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Shepherds of Christ |
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Dec
ember 17, 2012
December 18th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 6 Period I.The Novena Rosary Mysteries
for December 18th are Joyful.
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December 17, 2012
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4th Sunday of Advent
Micah 5: 1-4
But you (Bethlehem) Ephrathah,
the least of the clans of Judah,
from you will come for me
a future ruler of Israel
whose origins go back to the distant past,
to the days of old.
Hence Yahweh will abandon them
only until she who is in labour gives birth,
and then those who survive of his race
will be reunited to the Israelites.
He will take his stand
and he will shepherd them
with the power of Yahweh,
with the majesty of the name of his God,
and they will be secure,
for his greatness will extend
henceforth to the most distant parts
of the country.He himself will be peace!
Hebrews 10: 5-10
You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering,
but you gave me a body.
You took no pleasure in burnt offering'
or sacrifice for sin;
then I said, 'Here I am, I am coming,'
in the scroll of the book it is written of me,
to do your will, God.He says first You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the cereal offerings, the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to do your will. He is abolishing the first sort to establish the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ made once and for all.
Luke 1: 39-45
Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah. She went into Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, ‘Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’ Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
4th Sunday of Advent
December 20, 2009
INTRODUCTION
– (Micah 5:1-4a; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45) Approximately 700 years before Christ, the Assyrian’s were the dominant power in the Middle East. Their capital was in what is today, northern Iraq. The Assyrian army was powerful and was legendary for its savagery. After they had destroyed the northern half of Israel, they moved against Jerusalem. Naturally the citizens of Jerusalem were terrified. We hear in today’s first reading words of hope spoken to God’s people by the prophet Micah. He promises salvation would come out of an unimportant little village about seven miles south of Jerusalem named Bethlehem. This prophecy from Micah was the Old Testament passage the Jewish leaders quoted when the Magi came to Jerusalem looking for the newborn king of the Jews. Bethlehem had been the birthplace of King David 300 years before the prophet Micah. According to the prophet it would be the birthplace of the future savior of God’s people whose greatness would reach to the ends of the earth. What an amazing prophecy coming from 700 years before Christ and what an amazing way in which God fulfilled it!HOMILY
– You can tell we are getting near Christmas by the traditional greeting that shoppers give each other in the mall: “I think I was next.”Red Skelton’s recipe for a good marriage was: “We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops.”
After the angel appeared to Mary and announced to her that God wanted her to be the mother of the long awaited Messiah, the angel informed Mary that her aged relative, Elizabeth, who had wanted all her life to have a baby was now going to have one. Mary, St. Luke tells us, traveled in haste to be with her relative.
Elizabeth’s having a child at an advanced age was a sign that, as the angel said to Mary, “nothing is impossible with God.” It was also a sign that her child would be very special. Remember Sara, wife of Abraham, did not have a child until she was well advanced in age. This was also the true of the mother of Samson and Hanna, the mother of the prophet Samuel. Elizabeth’s child, John the Baptist, indeed was a special person. He was to be the one to announce the coming of the Messiah, and already, before his birth he shows signs of his special role as he leaps for joy as Mary, and Jesus within her, approaches.
Notice the greeting of Elizabeth: “blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” That greeting along with the greeting of the angel to Mary at the annunciation: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you,” makes up the first part of the Hail Mary – a prayer that took its present form about 1000 years ago.
The part of this gospel that struck me was the statement that after Elizabeth’s child leapt for joy, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. This enabled her to recognize Mary’s secret and greet her as she did: Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Mary had just been visited by the angel. Remember, Luke said she went with haste to visit Elizabeth. There would be no evidence that she had conceived, but Elizabeth knew it. It was because she had been filled with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus comes to us in so many ways, but without the Holy Spirit we are unable to recognize him. But when the Holy Spirit enlightens us, we know the Spirit is present. The Spirit helps us see him present in creation, in the Eucharist, in one another, in perhaps the person who drives us crazy, in the poor and suffering and in the unborn who are like Jesus was at that moment in Mary, entirely vulnerable, without a voice to speak or cry out.
