| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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November 17, 2021
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November 18th Holy Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
Please pray for Mary, Rita's Sister
Pray the Rosary for the World
Please Pray for Fr. Joe & Bob, Rita's Intentions
Prayer for Grace for our Country
Dear Father united to Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made present, celebrated around the world, in the Holy Spirit. We offer up all we do united to the Mass. We unite in one mind and one heart as members of the mystical body of Christ, with Christ our head in the pure and holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary, through the powerful intercession of Mary with all the angels and saints and souls in purgatory, and we beg for the saving grace, for our country, the United States. Please help us. We further pray for unity to always do the will of God in love. We spread the Blood of Jesus on the leaders and people of the United States and cast the devil into hell. We consecrate our country to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart and all our dioceses, and beg for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. God help us. We pray for our families, the priests, the Church and the world. In the Name of Jesus please hear us, we pray. We pray for our president and leaders. We pray that we are united as one nation under God to work together in love as God wants.
November 17, 2021
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.
R. God loves us perfectly. God created us in His image and likeness. We are the unique creation of God the Father.
Like the prodigal son, God the Father loves us and wants us with Him eternally, wrapped in His embrace for all eternity.
When on earth we are to live in Him and grow more and more in our image in Him. The Pascal / Mystery - Death/Resurrection.
Dying to the ways not like Jesus / raising up in the spiritual life, living the resurrected life more and more in the here and now.
Baptism gives us a sharing in His life. Life is in Him.
If I am not loving oneself, as a person should, because God loves us so much, a person
Can be unable to see, as they should, the good in others.The deadly sins can make others seem as enemies, in competition, a way to right the deficiency they have in themselves.
From the Priestly Newsletter 2000 #3
An Overview of the Spiritual 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 10:11-151)
The Good Shepherd gave His life so that we may have life and have it in abundance. In this issue we offer an overview of the life Jesus came to give. We begin by presenting a brief sketch of the spiritual life. This will be followed by content which speaks in a more detailed manner about the various dimensions of the spiritual life -- our life in Christ.
A Sketch of the Spiritual Life
The Christian life is rooted in the great event of the Incarnation. We must consequently always focus our gaze upon Christ, realizing that the Father has spoken to us in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. It only remains for us, then, to strive to understand with greater insight the inexhaustible truth of the Word Incarnate (Heb 1:1-2).
What was the condition of the human race at the time of Christ’s coming? In some ways, people were much the same as we are today. There were those just being born into this world of human drama. There were those who, in death, were leaving it, some of whom had grasped but little of life’s meaning. There were those who were healthy and vigorous. There were those who were sick and lame. Some especially felt the burdens, the grief, the suffering of the human condition. Others were ebullient and desired all the pleasures life could provide. There was some good being accomplished. Immorality, however, was rampant. What St. Paul tells us concerning the time that immediately followed Christ’s existence certainly could also be applied to the time of His entrance into the world. It is, in short, an ugly picture that St. Paul depicts for us (Rom 1:22-32).
Into such a depraved condition Jesus entered, with a full and generous Heart, to lead the human race from the depths of sinfulness to the vibrant richness of a new life in Himself. Through His enfleshment, this Christ became the focal point of all history. The authentic hopes and dreams of the human family, now so overshadowed by the ugliness of sin, came converging upon this Christ. He would gather them up in Himself, give them a new luster and brilliance and dynamism, and would lead the human family back to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
Christ was radically to release us from the dominion of sin and elevate us to a new level of existence. This life Christ has given us is not a type of superstructure which is erected atop human existence. Although nature and grace are distinct, they do not lie side by side as separate entities. Rather, grace permeates nature. The Christian is one graced person. The Christian is one who has been raised up, caught up, into a deeper form of life in Christ Jesus. Nothing that is authentically human in the life of the Christian has been excluded from this new existence. Whatever is really human in the life of the Christian is meant to be an expression of the Christ-life. The simple but deep joys of family life, the wonderment at nature’s beauty, the warm embrace of a mother for her child, the agony of crucial decision making, the success or frustration that is experienced in one’s work, the joy of being well received by others, and the heartache of being misunderstood—all these experiences are intended to be caught up in Christ and made more deeply human because of Him.
Jesus has come, then, not to destroy anything that is authentically human, but to perfect it by leading it to a graced fulfillment. The more God-like we become through Christ, the more human we become.
