Shepherds of Christ          Daily Writing

August 17, 2007

    
 

We need funds for the Church newsletter.

Also funds for the Building Payment.

 

 

Retreat in Florida

August 19th - 22nd

Retreat starts at 1:00pm on the 19th

August 19th is the 90th anniversary

of Mary's apparition at Fatima

after the children were jailed.

August 22nd is the Queenship of Mary.

Rita will be here to sign books.

 

 

Given August 16, 2007

                    Mary Lou's dad was strict and she could not
                really get close to him. She did not realize
                this strained relationship with her father
                reached through her whole life. If she
                saw a man coming even in the park she
                would tense up and feel frightened
                as the little child having to deal with her
                dad.

                    When John was little his mom was
                controlling — he had trouble asserting
                himself for she was always running
                things. Later he learned he was frightened
                around women for she had taught him
                as a child she was boss.

                    Carol was really close to a very nice
                friend she thought, but her friend had
                lots of secrets she never even told Carol —
                she became so tired and Carol wondered why
                her friend slept all day - she had no
                energy — when she questioned her she
                said, I don't like to sleep — her friend
                spent hours on the phone with a boy
                until 5:00am every night. Her friend
                had let this man violate her boundaries
                more and more with these conversations —
                she began to eat less, not take care of
                herself and she was so young.

                    She had a whole congregation at
                Church rush her to the hospital and
                then she wouldn't eat for 3 weeks.
                People begged her to eat, she lived
                alone — someone at Church stayed
                with her because she flatly refused
                to eat.

                    When questioned about anything — she
                always said "I feel crazy" and wouldn't
                take any responsibility for her actions —
                She gave herself freedom to keep secrets
                close to her in major disguise —
                she wanted attention and staged the
                eating thing and she would never
                take any responsibility for any
                deception, lies or outbursts of
                blaming someone when no one did
                anything to her.

                    How far will we go to act against
                the natural order. Satan presses on
                people to control their weight by
                strange diets and when blood sugar
                drops from not eating one can do
                very strange things because of the
                physical starvation —

                    People not eating can get very
                depressed, be suspicious of others
                and over-react, then they become
                a problem to themselves, their happiness
                and others when they do irate things
                some times.

                    The girl acting adversely would not
                eat sometimes for days and then at
                times eat little candies.

                    She would over work and wanted
                to be better than everybody else.

                    What makes someone so competitive
                or act irrational — Many things come
                from childhood — A child held back
                at home can be very rebellious if they get
                a chance to leave.

                    Why do we act?

                    For the honor and glory of God.

                    If we compete at everything
                trying to be better we will always
                be acting out some insecurity —
                some insecure unfinished business
                inside.

                    You don't wake up one day and act and
                blame others now when you act
                irately and no one has done anything
                to you. Acting out — the wounded
                child of the past must not heap
                their bad habits on people who
                have done nothing to them —
                Some will heap a childhood of bitter
                pain on a close friend now — acting
                out their pain and blaming their new
                friend.

                    Relationships with mom and dad
                can be projected on innocent men
                and women we work with later in
                life.

                    What makes you get really upset.
                Has someone lately been provoking
                you, trying you for years, turning
                everything around you ask for
                and making you fight to get anything
                accomplished. Controlling husbands
                and wives may try to demand obedience
                of their spouse, just for the sake of
                dominance and control.

                    We learned about relationships
                from imperfect others that taught
                us generation and generation taught
                them.

                    In having difficulties in relationships
                we can project past problems on new
                partners — especially if there is lots
                of pain, that is invalidated and
                we have not worked through.

                    A person can betray others —
                someone married for twenty years may
                wake up and their spouse just
                leaves — no comment and unable to
                be reached. The person must work
                through what happened — not say
                nothing happened and I am tough —
                then act the pain on others every
                time they get in an intimate relationship.

                    Some provoke others because they
                want to possess and control them —
                in provoking someone going away
                they can have some kind of fiendish
                control over them.

                    God loves us so much He gives us
                a free will.

                    We connect in oneness by working
                through imperfections — our locked
                boxes inside and trusting and sharing
                our heart with trustworthy others.
                Oneness is in the heart — unity in
                the body of Christ — in God — in the
                heart, but we rid ourselves of
                imperfections so we can be
                vessel that can be saturated with
                His life. Like branches attached
                to the vine — We are one in Him —
                The truth is in us — to have Him
                deeply in us — we rid ourselves
                of untruths — we beg for His grace —
                we go to the sacraments —

                    To be a holy community we
                want to be filled with His
                grace — united in Him — the Holy
                Spirit permeating our community
                in holy love — like a family
                God wants.