One example of how the Holy Spirit helped me to know the presence of Jesus was in the Scriptures. So many times I have experienced reading the Scriptures and a particular verse spoke to me with such power that I knew instinctively it was something Jesus wanted me to hear and learn from. It spoke to me not, just in my head as a thought, but it spoke in my heart as something I could feel with my whole being. I still remember the first time it happened. I was in my first year in the seminary, feeling somewhat lonely and homesick, and I just opened the Scriptures to Matthew. I read where Jesus said, “All the hairs on your head are counted. So do not be afraid.” (Mt. 10:30-31) Immediately I felt God’s love and my troubled mood lifted. That’s just one example of many times I’ve experienced our Lord through the Spirit.
As we celebrate the last week of Advent, may we be inspired by the Spirit to see beyond all the busyness and stress at this time and know the presence of Jesus with us as we celebrate his birth. Amen.
From Blue Book 9
I
WANT THE GRACE TO LOVE HIM MORER. At the Mass, I am so aware of the miracle taking place through the hands of the priest.
I am in awe. Bread is changed into the Body of Christ.
With all my heart, I know this is truly the Almighty God, in all His greatness. I realized the great Sacrifice offered to the Father at the Consecration - so aware of everything going on and the Sacrifice is the sacrifice of Calvary, now being sacramentally made present there.
I wanted, with all my heart, to unite to Jesus in this sacrifice and make reparation for my sins and the terrible sins of all men against God.
I wanted so much, with such depth, the very deepest union with Him to help make reparation for the awful sins of man against God. (writing this is shallow - my heart burns with such depth, for I cannot describe the way I feel).
I want, so deeply, to love God. I kept asking Him to help me to love Him so much. I am such a little speck, but I know He can help me to give Him deeper love. I want so much to give Him love - great love, and I am so inadequate to love God.
He magnifies my love so I can love Him more - He Who is so worthy of love!
I want to worship Him and adore Him and honor Him for He is so great and worthy of such honor and glory, but I need Him to help me to love and honor and worship Him more for I am such a little speck compared to God.
Had I but Mary's sinless heart, to love Thee more, my dear, precious Lord!
I realized, from before Mass, how deeply I love each Person of the Trinity, to the point of tears, knowing They are all within me, wanting so deeply to unite with Them, and give Them greater love - greater and greater love as little as it is.
T
HE PROMISE OF OUR LADY AT FATIMA43
R. The promise of Our Lady at Fatima is this:
My daughter, look at My Heart surrounded with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me, and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, go to Confession and receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for a quarter of an hour while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.
Our Lady of Fatima requested us to carry out the following devotions on the first Saturdays. She promises us the graces necessary for salvation at the hour of death. We must follow the devotion as Our Lady stipulated.
...The practice of the five first Saturdays involves:
1) Going to confession, which may be done from eight days before to 8 days after the first Saturday. Of course, if a person is in the state of serious sin, the confession must be made before receiving Communion.
2) Receiving Holy Communion.
3) Recitation of five decades of the rosary.
4) Meditating for 15 minutes on the mysteries of the rosary.
All of the above [except confession] must be done on the first Saturday of five consecutive months with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart. For those who make the five first Saturdays, Our Lady of Fatima has promised to assist them at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation.44
43. The Message of Fatima, op.
cit., p. 48.
44. Rev. Edward Carter, S.J., Mother at My Side [Milford:
Faith Publishing Co., 1993], p. 21.
November 9, l995
Children’s Rosary at Reading
Glorious Mysteries
The Resurrection
1. R. Walk with the women as they walked to the tomb and feel how they felt when they saw the stone.
2. R. Jesus told them many things, but they did not understand.
3. R. Mary Magdalene was crying and she saw a man that she thought was the gardener and it was Jesus and she was so overjoyed to see her beloved Jesus.