We, through our incorporation into Christ which occurs at Baptism, are meant to relive the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In doing so, we are not only accomplishing our own salvation, but we are assisting in the salvation of others also. The Incarnation continues all the time. Christ, or course, is the one Who fundamentally continues the Incarnation. But He enlists our help. The world no longer sees Jesus, no longer is able to reach out and touch Him. We are the ones who now, in some way, make Christ visible and tangible. In union with the invisible, glorified Christ, and depending on Him as our source of life, we continue the Incarnation in its visible and temporal dimensions. This is our great privilege. This is our great responsibility.
The Christian is initiated into the mystery of Christ, into his or her role in prolonging the Incarnation, through Baptism (Rom 6:3-4).
It is not sufficient, however, that we be incorporated into Christ through Baptism. All forms of life require nourishment. So, too, our life in Christ must be continually nourished. How can we continually keep in contact with Christ? There are various ways as we live our life within the Church. We contact Christ in a most special way through the liturgy, above all in the Eucharistic liturgy. Through our most special and most personal meeting with Jesus in the Mass, we are more deeply incorporated into Christ. Also, we should remember that all the sacraments make up part of the Church’s liturgy.
The reading of Scripture provides another special opportunity for meeting Jesus. This is true for both Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament prefigures the New Testament and leads to it. It is obvious, however, that we meet Christ especially in the pages of the New Testament. How true it is to say that not to be familiar with Scripture is not to know Jesus properly. We should resolve to read from Scripture daily.
We also meet Jesus in our interaction with others. Everyone we meet, everyone we serve, is in the image of Jesus. We have to take the means to grow in this awareness. If I truly believe that everyone has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, how should I treat everyone?
These, then, are some of the ways we keep in contact with Jesus. Common to the various ways of meeting Jesus is a certain degree of prayerful reflection. Our contact with Jesus in the liturgy, in Scripture, and in our interaction with others, and so forth, will not be all that it should be unless we are persons of prayer. The light and strength of prayer enables us to keep in contact with Jesus as we should.
We live out our Christ-life in an atmosphere of love. Indeed, the life Jesus has given us is centered in love. It has its origins in the mysterious love of God (Jn 3:16).
Our new life in Jesus has arisen out of God’s fathomless love. Christ, in His descent into human flesh, has established a milieu of love. The life He came to give can flourish only in the framework of love. Indeed, we can summarize the meaning of the Christian life by stating that it is our loving response to God’s love. The pierced Heart of Jesus, this Heart which shed its last drop of blood in the greatest love for each one of us, is the symbol of God’s tremendous love for us. Christ’s Heart also calls us to respond by giving ourselves in love to God and neighbor. Yes, Jesus invites us to respond to God’s love by giving ourselves in love to Him in an ever closer union. The more closely we are united to Him, the greater is our capacity to love God and neighbor. The more closely we are united with Jesus, the more closely He unites us to the Father in the Holy Spirit, with Mary our Mother at our side.
The Indwelling of the Trinity and the Life of Grace
The spiritual life, the life of holiness, begins at Baptism. Archbishop Luis Martinez says:
"When we are born we are endowed by God with all we need for our human life, a complete organism, and a soul with the full range of faculties. Of course they are not all developed from birth, but we have them then as the source of everything we are going to need in life. And thus it is also in the spiritual order. When someone is baptized, he receives in all its fullness that supernatural world which the Christian carries within his soul. He receives grace, which is a participation of the nature of God; the theological virtues, which put him in immediate contact with the divine; the moral virtues, which serve to regulate and order all his life; and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the divine, mysterious receivers for picking up the Spirit’s inspirations and movements."2
Another author states: "The Three Divine Persons inhabit the sanctuary of our soul, taking their delight in enriching it with supernatural gifts and in communicating to us a Godlike life, similar to theirs, called the life of grace.
"All life, however, implies a threefold element: a vital principle that is, so to speak, the source of life itself; faculties which give the power to elicit vital acts; and lastly, the acts themselves which are but its development and which minister to its growth. In the supernatural order, God living within us produces the same elements. He first communicates to us habitual grace (the life of sanctifying grace) which plays the part of a vital supernatural principle. This principle deifies, as it were, the very substance of the soul and makes it capable, though in a remote way, of enjoying the Beatific Vision and of performing the acts that lead to it.
