| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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December 11, 2015
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December 12th Holy Spirit Novena |
The Novena Rosary
Mysteries |
China Retreat
December 10th - 13th
Please tune in!
Pray for special intentions.
Pray for Dan & Melanie, Jimmy,
Fr. Joe, Mary, Blue Book 16.
Please pray for funds & grace.
Give the gift that Counts.
Blow Out Sale for Reprinting of Blue Book 1, 2 & 3
While Supplies Last
Blue Book 1 - $4 each plus postage
Blue Book 2 - $4 each plus postage
Blue Book 3 - $3 each plus postageCall 1-888-211-3041 for Doris
New Homily Book - Cycle C
Available $10.00 plus postage
December 17th is the anniversary of Mary's apparition in Clearwater 19 years ago.
Come to the 6:20 Prayer service December 17th.There will be a procession.
December 11, 2015
R. Fr. Carter wrote 20 books
He wrote the book Response in Christ and
it was translated into many languages –
R. Fr. Carter writes
The Christian and Sin (excerpt)Excerpt from Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J.
SIX
As we sin and fail to love God, we close in upon ourselves. We prevent a further growth in openness to transcendence, to God and to His grace. We block off the source of our only real self-development and fulfillment. To the extent that we close in upon ourselves in sin, to that extent we feel the misery of sin. This misery of spiritual "self-enclosedness" is a faint participation in the essential pain of hell. The damned are eternally and completely closed in upon themselves, completely deprived of God and other personal relationships. This, then, is hell – the damned really experiencing no one but themselves. Hell is God's ratification of the choice which the unrepentant serious sinner has himself made. This choice is one of radical self-isolation.
Sin is primarily a refusal to love God, a refusal to be loved by Him, to be guided by Him. In sinning, man seeks for a false fulfillment, and therefore actually becomes impoverished. The great St. Augustine puts it this way: "For when the soul loves its own power, it slips from the common whole to its own particular part. Had it followed God as its ruler in the universal creature, it could have been most excellently governed by His laws. But in that apostatizing pride, which is called 'the beginning of sin', it sought for something more that the whole; and while it struggled to govern by its own laws, it was thrust into caring for a part, since there is nothing more than the whole; and so by desiring something more, it becomes less. . .”2
Yes, sin is an act disruptive of one's relationship with God. But sin has other dimensions also. It is a refusal to love other men as we should. For the Christian, sin is an offense against the covenant life of the People of God. In some way the sinfulness of the individual Christian makes itself felt in the corporate body which is the Church. The Christian, in sinning, is failing to love the corporate good of the People of God. He is failing to contribute his share to the progressive maturation in Christ of the total Christian community. The Christian in his sin becomes a burden to the People of God.
Sin also is an obvious refusal to love others in those instances when one directly harms others through his transgression. So many sins come under this category: theft, all forms of uncharity, social injustice, scandal, detraction. Furthermore, not only does one man often sin against another, but he frequently leads another into sin. In God's plan man is supposed to help his neighbor achieve his temporal and eternal happiness, but how often, even among Christians, the opposite is true. Not to make a positive contribution to the true growth of others is failure enough, but to be a positive hindrance is a far greater evil.
There is still another way in which the sinner refuses love to his fellowmen; when man sins he makes his contribution to the "sin of the world.”3 He thus adds to that huge, negative weight, nourished by the sins of the centuries, a weight which is always trying to draw man away from his God-given destiny. This mass of sinful ugliness, this "sin of the world," always has its considerable influence, but at times its hideousness makes itself especially manifest. The great race riots which have tragically risen up recently in various parts of the United States are examples of these special manifestations of the "sin of the world." Such events are not isolated instances of sins connected with race. In back of such tragedies there is a long history of grave social and racial sins, of seething hatred of white for black, and black for white. Such accumulated sinfulness in regard to race is part of the "sin of the world."
There are many other examples of these special manifestations of the "sin of the world." There are the world wars and the lesser wars, with their share of unbelievable accounts of the hatred which man can impose upon his fellowman. There are the histories of the various crime syndicates throughout the world with all their blatant categories of human degradation – narcotics, prostitution, terrorization and the rest. There are the sins of colonialism and the sins of communism.
