Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing        

October 7, 2015 - Feast of the Holy Rosary

October 8th Holy Spirit Novena
 Scripture selection is Day 4 Period I.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries 
for October 8th are Luminous.

 

China Retreat: October 10th thru the 13th
Masses at Noon on the 10th, 12th & 13th 

 

Pray for special intentions.

Pray for Dan & Melanie, Jimmy,
Fr. Joe, Sonny & family, Blue Book 16.

Please pray for funds & grace.

   

                  

Blue Book 15 Available
Introductory Price $5.00 plus postage

 

 

  October 7, 2015

  Happy Feast of the Holy Rosary!
 

            

           

           

               

 

Fr. Carter’s Books

       

       


Fr. Joe’s Books

              


           

 

 

 

                Given September 22, 2015

1 Peter 2: 5, 9

so that you, too, may be living stones making a spiritual house as a holy priesthood to offer the spiritual sacrifices made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

    But you are a chosen race, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, a people to be a personal possession to sing the praises of God who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

 

Revelation 1: 6

and made us a Kingdom of Priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Revelation 5: 10

and made them a line of kings and priests for God,
to rule the world.

 

                R. Focus on Jesus

                    The eyes of a child are on their
                parents. They come into the world
                and they keep that closeness to their
                parents. They are learning about life.
                They know they are dependent on the
                parents. They don't want the mother to
                leave them many times – they know
                they need their mother.

                    The child is separate from the mother,
                but they may be nursing and they
                rely – still – on the mother to drink
                milk. The child cannot survive without
                a care giver.

                    Once a child begins walking – they may
                waddle about and not even think of
                steps – going down and fall right down
                the steps if they are not gated –

                    A child begins to eat and can eat
                anything, small toys, marbles,
                nuts on the floor, the dog's bone –
                A child is learning about putting
                things in their mouth. The child
                must be cared for –

                    The child is on a journey to explore
                the world – to learn about the world –
                the child's brain is not all developed
                yet - nor are the motor skills etc. –

                    I think it's exciting for a child to
                receive baptism – especially as a baby –
                they receive a sharing in Divine life –
                Their knowing and loving capacity is elevated –
                They are on their way of growing spiritually.
                They have their whole life to learn to
                trust and love and get along with
                others – to love God, to grow – to
                know about dependence on God,
                to know about brothers and sisters
                and relationships – love relationships –

                    Parents come in all different types
                to teach children and children are
                vulnerable. We all have many imperfections,
                but we can see character traits,
                habits that differ in each of us
                because we were created with a
                purpose from God. We were given
                talents to contribute to His Plan –
                We can be developing like the baby
                does – being in the right place,
                receiving the right guidance etc. –

                    The Holy Spirit is God – He wants to guide
                and counsel us about the Divine God –
                Baptism gives us so many gifts –

                    We can see how Adam and Eve were
                prideful and ignored the gifts that
                they were given and disobeyed God.
                We see the results because sin
                entered the world – A baby walking
                by the steps will go right down –
                the parents need to care for them –

                    We see that the world was created
                in harmony and peace and was
                serene, in order

                    And because of the sin of Adam
                and Eve – there was disorder –
                even in the elements – storms,
                hurricanes etc. –

                Disorder in the wounded human nature –
                Disorder in animals –
                Disorder from God's Plan –

                God gives us perfect order –

                Man sins –

                Man can make his own problems
                    like a willful person – just
                    rebelling against a just and
                    loving God –

                Pride is a deadly sin –
                Anger is a deadly sin –
                Jealousy is a deadly sin –
                Envy is a deadly sin –

                    A man can be sitting still and a big
                storm can come up and take down
                his house

                A bear come and attack a man –

                People act in evil ways hurting
                    their brothers –

                We are here to live in God – living,
                    tasting, growing –

                A baby learns to walk by walking –
                Not by parents telling them about legs –

                A baby eats food and knows what
                    they like –

                A parent doesn't read a book
                    and tell them about food –

                    God has given us life to live – Food
                to eat – the Sacraments to live –
                Not a Scholar's approach –

                We are to live the Gospel –

                Did you read the Reading's from Sunday?
   

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

   Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20

Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us 
and opposes our way of life, 
reproaches us for our sins against the Law, 
and accuses us of sins against our upbringing. 

Let us see if what he says is true, 
and test him to see what sort of end he will have. 
For if the upright man is God’s son, God will help him 
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies. 
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, 
and thus explore this gentleness of his 
and put his patience to the test. 
Let us condemn him to a shameful death 
since God will rescue him—or so he claims.’

 

Psalm 54: 3-7

Arrogant men are attacking me,
bullies hounding me to death,
no room in their thoughts for God.    Pause

But now God is coming to my help,
the Lord, among those who sustain me.
May their wickedness recoil on those who lie in wait for me.
Yahweh, in your constancy destroy them.

How gladly will I offer you sacrifice,
and praise your name, for it is good,
for it has rescued me from all my troubles,
and my eye has feasted on my enemies.

 

James 3: 16 - 4: 3

Wherever there are jealousy and ambition, there are also disharmony and wickedness of every kind; whereas the wisdom that comes down from above is essentially something pure; it is also peaceable, kindly and considerate; it is full of mercy and shows itself by doing good; nor is there any trace of partiality or hypocrisy in it. The peace sown by peacemakers brings a harvest of justice.

Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Is it not precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you lack it; so you kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. It is because you do not pray that you do not receive; when you do pray and do not receive, it is because you prayed wrongly, wanting to indulge your passions. 

 

Mark 9: 30-37

After leaving that place they made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know, because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, 'The Son of man will be delivered into the power of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.' But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.

Who is the greatest?

They came to Capernaum, and when he got into the house he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?' They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.' He then took a little child whom he set among them and embraced, and he said to them, 'Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me.'

  

                R. When we are so one in God and
                living the Plan of the Divine
                Creator – what can compare to
                this –

                Our life is full of unknowns –
                We need the Holy Spirit to teach us about
                "God-things". We need to know by
                living in Him –

                God gives us faith, hope and love
                in baptism –

                God elevated our knowing and loving
                    capacity – it is a capacity
                    that we need God's grace to be
                    more and more like Him –
                    living in Him –
                    knowing Him –
                    learning about relationships
                        and love –

                We know God because of intimate
                union with God – because of
                relationship with God –

                We need the gifts of the Holy Spirit –
                    Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel,
                    Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety
                    and Fear of the Lord 

 

 

                R. If we are in control in our lives and
                close the door to the Holy Spirit – we
                get ourselves running our life –

                I am grateful for the windows in
                Florida –

                Mary appeared on the window and
                her rainbow reflected on the
                dirty black pavement below –
                The sun would shine on the
                image and the beauty of its
                reflection - transformed the
                ugly - used black-top below –

                    Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit
                and gave us the Magnificaat

  

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.

 

                R. I love meditating on the Joyful
                Mysteries of the rosary –
                We see the Call of God to Mary
                in the Annunciation and we see
                her response

                She said "Yes"

                Mary loved the Father's will –

                Mary - the perfect handmaid of
                    the Lord –

                A handmaid is a servant –

                One who knows their place under
                    God –

                Mary showed us - she lived
                    her whole life –
                    serving God –

                She was as she said in the
                    Magnificat –

  

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.

  

                R. Love is such a gift – God is love
                and if we are to be likened to God
                we must love – love is a theological
                virtue – so God gives us the grace
                and we respond in love to God's
                gift –

                    Love is the richest gift – We
                are more and more like God the
                more we love –

                Constant prayer

 

Ephesians 5: 18-24

Do not get drunk with wine; this is simply dissipation; be filled with the Spirit. Sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs among yourselves, singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts, always and everywhere giving thanks to God who is our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The morals of the home

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subject to their husbands as to the Lord, since, as Christ is head of the Church, and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church is subject to Christ, so should wives be to their husbands, in everything.

 

Ephesians 5: 10-17

Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, take no part in the futile works of darkness but, on the contrary, show them up for what they are. The things which are done in secret are shameful even to speak of; but anything shown up by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated is itself a light. That is why it is said:

    Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.

    So be very careful about the sort of lives you lead, like intelligent and not like senseless people. Make the best of the present time, for it is a wicked age. This is why you must not be thoughtless but must recognise what is the will of the Lord.

 

1 John 1: 1-10 

Something which has existed
   since the beginning,
which we have heard,
which we have seen with our own eyes,
which we have watched
and touched with our own hands,
the Word of life-
this is our theme.
That life was made visible;
we saw it and are giving our testimony,
declaring to you the eternal life,
which was present to the Father
and has been revealed to us.
We are declaring to you
what we have seen and heard,
so that you too may share our life.
Our life is shared with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.
We are writing this to you
   so that our joy may be complete.

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

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

                Song: God's Love

 

22 Years Ago

Picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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.

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

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

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

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

end of May 13, 1993

   

Excerpt from Response to God's Love by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.

    ... 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.   end of excerpt

   

                R. The gift of loving God means we
                    love God in Himself –

                Loving others teaches us about
                    loving God –

                When I really love someone, I need
                    no reason why I love –
                    I seek the good of the other –
                    I want to give to the other –
                    I love them –

                Loving God is deep in the heart –
                    I want to give to God –
                    My heart wants Him so
                        much –
                    I want this relationship
                        with God, I seek Him,
                        I know I will not rest –
                        only in Him –

                Song: I Love You Jesus


 

                R. Jesus came a baby in poverty
                    in a stable –

                He came – He took flesh –
                    He gave –

                He – the Son of God –
                    took on a little baby
                    body and came into
                    the world –
                    to teach us about
                    love –

                The Presentation in the Temple –

                    Simeon prophesized to
                        Them –

                    He told Mary a sword would
                        pierce her heart

 


 

THE SEVEN SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
AT A SHEPHERDS OF CHRIST MEETING

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!

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.

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!

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!'

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!

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!

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.

                end of excerpt

  

                R. Suffering is redemptive

                    How can a man think he lives
                at all and not be in touch
                with his heart – his interior
                life –

                The connection – the union we
                were created for – to love God
                and others is in the heart –
                    to know –
                    to love –
                    to experience –
                    to feel deeply God's presence
                        with us –

                    IN HIM –

                There is life – IN HIM –

                    We know why we love – We know
                God is and we love Him – So much!
                We see through the eyes of the Father –
                We see through the eyes of God –
                We see things from the Divine –
                We see things from above –

   

Colossians 3: 1-4

Since you have been raised up to be with Christ, you must look for the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed-and he is your life-you, too, will be revealed with him in glory.