4. R. Jesus is alive this day and He is with us. He is truly present in the Holy Eucharist and He dwells within our hearts, in a special way, when we are in the state of grace.
5. R. Picture in your mind so clearly the glorified body of Jesus, His glorified wounds. See Him glistening in white, surrounded in light.
6. R. Look into His face and see His love and His brightness and His caring for us.
7. R. In all of the struggles, in all of the darkness in the world this day, Jesus is alive and if we focus on Him, we can feel His presence within us, for He never leaves us.
8. R. Picture the body of Jesus hanging on the cross and think about Him being locked in the tomb and on the third day, He rose victorious. Death has no power over Jesus.
9. R. Jesus came to this earth. Jesus suffered and He died, we share His Life through baptism. Jesus came to give us a sharing in His Life.
l0. R. In baptism our knowing and loving capacity is elevated.
The Ascension
1. R. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave to the apostles the power to baptize and to forgive sins.
2. R. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to descend upon them and to fill them with the courage that they needed, to go out to spread the Gospel.
3. R. Jesus took them out to the town near Bethany. Jesus raised His arms and He ascended into heaven.
4. R. Envision yourself standing in the field below with the apostles and the Virgin Mary and feel in your heart the excitement, the awe, the confusion, to see Jesus as He ascends into the clouds.
5. R. Jesus calls out, “I am alive, I am alive, I am alive”. Jesus lives this day and Jesus wants us to know His burning love for us.
6. R. Jesus came to this earth and He put on a human body, the Almighty God, because He loves us so much and wants us to share in His life.
7. R. The apostles were a sorry lot. They were filled with fear. They did not understand the words of Jesus. They were filled with self, always worrying who was first. But Jesus ascended into heaven and promised to send them the Holy Spirit, to fill their hearts with the fire of God’s love.
8. R. Jesus no longer walks the earth. He is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus wants to dwell in our hearts.
9. R. Jesus tells us not to fear, for He is here in our every breath and our every heartbeat and He is guarding us. For He loves us so much that He gave His life that we would share in His life.
l0. Sing: Glory, Glory, Glory Lord
The Descent of the Holy Spirit Upon the Apostles and the Virgin Mary
1. R. They were afraid and they had locked themselves in the upper room. There was a gigantic-like wind and there appeared over their heads parted tongues of fire and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign tongues as the Holy Spirit prompted them to speak.
2. R. When we are in the state of grace, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell within our hearts in a very, very special way.
3. R. It is the Holy Spirit that transforms us more and more in the image and likeness of Jesus.
4. R. It is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us that is constantly leading us on our way to be closer and closer to God.
5. R. The more that we tell the Holy Spirit how much we love Him, the more our hearts will burn within us in love of God and others.
6. R. Holy Spirit alive in our hearts at this moment, how we love You and want to be ever closer in such intimacy with You. Fill us with the burning fire of God’s love in our hearts.
7. R. Dear Holy Spirit, mold us in the heart of Mary to be more and more like Jesus.
8. R. The apostles were so filled with the Holy Spirit that they went out and so many were converted. They were locked in prison and they got out of prison singing songs of great joy for their hearts were filled with the five of God’s love.
9. R. Let us feel the life and vibrancy of God’s love within us. As Satan tempts us and tries to drag us down, let the Holy Spirit lift us up, for we will be propelled by the love of God.
l0. Song: Come Holy Spirit
The Assumption of Mary into Heaven
1. R. Jesus gave His Mother to us under the cross. Mary guards us and protects us in everything that we do. Mary loves us with the tenderest motherly love, with a personal motherly love.
2. R. Mary loves us and wants to lead us through her heart to the Heart of her Son.
3. R. How close Mary is to the Heart of her Son. Mary lived with Him. Mary cared for Him. Mary carried Him in her womb. Mary nursed Him. Mary watched Him as He walked the way to Calvary. Mary stood under the cross. It is through her heart that we will know the Heart of Jesus more and more.
