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

     

   

    

  

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     We worship God at Holy Mass, we worship God in prayer.

    

  

  

    

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     We praise God by trying to grow in greater perfection by living
                            more perfect lives our lives should be lived to praise God
                            we praise God by living according to His will  

    

Matthew 5: 48

...You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

  

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     If someone says to me, your son or daughter are so wonderful, I can
                            see your influence on their lives, this is a high compliment to me.

    

Genesis 1: 26-27

    God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground.’ 

    God created man in the image of himself, 
    in the image of God he created him, 
    male and female he created them. 

    

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     Living holy lives according to God's will is giving God the Father
                            praise if we are acting like His sons and daughters.

                        God delights in our lives lived as He wants us to live them, doing
                            His will, trying to be more perfected, more like Him. We are
                            children of God. We praise God by living holy lives
                            for His honor and glory. Can people see that we are acting
                            as holy persons of God in which God's light shines from
                            us in our actions? Are we living an existence that shows
                            others we are God's children living according to His will?
                            Do people see Our Father's influence in our actions?

                        God is teaching us to be like Him.

    

Excerpts from the Spirituality Handbook

by Father Carter
  

An Overview of the Spiritual Life

The Christian life is rooted in the great event of the Incarnation. We must consequently always focus our gaze upon Christ, realizing that everything the Father wishes to tell us has been summed up in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It only remains for us, then, to strive to understand with greater insight the inexhaustible truth of the Word Incarnate: "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world." (Heb. 1: 1-2) (1)

Christ was radically to release us from the dominion of sin and elevate us to a new level of existence. This life Christ has given us is not a type of superstructure which is erected atop human existence. Although nature and grace are distinct, they do not lie side by side as separate entities. Rather, grace permeates nature. The Christian is one graced person. The Christian is one who has been raised up, caught up, into a deeper form of life in Christ Jesus. Nothing that is authentically human in the life of the Christian has been excluded from this new existence. Whatever is really human in the life of the Christian is meant to be an expression of the Christ-life. The simple but deep joys of family life, the wonderment at nature's beauty, the warm embrace of a mother for her child, the agony of crucial decision making, the success or frustration that is experienced in one's work, the joy of being well received by others, and the heartache of being misunderstood--all these experiences are intended to be caught up in Christ and made more deeply human because of Him.

Jesus has come, then, not to destroy anything that is authentically human, but to perfect it by leading it to a graced fulfillment. This is the meaning of the Word's becoming flesh, the meaning of the Incarnation. The more God-like we become through Christ, the more human we become.

We, through our incorporation into Christ which occurs at Baptism, are meant to relive the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In doing so, we are not only accomplishing our own salvation, but we are assisting in the salvation of others also. The Incarnation continues all the time. Christ, of course, is the one Who fundamentally continues the Incarnation. But He enlists our help. The world no longer sees Jesus, no longer is able to reach out and touch Him. We are the ones who now, in some way, make Christ visible and tangible. In union with the invisible, glorified Christ, and depending on Him as our source of life, we continue the Incarnation in its visible and temporal dimensions. This is our great privilege. This is our great responsibility.

The Christian is initiated into the mystery of Christ, into his or her role in prolonging the Incarnation, through Baptism. In the words of St. Paul: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by Baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Rom. 6: 3-4).

It is not sufficient, however, that we be incorporated into Christ through Baptism. All forms of life require nourishment. So, too, our life in Christ must be continually nourished. How can we continually keep in contact with Christ? There are various ways. We contact Christ in a most special way through the liturgy, above all in the Eucharistic liturgy. Here the entire course of salvation history, as centered in Jesus, is sacramentally renewed and continued. Through our most special and most personal meeting with Jesus in the Mass, we are more deeply incorporated into Christ. Also, we should remember that all the sacraments make up part of the Church's liturgy.

The reading of Scripture provides another special opportunity for meeting Jesus. This is true for both Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament prefigures the New Testament and leads to it. It is obvious, however, that we meet Christ especially in the pages of the New Testament. How true it is to say that not to be familiar with Scripture is not to know Jesus properly. We should resolve to read from Scripture daily.