    

                R. We know more and more the wisdom
                    of God – The Holy Spirit enlightens
                    our mind – to know God
                    deeply, interiorly – more and more –

                    We see from the highest, heights,
                but we must be loving – We unite
                to God in that we are loving –
                God is love – We are one with
                God – one in the Holy Spirit –

                    The Holy Spirit is in us –

                    The Holy Spirit guides us, counsels us,
                is alive in us.

                    We are not cold
                    We are not lifeless

                    We are on fire for love of
                        God and others –

                God's love is a fire –

                It's not a flame that is a "dud"

                Did you ever see a "dud" flame?

                Did you ever see a man
                    rigid, controlled, outside
                    his heart –

                The heart gives the body life!

                The rigid man is stiff –
                    stiff-necked –
                    a board up his back –

                The man of joy is the man who
                    is possessed by God!

                Song: Glory, Glory, Glory Lord

                Song: A Song from Jesus

                Song: Your Presence Pervades My Soul

                Song: Give Me Your Heart, Oh Jesus

                R. Love, Love, Love –

                God is love –

                Think of Jesus Lost in the Temple –
     

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

 

Jeremiah 8: 4-9

'You are to tell them, "Yahweh says this: If someone falls, can he not stand up again? If people stray, can they not turn back? Why does this people persist in acts of infidelity, why does Jerusalem persist in continuous infidelity? They cling to illusion, they refuse to turn back. I have listened attentively: they have never said anything like that. Not one repents of wickedness saying: What have I done? Each one keeps returning to the course like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows the appropriate season; turtledove, swallow and crane observe their time of migration. But my people do not know Yahweh's laws!" 'How can you say, 'We are wise, since we have Yahweh's Law?'

Look how it has been falsified by the lying pen of the scribes! The wise are put to shame, alarmed, caught out because they have rejected Yahweh's word. What price their wisdom now?

 

Jeremiah 9: 22-23

Yahweh says this, 'Let the sage not boast of wisdom, nor the valiant of valour, nor the wealthy of riches! But let anyone who wants to boast, boast of this: of understanding and knowing me. For I am Yahweh, who acts with faithful love, justice, and uprightness on earth; yes, these are what please me,' Yahweh declares.

    

John 1: 14

The Word became flesh,
he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that he has from the Father
    as only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.

 

                R. Wisdom is not cold and
                    lifeless –

                Wisdom is a fire of love
                    burning in man's soul –
                    burning in love of God and man!

                Wisdom brings to the heart –
                    the light of God –
                    the rays of the sun –
 

Excerpt from the Spirituality of Fatima

by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.
 

October 13, 1917

    On October 13, 1917, there were more than 70,000 people gathered in the Cova da Iria in Fatima, Portugal. They had come to observe a miracle which had been foretold by the Blessed Virgin to three young visionaries: Lucia dos Santos, and her two cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto. (1) Shortly after noon, Our Lady appeared to the three visionaries:

    As the Lady was about to leave, she pointed to the sun. Lucy excitedly repeated the gesture, and the people looked into the sky. The rain had ceased, the clouds parted, and the sun shone forth, but not in its usual brilliance. Instead, it appeared like a silver disc, pale as the moon, at which all could gaze without straining their eyes. Suddenly, impelled by some mysterious force, the disc began to whirl in the sky, casting off great shafts of multicolored light. Red, green, blue, yellow, violet—the enormous rays shot across the sky at all angles, lighting up the entire countryside for many miles around, but particularly the upturned faces of those 70,000 spellbound people.

    After a few moments the wonder stopped, but resumed again a second and a third time—three times in all—within about 12 minutes. It seemed that the whole world was on fire, with the sun spinning at a greater speed each time.

    Then a gasp of terror rose from the crowd, for the sun seemed to tear itself from the heavens and come crashing down upon the horrified multitude.... Just when it seemed that the ball of fire would fall upon and destroy them, the miracle ceased, and the sun resumed its normal place in the sky, shining forth as peacefully as ever.

    When the people arose from the ground, cries of astonishment were heard on all sides. Their clothes, which had been soaking wet and muddy, now were clean and dry. Many of the sick and crippled had been cured of their afflictions. (2)

NOTE:

2. For background material on Fatima, I am particularly indebted to 
        Our Lady of Fatima's Peace Plan from Heaven (Rockford: 
        TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1983). pp.7-8.

 
 

24 Years Ago

December 17, 1991Picture of Jesus' Heart on fire.

Jesus: I am Jesus. I have spoken as never before, you will spread My love to all souls on this earth.

His Burning Heart

R. I was alone in All Saints Church after Mass and Communion, in front of the tabernacle, when I saw the Sacred Heart. It was red around the outside, then a layer of yellow and then the brightest light in the center. I felt heat and it looked like an open furnace.

