Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is
read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A.
This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message
to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A.
We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages
rests with the Holy See of Rome.
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November 1, 2001
November 2nd Holy
Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 1 Period 2. |
The Novena Rosary Mystery
for November 2nd is Joyful. |
The Nursing
Home #3 video is now on the internet.
It is so beautiful and the
sound is excellent!
There
will be a rosary in Clearwater, Florida
on November 5, 2001 at 6:20pm
These rosaries will be broadcast to
different locations,
call for details. Great grace can be released
when we pray as a body.
Today's Mass Readings
Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14
Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises,
carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the
four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait
before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have
put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ And
I heard how many had been sealed: a hundred and forty–four thousand, out
of all the tribes of Israel.
The rewarding of the saints
After that I saw that there was a huge number, impossible
for anyone to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language;
they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed
in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted in a loud
voice, ‘Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to
the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle
round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four living creatures,
prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their
foreheads, worshipping God with these words:
Amen. Praise and
glory and wisdom,
thanksgiving and honour
and power and strength
to our God
for ever and ever. Amen.
One of the elders then spoke and asked
me, ‘Who are these people, dressed in white robes, and where have they
come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, sir.’ Then
he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great trial; they
have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.
PSALM 24 (V 23)
For a solemn entry into the sanctuary
Psalm Of David
To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains,
the world
and all who live there;
it is he who laid its foundations on the
seas,
on the flowing waters fixed it firm.
Who shall go up to the
mountain of Yahweh?
Who shall take a stand in his holy place?
The
clean of hands and pure of heart,
whose heart is not set on vanities,
who does
not swear an oath in order to deceive.
Such a one will receive
blessing from Yahweh,
saving justice from the God of his salvation.
Such
is the people that seeks him,
that seeks your presence, God of Jacob.
1 John 3: 1-3
You must see what great love
the Father has
lavished on us
by letting us be called God’s children—
which is what we
are!
The reason why the world
does not acknowledge us
is that it did not
acknowledge him.
My dear friends,
we are already God’s
children,
but what we shall be in the future
has not yet been revealed.
We
are well aware that when he appears
we shall be like him,
because we shall
see him as he really is.
First condition: to break with sin
Whoever treasures this hope of him
purifies himself, to
be as pure as he is.
Matthew 5: 1-12
The Beatitudes
Seeing the crowds, he went onto the mountain. And when he was
seated his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak. This is
what he taught them:
How blessed are the poor in spirit:
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are the gentle:
they shall have the earth as inheritance.
Blessed are those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for uprightness:
they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Blessed are the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers:
they shall be recognised
as children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted
in the cause of uprightness:
the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and
speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this
is how they persecuted the prophets before you.
November 1, 2001
Messenger: My dear Jesus, you
have beckoned me to write
for the world and I pray for the grace to do
exactly as you desire.
I want to include an excerpt from the Newsletter
2001 #1 on grace. This is also on tape and disc a most
powerful reading by Fr. Michael Paranuik.
Excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
e) Relationship with Members of the Church
There
is but one true Church of Christ. Yet this one Church has three different
states of existence. There is the pilgrim Church, the Church of this world,
composed of members who have received the grace of Christ and strive for its
development. They have not yet obtained the goal of their efforts, as have the
members of the heavenly Church, who enjoy God in eternal happiness. The Church
suffering is an intermediate state of existence necessary for those who had
not achieved the required purification as members of the pilgrim Church.
Although there are these three phases of the Church’s existence, there is a
profound union existing between all the members. All these members possess the
same basic life of grace in Christ, and this common life establishes the most
intimate bonds of love. In our preceding chapter, we discussed the pilgrim
Church. Let us now consider the Church suffering and the heavenly Church.
The
members of the Church suffering are those who have departed from this life in
an incomplete state of Christian development. Their development is incomplete
in the sense that grace has not fully taken possession of them, and, as a
result, they are yet closed in upon themselves to a greater or lesser degree.
They as yet cannot open themselves out in complete love to the Triune God in
the beatific vision. They must undergo a further purification, a purification
which could have been achieved upon earth with merit. Now the purification
must be achieved with no merit attached. The pain of this purification is
mixed with the certain expectation of achieving the vision of God. We can
hasten the advent of this vision for this people by the offering of prayers
and other good works. Scripture itself refers to our action on behalf of those
in purgatory in Chapter 12 of the Second Book of Maccabees beginning with
verse 38.
The
members of the heavenly Church are those in whom the life of grace has taken
full possession and has reached its completion in the life of glory. Faith now
is unnecessary, as the light of glory gives the human intellect a new strength
and capacity for seeing God face-to-face. While the Christian was a wayfarer,
he received the imprint of the indwelling Trinity as he shared in God’s own
life. Now in heaven that grace-life and possession of God reaches its
completion—the absolute completion is not achieved, however, until the
resurrection of the body. The divine persons give Themselves to the beatified
in a profound union far surpassing that of the indwelling of the Trinity
experienced here below.
This
life of heaven is still the Christ-life, for just as we possess a share in
Trinitarian life here below as mediated by Christ, and exercise this
grace-life as structured by Him, so also in heaven is the mediation of Christ
present. In the words of Rahner, "One always sees the Father through
Jesus. Just as immediately as this, for the directness of the vision of God is
not a denial of the mediatorship of Christ as man."14
And not only does the humanity of Christ unite the blessed to God, but also,
in some way, to the whole of creation. This is merely a completion of what is
begun here below, namely, the union with Christ in His humanity establishing
the Christian in a special relationship with God, with other men, and with the
whole of creation. We have a glimpse, therefore, of the fullness of life which
members of the heavenly Church possess.