We also meet Jesus in our interaction with others. Everyone we meet, everyone we serve, is in the image of Jesus. We have to take the means to grow in this awareness. If I truly believe that everyone has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, how should I treat everyone?

These, then, are some of the ways we keep in contact with Jesus. Common to the various ways of meeting Jesus is a certain degree of prayerful reflection. Our contact with Jesus in the liturgy, in Scripture, and in our interaction with others, and so forth, will not be all that it should be unless we are persons of prayer. The light and strength of prayer enables us to keep in contact with Jesus as we should.

We live out our Christ-life in an atmosphere of love. Indeed, the life Jesus has given us is centered in love. It has its origins in the mysterious love of God: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3: 16).

Our new life in Jesus has arisen out of God's fathomless love. Christ, in His descent into human flesh, has established a milieu of love. The life He came to give can flourish only in the framework of love. Indeed, we can summarize the meaning of the Christian life by stating that it is our loving response to God's love. The pierced Heart of Jesus, this Heart which shed its last drop of blood in the greatest love for each one of us, is the symbol of God's tremendous love for us. Christ's Heart also calls us to respond by giving ourselves in love to God and neighbor. Yes, Jesus invites us to respond to God's love by giving ourselves in love to Him in an ever closer union. The more closely we are united to Him, the greater is our capacity to love God and neighbor. The more closely we are united with Jesus, the more closely He unites us to the Father in the Holy Spirit, with Mary our Mother at our side.

    

Excerpt from the Spirituality Handbook

by Father Carter
  

Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

We have already spoken of how we are incorporated into Christ at Baptism. Now we shall speak of the life which comes to us in Baptism in terms of consecration:

"To consecrate means to make sacred, to make holy. Only God can make a being holy. So to speak of our consecration is to speak of God's activity in making us holy, His activity of giving us a share in His own holiness. At Baptism we receive a share in God's life, a share in His holiness. Christ is the Mediator of this grace life. We are baptized into Christ, into His death and resurrection. In Baptism we become holy by sharing in the holiness of Christ. We become consecrated, sealed with the divine holiness. We belong to the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

"On our part, we must respond to God's consecration of us. We must live out the consecration of Baptism. We must realize what God has done for us in Christ and live according to this awareness. We need to live the life of holiness and grow in it. In other words, we must develop the life of grace, the Christ-life.

"What God has done for us in Christ involves Mary. God has given us a Christ-life, our life of grace, and Mary is the Mother of this Christ-life. Consequently, living out our life of consecration to God--living out the Christ-life--includes allowing Mary to increasingly be the Mother of our Christ-life.

"Consecration to Mary, therefore, is an aspect of our consecration to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is entrusting ourselves entirely to her maternal love so that she can bring us ever closer to Jesus, so that we can increasingly live out our consecration to God in Christ.

"At Fatima, Our Lady asked that we consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart. Mary shows us her heart as a symbol of her love for God and us. She asks us to make a return of love to her, to consecrate ourselves to her, to give ourselves to her completely. She wants us to entrust ourselves to her completely so that she may help us love God and neighbor.

"As stated above, consecration to Mary is an aspect of our consecration to God in Christ and she has asked for consecration to her Heart so that she may assist us. Christ, in turn, invites us to live out this consecration to Him through consecration to His Sacred Heart. We see the divine symmetry: consecration to the Immaculate Heart helps us to live out consecration to Christ Who reveals His Heart as symbol of His life of love in all its aspects, including His tremendous love for each of us individually. His Heart also asks for our love in return, a return which ideally is summed up in consecration to Jesus' Heart. Through this consecration we give ourselves completely to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart. In this consecration to Jesus, we promise to strive to live according to His Father's will in all things." (2)

                           2. Edward Carter, S.J., Mother at Our Side, Faith Publishing, Milford, Ohio, 1993, pp. 15-17.

                                        end of excerpt from the Spirituality Handbook

    

   

  

   

   

   

  

  

    

   

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     This is about relationship relationship with God our
                            Creator relationship with each other

                        We are dependent on God, we are to live a "Christ-like" existence
                        being the sons and daughters of God. We are to imitate the
                        Master in our actions.  