    I thought about it all day and it instantly gave me peace and warmth in my heart. This is the purpose of these letters—to draw hearts to the ardent on-fire love of Jesus. I received the following message that day:

    "Open your heart to the fire of God's love. He is ablaze in your heart. He wants to dwell in you and love you and others through you. Love God, yourself and one another and experience the fire set aglow in your heart and experience the warmth of His love."

end of writing

 

                 R. In faith we see through the
                    eyes of God

                In wisdom we taste the
                    Divine pleasures deeply –

 

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.

 

                R. In love – we go out of ourselves –
                    we go out of our heart to God –
                    to the Beloved –
                    we are carried on the breathe
                        of this love and by the
                        fire of the Spirit of Love –
                        the Holy Spirit –

                Sing: Come Holy Ghost –

                We are a fool for Christ –

                We give ourselves for God –

                We become more and more like
                    Christ –

                We are lifted up to the Beloved –
                We are raised up –
                We love with the heart –
                We love with great perfection –
                We love supernaturally –
                    in God –
                We are one with God –
                Our hearts were made for this!

                The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive
                    to the voice of our supplication –

   

Act of consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

"Lord Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock, I consecrate myself to Your most Sacred Heart. From Your pierced Heart the Church was born, the Church You have called me, as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, to serve in a most special way. You reveal Your Heart as a symbol of Your love in all its aspects, including Your most special love for me, whom You have chosen as Your companion in this most important work. Help me to always love You in return. Help me to give myself entirely to You. Help me always to pour out my life in love of God and neighbor! Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You!

 

Act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

"Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, I consecrate myself to your maternal and Immaculate Heart, this Heart which is symbol of your life of love. You are the Mother of my Savior. You are also my Mother. You love me with a most special love as a member of Shepherds of Christ Associates, a movement created by your Son as a powerful instrument for the renewal of the Church and the world. In a return of love, I give myself entirely to your motherly love and protection. You followed Jesus perfectly. You are His first and perfect disciple. Teach me to imitate you in the putting on of Christ. Be my motherly intercessor so that, through your Immaculate Heart, I may be guided to an ever closer union with the pierced Heart of Jesus, Chief Shepherd of the flock."

   

                R. We want to be deeply delving
                    the mystery of God –

                We seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit

 

Wisdom 3: 1-9

But the souls of the upright are in the hands of God, 
and no torment can touch them. 
To the unenlightened, they appeared to die, 
their departure was regarded as disaster, 
their leaving us like annihilation; 
but they are at peace. 
If, as it seemed to us, they suffered punishment, 
their hope was rich with immortality; 
slight was their correction, great will their blessings be. 
God was putting them to the test 
and has proved them worthy to be with him; 
he has tested them like gold in a furnace, 
and accepted them as a perfect burnt offering. 
At their time of visitation, they will shine out; 
as sparks run through the stubble, so will they. 
They will judge nations, rule over peoples, 
and the Lord will be their king for ever. 
Those who trust in him will understand the truth, 
those who are faithful will live with him in love; 
for grace and mercy await his holy ones, 
and he intervenes on behalf of his chosen.

 



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Holy Spirit Novena

Daily Novena Prayers

Opening Prayer

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus, in union with Him in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the Holy Spirit. We come to You united to the Child Jesus of Good Health and the Infant of Prague. We come to You in the perfect, sinless heart of Our Mother Mary, asking her powerful intercession, uniting ourselves to her holy tears. We come to You united to all the angels and saints, and the souls in purgatory.

Prayer for Holy Spirit

We pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on us, to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, that He will descend mightily on us as He did on the Apostles at Pentecost. That the Holy Spirit will transform us from fear to fearlessness and that He will give us courage to do all the Father is asking of us to help bring about the Reign of the Sacred Heart and the triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart. We pray for the Holy Spirit to descend mightily on the Jesuits and the Poor Clares on the Shepherds of Christ leaders and members and on the whole Body of Christ and the world.

Protection by the Blood of Jesus

We pray that the Blood of Jesus will be spread on us, everyone in our families, and the Shepherds of Christ Movement, that we will be able to move steadfastly ahead and be protected from the evil one.

Healing

We pray for healing in body, mind, and soul and generational healing in ourselves, in all members in our families, and in all members of the Shepherds of Christ Movement, the Jesuit Community, the Poor Clares, the Body of Christ, and the world.

Prayer for Strength and Light

We adore You, oh Holy Spirit. Give us strength, give us light, console us. We give ourselves entirely to You. Oh Spirit of light and grace, we want to only do the will of the Father. Enlighten us that we may live always in the Father's will.

Eternal Spirit fill us with Your Divine Wisdom that we may comprehend more fully insight into Your Divine Mysteries.

Give us lights, Oh Holy Spirit that we may know God. Work within the heart, the spiritual womb of the Virgin Mary, to form us more and more into the image of Jesus.

Prayer to Be One with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit

We long for You, Oh Spirit of Light, we long to know God, we want to be one with Him, our Divine God. We want to be one with the Father, know Him as a Person most intimately. We want to know the beloved One, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and live and dwell in Him at all times, every moment of our lives. We want to be one with You, Oh Spirit of Light, that You move in us in our every breath.