"Out of this grace spring the infused virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit which perfect our faculties and endow us with the immediate power of performing Godlike, supernatural, meritorious acts.
"In order to stir these faculties into action, He give us actual graces which enlighten our mind, strengthen our will, and aid us both to act supernaturally and to increase the measure of habitual grace that has been granted to us.
"Although this life of grace is entirely distinct from our natural life it is not merely superimposed on the latter. It penetrates it through and through, transforms it and makes it divine. It assimilates whatever is good in our nature, our education and our habits. It perfects and supernaturalizes all these various elements, directing them toward the last end, that is toward the possession of God through the Beatific Vision and its resultant life." 3
Our being in the state of sanctifying of grace and the special indwelling of the Persons of the Trinity within us always exist together. We cannot have the one without the other. Our life of grace, which is a sharing in Trinitarian life, allows us to know and love Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a most intimate fashion. Through grace we are in the image of the Trinity, and we enjoy special relationships with the Divine Persons.
Again, we listen to the words of Archbishop Martinez as he speaks about our relationships with the Divine Persons:
"Love, we have said, is the foundation of devotion to the Holy Spirit, as it is also the foundation of Christian perfection. But love as a reflection of God, as His own image, is something that encloses within its simplicity a boundless wealth and a variety of forms. Who can fathom the depths of love?
"Human love in all its manifestations is admirably in harmony with the love of charity; it is confident in filial love, trusting in friendship, sweet and fruitful in the love of husband and wife, disinterested and tender in the love of a mother. Our love of God must include all these forms of human love; every fiber of our heart must vibrate when the harmonious and full canticle of love bursts forth from it. But since God is one in essence and triune in Persons, our love for Him takes on a particular aspect accordingly as it is directed to each one of the divine Persons.
"Our love for the Father is tender and confident like that of children; eager to glorify Him as His only-begotten Son taught us to do by word and example. Love for the Father is the intense desire to have His will fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven. Our love for the Son, who willed to become flesh for us, is characterized by the tendency to union with Him and transformation into Him; by imitation of His example, participation in His life, and the sharing of His sufferings and His Cross. The Eucharist, mystery of love, of sorrow, and of union, reveals the characteristics of this love.
"Love for the Holy Spirit also has its special character, which we should study in order completely to understand devotion to Him. We have explained how the Holy Spirit loves us, how He moves us like a divine breath that draws us to the bosom of God, like a sacred fire that transforms us into fire, like a divine artist who forms Jesus in us. Surely, then, our love for the Holy Spirit should be marked by loving docility, by full surrender, and by a constant fidelity that permits us to be moved, directed, and transformed by His sanctifying action.
"Our love for the Father tends to glorify Him; our love for the Son, to transform ourselves into Him; our love for the Holy Spirit, to let ourselves be possessed and moved by Him."4
Scripture quotations are taken from The New Jerusalem Bible, Doubleday.
Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, Pauline Books and Media, pp. 124-125.
Adolphe Janquery, S.S., The Spiritual Life, Desclee & Co., p. 18
Archbishop Martinez, op. cit., pp. 67-68,
Roman 6:3-4
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.
From st. Claude La Columbiere 2000 #3
Here are words from St. Claude La Columbière, one of the great apostles of devotion to the Heart of Christ. Speaking to Jesus, Claude says:
You share my burdens,
You take them upon yourself.
You listen to me fondly when I tell you my troubles.
You never fail to lighten them.
I find You at all times and in all places.
You never leave me.
I will always find You wherever I go.Old age or misfortune will not cause You to abandon me.
You will never be closer to me than
When all seems to go against me.
No matter how miserable I may be,
You will never cease to be my friend.You tolerate my faults with admirable patience.
You are always ready to come to me, if I so desire it.Jesus, may I die praising you!
May I die loving you!
May I die for the love of you.1212. St. Claude de la Columbiere, as published by Apostleship of Prayer, Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus.
Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 2000 Issue 3
The Father's Will for Us - Our Source of Peace
Pope John Paul II instructs us: "The Church, as a reconciled and reconciling community, cannot forget that at the source of her gift and mission of reconciliation is the initiative, full of compassionate love and mercy, of that God who is love (see 1 John 4:8) and who out of love created human beings (see Wisdom 11:23-26; Genesis 1:27: Psalms 8:4-8)…He created them so that they might live in friendship with Him and in communion with one another.