                        Sing this song Miracle of Life

Messenger:         In the retreat we meditate on the lives of Jesus and Mary in
                        the Mysteries of the rosary. We meditate on a different set of
                        mysteries each day.

   

THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES

1. The Annunciation to Mary
2. The Visitation of Mary
3. The Nativity of Our Lord
4. The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
  

                            MYSTERIES OF LIGHT

1. Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
2. Self-Manifestation at the Marriage of Cana
3. Proclamation of the Kingdom of God
4. Transfiguration
5. Institution of the Holy Eucharist
  

THE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES

1. The Agony in the Garden
2. The Scourging at the Pillar
3. The Crowning with Thorns
4. The Carrying of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Our Lord on the Cross
   

THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES

1. The Resurrection of Our Lord
2. The Ascension of Our Lord
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and Mary
4. The Assumption of Mary into Heaven
5. The Crowning of Mary Queen of Heaven and Earth

   

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:         We should reverence Our God, we should be in awe of Him,
                        we should never take the name of God in vain and we must
                        pray for those today who are so disrespectful to God in their speech.

                            It is wrong for people to disrespect God.

                            Someone can treat someone in authority as "one of the boys."
                        God is a Supreme Being. He is our Creator. He is Divine, we are
                        human creatures. We should never treat God with disrespect and
                        we, as human creatures, should make reparation to God by showing
                        Him love and devotion to make up for the human creatures who 
                        disrespect God.

    

                From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
                by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.  p. 12                     

            23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                                    Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                                     our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

   

  

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:         Once we understand our origin we should understand our duty
                        as the sons and daughters of God to give Him the highest praise.

      

                From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
                by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.  p. 12                     

            23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                                    Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                                     our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

       
     

The 1st Commandment
 

  1.   I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not have other gods besides me.

    

Romans 8: 19-27

for the whole creation is waiting with eagerness for the children of God to be revealed. It was not for its own purposes that creation had frustration imposed on it, but for the purposes of him who imposed it—with the intention that the whole creation itself might be freed from its slavery to corruption and brought into the same glorious freedom as the children of God. We are well aware that the whole creation, until this time, has been groaning in labour pains. And not only that: we too, who have the first–fruits of the Spirit, even we are groaning inside ourselves, waiting with eagerness for our bodies to be set free. In hope, we already have salvation; in hope, not visibly present, or we should not be hoping—nobody goes on hoping for something which is already visible. But having this hope for what we cannot yet see, we are able to wait for it with persevering confidence. 

    And as well as this, the Spirit too comes to help us in our weakness, for, when we do not know how to pray properly, then the Spirit personally makes our petitions for us in groans that cannot be put into words; and he who can see into all hearts knows what the Spirit means because the prayers that the Spirit makes for God’s holy people are always in accordance with the mind of God.

  

Romans 10: 21

and referring to Israel, he says: All day long I have been stretching out my hands to a disobedient and rebellious people.

  

Romans 11: 16

When the first–fruits are made holy, so is the whole batch; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

  

Romans 8: 14-17

All who are guided by the Spirit of God are sons of God; for what you received was not the spirit of slavery to bring you back into fear; you received the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself joins with our spirit to bear witness that we are children of God. And if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and joint–heirs with Christ, provided that we share his suffering, so as to share his glory.

  

Romans 9: 18-24

In other words, if God wants to show mercy on someone, he does so, and if he wants to harden someone’s heart, he does so. 

    Then you will ask me, ‘How then can he ever blame anyone, since no one can oppose his will?’ But you—who do you think you, a human being, are, to answer back to God? Something that was made, can it say to its maker: why did you make me this shape? A potter surely has the right over his clay to make out of the same lump either a pot for special use or one for ordinary use. 

    But suppose that God, although all the time he wanted to reveal his retribution and demonstrate his power, has with great patience gone on putting up with those who are the instruments of his retribution and designed to be destroyed; so that he may make known the glorious riches ready for the people who are the instruments of his faithful love and were long ago prepared for that glory. We are that people, called by him not only out of the Jews but out of the gentiles too.