The "sin of the world" with its stark and bold manifestations is a sickening reality. But a reality it is. And each man's sinfulness adds a little to this universal world sin. Each man's sinfulness contributes to sin's divisiveness. Man is intended to help Christ progressively unify all creation more and more into Himself. When man sins, he contributes to the disruptive and disunifying force of the "sin of the world."
Sin, then, because it is a failure to love God, man and the world, is selfishness. Sin seems to offer some sort of happiness, or advantage, or fulfillment. But this is a delusion. Sin can accomplish none of these things, because man's only real happiness and fulfillment comes from his authentic relationship in love with God, his fellowman and the rest of creation. Sin works against all these relationships.
Sin is so hard to understand because it is an absurdity. But if we are to grow properly in the Christian life, we must have some basic realization of what sin is, and of God's attitude towards sin and the sinner. Our best source for such a mature realization is given to us in the crucified Christ. In this figure we can know all the Father wants us to comprehend concerning sin. First of all, Christ crucified tells us very starkly of the overwhelming heinousness of sin. We know that sin is overwhelmingly evil because it alone could nail Incarnate Goodness to the cross. Secondly, Christ crucified speaks to us concerning the justice of God. God's justice does ask satisfaction for sin – yes, even that satisfaction which is the death of His Son. Thirdly, and very importantly for us poor sinners, the crucified Christ speaks to us unmistakably and overwhelmingly of the Father's great love and mercy towards us. Because of this love and mercy we can be so positive about human existence, for great as is the power of sin, the love and mercy of the Father, incarnated in His Son, is infinitely greater. This is our peace and consolation.
God's love and mercy moves the sinner toward repentance, and when the sinner repents, God's love changes him. In Isaiah the prophet we read: " 'Come now, let us talk this over, says Yahweh. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.' " (Is 1:18).
Included in our sorrow for sin is a resolve to take the proper means and precautions to avoid sin in the future. One of the reasons we fall into the same sins with the same frequency is that we tend often enough not to go to the root causes of our failures, and, consequently, we often fail to apply the more efficacious remedies. All this not to say that we should become morbidly introspective in looking at sinfulness. However, without succumbing to this type of introspection, we all must allow for appropriate self-examination and self-knowledge.
Part of this self-examination and self-knowledge includes the manner in which I handle temptation in my life. The proper attitude toward temptation lies between two extremes. The person at one extreme is overly fearful of temptation, concentrates too much on avoiding it, and can even tend to equate temptation with sin. Such an attitude toward temptation breeds a negative mentality toward the Christian life, and detracts from the peace, joy and happiness which Christ wants us to experience.
The opposite attitude is that which is careless towards temptation. To take reasonable and grace-inspired precautions against temptation is not to be negativistic, but realistic. It is to realize that I am a sinner, and that there are various ways by which I can be led to sin. I cannot avoid all temptations, but out of loyalty to Christ, man and the world, I should not recklessly bring temptation upon myself.
Despite our best efforts there will always be some sin in our lives, unless God were to give extraordinary graces. There is only one human person, as far as our certain knowledge goes, who has been preserved from all sin. This person is Christ's mother, Mary. Let us remember this very important point, however. The Church's teaching that we cannot avoid all venial sin without a very special assistance from God refers to semi-deliberate venial sin. With God's ordinary graces we can avoid all fully deliberate sin, both serious and venial. It is this fully deliberate sin which is such an obstacle to our proper growth in the Christian life. Finally, let us remember that as we grow in Christ, even the number of semi-deliberate sins become fewer.
The Sacrament of Penance
All of us are sinners, and God in His mercy has made special provision for this fact. He has given us the sacrament of penance. It is fitting – in fact necessary as regards serious sin – that the Christian incarnate his sorrow for sin through this sacrament. This is in keeping with the incarnational and sacramental dimensions of our life of grace. These dimensions impel us to exteriorize or incarnate our interior life of grace. The central focus for such exteriorization is the Mass and the sacraments. This exteriorization satisfies both our corporeal and social nature.
As regards this social aspect of grace-life exteriorization, the Christian must always remember that he is a member of the new covenant, he is a member of a community. In sinning he has not only failed to love God, he has also sinned against the Christian community, and against man in general. As he expresses his sorrow for sin to God in the sacrament of penance, the Christian also gives expression to this communal aspect of his Christianity, because the sacraments have a very definite communal dimension. They are the sacraments of a community, the People of God. Through the sacrament of penance, therefore, the Christian expresses his sorrow to God in community and he likewise receives God's forgiveness in community.
