R. Even now I find a way.
God gives a special blessing when
we obey Him.
Things work out when we serve the Lord.
Blessings are given to those who put God first to accomplish what He
wants of us.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
Is Jesus first in our life?
How is faith?
If we see it’s a sure thing it doesn’t take faith.
Love reaches out to others, gives
and keeps on giving to those it touches. The source of love is God. It
is beyond. It is above. It is a powerful force.
Love gives for the honor and glory
of God, love puts God first.
Love is like a bubbling brook, it
just keeps going.
God is love, love is not for
momentary pleasure, to manipulate, for power-over.
Love is lasting - it’s growth can grow ever greater into eternity.
Love comes from God dwelling in
the soul within.
Love reaches out to others, for
the good of others according to the will of God. God wants us to have an
intimate, loving relationship with him.
Cling to Me - May 13,1993
Jesus: 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.
R. Love is sensitive to
others’ needs in helping them to be more and more as God wants them to
be in the uniqueness He wants in their lives - helping to build the
Kingdom of God, helping in the work of redemption.
Prayer is love.
God has called us in Shepherds of
Christ to pray for the priests, the Church and the world.
The greatest gift we can give is
ourselves, giving ourselves selflessly to God in love, in obedience to
the Heavenly Father’s will.
We give great love and honor and
praise to God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We adore You, Oh God, and we love
You. Thank You for the Church and the Sacraments!!!
Gratitude, we are so thankful, dear God,
for all Your gifts to us. We love You, with our whole heart, our whole
soul and our whole being.
Where are you going? If God calls
you, what good does it do, to do something else?
God wants intimacy with us, oneness in our heart.
Think of John Paul II, he said “yes” to his calling from God.
Peter was not perfect, but he
loved God and he said ”yes” despite his weaknesses.
Bend the stubborn heart and will,
melt the frozen, warm the chill, putty in the hands of God.
Song: God’s Love
R. Think of those chosen,
righteous men,
The men who helped to make things as God wanted.
They went from their comfort zone to follow Jesus as God called them.
Open your hearts. Open the doors that are barred in selfishness.
Obedience to God’s will.
The mountains we must climb in
life can be rough terrain, but God holds our hands as we climb, in
courage, and surrender to Him.
At the top of the mountain, Oh the view!!
We would have missed those heights if we ignored the calling.
God wants us to know oneness with
Him in our unique vocation.
Nobody can say “yes” for us - we walk by faith in Him.
Dear God, increase our faith, we
pray.
What lasts is love.
Love goes on in the hearts of the
generation we loved.
Balance.
Teaching the disciplined life.
Obedience to Authority.
Gratitude.
A good work ethic.
Laughter.
Friends and family.
Loving one another.
How do we treat life?
Decide to be grateful for the days
you have left.
Every day is a gift from God to
promote the language of love, to give to others the love God wants us to
share.
Every day is a gift to be one with
God. I am an instrument in spreading the Kingdom of God.
Balance.
Discipline.
Respect for Authority.
Responsible.
Accountable.
Thanks to Jesus.
Joyful
Mysteries
The Annunciation
1. Luke 1: 26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by
God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin
betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the
virgin’s name was Mary. He went in and said to her,
‘Rejoice, you who enjoy God’s favour! The Lord is with you.’ She
was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this
greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, ‘Mary,
do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Look! You
are to conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you must name him
Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the
Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor
David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and
his reign will have no end.’ Mary said to the angel,
‘But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?’ The
angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child
will be holy and will be called Son of God. And I tell
you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has
conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her
sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God.’ Mary
said, ‘You see before you the Lord’s servant, let it happen to
me as you have said.’ And the angel left her.
2. Mary said Yes. She was ready to
do whatever God asked of her.
3. Mary was willing, Mary was
waiting!!
Mary did not have an agenda - she loved the Father’s will.
4. Mary is the perfect handmaid of
the Lord.
5. Mary is the New Eve.
Eve disobeyed God’s will.
6. Mary perfectly obeyed the
Father’s will.
7. Mary was conceived without
sin.
8. God wants us to model our life
after Mary.
9. We can say “yes” to God’s will
or we can do our own agenda.
10. Does it matter if God asks us
to carry a pebble or a boulder?
The Visitation
1.