"God is faithful to His eternal plan even when man, under the impulse of the evil one (see Wisdom 2:24) and carried away by his own pride, abuses the freedom given to him in order to love and generously seek what is good, and (instead) refuses to obey his Lord and Father. God is faithful even when man, instead of responding with love to God’s love, opposes Him and treats Him like a rival, deluding himself and relying on his own power, with the resulting break of relationship with the One who created him. In spite of this transgression on man’s part, God remains faithful in love.
"It is certainly true that the story of the Garden of Eden makes us think about the tragic consequences of rejecting the Father, which becomes evident in man’s inner disorder and in the breakdown of harmony between man and woman, brother and brother (see Genesis 3:12 ff; 4:1-16). Also significant is the Gospel parable of the two brothers (the parable of the ‘prodigal son’; see Luke 15:11-32) who, in different ways, distance themselves from their father and cause a rift between them. Refusal of God’s fatherly love and of His loving gifts is always at the root of humanity’s divisions.
"But we know that God…like the father in the parable (of the prodigal son), does not close His heart to any of His children. He waits for them, looks for them, goes to meet them at the place where the refusal of communion imprisons them in isolation and division. He calls them to gather about His table in the joy of the feast of forgiveness and reconciliation.
"This initiative on God’s part is made concrete and manifest in the redemptive act of Christ, which radiates through the world by means of the ministry of the Church." 13
13. Pope John Paul II, as in Celebrate 2000!, Servant Publications, pp. 140-141.
Song: I Am a God of Justice
Excerpt from Priestly Newsletter 1998 - ISSUE FOUR
Shortly before he was to die from cancer, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin left us these inspiring words about peace: "It is the first day of November, and fall is giving way to winter. Soon the trees will lose the vibrant colors of their leaves and snow will cover the ground. The earth will shut down, and people will race to and from their destinations bundled up for warmth. Chicago winters are harsh. It is a time of dying.
3
"But we know that spring will soon come with all its new life and wonder.
"It is quite clear that I will not be alive in the spring. But I will soon experience new life in a different way...
"What I would like to leave behind is a simple prayer that each of you may find what I have found—God's special gift to us all: the gift of peace. When we are at peace, we find the freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go of what is non-essential and embrace what is essential. We empty ourselves so that God may more fully work within us. And we become instruments in the hands of the Lord."3. Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, The Gift of Peace, Loyola University Press, pp. 151-153.
Excerpts from Priestly Newsletter 2000 Issue 3
St. Teresa of Avila, one of the three women doctors of the Church, tells us how the spiritual life is summed up in loving conformity to the Father’s will:
"All that the beginner in prayer has to do -- and you must not forget this, for it is very important -- is to labor and to be resolute and prepare himself with all possible diligence to bring his will in conformity with the will of God. As I shall say later, you may be quite sure that this comprises the very greatest perfection which can be attained on the spiritual road."16
Again she states: "...love consists ... in the firmness of our determination to try to please God in everything." 17
16. St Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, translated by E. Allison Peers, Doubleday and Co., "Second Mansions", p. 51.
17. Ibid., "Fourth Mansions", p. 76.
Excerpts from Priestly Newsletter 2000 Issue 3
The Eucharist
The death-resurrection of Jesus, which is encountered in a special way through the sacraments, is most especially renewed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Consequently, we can see the logical connection between the sacraments and the Mass. Indeed, all of the sacraments point to the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
At the Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us (Vatican II, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, No. 17)26
The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators. On the contrary, through a proper appreciation of the rites and prayers they should participate knowingly, devoutly, and actively. They should be instructed by God’s word and be refreshed at the table of the Lord’s body; they should give thanks to God; by offering the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, they should learn to offer themselves too. Through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever closer union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all. (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, No. 48)27
Through the Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ the Lord desired to set before us in a very special way this remarkable union whereby we are united one with another and with our divine Head, a union that no word of praise can ever sufficiently express. For in this sacrifice the sacred ministers act not only as the representative of our Saviour, but as the representative of the whole Mystical Body and of each one of the faithful. Again, in this act of sacrifice, the faithful of Christ, united by the common bond of devotion and prayer, offer to the eternal Father through the hands of the priest, whose prayer alone has made it present on the altar, the Immaculate Lamb, the most acceptable victim of praise and propitiation for the Church’s universal need. Moreover, just as the divine Redeemer, while dying on the Cross, offered Himself to the eternal Father as Head of the whole human race, so now, ‘in this clean oblation’ He not only offers Himself as Head of the Church to His heavenly Father but in Himself His mystical members as well. He embraces them all, yes, even the weaker and more ailing members, with the deepest love of His Heart. (Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis AAS, XXXV, 232-233)28
26. The Documents of Vatican II, "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy", America Press Edition, No. 17.