Certain contemporary practices which strive to bring forth more fully the communal aspect of the sacrament of penance are to be highly recommended.4 The practices we speak of are those in which there is a preparation for private confession and absolution through communal readings, prayer and examination of conscience.
What about the frequency of receiving the sacrament of penance? Some in the Church today seem to be questioning the value of frequent confessions of devotion, that is, confessions which are not necessary because there is no serious sin. What is the truth of the matter? First of all, it must be admitted that in the early Church this sacrament was administered much less frequently that it is today. Gradually, the practice of frequent confession inserted itself more and more into the life of the Church. It is difficult not to admit that such a practice has taken root under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Frequent confession, although not necessary, has various values. Rahner, in his usual penetrating manner, gives a contemporary description of the value of frequent confession of devotion.5 The new Dutch catechism puts it very simply: "Some Catholics have the habit of receiving the sacrament frequently. If this is the result of anxieties, it is not advisable. But if it is due to a desire to meet Christ as the Lord who forgives, frequent confession can be a very evangelical practice."6
In conclusion, we remind ourselves that the struggle against sin is part of the Christian participation in Christ's death-resurrection. In baptism we die to sin and rise to a newness of life. We are constantly living out one aspect of our baptism, then, through our continual resistance to the forces of sin. As with all elements of our Christian existence, such an effort requires motivation. We can use a variety of motives, of course, but all of them ultimately will be centered in Christ. To grow in the realization of what sin has cost Christ is to grow in the determination to avoid sin. To permeate such determination with love of Christ is to respond to Him who has loved us first: "The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake." (Ga 2:20).
______
1. P. Schoonenberg, Man and Sin (Notre Dame, Indiana: Fides, 1965), p. 8.
2. St. Augustine, The Trinity, Bk. 12, Ch. 14 (Washington: Fathers of the Church, 1963), p. 356.
3. For one description of the "sin of the world", see Schoonenberg, Op. cit., pp. 98-123.
4. One description of such services is given by A. M. Roguet, O.P., "Les celebrations communautaires de la penitence" in Vie spirituelle, 116 (1967), pp. 188-202.
5. Cf. Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations, Vol. III (Baltimore: Helicon, 1967), pp. 177-189.
6. A New Catechism (New York: Herder & Herder, 1967), p. 459.
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."16Excerpt from Response in Christ by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.
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.
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:
14Karl Rahner,
Theological Investigations, Vol. III (Baltimore: Helicon, 1967),
p. 44.
15 Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, In Ad Ephes., c. 3, Lect. 3.
16Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church,
No. 48.
17Cf. Karl Rahner, Op. cit., pp. 100-101.
R. Sunday is Gaudette Sunday
"Be Joyful"
"Respect for life"
Joy is the celebration because of Jesus' birth.
Zephaniah - told the people to sing for joy.
The focus of yesterday's day of retreat was
the "holy hour"
Jesus wants intimate love with us, the
Spousal union.
Jesus told me in the message, the day I
received "the Prayer for Union with
Jesus"
He wanted priests and religious etc. to spend
an hour, before the Blessed Sacrament –
He wants us to have a Spousal relationship
with Him –
Relationship in love –
Loving God first
Loving others as ourselves –
You don't stand still in the spiritual life –
you get better or worse
How was your year –
I tried to do the 8 days of retreats,
5th, 13th, and 6 Masses
with the Eucharist
exposed 5 days –
How did you contribute in the community
praying together with God's wishes
for the Shepherds of Christ praying the 8 days
with me and on the 17th of December?
How was your Advent and Lent in helping
us to prepare our hearts?
The Shepherds of Christ is about the heart.
Opening the heart
Uniting with others all day in the
Morning Offering –
Uniting in one mind and one
heart in our lives in the
Shepherds of Christ –
This is the mission of the Shepherds of Christ –
praying united in the heart –
To do this a person must be interiorly engaged
in love – in their heart –
they seek unity with others – because
God wants unity first with Him
and with us.
In Sunday's readings we hear
"rejoice always"
Sing with joy –
Lift up my soul Lord –
Holy Spirit help me to be as God wants me to be –
Choose life – not death –
Choose the light – not darkness –
Choose living engaged in unity – deeply
to Christ –
Prayer for Union with Jesus
Come to me, Lord, and possess my soul. Come into my heart and permeate my soul. Help me to sit in silence with You and let You work in my heart.