  

1 Corinthians 2: 7-10

It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. None of the rulers of the age recognised it; for if they had recognised it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but it is as scripture says: What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, what the mind of man cannot visualise; all that God has prepared for those who love him; to us, though, God has given revelation through the Spirit, for the Spirit explores the depths of everything, even the depths of God.

  

1 Corinthians 2: 12-13

Now, the Spirit we have received is not the spirit of the world but God’s own Spirit, so that we may understand the lavish gifts God has given us. And these are what we speak of, not in the terms learnt from human philosophy, but in terms learnt from the Spirit, fitting spiritual language to spiritual things.

  

1 Corinthians 15: 20-28

    In fact, however, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the first–fruits of all who have fallen asleep. As it was by one man that death came, so through one man has come the resurrection of the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order: Christ the first–fruits, and next, at his coming, those who belong to him. After that will come the end, when he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, having abolished every principality, every ruling force and power. For he is to be king until he has made his enemies his footstool, and the last of the enemies to be done away with is death, for he has put all things under his feet. But when it is said everything is subjected, this obviously cannot include the One who subjected everything to him. When everything has been subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the One who has subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

       

  

  

   
  

           

1 Corinthians 15: 42-58

It is the same too with the resurrection of the dead: what is sown is perishable, but what is raised is imperishable; what is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; what is sown is weak, but what is raised is powerful; what is sown is a natural body, and what is raised is a spiritual body. 

    If there is a natural body, there is a spiritual body too. So the first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; and the last Adam has become a life–giving spirit. But first came the natural body, not the spiritual one; that came only afterwards. The first man, being made of earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. The earthly man is the pattern for earthly people, the heavenly man for heavenly ones. And as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so we shall bear the likeness of the heavenly one.

    What I am saying, brothers, is that mere human nature cannot inherit the kingdom of God: what is perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable. Now I am going to tell you a mystery: we are not all going to fall asleep, but we are all going to be changed, instantly, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet is going to sound, and then the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed, because this perishable nature of ours must put on imperishability, this mortal nature must put on immortality.

And after this perishable nature has put on imperishability and this mortal nature has put on immortality, then will the words of scripture come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin comes from the Law. Thank God, then, for giving us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

    So, my dear brothers, keep firm and immovable, always abounding in energy for the Lord’s work, being sure that in the Lord none of your labours is wasted.

 

  

  

     

Philippians 4: 4-9

    Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful. Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, let your minds be filled with everything that is true, everything that is honourable, everything that is upright and pure, everything that we love and admire—with whatever is good and praiseworthy. Keep doing everything you learnt from me and were told by me and have heard or seen me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

 

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     Joy and Peace

                        Sing: Turn to Me Verse 3 and Refrain

                        We are to reverence God.

                        We are to live in awe of God.

     

                From The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
                by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.  p. 12                     

            23. FIRST PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION

                                    Man is created to praise, reverence and serve God 
                                     our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.

   

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:     Serving God is doing God's will.

                        Sing: Service Song

  

 

Excerpts from the Spirituality Handbook

by Father Carter
  

Relationship with Others and the World-at-large

The true Christian is imbued with a proper consciousness of others. That is to say, the true Christian is keenly aware that a great part of God's plan for us tells us that we must, according to His will, relate in various ways to our fellow human beings. Indeed, the Christian imperative tells us that we are to walk life's path, not in isolation, but hand in hand with our brothers and sisters of the human family.

To relate to others according to God's will, we must be properly aware of who they really are. We must, in short, be able to go beneath surface appearances, which may or may not be appealing to us, and contact others in their core existence. When we are truly in touch with others at the core of their beings, we are aware of their awesome dignity. We are conscious that these persons are created and redeemed by God's love. We are conscious that our merciful and loving Jesus shed His last drop of blood for each of them, that His Heart was pierced on the cross because He loved each of them without measure! We are conscious that this magnificent, pierced Heart, now in Its glorified state, still beats with the most special love for each individual upon this earth. Realizing all this, and doing so consistently, gives us the basis and the motivation to try to relate to all--both those we directly contact and those billions we never physically meet--with the greatest love.