                    Today a lady told me her daughter
                said (she is dying of cancer, she
                is younger than me)

                    She said "Last year I was complaining
                and running all over, this year look
                at me," she had no hair from chemo
                and she looked awful and they
                gave her little time to live.

                    Her mom said, I asked how can
                this happen — here I sit 20 years
                older than her — how can somebody
                go from running around doing
                everything and less than a year later
                in her 50's dying — no hair —
                her life will be over — how can
                somebody go down hill that fast.
                Her name is Sharon so we must pray
                for her.

2 Corinthians 5: 1, 6-10

For we are well aware that when the tent that houses us on earth is folded up, there is a house for us from God, not made by human hands but everlasting, in the heavens.

    We are always full of confidence, then, realising that as long as we are at home in the body we are exiled from the Lord, guided by faith and not yet by sight; we are full of confidence, then, and long instead to be exiled from the body and to be at home with the Lord. And so whether at home or exiled, we make it our ambition to please him. For at the judgement seat of Christ we are all to be seen for what we are, so that each of us may receive what he has deserved in the body, matched to whatever he has done, good or bad.

Philippians 3: 20-21

                    We are born alone (unless a twin)
                    We die alone usually.
                    And we have our own problems
                        to work out.

                    God is our refuge.

Genesis Chapter 3

Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made. It asked the woman, 'Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?' The woman answered the snake, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death." ' Then the snake said to the woman, 'No! You will not die! God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.' The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realised that they were naked. So they sewed fig-leaves together to make themselves loin-cloths.

The man and his wife heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. But Yahweh God called to the man. 'Where are you?' he asked. 'I heard the sound of you in the garden,' he replied. 'I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.' 'Who told you that you were naked?' he asked. 'Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?' The man replied, 'It was the woman you put with me; she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.' Then Yahweh God said to the woman, 'Why did you do that?' The woman replied, 'The snake tempted me and I ate.'

Then Yahweh God said to the snake, 'Because you have done this,

    Accursed be you
    of all animals wild and tame!
    On your belly you will go
    and on dust you will feed
    as long as you live.
    I shall put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
    it will bruise your head
    and you will strike its heel.'

    To the woman he said:

    I shall give you intense pain
        in childbearing,
    you will give birth to your children
        in pain.
    Your yearning will be for your husband,
    and he will dominate you.

To the man he said, 'Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat,

    Accursed be the soil because of you!
    Painfully will you get your food from it
    as long as you live.
    It will yield you brambles and thistles,
    as you eat the produce of the land.
    By the sweat of your face
    will you earn you food,
    until you return to the ground,
    as you were taken from it.
    For dust you are
    and to dust you shall return.

The man named his wife 'Eve' because she was the mother of all those who live. Yahweh God made tunics of skins for the man and his wife and clothed them. Then Yahweh God said, 'Now that the man has become like one of us in knowing good from evil, he must not be allowed to reach out his hand and pick from the tree of life too, and eat and live for ever!' So Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the garden of Eden he posted the great winged creatures and the fiery flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Acts 10: 34-43  

Then Peter addressed them, ‘I now really understand’, he said, ‘that God has no favourites, but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 

    ‘God sent his word to the people of Israel, and it was to them that the good news of peace was brought by Jesus Christ—he is the Lord of all. You know what happened all over Judaea, how Jesus of Nazareth began in Galilee, after John had been preaching baptism. God had anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and because God was with him, Jesus went about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. Now we are witnesses to everything he did throughout the countryside of Judaea and in Jerusalem itself: and they killed him by hanging him on a tree, yet on the third day God raised him to life and allowed him to be seen, not by the whole people but only by certain witnesses that God had chosen beforehand. Now we are those witnesses—we have eaten and drunk with him after his resurrection from the dead— and he has ordered us to proclaim this to his people and to bear witness that God has appointed him to judge everyone, alive or dead. It is to him that all the prophets bear this witness: that all who believe in Jesus will have their sins forgiven through his name.’

Romans 5: 17-21

It was by one man’s offence that death came to reign over all, but how much greater the reign in life of those who receive the fullness of grace and the gift of saving justice, through the one man, Jesus Christ. One man’s offence brought condemnation on all humanity; and one man’s good act has brought justification and life to all humanity. Just as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience are many to be made upright. When law came on the scene, it was to multiply the offences. But however much sin increased, grace was always greater; so that as sin’s reign brought death, so grace was to rule through saving justice that leads to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6: 3-9

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. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be by a resurrection like his; realising that our former self was crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin. Someone who has died, of course, no longer has to answer for sin. 