I am Yours to possess. I am Yours to use. I want to be selfless and only exist in You. Help me to spoon out all that is me and be an empty vessel ready to be filled by You. Help me to die to myself and live only for You. Use me as You will. Let me never draw my attention back to myself. I only want to operate as You do, dwelling within me.
I am Yours, Lord. I want to have my life in You. I want to do the will of the Father. Give me the strength to put aside the world and let You operate my very being. Help me to act as You desire. Strengthen me against the distractions of the devil to take me from Your work.
When I worry, I have taken my focus off of You and placed it on myself. Help me not to give in to the promptings of others to change what in my heart You are making very clear to me. I worship You, I adore You and I love You. Come and dwell in me now.
-God's Blue Book, January 17, 1994
R. Yesterday Jesus said in the message –
it isn't difficult to decipher His
message –
Jesus took flesh and came to teach us the
message of how God loves us –
The greatest commandment is love –
Love is unity in one's heart –
We have one life to live here –
If I sat down and looked at my life,
like God is going to do –
if I looked at my whole life was
I putting God's love first –
was I loving others as myself –
Look hard at all the years –
Was I giving
going out to others
dying to myself
living more and more like Christ –
Living the Christ-life is in the heart and soul –
Knowing presence of God dwelling in us –
Being united in our hearts to the Mass, the
Sacrifice of Calvary sacramentally made
present – being united in offering every
day with Jesus to the Heavenly Father in
the Holy Spirit –
being united – in our hearts as the family
of God –
Sheila, Jerry, Rosie, Regina and Lisa in Florida
are united daily in the 6:20 prayers
with each other and others praying
on the internet –
United, open, praying to God, loving in
our Shepherds of Christ family –
Sheila prays every mystery of the
rosary for the Shepherds of Christ family
and the priests, the Church and
the world – for almost two
hours –
R. A person that closes down and lives in
sin doesn't want to give a crumb
of themselves and then they can be
angry and want a
roll of drums for their anger –
they are closed down in pain from
opposing God's will and not
going out and opening to love –
Jesus' gift of Christmas is about going out
in love – coming to the earth –
taking flesh –
coming into the world in love –
AND
Going out of the world in love –
Jesus gave Himself on the cross –
Jesus rose from the tomb to give us new life –
Jesus ascended into heaven –
God the Holy Spirit came to give us life –
Jesus gives Himself to us truly present
in the Eucharist –
The man closed in on himself
year after year
gets further and further from giving –
he is rigid –
Yesterday we had Mass
prayed an hour
read the daily message –
all was focused on going out in love –
The devil comes and wants to stop
the prayers –
Sheila and the community prayed about
3 hours last night and I listened
on the internet –
Then they watched a movie –
"a girl scrooge movie"
She saw her life and how she closed
down and wouldn't help anybody –
then in the end – she saw how
she could go out and help people
by giving herself in love –
The night before we prayed and
watched an old movie –
It was about "you are as sick as
your secrets and a dysfunctional
marriage"
A man thought only of himself – he
cared what everybody else thought
of him – that was his god –
he wanted recognition and praise –
he lived to get the approval of
everybody –
His little son got run over by a car
while he was getting his picture
taken – His little son died –
Addiction is covering up pain –
He never dealt with it –
He projected his sickness on his wife.
He became so weak
He became an alcoholic –
He didn't want to be by himself –
He became dependent and weak
She was an enabler –
Their whole life was managing the
dysfunction –
and the secret made him sicker –
Who ever tried to help him was in the
middle of the sickness –
It was like a pit of going down
they made themselves –
Addiction, locked up anger, projection,
slavishly dependent relationships
are not being as God wants us
to be –
It is coming from darkness –
Like living in the dark of night, when
we could choose the light of day –
Dysfunction is sick when the person
functions and gets sicker in
the closing down, secret life,
not trusting,
not loving,
isolating,
hurting others and taking no
responsibility for it –
The person who does not take responsibility
for hurting others and won't listen
to anyone is like a bull in a China shop –
If a person is confronted –
they usually lie and give into self-justification
for why their bad behavior is
right –
they will argue until the cows come
home why they are justified and
the wrong they do is not even handled –
We must examine our conscience and
admit the mistakes we made to
try to live as God wants and be
free and loving in our heart.