4. R. Mary’s heart was sinless. Mary conceived without sin. Mary loves the Father with the deepest love. Mary loves her Son. Mary loves her spouse, the Holy Spirit. It is in going to the heart of Mary and loving the Father, loving the Son and loving the Holy Spirit, through her heart, that we join ever closer to the Almighty God.
5. R. How Mary waits for us, stands by us, stands by our bed as we sleep, as a loving mother, caring at every moment and wanting us close to God.
6. R. We are never alone for Jesus and Mary are with us, guarding us and caring for us. Mary cares for her little children in this world.
7. R. The angel appeared to Mary and asked her to be the Mother of God. Mary always did the Father’s Will and she was taken into heaven. The Father has a plan for us, if we follow His will, we too will go to heaven someday.
8. R. In recognizing the great love that Jesus has for His Mother, we realize more the love that Jesus has for us.
9. R. Jesus loves His Mother so much that He wants His Heart venerated next to her heart.
l0. R. Mary is our spiritual Mother. Mary loves us more than any earthly mother.
Mary is Crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth
1. R. Heaven may seem so far away for children in this world, but Mary wants us to always have pure hearts and always be ready to meet our God.
2. R. Do we realize, as children, that one mortal sin can keep us from heaven forever and ever and ever?
3. R. We must be ready at all times to die and to remain in the state of grace. Sin offends God, who loves us so much.
4. R. We think that God is so far away and He is so close. We look at the sunlit day and the star-filled night and we see the wonders of the Almighty God. He is present this day and in our midst.
5. R. Jesus has all the power. Our every breath depends on God. At any moment we could be taken from this world and we must be ready to meet God. Forever and ever we will live in heaven, if we loved and served Him.
6. R. At the Holy Spirit Center, in Norwood, Ohio, in the stained glass window, Mary is crowned by Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit are close by. This is the love that the Almighty God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit have for Mary. Mary was crowned Queen of heaven and earth. Do we realize even a minute amount of the immense love that God has for us, His creatures?
7. R. We must meet God in our hearts. For, we are His temple and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, dwell within our graced baptized soul in a very special way, when we are in the state of grace.
8. 1 Corinthians 2: 9
"What no eye has seen and no ear has heard, what the mind of man cannot visualise; all that God has prepared for those who love him;"
9. R. It is so foolish to not love. For God loved man so much that He came to this earth and died and rose that we would share in His life.
10. R. It is so foolish to not be prepared to meet our Maker.
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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 I by Rita Ring. Open Anywhere — This book will change your life. These are beautiful love letters to us from Jesus. A million books have been printed and circulated. Jesus loves us so much — He wants a personal relationship with us — He wants us to go to the Eucharist and be with Him before the tabernacle. $10 |
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God's Blue Book II by Rita Ring. Letters from Jesus about His on fire love — Jesus wants this great intimacy with us — On fire love — Personal love letters from Jesus about the love of His Heart — A book on surrender Fr. Carter said! $10 |
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God's Blue Book III by Rita Ring. Fr. Carter's favorite book — It is about loving and forgiving each other — Being pure in heart — A book for unity in family, community, in life!! $10 |
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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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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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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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Messages From Jesus
$ 10.00 plus postage |
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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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Daily Messages from Heaven. First book of Daily Messages. $10 |
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Color the Lives of Jesus and Mary. Volumes 1 through 7. Coloring books and meditations for grade school children and others on the mysteries of the rosary - really good. $5 each. |
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Coloring the Lives of Jesus and Mary Books 6 and 7
Mysteries of Light
$ 5.00 each plus postageColor the Lives of Jesus and Mary. Volumes 6 through 7. Coloring books and meditations for grade school children and others on the mysteries of the rosary - really good. $5 each.
God's Blue Book I on CD, Disk #1
God's Blue Book I, Disk #1 Read by author: Rita Ring. Discerned by: Fr. Edward J. Carter S.J.
$ 10.00 plus postage