Prayer to Be One in Jesus

Let us experience life in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, so we can say as Saint Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me...." Let us live, united to the Mass, all through the day being one in Him. Let us be able to love and know in this elevated state of oneness with our God. We long for Thee, oh beauteous God, we love You, we love You, we love You. We praise You, worship You, honor You, adore You, and thank You, our beloved God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Prayer to Dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

We seek to be one in God, to live and dwell in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, our little heaven on earth, to experience life in the all perfect, pure, sinless heart of our Mother. We want the Holy Spirit to move in us and to be united to Jesus as the Bridegroom of our souls and be a most perfect sacrifice offered to the Father at every moment as we unite in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass around the world to help in the salvation of souls.

Prayer for the Holy Spirit and His Gifts

Come Holy Spirit, come, come into our hearts, inflame all people with the fire of Your love.

Leader: Send forth Your Spirit and all will be reborn.
All:  And You will renew the face of the earth.

We pray for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, we ask for perfection in our souls to make us holy, holy souls likened to God.

Dear Holy Spirit, we give ourselves to You soul and body. We ask You to give us the Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.

Prayer for the Word Alive in Our Hearts

We know, dear Holy Spirit, the Word in His human nature was brought forth within the womb of the woman. We pray that His word will be brought forth in our hearts as He lives and dwells in us. We want the incarnation to go on in our lives. Dear Holy Spirit, work in us.

Little Prayers to the Holy Spirit

Dear Holy Spirit, help us not to be ignorant or indifferent or weak, help us to be strong with the love of God.

Dear Holy Spirit, please pray for our needs for us.

Dear Holy Spirit, help us to respect God and to avoid sin. Help us to live in the Father's will.

Dear Holy Spirit, help us to keep Your commandments and to respect authority. Help us to love all things as You will us to love them. Help us to want to pray and always serve God with the greatest love. Help us to know the truth. Help us to have the gift of faith, hope, and love. Help us to know what is right and what is wrong.

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.

First Period
Meditations Nine Days

  1. 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.

  2. Romans 8:5-9

    Those who are living by their natural inclinations have their minds on the things human nature desires; those who live in the Spirit have their minds on spiritual things. And human nature has nothing to look forward to but death, while the Spirit looks forward to life and peace, because the outlook of disordered human nature is opposed to God, since it does not submit to God's Law, and indeed it cannot, and those who live by their natural inclinations can never be pleasing to God. You, however, live not by your natural inclinations, but by the Spirit, since the Spirit of God has made a home in you. Indeed, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

  3. 1 John 4:12-16

    No one has ever seen God, but as long as we love one another God remains in us and his love comes to its perfection in us. This is the proof that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us a share in his Spirit. We ourselves have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as Saviour of the world. Anyone who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have recognised for ourselves, and put our faith in, the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.

  4. 1 John 4:17-21

    Love comes to its perfection in us when we can face the Day of Judgement fearlessly, because even in this world we have become as he is. In love there is no room for fear, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear implies punishment and no one who is afraid has come to perfection in love. Let us love, then, because he first loved us. Anyone who says 'I love God' and hates his brother, is a liar, since whoever does not love the brother whom he can see cannot love God whom he has not seen. Indeed this is the commandment we have received from him, that whoever loves God, must also love his brother.

  5. 1 John 4:7-11

    My dear friends, let us love one another, since love is from God and everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever fails to love does not know God, because God is love. This is the revelation of God's love for us, that God sent his only Son into the world that we might have life through him. Love consists in this: it is not we who loved God, but God loved us and sent his Son to expiate our sins. My dear friends, if God loved us so much, we too should love one another.

  6. Acts of the Apostles 1:1-5

    In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. While at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. 'It is', he had said, 'what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but, not many days from now, you are going to be baptised with the Holy Spirit.'

  7. Acts of the Apostles 1:6-9

    Now having met together, they asked him, 'Lord, has the time come for you to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He replied, 'It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive the power of the Holy Spirit which will come on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to earth's remotest end.'

    As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight.

  8. Acts of the Apostles 1:12-14

    So from the Mount of Olives, as it is called, they went back to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a Sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

  9. Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4

    When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves.

Second Period
Meditations Nine Days

  1. John 14:21-31

    Whoever holds to my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me; and whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and reveal myself to him.'

    Judas-not Judas Iscariot-said to him, 'Lord, what has happened, that you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?' Jesus replied:

    Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him. Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me. I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you. Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me say: I am going away and shall return. If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe. I shall not talk to you much longer, because the prince of this world is on his way. He has no power over me, but the world must recognise that I love the Father and that I act just as the Father commanded. Come now, let us go.

  2. John 17:11-26

    I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures. But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full. I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth. I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me.

    Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.

  3. I 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.

  4. Revelation 3:1-3,12,16-19

    'Write to the angel of the church in Sardis and say, "Here is the message of the one who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know about your behaviour: how you are reputed to be alive and yet are dead. Wake up; put some resolve into what little vigour you have left: it is dying fast. So far I have failed to notice anything in your behaviour that my God could possibly call perfect; remember how you first heard the message. Hold on to that. Repent! If you do not wake up, I shall come to you like a thief, and you will have no idea at what hour I shall come upon you.