Luke 1: 46-55
And Mary said:
My soul proclaims
the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit
rejoices
in God my Saviour;
because he has looked upon
the humiliation of his servant.
Yes, from now onwards
all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty
has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his faithful love extends age after age
to those who fear him.
He has used the power of his arm,
he has routed the arrogant of heart.
He has pulled down princes
from their thrones
and raised high the lowly.
He has filled the starving with good things,
sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the help
of Israel his servant,
mindful of his faithful love
—according to the promise
he made to our ancestors—
of his mercy to Abraham
and to his descendants for ever.
2. Elizabeth, thought barren,
conceived John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, in her old age.
3. Mary went to help Elizabeth.
4. Filled with the Holy Spirit,
Mary proclaimed the Magnificat.
5. All things are possible with
God!!!
6. The child in Elizabeth’s womb
leapt for joy.
7. Mary stayed with Elizabeth
about 3 months.
8. Zachariah doubted, he was
struck dumb.
9. Mary proclaimed the beautiful
Magnificat, she was humble, faith filled in love and obedience.
10. Sing: See the Eyes that
Look at Mary
The Birth of Jesus
1. Luke 2:1-7
Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus
issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited
world. This census—the first—took place while
Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to be
registered, each to his own town. So Joseph set out from
the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David’s town called
Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in
order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was
with child. Now it happened that, while they were there,
the time came for her to have her child, and she gave
birth to a son, her first–born. She wrapped him in swaddling
clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them
in the living–space.
2. Jesus didn’t come high and
mighty He came a little baby.
3. There was not room for Jesus in
the Inn, He was born in a stable in Bethlehem.
4. Jesus was born amongst the
beasts of the Earth.
5. The Shepherds came to see
Jesus, Jesus is the Good Shepherd…
The Good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep.
6. Jesus was born in a feeding
trowel.
7. Jesus is the Word.
8. Jesus is truly present in the
Eucharist, body, blood, soul and Divinity.
9. The Bread of Life is the Word
and the Eucharist.
10. In Baptism we receive a
sharing in Divine life, we are fed with the Bread of Life.
The Presentation in the Temple
1. Luke 2: 25-35
Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He
was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to the restoration
of Israel and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to
him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set
eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to
the Temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do
for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed
God; and he said:
Now, Master, you are letting
your servant go in peace
as you promised;
for my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have made ready
in the sight of the
nations;
a light of revelation for the gentiles
and glory for your people Israel.
As the child’s father and mother were wondering
at the things that were being said about him, Simeon
blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Look, he is destined
for the fall and for the rise of many in Israel, destined to be a
sign that is opposed—and
a sword will pierce your soul too — so that the secret thoughts of
many may be laid bare.'
2. Sing: Little Baby Hands and
Feet
3. The Seven Sorrows of the
Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995
1. The Prophecy of Simeon
Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus went to the temple. Simeon, the prophet,
inspired by the Holy Spirit, met them and told Joseph and Mary of the great
sufferings of Jesus and Mary. He told Mary that a sword would pierce her
heart. From that point on, Mary ever remembered the prophecy of Simeon
whenever she beheld her child. When she looked at His little body, even as
an infant, she knew He would suffer. Every time she clothed Him and watched
Him at play, her heart was torn in her chest as she knew what He would
suffer. And a sword,
too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!
4. The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed
Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995 continues
2. The Flight into Egypt
Joseph was told by the angel to flee. Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus had
to flee because of what might happen to Jesus. They had to pack for a long
stay. The child Jesus was so small! They left on their journey, hearts full
of fear, trying to protect Jesus. They were forced to flee into Egypt.
5. The Seven Sorrows of
the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995 continues
3. Jesus Is Lost, In the Temple
Imagine the sufferings in Mary's heart when she realized the child Jesus was
not with them. Think of how it would be to lose your child and not know
where he was or if anything happened to him. With sorrow in their hearts,
Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem to look for the child Jesus. And a
sword, too, shall pierce your heart, O Mary!
6. The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed
Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995 continues
4. Jesus Carries His Cross
Song: See the eyes that look at Mary, her tender infant child. See
the child's Heart beat so tenderly, the Savior of the world!