    But we believe that, if we died with Christ, then we shall live with him too. We know that Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has no power over him any more.   

Romans 8: 31-35, 37-39

After saying this, what can we add? If God is for us, who can be against us? Since he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for the sake of all of us, then can we not expect that with him he will freely give us all his gifts? Who can bring any accusation against those that God has chosen? When God grants saving justice who can condemn? Are we not sure that it is Christ Jesus, who died-yes and more, who was raised from the dead and is at God's right hand-and who is adding his plea for us? Can anything cut us off from the love of Christ-can hardships or distress, or persecution, or lack of food and clothing, or threats or violence;

No; we come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of him who loved us. For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven: 

A time for giving birth, 
a time for dying; 
a time for planting, 
a time for uprooting what has been planted. 
A time for killing, 
a time for healing; 
a time for knocking down, 
a time for building. 
A time for tears, 
a time for laughter; 
a time for mourning, 
a time for dancing. 
A time for throwing stones away, 
a time for gathering them; 
a time for embracing, 
a time to refrain from embracing. 
A time for searching, 
a time for losing; 
a time for keeping, 
a time for discarding. 
A time for tearing, 
a time for sewing; 
a time for keeping silent, 
a time for speaking. 
A time for loving, 
a time for hating; 
a time for war, 
a time for peace. 

    What do people gain from the efforts they make? I contemplate the task that God gives humanity to labour at. All that he does is apt for its time; but although he has given us an awareness of the passage of time, we can grasp neither the beginning nor the end of what God does.

Excerpt from Priestly Newsletter 1998 - ISSUE FOUR

    Shortly before he was to die from cancer, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin left us these inspiring words about peace: "It is the first day of November, and fall is giving way to winter. Soon the trees will lose the vibrant colors of their leaves and snow will cover the ground. The earth will shut down, and people will race to and from their destinations bundled up for warmth. Chicago winters are harsh. It is a time of dying.

    "But we know that spring will soon come with all its new life and wonder.

    "It is quite clear that I will not be alive in the spring. But I will soon experience new life in a different way...

    "What I would like to leave behind is a simple prayer that each of you may find what I have found—God's special gift to us all: the gift of peace. When we are at peace, we find the freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go of what is non-essential and embrace what is essential. We empty ourselves so that God may more fully work within us. And we become instruments in the hands of the Lord."³

---

Notes:

3. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace, Loyola University Press, pp. 151-153.
    

end of excerpt from Priestly Newsletter 1998 - ISSUE FOUR

                PESSIMISM        or        OPTIMISM

                            must be in balance

                Do not give into feelings
                We can feel afraid and still
                    accomplish a great feat.

                We may be too critical of ourselves —
                    We tolerate others mistakes
                    We don't tolerate our own
                        imperfections many times
                    We are imperfect
                    We must learn to discipline
                        ourselves.

                Many times we are filled with anger
                    at something some one does —
                    it can be a habitual offense
                    and they have deeply wounded us —

                Or it may be we are reacting from
                    hurt inside of us and they
                    didn't do much.

                Identify what they are really doing —
                    have women/men of the past
                    done much worse things to
                    us —
                    are they really responsible for
                        making me that angry or
                        am I angry and tense inside
                        and their little offence
                        jolted the big pot of anger
                        inside of me

                Do I act out my feelings?

                    Do I passively-aggressively provoke
                        others to make them angry
                        and act out my angry
                        disposition —
                        then I walk away and
                        I am relieved they are screaming
                            for me

                Allow yourself to grieve
                   (1) over somebody's death
                        you won't see them again
                        you won't talk to them like
                            you used to
                        you can cry
                        you can miss them

                    (2) over people that betrayed you
                    (3) over people that moved
                    (4) over children growing up
                    (5) over a lost job
                    (6) over getting older - slower etc.

                Be grateful

                    (1) If you are Catholic
                    (2) For friends you trust
                    (3) For your life
                    (4) For your family and friends

                Let go of someone who offended
                    you
                    (1) In a divorce
                    (2) In a job
                    (3) people who betrayed you

                See how you learned through
                    suffering you had to work
                    through, loss of loved
                    ones.