    Anyone who proves victorious I will make into a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, and it will stay there for ever; I will inscribe on it the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which is coming down from my God in heaven, and my own new name as well.

    '...but since you are neither hot nor cold, but only lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth. You say to yourself: I am rich, I have made a fortune and have everything I want, never realising that you are wretchedly and pitiably poor, and blind and naked too. I warn you, buy from me the gold that has been tested in the fire to make you truly rich, and white robes to clothe you and hide your shameful nakedness, and ointment to put on your eyes to enable you to see. I reprove and train those whom I love: so repent in real earnest.'

  5. Revelation 5:9-14

    They sang a new hymn: You are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals, because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought people for God of every race, language, people and nation and made them a line of kings and priests for God, to rule the world.

    In my vision, I heard the sound of an immense number of angels gathered round the throne and the living creatures and the elders; there were ten thousand times ten thousand of them and thousands upon thousands, loudly chanting:

Worthy is the Lamb that was sacrificed to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honour, glory and blessing.

Then I heard all the living things in creation-everything that lives in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, crying:

To the One seated on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honour, glory and power, for ever and ever.

And the four living creatures said, 'Amen'; and the elders prostrated themselves to worship.

  1. Revelation 7:14-17

    I answered him, 'You can tell me, sir.' Then he said, 'These are the people who have been through the great trial; they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are standing in front of God's throne and serving him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will never hunger or thirst again; sun and scorching wind will never plague them, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.'

  2. Revelation 12:1-8

    Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labour, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth. Then a second sign appeared in the sky: there was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and each of the seven heads crowned with a coronet. Its tail swept a third of the stars from the sky and hurled them to the ground, and the dragon stopped in front of the woman as she was at the point of giving birth, so that it could eat the child as soon as it was born. The woman was delivered of a boy, the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron sceptre, and the child was taken straight up to God and to his throne, while the woman escaped into the desert, where God had prepared a place for her to be looked after for twelve hundred and sixty days.

    And now war broke out in heaven, when Michael with his angels attacked the dragon. The dragon fought back with his angels, but they were defeated and driven out of heaven.

  3. Revelation 14:1-7

    Next in my vision I saw Mount Zion, and standing on it the Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand people, all with his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of the ocean or the roar of thunder; it was like the sound of harpists playing their harps. There before the throne they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four living creatures and the elders, a hymn that could be learnt only by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world. These are the sons who have kept their virginity and not been defiled with women they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they, out of all people, have been redeemed to be the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. No lie was found in their mouths and no fault can be found in them.

    Then I saw another angel, flying high overhead, sent to announce the gospel of eternity to all who live on the earth, every nation, race, language and tribe. He was calling, 'Fear God and glorify him, because the time has come for him to sit in judgement; worship the maker of heaven and earth and sea and the springs of water.'

    Revelation 19: 7-8

    let us be glad and joyful and give glory to God, because this is the time for the marriage of the Lamb. His bride is ready, and she has been able to dress herself in dazzling white linen, because her linen is made of the good deeds of the saints.'

  4. Revelation 21:1-10

    Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'Look, here God lives among human beings. He will make his home among them; they will be his people, and he will be their God, God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness or pain. The world of the past has gone.'

    Then the One sitting on the throne spoke. 'Look, I am making the whole of creation new. Write this, "What I am saying is trustworthy and will come true."' Then he said to me, 'It has already happened. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give water from the well of life free to anybody who is thirsty; anyone who proves victorious will inherit these things; and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the legacy for cowards, for those who break their word, or worship obscenities, for murderers and the sexually immoral, and for sorcerers, worshippers of false gods or any other sort of liars, is the second death in the burning lake of sulphur.'

    One of the seven angels that had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came to speak to me and said, 'Come here and I will show you the bride that the Lamb has married.' In the spirit, he carried me to the top of a very high mountain, and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down out of heaven from God.

    Revelation 22:20

    The one who attests these things says: I am indeed coming soon.

    Amen; come, Lord Jesus.

Scriptural quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday & Co.
Imprimatur granted by Cardinal Hume.

   

                R. We can sit back and not
                    even develop these
                    gifts God gives us –

                We have a free will –
                to be in control and turn
                our backs to God –
   

   

Song: 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.

    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. (refrain)

    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.

    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. (refrain)

    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.

    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. (refrain)

    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.

    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. (refrain)

    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. (refrain)

   

                R. Let the Holy Spirit Possess
                    our soul!

             

Excerpt from the Mass Book

December 17, 1995

THE EARTH STOPPED AND TOUCHED HEAVEN

    I long to unite in the deepest union with Him in the Eucharist. I long for the Mass. I long for Thee, oh God. My every moment, I join as I did to You December 15 under the cross, where I felt Your presence. You whisked me away, and I was totally absorbed in that moment of celestial union with You. For that time, I existed only in You, in the deepest union, and I was in this moment existing in You. The earth stopped, and I touched the heavens, all my bodily cares were existent in You. I existed in Your Divinity, my being was in You. There was no desire or wish or wanting, for in that moment, I had all I wanted in You. I was satisfied and wanted nothing but to remain in that embrace. You were the Being, and my being existed in You, but I was only as I was in You - merged in You, knowing and being in Your Divinity and being so full as to feel complete in myself.