See the eyes of Jesus and Mary as they met on Calvary. Mary's Heart knew
Jesus' Heart so well! From the first moment of conception and throughout His
life, Mary was so connected with Jesus and now she peered into His eyes. The
crown of thorns adorned His Head! Blood ran down His face! A heavy cross on
His back! Wounded, His whole body covered with bleeding wounds! And her
whole life flashed before her, the life that she had spent with Jesus. This
was the beloved child that she had held in her arms when Simeon told Mary
that 'a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!'
7.
The Seven Sorrows of the
Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995 continues
5. Jesus
Dies on the Cross
Mary stood under Jesus' cross as He was put to death. The child that she
had held in her arms as Simeon prophesied, And a sword, too, shall pierce
your Heart, O Mary! Now Jesus is dead on the cross! He gave His flesh, He
gave His blood so that we might be with Him forever in heaven. He held not
back. He gave His all. He calls out to us this day to see through the eyes
of His mother as she appears and calls out with a Heart of great love,
"Return to the love of my Son! He is with you this day. He remains with
you, no less present than the day that He hung on the cross, in the
Eucharist. He longs for you to come and be with Him. He is in your brother.
How can you not love your brother when Jesus died for your brother?"
Her Heart was pierced with a sword. His Heart was pierced with a lance. What
came forth was blood and water, the sacramental life of the church. He lives
with us this day in the Church. He gives to us His sacraments, the source of
His life! He gives to us the Sacrament of Penance whereby any sin that we
commit can be taken away through the priest. He wants us to be so close to
Him! He gives us everything to be close to Him. But we see with such limited
vision only those things that are right before our face, when the true
reality is that which we don't see with our eyes, the reality of the
invisible divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in the consecrated Host!
This is reality! This is our life! This is our power! This is God! And a
sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O Mary!
8. The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed
Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995 continues
6. Jesus Is Taken Down from the
Cross
If we ever doubted for one second that we were loved, we could visualize the
picture of Mary as she sat beneath the cross with the lifeless, battered,
bruised and bloodied body of her Son in her arms, the same child that she
held when Simeon prophesied her suffering. He gave His last breath. He gave
the last beat of His Heart. He gave His all! This is the way He complied
with the Will of the Father. He came to show us the way. He died in perfect
peace. To His death He was in peace because He knew the Father's love. The
Father loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son for love of us!
The Spirit descended upon the Virgin Mary and the Word was made flesh! The
love of the Two Hearts! Such immense love beating for us!
In all love there is suffering. Her Heart was pierced with a sword. His
Heart was pierced with a lance. And a sword, too, shall pierce your Heart, O
Mary!
9. The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary - February 22, 1995
continues
7. Jesus
Is Locked in the Tomb
And now Jesus, His body lifeless, is locked in a tomb! What cold reality
for Mary to realize that His body is now gone! A stone separated her from
her Son!
He gave His last breath! He gave the last beat of His Heart for love of each
one of us! And she comes to us this day with her sweet, beautiful voice and
she asks us to go to her Son and love Him! How can we refuse Jesus who
spread His arms and gave His life for each and every one of us? How can we
not trust Him when He loved us so much that He allowed them to tear His
flesh, to crown Him with piercing thorns and, lastly, to hang Him on a
cross? He truly gave His life for us! He, truly God, is with us this day,
the same as the day He died on the cross, in the tabernacle! And we take it
so lightly! Death has no power over Him! Locked in the tomb for three days,
He rose triumphant on the third day as He had foretold. He comes to give us
life. He gives us the sacrament of Baptism that initiates us into His life,
that makes us children of God and heirs of heaven if we remain in the state
of grace. He asks two things: love of God and love of one another! He came
to show us the way and His way is love. To His death on the cross He loved
each one of us! He calls out to each one of us here today to be His
soldiers, to march on a world that has forgotten God, that has forgotten
what it is like to love! It is a battle to live in this world. But the
battle is won with hearts that are filled with His love, empowered by the
grace and might that He pours out in the Eucharist. He calls out for us to
come to the Eucharist and to the tabernacle and be fed with His very flesh
and blood. To feed on Divine Life, the greatest nourishment, the Body and
Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God! This is the love He gives. This is
the love He asks us to share.
10. Seven Hail Marys in honor of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.
Mary has promised very special graces to those who do this on a daily basis.