27. Ibid, No. 48.
28. Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Letter, Mystici Corporis, AAS XXXV, pp. 232-233.
From a spiritual journal: "Go to the tabernacle. Jesus will give us our answers. He is waiting for us to come. We must come and sit in silence and let Him work in our hearts. We must not be filled with fear, we should be filled with hope and joy. We must pray to the Holy Spirit to give us His wisdom to know the will of the Father. Mary is our Mother. She will help us with all our trials and all of our struggles. We must discipline our thoughts and go to the Heart of Jesus. It is through the Eucharist that we will be strengthened for our trials.
"This is how I am with Jesus. I am empty. I want Him to make Himself known to me. I didn’t have much theological knowledge when I started sitting in front of the tabernacle. I was looking for love from Jesus. Nobody loved me the way my soul wanted to be loved. I craved to be with Jesus. I wanted my heart filled. I wanted the craving I felt inside satisfied. I thirsted for love. I sat with Him present in the tabernacle and He filled me. He revealed Himself to me. He was the Bridegroom of my soul and I His bride. As I became more intimately united to Him, sitting there in silence and going to Him, I cried. I was so filled with love. I found what I was looking for all my life. He wrote the knowledge of Himself on my soul. He wrote this knowledge in the intimate moments I spent with Him at Mass after Communion and before the tabernacle.
"I struggle intently to do His work, and I am weary from running the race. I am tired, I am truly human, but the unquenchable love I have for Him in my heart is at the core of my existence. It is in Him I exist and in Him I love. I love Him so intently and yet I am so unworthy of His gifts given to me. I long more for the desire to help souls, and His desires become mine through my deep union with Him especially after the reception of the Eucharist. On this day (Feast of the Assumption), I felt the unquenchable purity of the Heart of Mary and the joy of dwelling deeply in His Heart in her pure love. It was a special gift He gave to me, to be wrapped in Mary’s Heart despite my faults. He gave Himself so completely to me. I only long for this, knowing this presence. - Rita Ring
Humility
Humility is a very important virtue given to us for the spiritual journey.
Humility is both the realization of what we are as creatures of God and the concrete implementation of this realization in our Christian lives. Humility, therefore, is not an exercise in self-depreciation; it is not telling yourself that you are no good, that you really have nothing of any significance to contribute to the service of God. Humility is based on truth. It is compatible with the recognition that God has given a person certain gifts, even great gifts, of nature and grace. If we do not recognize our God-given gifts, we do not thank God for them as we should, nor properly develop these gifts according to His will. God wants us not only to recognize the good that is in us, but also to realize the source of this goodness. Although we have a responsibility to cooperate with His graces, God is the One Who is chiefly responsible for what we are. If one person has advanced to a level in the Christian life that is beyond the level of another, it is ultimately because God has given that person greater graces.
If humility is based on truth and, consequently, allows us to properly recognize our gifts, it also necessitates that we admit to the evil within us, which is also part of the truth and must be acted upon. Humility not only bids us to admit that there is evil in us, but also tells us that, as creatures of God, we should conform to His will and work against this evil side of our persons. In summary, humility allows us to properly evaluate both the good and evil within ourselves.
Here is a quotation from St. Paul which helps us to preserve, and grow in, humility: Who made you so important? What have you got that was not given to you? And if it was given to you, why are you boasting as though it were your own? (1 Cor 4:7).
And in the Letter of James we read: Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up. (Jm 4:10)
Strength in Weakness
"and that is why I am glad of weaknesses, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong. (2 Cor 12:10)
According to the wisdom of the world, it is often thought to be a sign of weakness if one feels a sense of powerlessness and admits the same. According to the wisdom of Christ, it is of paramount importance that one admits weakness and powerlessness and builds upon this realization.