    You are so enormous, and You surrounded me in a burning embrace, the presence of red fire. I was not little, or "nothing", but existed in this enormous power and being so complete!

    I touched eternity, and in that embrace, I knew all the waiting was worth the glory. You enveloped my being, and I was truly merged in the Divine Presence. I was merged in Your being. I existed IN You, with You, in the highest union with You, although I knew I was still distinct from You.

    I was fused and absorbed in You, feeling complete and satisfied. To describe this union is far beyond any work of my pen and paper. I pray for the reader of this page to receive the grace to share this experience with Him, I will now live for this union-to be forever merged In Him, to be One in Him, to reach higher perfection as I exist in Him, for He takes the lowly and gives to them a sharing in Himself. He merges with us and we exist in Him. The word "in" - I could write pages about. I long for the deepest union with Him, where I am swept up in the heavenly embrace of the Divine God, and I am IN Him.

    This is heaven on earth: to be merged as one with Divinity, although remaining distinct from God, to take our feeble hearts, our lowly status and to unite ourselves with the Divine, Almighty, powerful God and in this union to be meshed with Him, that His power dominates and our humanity reaches its heights of fulfillment in this union, in this oneness with Him.

    The word I have looked for is "oneness." I understand some of the meaning of the words "One in Him." Oneness is the word to describe this union of our humanity with His Divinity. The depth to which we could meditate on oneness with God is incomprehensible. In that moment, the earth stood still, and He, my Divine Lover, the Bridegroom of my soul, took me to Himself, and I knew the embrace of the Divine God.

    Nothing on the face of this earth can describe our union with Divinity. Oh, good God, that creatures are so ungrateful regarding Your divine love. I am so sorry. Let me help make reparation to Your adorable Heart. Please unite with me now that I may more deeply love Thee.

    Oh, Divine Lover of my soul, let me help make reparation to Your adorable Heart for the neglect and indifference against You.

Song from Jesus: I come to you with greatest love. I am your loving Savior. I am your God. I died for you. I come to you this day.

    He allowed me to experience such pain in my heart - wanting Him so badly, so many times-and then on Dec. 15, 1995 - He gave Himself to me in the deepest union.

    Nothing satisfies the soul but Him. He wants the nuns and priests to love Him. He chose them to spread His love.

    Souls are hungry. They will only be fed with His burning love. Priests need to talk about Jesus' love for us from the pulpit. Priests need hearts burning for love of Jesus. This will feed the hungry souls - lip service love doesn't do it.

    He is alive today. He is a Person. He wants us to love Him.

end of December 17, 1995

           

December 18, 1995

IN THE DEEPEST RECESSES OF HIS HEART

    The place Jesus took me was into the deepest recesses of His Heart. I was enveloped in His burning love. It was a red room with heat and an intense glow. I was swept away in this embrace, and I only existed in Him. The power of the Almighty God enveloped me, and I only existed in Him. There was no fear, for I was existent in this Almighty Being. My heart was wrapped in the eternal embrace of this Supreme Being. The security, the power I know was His deep presence in which I existed.

    I knew the room was red and warm. I knew His immenseness, but I felt my own completeness in Him. I did not feel little, as a speck, but elevated and empowered for I existed then in Him in a most special way.

    I was overtaken by the love of God. The fire of the Holy Spirit filled me. I was absorbed by the love of the Father, and I existed IN Him and in the deepest recesses of the Heart of Jesus. Our heaven on earth is these inner chambers of His magnificent Heart - the Heart of the Almighty God, with all the power, with omnipotence, with the fire of the love of God. He took me to the deepest chamber of this fiery Heart, and in that moment, I touched eternity, for I knew what it was to be enveloped in the deep furnace of His love. I now want to exist in this chamber of His Heart, swept away in His burning love, absorbed in my every cell with His love.

    We do not understand the fire of His love. We do not understand what it is to be absorbed by love itself. He took me to the inner, deepest chamber of His Heart, and I felt the heat and knew the presence of love itself, and there was no fear, only a feeling of completeness, omnipotence, all-embracing, penetrating love - a power indescribable in words, a saturation of my being in the presence of God, and I was as I was created to be - living in Him!

    This is how I will forever live my life, saturated with His divine life and love deep within this inner chamber of His burning Heart, living in Him as He possesses my being, and I operate with His power in me.

    Little creatures though we are, we are His, His power, His life, flowing through us. In Him, we are as the Father intended: one in Him, each one of us, dwelling in this fiery furnace of His love. With our fears quieted and our hearts empowered by His life, we live forever in Him - in the Heart of Jesus.

    Let no man separate what God has joined together. I am wed in the deepest love with my beloved Spouse, wed to the Heart of Jesus. As I am, I am one in Him. I live and I breathe in Him. He, Who is love, He Who is our all, He Who is mighty and without limits, He Who is, He Who is God and as I live, He lives in me in this world.

    I am wed to Him, and I shall not fear for He is God - one, complete, loving, God. Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee. As I live, I live in Your most adorable Heart, the furnace of God's love!

end of December 18, 1995

   

Priestly Newsletter Book II - September/October 1997

Scriptural Reflections

In all this Mary offers an example. Selfishness was totally foreign to her. She did not belong to herself. She belonged to God. She was not closed in upon herself. She was completely open to God. When God spoke, she listened. When God pointed the way, she followed. She realized that life is not a process a person masters by carefully mapping out one's own self-conceived plans of conquest, but a mystery to be gradually experienced by being open to God's personal and loving guidance.