                Write to Jesus
                    tell Him your feelings
                    tell Him you love Him
                    ask for grace —
                    Don't write hate letters —
                        making up untruths
                        about another
                    Tell the truth
                    Write to go to another better place

                    Pray for yourself and others

                    Anger from the past — that is stuffed,
                that has settled in hurts ourselves
                and those around us —

                    We can be like a spray can of
                anger from generations past —

                    Our dad may have been hot tempered
                and sprayed his anger on us — We can
                have generations of pent up anger and
                we can spray it on others —
                Angry parents can make angry children —

                Critical parents can make critical
                    children

                Pessimistic parents can teach
                    pessimism to children

                Getting old may be hard to do
                Getting old may be a joy

                How do we handle things —
                Are we a light
                Do we want someone to make us
                    happy and we get mad if
                    they don't cater to us

                Trust is important in relationships
                Trust and love

                Not hurting others
                    provoking others
                    for control

                God gives us a free will —
                How come you have to control —
                A person in a religious vocation
                    chooses to obey
                Children are to obey their parents —
                Priests obey the pope

                Every one is to seek God's will —
                    follow God's will and
                    act in love —

                Angry people many times are
                    ready to spray their
                    anger on others

                A person who is passive-aggressive —
                    stalling and provoking is
                    very unkind to do these things

                People who are angry have problems —
                    getting close —
                    hidden rage —
                    they are sealed up like a rock and
                    project their anger on others
                    and try to provoke them.

                A person who is bitter from childhood
                A person who is bitter from divorce
                cannot get close —
                they close off their heart

                NO CONNECTION IN THE HEART

                JUST THINKING

                Some people are so hurt in childhood
                    or in a relationship they decide
                    they will never get close again —

                This includes a block of intimacy
                    with Jesus

                People who are bitter
                    NEED TO FORGIVE
                    AT THE CORE of the
                    UNFORGIVENESS
                    x-wife     x-husband
                    betrayed
                    mom      dad

                People who are closed — push
                    other people away —
                    they don't want to get close

                Many times people have such negative
                    tapes in their heads — they don't
                    even hear how many times others
                    around them compliment them —

                They are negative
                    and they paint a negative picture
                        in their head
                    they can be pessimistic most
                        of the time

                Happiness is an inside job
                God's grace can help heal our
                    wounds

                God's Blue Book is the Mighty Medicine

                People who are negative many times
                    don't even hear and see
                    good things said to them.

                They choose their dark world.

                Anger makes a person see as in
                    a thick milk glass —
                    they may not see much.

                Angry people act selfish and
                    can manipulate through
                    passive-aggressive ways
                    provoking others and
                    sucking the life from others,
                    from the party —

                Sometimes they want everybody miserable and tense —
                    they want everybody to go home mad

                Anger can be a cover-up for guilt
                    and lies - deception

                Purity is the best medicine inside

                Anger can lead to addictions
                    controlling others
                    passive-aggressive
                    tension
                    fighting over nothing
                    fighting innocent others to
                        be right

                If we stay angry - we don't
                    feel good

                People who are angry day after
                    day - won't wake up some day
                    happy

                They teach themselves habits of hate —
                They teach themselves habits of anger
                They teach themselves habit of depression

                Anger stops us from growing
                Anger can hurt our health

                It is a choice to let go of anger

                Why do you fall in the same hole
                    every day?

                Sufferings can lead to greater
                    life — teach us mighty
                    lessons about life

                See the successes
                Put into perspective the imperfection
                Want to be as God wants

                The greatest commandment is

                Do loving actions

                Jesus was
                        kind
                        compassionate
                        forgiving
                        pure
                        patient
                        peaceful

                Don't think in absolutes —
                        all black
                        all white
                        be realistic
                        Look for the way to do what
                            God wants

                Be people of hope

                Watch how angry you are inside!

                Hidden stuffed anger - that
                    rages and is used to provoke
                    and control others is
                    so deceptive and worse
                    than straight out anger

Philippians 4: 10

There is nothing I cannot do in the One who strengthens me.

                I must think of winning
                Thank God for the mind to do His work!
                I believe we can win.
                I have hope.
                I believe God will help me by
                    making a way for me.

 for nothing is impossible to God.'

                Let go of anxiety
                Breathe in Jesus - out worry.

                God is filling me with His peace.
                God is healing me now.
                God is with me.
                God loves me so much.
                Jesus is my best friend.
                God the Holy Spirit fill me.

                Put everything in God's hands.
                Believe in God.
                God is with me.
                God is real.

                Wait for God's answer — don't
                    force things for a wrong solution

                Pray, Pray, Pray

                Song: Answer When I Call

Isaiah 9: 2

Isaiah 60: 19

Matthew 5: 22

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.

Ephesians 4: 26

Ephesians 4: 31

Any bitterness or bad temper or anger or shouting or abuse must be far removed from you—as must every kind of malice.

 

 

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