The
heavenly Church, as St. Thomas says, is the true Church.15
The Church of this earth and the Church of purgatory are, each in its own way,
reaching out in loving hope for the heavenly Jerusalem. Vatican II puts it
very simply: "The Church, to which we are called in Christ Jesus, and in
which we acquire sanctity through the grace of God, will attain her full
perfection only in the glory of heaven."16
The
members of the heavenly Church can help us in living our life of grace until
we too share its fullness with them. Their power of intercession on our behalf
is but another ramification of the communal aspect of Christianity. We are
meant to help others grow in Christ. We, in turn, are intended by God to
receive aid from others—yes, from members of the heavenly Church, as well as
from those with whom we dwell here below.
Not
only can we be aided by the saints’ intercession, but the example of the
canonized saints can also be of great value to us. They have concretely proved
that full holiness is possible. Such an inspiration is of real worth when we
are tempted to think that Christian sanctity in its higher degrees is
impossible of attainment. Moreover, the canonized saints, in their diversity,
teach us that there are many authentic versions of Christian holiness. They
can be innovators in showing us that there are numerous possibilities in
assimilating the mystery of Christ, although the basic assimilation remains
the same for all Christians of all times. In the opinion of Rahner this is one
of the chief roles the canonized saints exert in the life of the Church.17
NOTES:
16. Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church,
No. 48.
17. Cf. Karl Rahner, Op. cit., pp. 100-101.
end of excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: We are imperfect, the
saints are the saints triumphant,
we pray through their powerful intercession.
The saints were once on this earth and lived here.
I know Fr. Carter and the love I have for him
as my spiritual father and founder of our
Movement. This has helped me to have a deeper love
union with the saints.
"Our hearts are merged," Fr. Carter said this daily
all the way up to his last day. Dwelling in
the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, being members
of the Church makes us one in God.
The more we pray, the prayers given to Fr. Carter the
more Our Lord promised to take us deeply into
His Heart and the heart of His Mother.
Here is the promise he made to Fr. Carter.
13th Promise
Jesus speaks: "I am calling many to become
members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great
blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of
the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give
great graces to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call
them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever
closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit."
- July 31, 1994
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: I
remember the Spiritual Exercises well, because
Fr. Carter always had me take a yearly retreat
which he directed. I am not encouraging a retreat using
other materials if you are in this mission as a Shepherd
of Christ Apostle, Servant and Handmaid.
We are given so much material which is based on
the writings of St. Ignatius. Our mission is
to help renew the Church and the world.
Our Lord wants us as leaders of this mission
to stick to the writings given here through
Father Carter and the messages,
using scriptures and other documents of
the Church.
Jesus is spiritually directing us through these
writings to help lead the world into the
Reign of the Sacred Heart.
Other directors may not understand the
Shepherds of Christ Movement at all. They may think
we pray too much, they may think certain
things about the Movement.
Jesus has directed us through the writings of
Fr. Carter and the writings and
messages I have received. He has given us a certain
way of life. If you follow this way of life
you are following the Shepherds of Christ way of life
which is to help lead us into the Reign
of the Sacred Heart.
Apostles, Servants and Handmaids and
future priests follow this way of life.
Jesus is really the spiritual director.
The materials were given to us and
discerned by Fr. Edward Carter S.J.
Jesus gives to us and the Priests the writings
Jesus gave to Fr. Carter.
He set before us these writings and the
way of life of the Shepherd of Christ Movement.
Fr. Carter guided us as a spiritual Father.
The influence of the Jesuits is very
strong in these writings and
the Spiritual Exercises were a very
big part of Father Carter's life and my
life.
Fr. Carter directed me this way.
Other directors may not lead us in the same
way we are being led here.
Private Revelation has been pushed
back in very many circles.
It is very difficult for me, since Mary and Jesus
have really appeared to me and given me
messages.
I cannot lie. Mary appeared everyday.
To make someone feel comfortable, so they don't
have to change, defeats the role of the prophet.
God has given me messages.
I was strongly under the direction of a very
competent theologian in the Church.
I was trained by Jesus under the guidance
of Fr. Carter.
I have never not had a priest directing me.
Our Lord has always provided a priest
to help me.
I have had theological direction from
the beginning.
Our Lord has given us this Movement to help
renew the Church and the World.
Today there are fewer and fewer priests.
Our Lord has given us these prayers to
pray for the priests, the Church
and the world.
The corner of an old seminary fell off
and Mary appeared daily in the
other corner after that for some time.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: I
write as a messenger of God to help renew the
Church and the world.
I cannot hide the apparitions of Our Lord.
He appeared transfigured before me in the
Front of Holy Cross Immaculata
several times early January 1996.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: At
the end of 1996, December 5, 1996, Jesus appeared
on the cross at the point of death—
this was after Mary appeared on the 5ths
since July 5, 1994. He said later, He appeared December 5, 1996
with His mouth moving because no one was listening.
Then Mary appeared on the building
in Florida 12 days later.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger:
Jesus
appeared transfigured to me in the
Sacred Heart Statue under Mary's
image when we opened the rosary
factory February 5, 2000, Fr. Carter came
that day.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Jesus
appeared after that opening of the
Rosary Factory under the image.
This picture was taken one year later
at the end of the rosary after 6:20 prayers
February 5, 2001.
February 5, 2001
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Jesus
and Mary had sent
me there to do the rosary.