If we do not admit our weakness and our helplessness, then we are living a lie. Jesus has told us that without Him we can do nothing. It is a sign of Christian maturity if we not only admit to our weakness theoretically, but consistently live this realization. It is not a question of giving in to this weakness, of capitulating to it in an evil way. It is rather a question of realizing our helplessness and throwing ourselves into the arms of Christ. Then we become strong with his strength; then his grace more and more strengthens us and we actually are surprised at the depth of our Christian existence.
At certain rather rare points along the path of life, we become overwhelmed, for various reasons, with the burden of life. We feel adrift upon the turbulent waters of worry and anxiety; fear gradually strengthens its paralyzing grip. Life temporarily seems to be too much, and we feel ourselves deluged, barely capable of coping with the harshness of the human condition. Such episodes, painful as they are, are magnificent opportunities for Christian growth. If we act as we should at such times -- abandon ourselves anew to Jesus -- then our Christian life takes on a new depth and vitality; for we have become so much more closely united to Jesus Who is our nourishment, our life, our happiness.
Of course, it is not only at times of special trial and anxiety that, realizing our helplessness, we should turn to Jesus. If we are spiritually sensitive, we will always be aware of our weakness. But, very importantly, this realization of our powerlessness is not meant in any sense to make us feel depressed or discouraged. If we build properly upon the understanding of our weakness, we will experience deeper peace, and love, and security -- because Jesus is very near.
Living in the Present Moment
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 often disregard the importance of the present moment by focusing in a wrong way on the past or in a wrong way on the future. When we give in to this tendency we suffer a significant spiritual loss. 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, which means: do what you are doing, concentrate on the present. And, of course, we are familiar with the term in the history of spirituality: the sacrament of the present moment. Growth in self-discipline should include 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. For those who have this 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 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 on 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 resolve to grow in that self-discipline which is required to really live in the present with the fullness of our being as much as is possible, with the help of God’s grace. To do so is extremely important for proper growth in the spiritual life.
Now is the time. Now is the time to live and to love. Now is the time to become more united to Christ, to be more one with Him. Now is not yesterday; now is not tomorrow; now is today, and today is a gift from the Lord.
Surrender to God
God gives ultimate meaning to our lives. God reveals to us how the laughter and the tears, the work and the play, the pain and the joy, all fit together. As we live in God, God gathers up what would otherwise be the fragmented pieces of our lives, and arranges them into harmonious unity. This unity emanates from our living according to God’s plan, a plan embodying a way of existence that leads to an ever greater experience of the true, the good, and the beautiful.
We can put obstacles in the way of God’s transforming designs, of God’s plan for us. We can at times say "no" to God’s initiative. We can refuse to be open to God’s tender, loving touch. We can engage in a process of self-enclosure. We can determine to map out our own path to supposed happiness, forgetting that plans for happiness which exclude God are ultimately plans for experiencing frustration and emptiness. Briefly, we can act in an obstinate fashion regarding God’s offer of Self-communication.
At other times, it is not so much stubbornness which leads us to say "no" to God; it is fear. We realize that the closer we come to God, the more God will ask of us, gently but firmly. We fear the white heat of God’s love. Such episodes along the spiritual journey are crucial. If we keep pulling back from the intensity of God’s love, if we keep refusing what this love wants to accomplish in us and through us, then we will live on a rather superficial level.
We must strive to overcome whatever attitude prevents us from increasingly giving ourselves over to God. We must realize that progress in the spiritual life is measured by the degree to which we abandon ourselves to God. We must realize that, if we hope to grow spiritually, we must increasingly allow God to direct our lives.
Let us pray, then, for an increase in the spirit of abandonment to God. As we live more according to this attitude, we will experience in greater measure the warmth and security of God’s love, this God Who is the ground of our being, the goal of our existence, the source of our happiness.