First to thine own self be true –
You don't stay the same in the spiritual
life –
Taking an inventory of the past year
can show –
have you grown spiritually in love –
have you gotten angrier and more
deep-seated in self-justification.
Here is the Church and Mass is celebrated
prayers are being prayed.
 |
Thank You God for giving to me. |
R. My life is an offering
united to the Masses going on
around the world –
Unity in the heart –
Actions must be based on how they help
our eternal happiness
on right reasoning
on doing God's will in love –
God made us in His image and likeness –
We were made to love!!
A fish must be in water
R. Here is a fish out of water.
God made us to love –
The devil is hate –
We are to grow in the image and
likeness of God –
Wearing a mask to justify one self in
irresponsible behavior –
traps ourselves –
more and more traps –
year after year
Self-justification for wrong doing
Self-justification for not loving
Self-justification for wrong behavior
Self-justification for hurting the plan
God wants
Loving is strength –
Love rooted in God is strength –
Showing love as weak is an erroneous belief.
Showing love – being in one mind and
one heart in love is what
Jesus wants –
Love in the Father's family –
Peace with brothers and sisters –
God is our Father –
God the Father is the perfect Father
He loves us perfectly –
He created us –
Our physical father had imperfections,
he could have been controlling,
a perfectionist, unloving,
always right and unapproachable,
angry –
God the Father created us in the image
and likeness of God to love –
God loves us so much –
We are lovable –
We are to give and receive love
with others –
Think of the pain we have caused others
by focusing on self-justification
that any behavior I do is okay –
and not taking responsibility
for my actions –
Actions should have our eternal life as
our goal!
Look at the wounded soldiers you have
hurt in your bullish attitudes
in the China shop –
See them –
Own your behavior
See their hurt
Say you are sorry to them –
Ask for mercy from God –
When a person is not validating a life
of abusive, hurtful behavior to
others – it is very wrong –
to decide to justify your irrational,
unreliable behavior and then
contribute to a lifetime of
invalidating the truth –
This Christmas is a season of joy
because Jesus came our Savior –
The truth will set us free –
Let the Son of God reign in your heart –
Take people who are trustworthy into your
heart and give love to them –
Jesus: "Don't be a locked tower"
rigid, closed - cold and callous
Shepherds of Christ is about being in touch with
your heart –
being united in your heart –
telling the truth about
dysfunction –
Not years and years of self-justification
of being angry and hurting
others and not being
responsible for wounds you
caused –
R. In the Bible it speaks of hard hearts –
hard hearts so many times –
Hard hearts really are closed –
they don't trust others –
they don't even think about their
field of wounded soldiers - they left –
they can be too busy
self-justifying their erroneous
behaviors to make themselves right –
Living with a hard heart and
arguing from the head of
self-righteousness is
darkness –
We were made to love –
God the Father made us in the image
and likeness of God –
We were made to trust – trustworthy
others and give and receive love –
No man is an island –
God intends us to have intimacy
in our hearts –
to have fullness in our lives –
joy in our lives –
A man will never be joyful with a
hard heart –
he is opposing the Father's Plan –
We are to be children full of love –
full in the heart – united
to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
and Mary's Immaculate Heart –
A person who doesn't trust anyone –
if they do engage another usually
pulls an angry maneuver to get back
to their static isolated state.
In and out –
Hurtful and unpredictable –
Because nobody can be trusted they
think –
You either grow in the spiritual life
or shut down more and more –
God gives us our hearts to love
Him first and others as ourselves –
When we fail in our relationships we
must say we are sorry and
validate our ugly behavior
and do not keep doing ugly
things because people love
us –
IN and OUT
What happens to the body when the heart stops?
Jesus came and took flesh and died on a cross
for our sins –
Constant!
Jesus is love –
Jesus is giving us life today –
Gratitude and love –
3rd Sunday of Advent
Zephaniah 3: 14-18
Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,
Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with all your heart,
daughter of Jerusalem!
Yahweh has repealed your sentence;
he has turned your enemy away.
Yahweh is king among you, Israel,
you have nothing more to fear.When that Day comes,
the message for Jerusalem will be:
Zion, have no fear,
do not let your hands fall limp.