It was the same place where Jesus had appeared transfigured,
February 5, 2000, where I took this picture of Jesus
February 5, 2001.
I want to write about the light and the top of
the mountain.
When I am taken into ecstasies I am so one
with Him.
My heart is consumed with love.
Before these special presences I cannot give
into temptations of satan to get me
divided with people.
I have to let go of distractions, even though
they may be present and focus on Him.
That is why it is important for me
many times, not to talk on the phone
before Mass, before a message,
I want to be so deeply connected to
Him.
I remember in the Spiritual Exercises of
St. Ignatius he was talking about
the evil one when he presses in, he said
how noisy the evil one is when he comes.
Excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius,
by Louis J. Puhl, S.J.
328. RULES FOR DISCERNMENT OF SPIRITS
II
Further rules for understanding the different
movements produced in the soul. They serve for a more accurate
discernment of spirits and are more suitable for the second week
329. I. It is characteristic of God and His
Angels, when they act upon the soul, to give true happiness and spiritual
joy, and to banish all the sadness and disturbances which are caused by the
enemy.
It is characteristic of the evil one to
fight against such happiness and consolation by proposing fallacious
reasonings, subtilties, and continual deceptions.
330. 2. God alone can give consolation to the
soul without any previous cause. It belongs solely to the Creator to come
into a soul, to leave it, to act upon it, to draw it wholly to the love of
His Divine Majesty. I said without previous cause, that is, without any
preceding perception or knowledge of any subject by which a soul might be
led to such a consolation through its own acts of intellect and will.
331. 3. If a cause precedes, both the good
angel and the evil spirit can give consolation to a soul, but for a quite
different purpose. The good angel consoles for the progress of the soul,
that it may advance and rise to what is more perfect. The evil spirit
consoles for purposes that are the contrary, and that afterwards he might
draw the soul to his own perverse intentions and wickedness.
332. 4. It is a mark of the evil spirit to
assume the appearance of an angel of light. He begins by suggesting thoughts
that are suited to a devout soul, and ends by suggesting his own. For
example, he will suggest holy and pious thoughts that are wholly in
conformity with the sanctity of the soul. Afterwards, he will endeavor
little by little to end by drawing the soul into his hidden snares and evil
designs.
333. 5. We must carefully observe the whole
course of our thoughts. If the beginning and middle and end of the course of
thoughts are wholly good and directed to what is entirely right, it is a
sign that they are from the good angel. But the course of thoughts suggested
to us may terminate in something evil, or distracting, or less good than the
soul had formerly proposed to do. Again, it may end in what weakens the
soul, or disquiets it; or by destroying the peace, tranquility, and quiet
which it had before, it may cause disturbance to the soul. These things are
a clear sign that the thoughts are proceeding from the evil spirit, the
enemy of our progress and eternal salvation.
334. 6. When the enemy of our human nature has
been detected and recognized by the trail of evil marking his course and by
the wicked end to which he leads us, it will be profitable for one who has
been tempted to review immediately the whole course of the temptation. Let
him consider the series of good thoughts, how they arose, how the evil one
gradually attempted to make him step down from the state of spiritual
delight and joy in which he was, till finally he drew him to his wicked
designs. The purpose of this review is that once such an experience has been
understood and carefully observed, we may guard ourselves for the future
against the customary deceits of the enemy.
335. 7. In souls that are progressing to
greater perfection, the action of the good angel is delicate, gentle,
delightful. It may be compared to a drop of water penetrating a sponge.
The action of the evil spirit upon
such souls is violent, noisy, and disturbing. It may be compared to a drop
of water falling upon a stone.
In souls that are going from bad to worse, the action of
the spirits mentioned above is just the reverse. The reason for this is to
be sought in the opposition or similarity of these souls to the different
kinds of spirits. When the disposition is contrary to that of the spirits,
they enter with noise and commotion that are easily perceived. When the
disposition is similar to that of the spirits, they enter silently, as one
coming into his own house when the doors are open.
336. 8. When consolation is without previous
cause, as was said, there can be no deception in it, since it can proceed
from God our Lord only. But a spiritual person who has received such a
consolation must consider it very attentively, and must cautiously
distinguish the actual time of the consolation from the period which follows
it. At such a time the soul is still fervent and favored with the grace and
aftereffects of the consolation which has passed. In this second period the
soul frequently forms various resolutions and plans which are not granted
directly by God our Lord. They may come from our own reasoning on the
relations of our concepts and on the consequences of our judgments, or they
may come from the good or evil spirit. Hence, they must be carefully
examined before they are given full approval and put into execution.
end of excerpt of The Spiritual Exercises of St.
Ignatius
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Satan really comes to drag us down.
A person comes who may be needing some
spiritual renewal in their life.
They can bring us news to get us so focused
on negative things.
Problems exist in our lives, but satan wants
a grip.
I put here the message Jesus wanted in the 1st
Blue Book
May 13, 1993.
Cling to Me
May
13, 1993
Jesus speak: My dear child, if you stay close to Me,
then I live in you and you live in Me. I am He Who created you and I love you
with such an intensity that you will never know. My words are your truth. You
must abide in My heart in all things. There is no room for doubt. My ways are
steadfast, direct, and without error.
You must stay rooted in Me to ward off
the power of the evil one. His grip is paralyzing and crippling. His power is
stronger every day.
When you live in Me, I am in your heart
and he has no power over Me. I am your God. I am your true lover. I want to
protect you. I want to guard you from this force. Stay rooted firmly in Me and
he will have no power.