Selfishness, then, did not close Mary off from God's call. Neither did fear. God asked her to assume a tremendous responsibility. He asked her to be the Mother of Jesus. Mary did not engage in a process of false humility and say that such a great role was above her. She did not say that she did not have the proper qualifications for this awesome mission. Briefly, she did not waste time looking at herself, making pleas that she was not worthy, telling the angel he had better go look for someone else. No, Mary did not look at herself. Her gaze was absorbed in God. She fully realized that whatever God asked of her, His grace would accomplish. She fully realized that although she herself had to cooperate, this work was much more God's than hers.

Mary's words, then, truly sum up what is the authentic Christian response at any point of life, in any kind of situation: "I am the handmaid of the Lord," said Mary, "let what you have said be done to me".

   
 

Fr. Lammeier’s Funeral

July 11, 2015 

HOMILY: (Readings: Isaiah, 25,6.7-9; I Thessalonians, 4,13-18; John, 14,1-6) I would like to begin with a quotation from Fr. Lammeier’s will.  No! he did not leave instructions to give everyone $1000 who came to his funeral. But he did give instructions about the homily for his Funeral Mass. He wrote in his will this (quote) “request that the homilist talk on ‘death’ or the priesthood. Please no eulogy. There is not an awful lot of good that can be said, and I would want the homily to be a little longer than that.”  (unquote)

I would not agree with Fr. Lammeier on that. There is an “awful lot of good that can be said,”  but I’m not going to say everything that could be said because I may be haunted by Fr. Lammeier some evening for not following his instructions. I hope no one objects to my calling Fr. Lammeier “Zib.” It was a nickname his mother gave him when he was small and he told me he doesn’t know what it means or why she called him that. I’ve been calling him Zib for the past 15 years or more when he was helping me at St. Boniface. We were blest by Fr. Lammeier’s willingness to help us. He was a very humble man, highly respected, had a good sense of humor, worked hard on his homilies and described himself as a simple priest who said his prayers and did his work.  He influenced many people by his wisdom, whether it was one of the two archbishops he served as their administrative secretary, Archbishops Leibold and Bernardin, or whether it was the ordinary parishioner who came to him with a problem or for confession on a Saturday afternoon.  He treated everyone with equal dignity and kindness.   

For about 18 months, he lived at St. Boniface Church and it was an honor and privilege to have him there. He tried very hard not to inconvenience any of the staff. Often when people visited him, instead of saying “goodbye” he always said “try to be nice.” The way he was telling others to live is the way he lived, treating others in a friendly and benevolent way.   

This is getting too much like a eulogy, which Zib didn’t want.  He said to talk about the priesthood or death.  Well, I will say something about both.  Regarding priesthood, Zib loved being a priest. Saying Mass in the morning was the highlight of his day. The day he died, he had concelebrated Mass with the other priests at St. Margaret Hall. He was faithful to the divine office, the rosary and holy hours at church. He was not a monk or a hermit, he had a well-rounded personality; he enjoyed reading, watching sports on TV and keeping in touch with his many friends. 

On the topic of death, Zib died peacefully. It was in a way a blessing because his sciatica had been really causing him a lot of pain. We’ve heard three scripture readings on death.  Isaiah pictures it as something God is going to eliminate at the end of time (he will destroy death forever and wipe away the tears from all faces) and to those who have remained faithful, God will provide a wonderful banquet (and since death and tears – including such things as starvation - will be done away with, the banquet will be unending). 

Paul tells us in the second reading about Christ’s second coming. The Thessalonians were worried that their friends and family who had already died would miss out on the grand event of Jesus’ return at the end of time. Paul said, don’t worry, those who have already died will rise first then all of us together will be taken up to meet our Lord, our king, visibly enthroned in glory. 

In the gospel Jesus assures us there’s plenty of room in God’s great kingdom and he will have a place ready for those who follow him. We will be with him always. The words of the gospel we just heard come from the Last Supper, shortly before Jesus’ arrest.  With the conviction that his followers would be with him always, he tells them “do not let your hearts be troubled.”  It was easy for Jesus to say, but hard to do for the apostles considering what they were soon going to have to face. 

Jesus always says to us during difficult times: “do not let your hearts be troubled.” The loss of Zib is sad.  He had so many talents and so many good qualities. Now, instead of having the support of his inspiration and encouragement, we have to let go, we have to say goodbye. But it’s only a temporary goodbye. As we follow the way, the truth and the life, we will all meet again in the everlasting kingdom of God’s love. May our faith be strong and may our hearts not be troubled, and as Zib would say to us if he were to leave us with any words of wisdom: “try to be nice.” 

                
               

 

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Guiding Light Homily Book Series

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                Given March 21, 2014

                R. Pray for These Things

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                    Jack, Jean, Amanda, Matthew, Special intentions.
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               11) Blue Book 16 and cover and all involved.
                    For our Publisher and all involved
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