Shepherds of Christ          Daily Writing

November 16, 2006

November 17th Holy Spirit Novena Scripture selection is Day 6 Period  II.

The Novena Rosary Mysteries   for November 17th are Sorrowful.

November 16, 2006

Messenger:               The Lady is calling us to
                            come and to love — to be like Jesus.
                            Mary appeared in Clearwater to show
                            us love —

                                I look at the love that Jesus
                            gave us — to give His love for the sake
                            of souls —

                                See the light — do not abandon
                            this mission — we are the hands and
                            heart of Jesus and Mary in this world —
                            Loving for the sake of souls — our
                            own included.

                                Mary stood beneath the cross
                            of Jesus —

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:                 Fr. Carter knew he was going
                            to die in the fall. He loved
                            the fall and when he died a thick
                            snow fell at Columbiere —

                            end of message

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:                Our lives are like this — little
                            shoots — autumn leaves then the
                            calmness — God takes us to heaven
                            with Him if we loved and served Him
                            and lived for Him.

                                Jesus loves us so very much —
                            even in the deepest suffering we
                            can know this time that our lives
                            lived for Him will bring us to the
                            sweetest peace, love and joy.

                                We may shed many tears in our lives,
                            but God loves us so very much and gives
                            us His promise of a heavenly reward if
                            we love and serve Him as He desires and
                            when we get to heaven — others will
                            thank us for all we have done —
                            Even in our darkest hour we can
                            praise the Lord — we can really
                            feel bowed-down  and we can sing and praise
                            God because He is always there —
                            This is the good news — how much
                            He loves us.

                                In the darkness there is light
                            if we praise the Lord — sing —
                            Alleluia — Jesus loves us so very much.

                                We are one body — working together
                            for this mission to promote the Kingdom
                            of God — We are one body — we are not
                            alone — when we are hungry —
                            He feeds us with Himself — He
                            gives us His Word.

                                He came that we can be filled with
                            His life —

                                "I am the way, the truth, the life."
                            He is the vine — we are the branches —
                            We have each other —
                            God loves us so much —
                            He comes to outpour His grace to us!!
                            We are one body.
                            See the Blessed Sacrament —

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:           Receive the Eucharist.

                            Read His Word.

                            Pray His Word lives in us —
                            See the sun and think of the warmth
                                of His love —
                                the light shining in the darkness —

                            We are one body —

                            God gives us His Church.

                            God gives us each other.

                            God loves us so very much.

                            God's love is awesome —

                            See the stars —

                            See the skies —

                            Hear the thunder.

                            Sing:  How Great Thou Art

Messenger:           God gave His Son to die for us —
                            This is how much — God loves us

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:               Love is like a resting place —
                            when we go to the Blessed Sacrament —
                            we can rest in His Heart.
                            We can feel — the warmth of His love —
                            We are one with each other — one
                                in our deep love of Him —
                            Love is bigger than the ocean.

                            Love is like a warm fireplace —
                                the glow of the Heart of Jesus —
                                Open wide — a bright light
                                    and the embers of endless love —

                            When sufferings come — to realize
                                how deep is our love for
                                souls — Our love for God —
                                Our love for each other.

                            Friend — Thanks for giving to the Lord —
                                Thanks for the love you gave
                                    on earth —

                                Thank you for giving to the Lord —
                                YOU CHANGED MY LIFE —

                                that helped me to get to heaven
                               

                            Thank you for giving to the Lord —

                            I am so glad you gave —

                            Look at all the souls — thanking
                                you for helping them to get
                                to heaven.

                            How many souls did you help to get
                                to heaven —

                            Other focused

                            Not selfish.

                            Thank you for giving to the Lord —
                            I am so glad you gave —

                            Satan wants us focused on ourselves
                                Being focused selfishly on ourselves —
                                We are so blind we don't even
                                    know how his grip is
                                    paralyzing and crippling.

                            Hail Mary — look on us with
                                gentle eyes of love and
                                lead us to be likened to you —

                            Oh Hail Mary — help us — love us

                            Mother us —

                            Lead us gently to your heart —
                            Be our constant help and companion.