I am He Who comforts you. My hand is upon
you. Hold tight to Me, My child. My eyes are fixed right on you. You are My
most precious child. I love you as no other can. My arms are about you. My
tenderness surrounds you. My love is in your heart. You go not alone. I walk
with you.
I share every aspect of your life with
you. Cling to Me, feel My presence. It is warm and secure within your chest.
There is no room for fear, for I cast out fear and bring you comfort and joy.
end of May 13, 1993 message
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: I
see the Newsletter as a tool given to Fr. Carter
to help spiritually direct the priests
through the writings Jesus gave him.
The spirit moves in every individual.
Many habits are passed down
and taught that can lead us
away from a deeper love union
with God.
Some habits we need to change are:
Habits like not spending time before Jesus
in the tabernacle.
Habits of being so busy we don't have time
to spend alone with our God.
Habits on not doing proper thanksgiving
after we receive the Eucharist, running
from the Church, talking about the
weather, right after communion.
Habits of priests not doing
the Divine Office.
Habits that skips a daily examination
of conscience.
Habits that keep us fixing everybody else,
like we are perfect and not looking
at ourselves.
Habits that do not include the daily
rosary.
Habits that leave the morning offering
out of our lives.
Where children could be taught about Jesus
and Mary from the beginning and
about God, they can be taught
about everything else including
sports at the age of 9 months and taught
nothing about God.
RENEW—
PUT THINGS IN THE PROPER PERSPECTIVE—
It is funny when everything is rosy—
A man and woman may be married and have
a baby and then find out the child
is terminally ill or malformed.
All of a sudden the cold reality that we are not
here forever sets in and then they need
to really turn it over to God and put
their lives in His hands.
We think we own things, we think we are
secure, we don't want to feel
insecure, but our very health can
fail and we may not be able to explain it.
Lightning can strike and kill us. We
could be killed in a car wreck. Things are not all secure.
Life on this earth is promised to no man.
I want to write about the mountain.
The devil can create confusion and havoc
people can dig up anger way deep down inside. Generations
upon generations can pass on anger. Then someone
tries to pin their vile blackness
inside of them on a victim.
We need to be healed.
Some people can't even see they were trained to
always look at the negative.
Some children were taught to be angry, blame people, hate
people, feel rejected. Some were trained to be victims.
But now we must be healed.
Ten things can happen wonderful and a person
can wail and tell a tale of doom for
they look for the one thing they can
complain about.
Do we want the mountain?
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Do
we want the dirt—
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger:
Some people just fail to see themselves as
being a problem, they see themselves
as perfect and they walk away and its like
a house of cards falls behind them.
Confession is important.
Repentance is important.
If we don't forgive we aren't being like
Jesus.
He forgave the sinners. If we want to be forgiven we must
forgive. God is compassionate. He is merciful. He is love.
Forgiving doesn't mean we have to run with our
enemies, it means we can't harbor
ill will and hatred in our hearts
toward those who have hurt us or
we think have hurt us.
Working through problems should lead
us to forgiveness and love.
Some people blame others their whole life. They
blame others for their
bad moods inside.
They just don't see the stars when they
look out the window, they see
the mud. They see the things wrong,
dark, negatively.
Satan can keep creating endless havoc at
the bottom of the mountain.
There are fires of anger, if all we do is
treat the fire over and over again
and there are so many people with
more anger—how can we ever put
all the fires out?
We must be healed.
The answer is in focusing on God.
The answer is in healing.
The answer is in loving, loving the
person, hating the sin.
The answer is in God.
Look at this picture.
It is so beautiful.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Look
at a picture of the resurrected Lord.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: The Lord said to Cain in Genesis
Genesis 4: 7
If you are doing right, surely you ought to hold your head
high! But if you are not doing right, Sin is crouching at the door hungry to get
you. You can still master him.’
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger:
God says we can be master over sin.
He says satan is tempting us.
It may take a lot of prayers to resist
the temptation, but we have to
know it can be done with God's
grace, we can become more pure.
For apostles, servants and handmaids
God has given this way of life.
Following it will help us to be able to fight the temptations
of satan.
1. daily Mass
2. one hour of adoration
3. hourly prayer
4. the rosary
5. Shepherds of Christ prayers
in addition the morning offering
How does the bouquet you are presenting
to the Father look today.
Excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
The
pages of the book of our lives are being written. These moments of our lives
are so dear to God, for we offer our lives as a sacrifice for souls.
Are
we spending the precious moments of our lives offering sacrifice to God for
His honor and glory and giving our lives as a sacrifice for souls?
Write
a short page every day or the following day, similar to an examination of
conscience, seeing the good (so much good we accomplish we overlook, so many
precious moments of joy we forget) and the times we were troubled.
The
devil tries to keep us focused on the problems.
We
are His shepherds, helping to shepherd His flock, there is so much good we can
accomplish every day.
We
should write a short page every day, date it, read over it when we are
troubled, keep it in a book, see how many joyful moments we have every day.
Give
them to God as a bouquet of flowers placed at His feet on that last day, the
pages of the life of our book.
We
will want all pages to be done in love, all for the honor and glory of God....
...The
moments of our lives are being written. He has them all recorded in our book
of life.
August
8, 1946.
Today
is the day I was born into the world.
What
a glorious day it was, for I came and had the opportunity to gain heaven and
help others do likewise.
end
of excerpt from Newsletter 2001 - Issue 1
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: When we write down good
things that
happened in a letter to the Father
we see lots of positive things.