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| Rita Ring | ||||
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Mass Book,
by Rita Ring: Many of the entries in the Priestly Newsletter Volume II from a
spiritual journal came from this book. These entries |
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Rosary Meditations
for Parents and Children, by
Rita Ring, Short Meditations for both parents and children to be used when
praying the |
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God's Blue Book IV by Rita Ring. This book is about the love Jesus has for Mary and Mary has for Jesus and Jesus and Mary have for us It is truly the Love of the Two Hearts. Mary appeared every day at the Holy Spirit Center Fr. Carter was there. Mary's first apparition July 5, 1994. $5 |
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God's Blue Book V by Rita Ring. Jesus wants to be the bridegroom of our soul He is our beloved Jesus tells us about pure love how we are to be pure of heart and love God and love others. It is a must, to hear about love from Jesus Jesus is love $5 |
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God's Blue Book 6A by Rita Ring. Rosaries from Their Hearts during apparitions. Jesus and Mary appeared every day and I received rosaries from Them and They were transcribed from a tape. Also messages of love from Jesus on days of January, 1995 About Baptism writings from Fr. Carter and the Scriptures. $10 |
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God's Blue Book 6B by Rita Ring. Jesus and Mary appeared every day in February, 1995 So beautiful transcribed from a tape the Stations, 7 Sorrows, prayers in the Prayer Manual, the Holy Spirit Novena Book and the Song Book. Pure love loving and forgiving a book about Jesus' love, baptism, grace and Fr. Carter's Newsletter. $10 |
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Apostles Manual. About the Movement — the structure of the Movement All Ministries — from the time 3 months before Mary appeared in Clearwater and 3 months after. Rosaries of the 13ths, Fr. Carter's Newsletters. Messages from God the Father Reaching the priests, the Church, the schools and the world. $20 |
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Rosaries from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Book 1. Mary appeared in Clearwater December 17, 1996 in rainbow color and these rosaries left the printer the same day from Apparitions of Jesus and Mary transcribed from a tape. $10 |
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Rosaries from the Hearts of Jesus and Mary Book 2. This is a book of so many rosaries — transcribed from a tape. So many beautiful rosaries. pages $12 |
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Messages for the Elderly, Ill and Homebound. This is a big book of loving messages for nursing home people and homebound from Jesus and Mary Their lives are so important united to the Mass offering up their suffering, their lives for the souls of this earth. $10 |
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Short Rosary Meditations for the Elderly, Ill and Homebound. This book is so important with pictures they can open it and lay it on their laps and pray the rosary. $10 |
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Songs from Jesus Songbook. These loving songs were given from Jesus. So beautiful Love Songs from Jesus of His love — helping us have pure and loving hearts. $3 |
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| Fr. Joe Robinson |
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Guiding Light — The Word Alive in Our Hearts. — Cycle B Homilies by the Reverend Joe Robinson given at St. Boniface Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a tremendous honor Fr. Joe has allowed us to share these great gifts with you – for greater holiness and knowing more and more about God. $10 |
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Guiding Light — The Soul Who Could. — Cycle A Homilies by the Reverend Joe Robinson given at St. Boniface Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. $10 |
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Guiding Light homily series — Reflect on the Word — Cycle B The Word leaves an impression on our souls. In my thoughts and reflections are born a more tangible understanding of these eternal concepts presented in the Gospels and the readings. Anyone can read a sentence, but not anyone can absorb it's true meaning. Truth, in this day and age, is almost a matter of opinion or individual entitlement. We believe that Christ's truth is our Roman Catholic Church. We, as priests, champion it's teachings; we are ambassadors for the Pope and Christ to those faces looking at us. We are the light by which our congregation reads to reflect upon real truth and we do it hand in hand. $10 |
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Guiding Light homily series — Steadfast to the Son — Cycle A The sunflower is a great example of how we should be steadfastly guided by light. What a powerful thought that this exceptional plant is not stuck in one pose day in and day out, yet adaptable and magnetized to the sun. We feel the same about our Son. Our heads turns to face Christ as each day presents its challenges to find light. We join together like plants in a field and soak up the Son through the pulpit. We are a warm circle of strength using the wind of our breath to carry our priests' words, Christ's words, to new rich soil. $10 |
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Guiding Light — Focusing on the Word — Cycle B At times we may feel that our path to Christ is a bit "out of focus". Like the disciples in the Book of Mark, this ordinary life clouds our vision of Christ's Divinity. We may doubt the practicality or possibility of applying His teachings and example to our modern life. Cycle B's homilies are a "guiding light" to help us realize Jesus' Messianic greatness and His promise of better things to come. $10 |