Included in the promises of Our Lady for those who practice this devotion
is her pledge to give special assistance at the hour of death, including
the sight of her face.
The Finding in the Temple
1. Luke 2: 41-52
Every year his parents used to go to Jerusalem for
the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went
up for the feast as usual. When the days of the feast were over and
they set off home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without
his parents knowing it. They assumed he was somewhere in the party,
and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for
him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to
find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.
It happened that, three days
later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers,
listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who
heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They
were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My
child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and
I have been, looking for you.’ He replied, ‘Why were you looking
for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’
But they did not understand what he meant. He went down with them
then and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His
mother stored up all these things in her heart. And
Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favour with God and
with people.
2. Many of Mary’s children are
lost today.
3. Mary’s Message - from the
Rosary of August 27, 1996
Mary:
I stood beneath the cross of my Son, and my Heart was in such pain for I
saw Him before my eyes. I saw Him covered with blood. I saw Him die. My
Heart, my children, my Heart to watch my Son, but my Heart, my Heart, how I
suffered for my little children of the world that give in to this world and
give up the love of my Son. O my little children of light, I give you this
message. Carry this light into the darkness for your Mother Mary, for I
stood beneath the cross and I cried. I cried for the little ones. I cried
for the young ones, the ones that do not care and will lose their souls. How
do I make you see for you will not listen to me? What can I do? I come. I
appear. I beg. I plead. I give you these gifts from my Son, and you reject
me. I do not deliver messages very often anymore for I have been ignored.
The message is the same. You do not read the messages I have given to you.
Please help me. Help the little children. I appear. I appear. I appear, and
I am ignored. I stood beneath the cross, and I cried. I cried, and my Heart
was in such anguish for my little children, for I am searching for them this
day as I searched for the Child Jesus. Please, please help me. I cannot hold
back the hand of my Son any longer. I am Mary, your Mother. I ask you to
help my children. You are my children of light.
end of Mary's Message
4. Prayer is love!!!
5. We pray for the priests, the
Church and the world.
6. From Tell My People
by Fr. Edward J. Carter,
S.J.
The Holy Spirit
Jesus: "My beloved friend, tell My people to pray daily to
the Holy Spirit. They are to pray for an increase in His gifts. My people
must realize that the Holy Spirit comes to transform them. The Spirit
desires to transform you more and more according to My image. Those who are
docile to His touch become increasingly shaped in My likeness. He performs
this marvel within Mary's Immaculate Heart. The more one dwells in My
Mother's Heart, the more active are the workings of the Spirit. The Spirit
leads Mary to place you within My own Heart. In both Our Hearts, then, your
transformation continues. The more you are formed after My own Heart, the
more I lead you to the bosom of My Father. Tell My people all this. Tell
them to pray daily for a greater appreciation of these wondrous gifts. I am
Lord and Master. All who come to My Heart will be on fire to receive the
gifts of the Spirit in ever greater measure! I love and bless My
people!"
Reflection: The Holy Spirit is given to us to fashion us ever
more according to the likeness of Jesus. And the more we are like Jesus,
the more Jesus leads us to the Father. Do we, each day, pray to the Holy
Spirit to be more open to His transforming influence? Do we strive each
day to grow in union with Mary? The greater our union with our Mother,
the spouse of the Holy Spirit, the greater is the transforming action of
the Holy Spirit within us.
Prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill us with your gifts of wisdom, understanding,
knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. As we dwell in
the Heart of Mary, Your spouse, fashion us more and more according to the
Heart of Jesus. end of excerpt
7. Promises of Our Lord to His
Sacred Heart from St. Margaret Mary
(these should be read by the prayer leader):
(1) I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
(2) I will establish peace in their homes.
(3) I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
(4) I will be their refuge during life and above all in death.
(5) I will bestow a large blessing on all their undertakings.
(6) Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean
of mercy.
(7) Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
(8) Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
(9) I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set
up and honored.
(10) I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
(11) Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written
in My Heart, never to be blotted out.
(12) I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful
love will grant to all those who communicate on the first Friday in nine
consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in
My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My divine Heart shall
be their safe refuge in this last moment.
8. Consecration to Jesus and
Mary
9. Jesus lived the quiet life from
this, until His public ministry.
10. May 5, 1995
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© 2021 Shepherds of Christ.