The devil can get us so focused on one person
and the wrong they did to us, it can immobilize us.
They become our "scapegoat," so to speak,
we want to heap all our anger on them.
We can try to use things outside ourselves to make us happy.
We can become so focused on these things outside
ourselves.
We can become a slave to satan. We can rationalize about
a person we blame "...if he didn't do this",
we can say, "if things weren't
that way... then I would be happy."
We have a free will.
If we truly believe God has put us
somewhere and it is His will
for us to be there, why don't
we work positively in what
we are doing.
Always unsettled?
Always irritated?
Always looking for a change?
Running on a moments notice?
The tranquility we need comes in spending
time with God.
"Blooming where we are planted"
Satan wants us to focus on ourselves and
focus on what others think of us.
We can miss all the precious
moments wherever we are worrying about
what people think of us. We can miss the
precious moments at Mass.
Satan works in some people to want
them to flee, always feeling
like they are in an ejection
seat.
Reading the Blue Books really help.
Focusing on His undaunted love for us
will help us.
Being stable inside comes from a
deep interior life with Him.
We don't live in a vacuum.
We can't see everything just from behind our
own eyes.
Excerpt from Response to God's Love
Chapter 8
The Christian Encounters Others and the World
The true Christian is
imbued with consciousness of others. That is to say, the true Christian is
keenly aware that, to a great degree, God intends each of us to press on
toward maturity in the spiritual life through a proper encounter with
others. Indeed, the Christian imperative reminds us that we are to walk
life's path, not in isolation, but hand in hand with our fellow human
beings.
end of excerpt from Response to God's Love
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Oh
how could we ever sort out all the
different ways people could
act from their woundedness and
deal with it.
The devil can help to create a problem every split
second or faster.
Some people grew up in homes
that were
very unsettled. There
was always
a crisis and tension.
Some
people are so used to tension
they feel
they must have it because
it feels
normal to them.
Some people cannot just let others
be in a
setting -
let them be
themselves,
they want to control
their
responses and know what
is going
on inside them.
Some people are quiet. They may be
united
and very
loving, and the other person coming
from
a dysfunctional family may be
hypervigilant
looking for little
signs that
might indicate problems
or
division. They suspect things by
the way
the person smiles.
All
kinds of subconscious things can go on
that we
are unaware of.
My dad
always wanted the lights out.
My husband
always wanted the lights on.
The answer is in prayer.
The answer is in healing.
The answer is in frequent prayer.
The answer is in love.
The answer is in stepping back and seeing
the gifts we are given.
We will all be held accountable for all we
did.
All the love we gave is seen by God.
Also all the times we caused disharmony is seen by God.
We cannot hate people. We can hurt lots of people.
This can act like ripples on a pond.
likewise love acts like ripples on a pond.
Jesus gave His all.
HE WAS SELFLESS.
Excerpt from the Priestly Newsletter 2000 - Issue 2
Chief Shepherd of the Flock
Suffering:
A Source of Life
- I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. The hired man, since
he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the
sheep as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and runs away, and then the wolf
attacks and scatters the sheep; he runs away because he is only a hired
man and has no concern for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my
own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I lay down my life for my sheep. (Jn 10:11-15)1
Yet ours were
the sufferings he was bearing, ours the sorrows he was carrying, while we
thought of him as someone being punished and struck with affliction by God;
whereas he was being wounded for our rebellions, crushed because of our guilt;
the punishment reconciling us fell on him, and we have been healed by his
bruises. We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and
Yahweh brought the acts of rebellion of all of us to bear on him. Ill-treated
and afflicted, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb led to the
slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb before its shearers he never opened his
mouth. (Is 53:4-7)
-
He hung upon a cross on a hill called
Calvary. Death was near. How much Jesus had already suffered! He had been
derisively crowned with thorns. In a terribly weakened
condition, He carried the heavy cross to the hill of Golgotha. There He
was stripped of His garments and mercilessly nailed to the cross. After
all this brutal and agonizing suffering, Jesus finally died.
Truly the Good Shepherd
had laid down His life for His sheep. That magnificent Heart, overflowing
with love for His Father and all of us, had beat its last.
On the third day, Jesus
rose: ‘Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’
The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple: are
you going to raise it up again in three days?’ But he was speaking of the
Temple that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples
remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and what
he had said. (Jn 2:19-22)
Yes, the Good Shepherd
died and rose for our salvation. Behold, the paschal mystery of Jesus!
When we are baptized we
are incorporated into Christ's paschal mystery of death and resurrection.
St. Paul speaks of this marvelous union with Jesus: You cannot have
forgotten that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were
baptised into his death. So by our baptism into his death we were buried
with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s
glorious power, we too should begin living a new life. (Rm 6:3-4)
Christ has structured
the Christian life by the way He lived, died, and rose from the dead. It is
obvious, then, as Paul tells us above that the pattern of death-resurrection
must be at the heart of the Church’s life. Individually and collectively,
we continually die in Christ so that we may continually rise in Him. Thus we
pass over in a process of ongoing religious transition to a greater
participation in Christ’s resurrection. It is true that our participation
in Christ’s resurrection will reach its completion only in eternal life.
Nevertheless, we begin the life of resurrection here upon earth, in the here
and now of human life, in the midst of joy and pain, in the experience of
success and failure, in the sweat of our brow, in the enjoyment of God’s
gifts. As Christians, we should have a sense of dynamic growth concerning
our here and now life of resurrection.