In order to be in touch with the inner self of others, we must be aware of, or in touch with, our own true self. This awareness is a realization that our self is likewise made in the image of God, that we have been redeemed by Christ, and that we can only find true happiness through the constant effort to grow in love of God and neighbor. Here, then, we can see the profound interaction among the three awarenesses and loves--awareness and love of God, neighbor, and self. As Christians, consequently, we should have a maturing sense of how our existence is, in varied ways, profoundly linked with the existence of others. Again, this feeling of union with others is not limited to those we directly meet, but, in various ways, is directed to all members of the human family.

The world in which we live is an amazing mixture of that which is good and beautiful and brilliant and that which is sinful and ugly and dreadful. We have the privilege and responsibility of shaping this contemporary world according to its Christological imprint. Jesus put this image of Himself upon the world order by the way He lived and died and rose. We have to help in directing our fellow humans and their values along the path which has been made by the footprints of Jesus of Nazareth--a task that is not always easy. There are so many forces in today's world that work against Christ, His message, and the order He came to establish! But are we going to allow the forces of evil to discourage us from doing all we possibly can to make this a better world according to the designs of Christ? Jesus paid a terrible price to redeem the world. His Heart, which was pierced on the cross for our redemption, cries out to us in His great love for us. He asks us to do our part in helping make the world better reflect His image. In response to the great love which the Heart of Jesus has for each of us, let us, in union with Mary our Mother, often ask ourselves, "What have I done for Christ, what am I now doing for Christ, what am I going to do for Christ?"

end of excerpt from the Spirituality Handbook

 

  

The Carpenter

June 12, 1994

You are he who goes to a carpenter to learn to make a cabinet. You know nothing. You do not have any idea of what you are to do. The carpenter knows exactly. He has a procedure whereby his plan will be accomplished. Every detail must be observed. He is the Master. You do not have the talent. You need talent to do woodwork. If you were given the talent and the directions, you could accomplish this task with such beauty.

I am the carpenter. You are he who needs to be taught. You lack the talent. You need the gifts of the Spirit to accomplish My task! You come to Me in total ignorance. You are open, the Spirit fills you with the gifts. You have everything you need to do My work. The Father created you to accomplish His tasks. You are perfect. You must come open. You must know the plan. The plan is His Will for you. If you do not follow the plan, the cabinet will not be built correctly.

I am the Master. I guide you. I love you. I give you all you need. I walk you through every move. If you try on your own, you have a problem. You know not the way to build cabinets. You know not the way to Me on your own. You must come to Me to be taught. To go it alone is to your own detriment.

Oh, little one, it is so simple. You, in your will, want to work your own plans. You know not how to do it. Only I can teach you what you need to know. Oh, please come to Me. I have all you need. The Spirit fills you with the gifts to know, love and serve God. To go it alone is like trying to build the cabinet with no knowledge of woodworking. Oh, little ones, I love you. Come to Me. Let Me teach you. The Will of the Father is the happiness for your life.

I am Jesus Christ, Son of God. I am God. I, God, long to be with you and teach you. Go not off on your own. Come to Me. I love you so!

end of excerpt from June 12, 1994

     

       

May 4, 2004 message continues

Messenger:         This message given 10
                        years ago began the Falmouth
                        problem.

   

   

May 4, 2004 message continues

Jesus speaks:  Learn a lesson about pride.
                        St. Joseph was a leader study him.

    

Picture of the Sacred Heart of JesusI Call You to Holiness

May 4, 1994 4:30a.m.

Dear ones, I am calling you to love your brothers. I have loved you. Would you, dear ones, lay down your lives for your brothers? How are you loving this day? Are you following Christ in your actions? I am the Way, I am the Truth, I am the Life. You must constantly put the world aside and look to the Master for all your directions. I call you, My little ones, to holiness. I call you to pure hearts, hearts that are full of love and empty of hate and anger. I call you to guard your hearts and watch that they stay forever holy. You, My precious bride, I want your soul white.