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Guiding Light — Feed My Soul — Cycle C In a world rapidly advancing and encouraging personal gain, we are faced with modern problems. There is a challenge to find time in our busy schedules for Sunday Mass or a family meal. We are able to research, shop, bank and even work without hearing one human voice. It is no wonder that we may often feel disconnected and famished at our week's end. In Fr. Joe's third book of homilies from Cycle C, we are reminded of the charity that Christ intended us to show each other. We have a calling to turn the other cheek and be the Good Samaritan to others. We are rewarded with the Father's kingdom and love when we are not worthy. We are not left alone or hungry. $10 |
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| Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J. |
Here are all the products in this category:
Books written by the founder of Shepherds of Christ Ministries
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Response to God’s Love by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. In this book Fr. Carter speaks of God as the ultimate mystery. We can meditate on the interior life of the Trinity. Fr. Carter tells us about our uniqueness in the Father's Plan for us, how the individual Christian, the Church and the world are in the state of becoming. Imprimatur. $10 |
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Shepherds of Christ — Selected Writings on Spirituality for all People as Published in Shepherds of Christ Newsletter for Priests. Contains 12 issues of the newsletter from July/August 1994 to May/June 1996. $15 |
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Shepherds of Christ — Volume 2: by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. Contains issues 13—29 of the newsletter (September/October 1996 — Issue 5, 1999) $15 |
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Shepherds of Christ — Volume 3 by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. Contains Newsletter Issues 1 through 4 of 2000 including Fr. Carter’s tremendous Overview of the Spiritual Life $10 |
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Tell My People. Messages from Jesus and Mary (As given to Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.) One of Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.'s Synopsis of the Spiritual Life From Jesus to Fr. Carter "On Holy Saturday, 1994, Jesus told me that on the following day, Easter, I would also begin to receive messages for others. Our Lord also told me that some of these were eventually to be published in a book and here is that book." $10 |
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Spirituality Handbook. Fr. Edward Carter, S.J. did 3 synopsis of the spiritual life. The Spirituality Handbook, the Priestly Newsletter 20he Tell My People book. The way of spiritual life proposed to the members of Shepherds of Christ Associates is centered in consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. All aspects of the spiritual life discussed below should be viewed as means to help members develop their lives in consecration to Christ, the Sacred Heart, and to Mary, the Immaculate Heart. $3 |
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The Spirituality of Fatima by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. The Fatima apparitions and messages received official Church approval in 1930. In giving her official approval to the Fatima event, the Church tells us that what took place at Fatima involving the three young visionaries is worthy of our belief. $5 |
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Shepherds of Christ Holy Spirit Novena CD
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Statues/Religious Items
Blue Crystal Rosary
Rosary with the Image of Our Lady of Clearwater
8mm - $ 40.00 plus shipping
Red Crystal Rosary
Rosary with the Image of Our Lady of Clearwater
8mm - $ 40.00 plus shipping
Clear Crystal Rosary
Rosary with the Image of Our Lady of Clearwater
8mm - $ 40.00 plus shipping
R. Pray for These Things
1) Pray for the Pope & hierarchy to help us start prayer chapters.
3) Pray for the priests, the Church and the world!
2) Pray for Special people.
4) Pray for the spread of prayer chapters,
also for the spread of priests doing prayer chapters.
5) Pray for the spread of Blue Books.
6) People going to Florida and China.
7) Vocations to all 7 categories.
8) Pray for spread of Consecration and Rosary.
9) Pray for pope helping us.
10) Pray for Jeff.
11) Pray for the country
12) All intentions on my list, Jerry's list.
13) Priests getting Fr. Joe's book.
14) Pray for Fr. Joe's new book, cover & funds for printing & postage.
15) Donors and members and their families.
16) Healing of the Family tree.
17) Pray for the Corona Virus to go away
18) All who asked us to pray for them.
19) All we promised to pray for.
20) Rita, Doris, Sheila, Jerry, Sanja, Fr. Mike, Louie, Laverne,
Fr. Joe, all priests helping us, Ed, Jimmy, Mary,
Carol R., a special couple, Rosie & all involved.
21) All of our families.
22) Funds and insurance.
23) All of our houses.
24) In thanksgiving for gifts, graces, & blessings received.
25) Spread the Blood of Jesus on all of us here.
26) Consecrate all hearts.
27) Cast the devil out of all of us here and all in Movement.
Shepherds of Christ Ministries
P.O. Box 627 China, Indiana 47250
Telephone: (toll free) 1-888-211-3041 or (812) 273-8405
FAX: (812) 273-3182
Copyright © 2021 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.