We cannot maintain the
life of resurrection or grow in it without a willingness to suffer. This
does not mean that we need to feel overwhelmed and heavily burdened in our
lives. The greater portion of suffering for most Christians seems to be an
accumulation of ordinary hardships, difficulties, and pains. At times,
however, deep suffering, even suffering of agonizing proportions can enter
into one’s life. Whether the sufferings one encounters are of the more
ordinary variety or of the more rare and extreme type, Christians must
convince themselves that to relate properly to the cross is to grow in
resurrection, and growth in resurrection means we will also have an
increased capacity to help give resurrection to others.
-
Pope John Paul II speaks of the role
suffering plays in the Christian life: "Every man has his own share
in the redemption. Each one is also called to share in that suffering
through which the redemption was accomplished. He is called to share in
that suffering through which all human suffering has also been redeemed.
In bringing about the redemption through suffering, Christ has also raised
human suffering to the level of the redemption. Thus each man in his
suffering can also become a sharer in the redemptive suffering of
Christ…
"Those who share
in Christ’s sufferings have before their eyes the paschal mystery of the
cross and resurrection, in which Christ descends, in a first phase, to the
ultimate limits of human weakness and impotence: Indeed, he dies nailed to
the cross. But if at the same time in this weakness there is accomplished
his lifting up, confirmed by the power of the resurrection, then this means
that the weaknesses of all human sufferings are capable of being infused
with the same power of God manifested in Christ’s cross. In such a
concept, to suffer means to become particularly susceptible, particularly
open, to the working of the salvific powers of God offered to humanity in
Christ. In him God has confirmed his desire to act especially through
suffering, which is man’s weakness and emptiness of self." 2
-
Dom Hubert Van Zeller observes:
"Men and women who might be turning their afflictions over to God,
who have only to unite themselves in spirit with Christ’s passion, are
found so often to stop short, and even to make of their trial further
matter for selfishness. Even if we do not rebel positively against God’s
providential will, we can become so preoccupied with our troubles as to
leave God out of account.
"Instead of making
us compassionate for others we can squander compassion on ourselves.
Suffering is meant to enlarge our hearts, not shrink them. With suffering
goes the grace of patience, peace, fortitude, penitence and love. All this
can be missed if we make the mistake of turning in upon ourselves as the
result of our trials.
"To the Jews the
cross was a stumbling block, and to the gentiles foolishness. What is it to
us? Often it can be an emblem merely, the significance of the symbol
forgotten. The cross is something in which we are, by reason of our
Christian inheritance, inextricably involved. Do we yield to it or harden
ourselves against it? The cross is not just two planks fitted together on a
certain day in the history of the world, and of all the relics which we
venerate the most sacred, but a fact of our human experience which may or
may not be sacred according to what we do about it." 3
-
Contrary to what many think, Fr. Edward
Leen reminds us that suffering is compatible with happiness: "If men
are prone to err in conceiving the nature of happiness, they will
necessarily err in judging of its opposite. They commonly think that a man
cannot possibly be happy if he is a prey to constant sickness; if he is
condemned to experience habitual poverty and to be buried in obscurity; if
he fails to take an important part on the world stage; if he is
unsuccessful in his enterprises; if he is deprived of the opportunities of
intellectual or aesthetic development; and finally, if he fails to gain
the applause and the esteem of his fellows. Now though all these things
mean grievous sufferings for men, neither singly nor in combination have
they the power to rob him of essential happiness.
"Apart from the
consideration of the life of the Redeemer, certain undeniable facts of
history justify this contention. The saints, in all ages, have been persons
whose lot it was, generally speaking, to undergo greater trials and
sufferings than others are called upon to endure. Yet they were habitually
happy, buoyant and joyous human beings…
"The saints were
not violently wresting words from their literal meaning when they proclaimed
themselves happy. For the happiness they enjoyed was that which is proper
to, and satisfying for man…
"God planned an
unbroken life of happiness for man. The Fall modified, but did not prevent
the realization of this plan. Suffering, but not unhappiness, becomes the
condition of the earthly portion of men’s existence. God does not make
unhappiness here to be the price to pay for happiness hereafter. To be
happy, in the minds of all men, is to fare well, that is, to live
excellently... The Saviour Himself suffered intensely, but He lived the
highest life possible for men. He was, therefore, happy. He assured men that
He could share His own blissful experience with them. It may appear
paradoxical to associate happiness with the mental image of One Who is
called the Man of Sorrows. But an analysis of the nature of happiness will
show that it was fully realized in the earthly life of the Saviour…" 4
"He comes to it
gladly! This is a strange thing, for the cross is a symbol of shame, and it
is to be His deathbed. Already He sees the very shape of His death in the
wide-spread arms. From this moment He will be inseparable from it, until He
dies on it. He will labour and struggle under the weight of it… Yet Christ
welcomes the cross. He embraces it. He takes it into His arms. He lays His
beautiful hands on it tenderly, those strong hands of a carpenter that are
so familiar with the touch of wood." 5
-
Henri Nouwen tells this story: "I
would like to tell you the story of a middle-aged man whose career was
suddenly interrupted by the discovery of leukemia, a fatal blood cancer.