Yahweh your God is there with you,
the warrior–Saviour.
He will rejoice over you with happy song,
he will renew you by his love,
he will dance with shouts of joy for you,
as on a day of festival.
Isaiah 12: 2-3, 4, 5-6
Look, he is the God of my salvation:
I shall have faith and not be afraid,
for Yahweh is my strength and my song,
he has been my salvation.’Joyfully you will draw water
from the springs of salvation
and, that day, you will say,
‘Praise Yahweh, invoke his name.
Proclaim his deeds to the people,
declare his name sublime.
Sing of Yahweh,
for his works are majestic,
make them known throughout the world.
Cry and shout for joy,
you who live in Zion,
For the Holy One of Israel
is among you in his greatness.’
Philippians 4: 4-7
Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful. Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Luke 3: 10-18
When all the people asked him, 'What must we do, then?' he answered, 'Anyone who has two tunics must share with the one who has none, and anyone with something to eat must do the same.' There were tax collectors, too, who came for baptism, and these said to him, 'Master, what must we do?' He said to them, 'Exact no more than the appointed rate.' Some soldiers asked him in their turn, 'What about us? What must we do?' He said to them, 'No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!'
A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to wonder whether John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, 'I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.' And he proclaimed the good news to the people with many other exhortations too.
Give the gift that keeps giving.
6 different Blue Books for $30.00 including postage
$6.00
$5.00
$4.00
$2.00
$2.00
$3.00
$3.00
$3.00
$3.00
$3.00
$3.00
$3.00
$3.00
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$5.00 $5.00Books available in limited supply for this sale.
The more you use the Blue Books and
become one with Jesus – more
intimate with Jesus –
the more your lives are a blessing and
everything you do in life can help
to bring down great grace for the world
because of your being so
one with Jesus.
Guiding Light Homily Book Series
Fr. Joe’s Books
Cycle A –
Steadfast to the Son
Cycle B –
Focusing on the Word
Cycle C –
Feed My Soul
Cycle A –
Inspired to be Genuine4 for $20 plus postage of $5.95
These books can be given to:
1) All Priests
2) Good for Music Ministers
3) Good for DRE's
4) Good for Deacons
5) Good for Principals of Schools
6) Good for Teachers
7) Good for Mom and Dads
Given March 21, 2014
R. Pray for These Things
1) Pray for the Pope & hierarchy to help us start prayer chapters.
2) Pray for Dan, Sally Jo, Richard, Carol, Margaret, Sue,
Jack, Jean, Amanda, Matthew, Special intentions.
3) Pray for the priests, the Church and the world!
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 - sales & health. Pray for Nick.
11) Blue Book 16 and cover and all involved.
For our Publisher and all involved
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) Dan & Melanie, Catherine & mom, Gary, Mary Jo,
Jim & statues, Fr. Ken, Monsignor, Kerry, Tom & wife.
18) All who asked us to pray for them.
19) All we promised to pray for.
20) Rita, John, Doris, Sheila, Jerry, Regina, Sanja,
Betty, Sophie, Lisa, Eileen, Fr. Mike, Louie, Laverne,
2 Dons, Mary Ellen, Fr. Joe, all priests helping us,
Ed, Jimmy, Steve, a special couple, Rosie & all involved.
21) 2 babies and moms.
22) Funds and insurance.
23) Jerry's garage.
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.
The Wedding Rosary
Crystal Image Rosary
$40 plus shipping
Original Image Rosary
8mm glass beads
in a matching gift box$40 plus shipping
Give the gift that counts.
Give to your priests Fr. Carter's Books plus postage.
Tell My People $5.00
Response to God's Love $8.00
Response in Christ $8.00
Old Mass Books with the Imprimatur
$2.00 plus postage
New Mass Book with Imprimatur
$8.00 plus postage
New Parents & Children's Book with the Imprimatur
$8.00 plus postage
Fr. Joe's Cycle A – Steadfast to the Sun – Starts in Advent
$5.00 plus postage
Give the gift that keeps on giving!
Give to your priest.
Fr. Carter's Priestly Newsletters Book II
$6.00 plus postage
Get a canvas print of Mary's image
with a sliver of glass and a little
bottle of Jesus and Mary water.
The glass will be fixed behind the
back of the picture.
$200.00 plus postage
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 © 2014 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.