                            Sing:     Ave Maria

                            Oh Mary we love you —
                            Oh Mary we love you

                            Ora  Pro nobis — Pecatoribus
 

                            ORA  Pro nobis

                            ORA  Pro nobis

                            Excerpt from Tell My People
                            by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:           Jesus wants us to walk with Him in
                                the bitter passion and
                                experience the joy of the resurrection.

                            Peace, love and joy

                            Peace, love and joy

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:               To get control of another —
                            one may only work if they can
                            rescue them being emotionally
                            over the other —

                                The secret lies in being empowered
                             is to strive to live always according to God's will.
                             In this lies our might

                                Not these co-dependent — dominating
                            behaviors — one rescues and another
                            dances to the leadership of another
                            controlling them emotionally.

                                Look at the Apostles.

Mark 3: 13-19

He now went up onto the mountain and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to proclaim the message, with power to drive out devils. And so he appointed the Twelve, Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.  

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:           Giving credit where it is due —
                                to God who makes it happen —

                            Jealous fear —
                            not being jealous someone will get ahead
                            — God wants — to make
                                us bigger and stronger —

                            We can see the jealousy even
                                between a two and one year
                                old for parents' attentions.

                            It is everybody's responsibility
                                to see how they were taught
                                dysfunctional things —
                                if they do not they cannot
                                work as one in intimate
                                relationships or in communities,
                                churches, schools, etc. —

                            Their imperfections cry out as
                                others back up to get away.

                            Some people become so selfish
                                that they can kill an unborn
                                because of their own selfish
                                interests and tell themselves
                                it's okay to kill for their own
                                selfish wants.

                            How could we kill an unborn
                                when they cry out — let
                                me live, let me smile — let
                                me share my life with you and
                                a person can be so selfish —
                                they can kill an unborn —

                            Listen to a baby cry out
                                "Let me live, please —
                                let me share with you."

                            And a person can be so selfish
                                they can kill an unborn
                                baby  — to protect themselves
                                some cover it up — too —
                                How deep can selfishness go —

                            Mary is calling us now to be pure —
                                to turn to Jesus —
                                to not disobey the commandments —
                                to not try to twist the truth —
                                to seek the truth — with all
                                our hearts —

                            to Follow the example of Jesus
                                to care for the souls —
                                to help them to get to heaven —

                            Our lives are to live to try to get
                                to heaven ourselves by
                                loving and serving the Lord.

                            We live our lives in death-
                                resurrection — living out
                                the pascal mystery —
                                living out our vocation
                                as God intends.

                            Mary is a spiritual mother —
                                Mary loves us so much —
                                She wants to lead us to Jesus
                                    her beloved Son —

                            We stand beneath the cross and
                                look to Jesus — see Him
                                saying this is what I
                                endured for My precious
                                souls — can't you be
                                other-focused and love one
                                another — so they can see
                                My light in  you —
                                when I did so much to help
                                    lead them to heaven.

                            Why can't you understand
                                you are to forgive and love
                                and work with each other —

                            Some drive people away —
                                when they need love and
                                need to see My light —

                            Others when given love and care
                                stay in darkness and
                                slavishly, selfishly try to
                                control others — giving into the
                                devil — blocking My light —

November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:           Death—Resurrection

                            Jesus came a little baby into the
                                world for the sake of His
                                precious souls —

                            When we, the poor banished children
                                of Adam and Eve, give our
                                hearts to the New Adam,
                                Jesus, and the New Eve,
                                Mary, we are more likely
                                to do God's will —

                                Jesus — is the way, the truth
                                    and the life —

                            The Song Jesus plays for us is the
                                Song from Jesus

                                         
November 16, 2006 message continues

Messenger:           And Jesus tells us how much
                                He truly loves us —
                                We cannot have inordinate
                                attachments and be happy.

                            Happiness lies in this —
                                living God's will in
                                    love —

                            Serving God and keeping His
                                commands.

                            Living By His word —

                            Praying to the Holy Spirit to fill
                                us.

                            Sing:     Come Holy Spirit

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.

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First Period
Meditations Nine Days

Romans 8:14-17

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

Romans 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.'

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.

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.
 

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.

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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.

6. 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.'
7. 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.
8. 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.'
9. 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.

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