Do you criticize your dear brothers? I gave the last beat of My Heart and the last drop of My blood for the soul you are displeased with. I would die for them this day. Will you not love them for Me? They are so precious to Me!

Quit sizing up your brothers. You do such unloving things in your mind. You do not even know how unloving are your thoughts. You judge your brothers by their exteriors, by their education, by their money. You do not see the beautiful creation of God the Father. He created your brothers just perfectly and He loves His creation. Who are you to criticize His creation? Love your brothers when they are hurting. It is in your loving the hurting ones that they will see the reflection of Christ in you.

Do not hold on to foolish things. One moment and your days on this earth have ended. All that remains is how you loved. Did you love God? Did you love your neighbor? Love is not selfish. It gives of itself. Its whole purpose is to draw the other closer to Jesus.

Study the crucifix. It is such a comfort! I loved you so. I died for you. I would die for you alone this very day, little ones! Look at Me dying on the cross! The way to Me is to follow Me. Be Christ-like in your ways. You must study Me to know My ways. Do not give in to yourselves. My way is love. Will you be the reflection of the love of God within you? My way is the way of the cross. They persecuted Me, they hurt Me, they tore My flesh and spit on Me. They did this to Me for My love given to all! This world is not your end. You follow My ways and you move as you should toward your goal.

I am Jesus, I am the Son of God. I love you so ardently. I died and shed My blood, My beautiful blood, for love of you. I await you this day, My little ones. I loved you so I remain with you in the Eucharist. I await, I long for you to come and share in our love. I am the tenderest of Hearts. No man can be close to you as I. I love you so. I want to dwell and live within you. I want to fill you with all My love and radiate My love to your beloved brothers. I want to shine from your souls.

Oh, little ones, take Me seriously. I am truly here, begging for you to live in My love.

You are the light that will shine in this dark world. You will light up the darkest night with My love.

The best gift you can give to this world is to busy yourself about your love affair with Me. I love you, My little ones. I love you and I want to share this love with you.

Love your brothers. Do not let Satan talk in your heads and make them wrong and you right. Love them as I have loved you. Do not look at your brothers and size them up. See them with the eyes of God, the beautiful creations of the Father.

Will you love My beloved ones for Me this day, or will you say "no" to My call? Love your brothers in darkness. They need your love. I am calling you to love them for Me this very day. They may scoff at you and persecute you, but you will plant a seed that I Myself will water and give sunlight to. Plant seeds of love. This is the most important seed you will plant, a seed of love. Watch it grow as I provide it with water and nourishment. I will shine on your brothers through you if you stay in My love. Be the light that shines on this dark world. They are crying out for the love of God. They are suffering. They need your love.

Put yourselves aside. Die to yourselves. Live only for the love of God. If the world goes one way, you stay focused on My love. Do not follow the world. Follow the risen Christ!

I love you so, little ones. I bring you new life. I fill your hearts with My love. Pray to the Holy Spirit for His gifts. Pray the Our Father. Let My mother mother you as she mothered Me. She loved you so. She suffered so for love of you. She appears to bring you back to her beloved Son. Will you answer her call? She is calling you to put God first in your life. She is calling you to love, love of God, love of one another.

Forgive your brothers. Empty your hearts of hate and anger and let go. Let all your anger go. Give Me your resentments and let Me heal your hearts. Forgiveness is the way to peace. Let go. Do not size up your brothers. Love them all. Pray for them. Unite in My love. Love is a miracle cure. Say you are sorry. Be gentle in your ways. Pray for your needs. I love you, little ones. I am with you this day.

Will you answer the call and love for Me? I love you. I am your beloved Jesus. I would die this day just for you. I love you the same as I did the day I died. Turn to Me and give Me your life. I will care for you and love you. I am your Savior. I am Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. Let Me live in your heart!

end of May 4, 1994 message

   

    

 

    

Please remember us in your will.

  
Shepherds of Christ Ministries
P.O. Box 193
Morrow, OH 45152

  
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1-513-932-4451

                


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