All his life plans crumbled and all his ways had to change. But slowly he
was able to ask himself no longer: ‘Why did this happen to me?’ but
instead: ‘What is the promise hidden in this event?’ When his
rebellion became a new quest, he felt that he could give strength and hope
to other cancer patients and, that by facing his condition directly, he
could make his pain a source of healing for others. To this day, this man
not only does more for patients than many ministers are able to, but he
also refound his life on a level that he had never known before." 6
- St. Paul tells us: But we hold this treasure in pots
of earthenware, so that the immensity of the power is God’s and not our
own. We are subjected to every kind of hardship, but never distressed; we
see no way out but we never despair; we are pursued but never cut off;
knocked down, but still have some life in us; always we carry with us in
our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus, too, may be visible
in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are continually being
handed over to death, for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus,
too, may be visible in our mortal flesh. (2 Co 4:7-11)
NOTES:
1. Scripture quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem
Bible, Doubleday.
2. Pope John Paul II, On The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering,
United States Catholic Conference, Nos. 19 and 23.
3. Dom Hubert Van Zeller, More Ideas for Prayer, Templegate, p. 112.
4. Edward Leen, C. S. Sp., Why the Cross?, Sheed & Ward, pp.
246-247, 255, 285.
5. Caryll Houselander, The Way of the Cross, Sheed & Ward, p. 21.
6. Henri Nouwen, Out of Solitude, Ave Maria Press, p. 57.
end of excerpt from Newsletter 2000 - Issue 2
Matthew 5: 21-26
‘You have heard how it was said to
our ancestors, You shall not kill; and if anyone does kill he must
answer for it before the court. But I say this to you, anyone who is angry
with a brother will answer for it before the court; anyone who calls a
brother "Fool" will answer for it before the Sanhedrin; and anyone
who calls him "Traitor" will answer for it in hell fire. So then,
if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your
brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the
altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and
present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while
you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to
the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
Matthew 5: 43-48
‘You have heard how it was said, You
will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you,
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that you may be
children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad
as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the
wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings
for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the
gentiles do as much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly
Father is perfect.’
1 John 1: 5-10
I: TO WALK IN THE LIGHT
This is what we have heard from him and are declaring to
you:
God is light,
and there is no darkness in him at all.
If we say that we share in God’s life
while we are living in darkness,
we are lying,
because we are not living the truth.
But if we live in light,
as he is in light,
we have a share in another’s life,
and the blood of Jesus, his Son,
cleanses us from all sin.
First condition: to break with sin
If we say, ‘We have no sin,’
we are deceiving ourselves,
and truth has no place in us;
if we acknowledge our sins,
he is trustworthy and upright,
so that he will forgive our sins
and will cleanse us from all evil.
If we say, ‘We have never sinned,’
we make him a liar,
and his word has no place in us.
1 John 2: 1-11
My children, I am writing this
to prevent you from sinning;
but if anyone does sin,
we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ, the upright.
He is the sacrifice to expiate our sins,
and not only ours,
but also those of the whole world.
Second condition:
to keep the commandments,
especially that of love
In this way we know
that we have come to know him,
if we keep his commandments.
Whoever says, ‘I know him’
without keeping his commandments,
is a liar,
and truth has no place in him.
But anyone who does keep his word,
in such a one
God’s love truly reaches its perfection.
This is the proof
that we are in God.
Whoever claims
to remain in him
must act as he acted.
My dear friends,
this is not a new commandment
I am writing for you,
but an old commandment
that you have had from the beginning;
the old commandment
is the message you have heard.
Yet in another way, I am writing
a new commandment for you
—and this is true for you,
just as much as for him—
for darkness is passing away
and the true light is already shining.
Whoever claims to be in light
but hates his brother
is still in darkness.
Anyone who loves his brother
remains in light
and there is in him
nothing to make him fall away.
But whoever hates his brother
is in darkness
and is walking about in darkness
not knowing where he is going,
because darkness has blinded him.
1 Corinthians 13: 1-13
Though I command languages both human and
angelic—if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a
cymbal clashing. And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all
mysteries and knowledge, and though I have all the faith necessary to move
mountains—if I am without love, I am nothing. Though I should give away to
the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned—if I am
without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Love is always patient and
kind; love is never jealous; love is not boastful or conceited, it is never
rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up
grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but finds its joy in the
truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope and to
endure whatever comes.
Love never comes to an
end. But if there are prophecies, they will be done away with; if tongues,
they will fall silent; and if knowledge, it will be done away with. For we
know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly; but once perfection
comes, all imperfect things will be done away with. When I was a child, I
used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a
child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all
childish ways. Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but
then we shall be seeing face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly; but
then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known.
As it is, these remain:
faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: Here
is part of the writing
I wrote for the apostles in the
Shepherds of Christ today.
November 1, 2001
Messenger:
Dear Apostles,
I give my heart to Jesus and Mary
with you in love. Please pray for
several urgent intentions. The
devil is pressing down.
We want to be one with Jesus and experience His
love. To do this we must focus on Jesus and His
love for us. Many times we ignore the love He
gives us and we focus on other things
that we think others have done to us.
This can distract us before Mass.
The devil wants us focusing
on ourselves derogatorily.
This is not to say we should not
look at our sins. We should
always be looking inward
trying to be like Jesus, being
humble, wanting harmony
and loving our brothers
who are hurting.
When we have lots of angry
thoughts toward others the
devil can be pressing in.
Sometimes the other person may
have hardly done anything and we
are so angry. We sometimes
build cases in our mind
against others.
Sometimes we just feel angry
because of our own sin and
project things on others.
We say "Oh I feel bad because he is
the cause" and we blame someone
else because we feel bad.
The "blaming game" can really
make us one unhappy person
because many times what we think is
not the whole truth. We see things from
our perspective sometimes and don't
even know for sure the others persons side.
Please read the scripture
from yesterday's message
at the end.
Are we acting the way we should, like
Jesus tells us in the scriptures.
Some people cannot bend.
They act superior most of the time.
They hurt others when they deal with them.
Blaming, judging, criticizing,
complaining, take lots
of time and energy and drags
every body else down.
You can feel the negative spirit many
times when someone comes who is
being pressed on.
1 John 1: 5
...God is light,
and there is no darkness in him at all.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: The
devil wants our actions to be
negative. The devil wants that chain
reaction where someone in a bad mood
drags everybody around them down
Jesus wants us to work to build up His Kingdom.
God is so — so good to us.
If you miss your hour in
front of the tabernacle
you miss a lot of grace to
fight off satan's temptations.
Your mind may be focused on
dark things, others faults,
how you have been persecuted.
You can all pray hourly and think
of everyone praying, this will help.
Our Lady says — "the family that
prays together stays together."
Offer up your suffering for all our needs.
Pray for the Priestly Newsletter Book II—
Do not complain and think dark blaming
thoughts.
Live to do God's will.
Look out and see how you can
create harmony.
Be like Jesus.
Be a lover.
Excerpt from the Priestly Newsletter 1999 -
Issue 5
Various
Thoughts
-
St. John of the Cross gets to the
heart of the matter in these few words: "What does it profit you to
give God one thing if He asks for another? Consider what it is God wants
and then do it." 21
NOTE:
21.
St. John of the Cross, "Sayings of Light and Love",
The Collected Works of St. John
of the Cross,
translated by Kieran Kavanaugh,
O.C.D. and
Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D.,
Doubleday and Co., No. 70.
end
of excerpt from Newsletter 1999 - Issue 5
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger: When
we die — we will be
judged on how we loved:
loved God and one another —
GOD IS LOVE ——
IN HIM there is
no darkness.
The bad moods we have are
inside of us.
HAPPINESS COMES
FROM INSIDE OF US.
WE ARE TO BE
LIGHTS ————
ARE YOU A LIGHT?
ARE YOU SELF CENTERED?
ARE YOU LIKE JESUS WANTS?
BE POSITIVE ——
YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED TO
AN IMPORTANT JOB—
STICK TO THE TRUTH
AND THE MESSAGES.
LOVE
THE Messenger
Messenger: We
can miss the beautiful day,
We can miss the love others
are giving us because we
see ourselves as being
persecuted and rejected.
We can always look for something else.
From a Lenten Homily, March 24, 2000
given in China, Indiana at Mass
by Father Carter
Live in the Moment
Today’s Gospel in its story certainly
points ahead to Jesus in His Passion and death. And as we read passages such
as this during the Lenten season, we are reminded once again that the Church
in her Liturgy of the Word gives us an opportunity to undergo a purification,
an ever deepening cleansing of ourselves so that we may be a more fit
instrument for receiving the great graces which are to be given to us at the
time of the Resurrection memorial on Easter. And so all in all,
Lent is a time
of purification to prepare us for ever-greater gifts of the Lord. It’s a
time of self-discipline, a time to renew our efforts to be self-disciplined in
the service of the Lord. Self-discipline is an aspect of purification. And I
suggest that one of the most difficult acts of self-discipline in the
spiritual journey is to concentrate on the present moment. We have a very
strong tendency to disregard the importance of the present moment by focusing
in a wrong way on the past or in a wrong way on the future. There are proper
occasions for thinking of the past and the future. For example, we have to
learn from the past and we have to prepare for the future, but our great
emphasis has to be upon the present. There is a Latin axiom which says, age
quod agis, age quod agis, which means: do what you are doing, concentrate
on the present. And of course we are familiar with that term in the history of
spirituality: the sacrament of the present moment. And so the discipline of
Lent certainly encourages us to include in a deeper self-discipline a greater
determination to get as much as we can out of the present moment. People with
a terminal illness have an opportunity as they prepare for death for increased
prayer, contrition, love of God. However, 
some are taken very, very quickly.
But for those who have the opportunity of knowing with some certainty the time
of their death, I’m sure as they look back on their lives, they are saddened
by the many times they did not use time and opportunities for the service of
the Lord properly, and are overjoyed at those times in which they did use the
present opportunity properly. A great means we have of living in the present
properly is a greater focus upon our Lord. For if I have that awareness of the
fact I am united with Jesus here and now, why should I be concerned so much
about the future or the past? Yes, a great help in living in the present and
deriving all the good we can from it for ourselves and others is an ever
greater focus upon Jesus, because the more I focus upon Jesus and the more I
live with Him in the present moment, the more I am satisfied with the present
moment. And so let us in our Lenten activity resolve to grow in that
self-discipline - which is very difficult at times - to really live in the
present with the fullness of our being as much as is possible, with the help
of God’s grace. Now is the day of salvation. Now is the day of salvation.
end of Father Carter's homily
Psalm 118: 24
This is the day which Yahweh has made,
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
November 1, 2001 message continues
Messenger:
God is LOVE.
If we are like Him, we
must love.
Even in deep suffering, we can have
joy and peace.
It cannot be altered in any way.
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Table of
Contents
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Main Shepherds of Christ Page
Copyright
© 2001 Shepherds of Christ.
Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted:
May be copied in its entirety, but neither re-typed nor edited.
Translations are welcome but they must be reviewed for moral and
theological accuracy by a source approved by Shepherds of Christ Ministries
before any distribution takes place. Please contact us for more information.
All scripture quotes are from the New Jerusalem Bible, July 1990, published by Doubleday.
Revised:
November 1, 2001
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