Mary has requested that the daily message be given each day to the world. It is read nightly at the prayer service from her Image Building in Clearwater, Florida, U.S.A. This is according to her request. All attempts will be made to publish this daily message to the world at 11 p.m. Eastern time, U.S.A. We acknowledge that the final authority regarding these messages rests with the Holy See of Rome.

December 9, 2000

A Prayer for Intimacy with the Lamb, the Bridegroom of the Soul

Oh Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, come and act on my soul most intimately. I surrender myself, as I ask for the grace to let go, to just be as I exist in You and You act most intimately on my soul. You are the Initiator. I am the soul waiting Your favors as You act in me. I love You. I adore You. I worship You. Come and possess my soul with Your Divine Grace, as I experience You most intimately.

Messenger: Include Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center in 6:20 prayers.

Messenger: Please pray for 5 urgent intentions!

Messenger: Please pray for the healing of Father Carter through the intercession of Our Lady of Clearwater.

Jesus speaks: A small child reaches into a cookie jar and their hand clutches the treasure within.

December 17, 1995

THE EARTH STOPPED AND TOUCHED HEAVEN
(excerpt)

I touched eternity, and in that embrace, I knew all the waiting was worth the glory. You enveloped my being, and I was truly merged in the Divine Presence. I was merged in Your being. I existed IN You, with You, in the highest union with You, although I knew I was still distinct from You.

I was fused and absorbed in You, feeling complete and satisfied. To describe this union is far beyond any work of my pen and paper. I pray for the reader of this page to receive the grace to share this experience with Him, I will now live for this union-to be forever merged In Him, to be One in Him, to reach higher perfection as I exist in Him, for He takes the lowly and gives to them a sharing in Himself. He merges with us and we exist in Him. The word "in" - I could write pages about. I long for the deepest union with Him, where I am swept up in the heavenly embrace of the Divine God, and I am IN Him.

This is heaven on earth: to be merged as one with Divinity, although remaining distinct from God, to take our feeble hearts, our lowly status and to unite ourselves with the Divine, Almighty, powerful God and in this union to be meshed with Him, that His power dominates and our humanity reaches its heights of fulfillment in this union, in this oneness with Him.

Excerpt from November 23, 2000, Daily Message

Messenger: My dear priest,

I give my heart to Jesus and Mary with you in love.

My heart is the same as always. My desire to reach into the depth of His Divine Mysteries is greater than ever from your writings. My treasure chest - your writings. There is a grace granted with every writing of yours to the soul that reads them.

A light and a treasure are found in these writings. They live in my heart. I feel a great grace from God when I read them. He has promised great grace for those who use them. When I go to them, I meet Him, I see the unknown — beyond, I long for the Holy Spirit to fill me with knowledge of God.

Oh, now I know how the Holy Spirit can impart to me such knowledge of God and implant the vision of the Father on my soul. I LONG FOR THIS. I AM IN A PARCHED DESERT LAND SEEKING THIS FULLNESS OF LIFE, OF LIFE DEEPER AND DEEPER IN HIM, OF WANTING THE BEATIFIC VISION. 

I AM THE HUNGRY ONE. Jesus told me September 1991 — Feed the Hungry soul — He wanted me to spread His writings to all. Now I see that your writings especially feed my hungry soul. Now I have been given this commission from our God to get them to the world, for they are crucial to help in the renewal of the Church and the world and lead the souls into a deeper mystical union with their God.

In Response to God's Love, I love how Chapter 1 begins. There it opens that door, that treasure chest to reveal the depth of understanding of the Divine Mysteries. Every word is packed.

---

Excerpt from Response to God's Love, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.

                                                         1

                                                         The Mystery of Christ and
                                                                    Christian Existence (excerpt)

                                                                    Etymologically, the word mystery basically means that which is secret or hidden. . . God himself is the ultimate mystery. Radically, God is completely other and transcendent, hidden from man in his inner life, unless he chooses to reveal himself. Let us briefly look at this inner life of God.

       The Father, in a perfect act of self-expression, in a perfect act of knowing, generates his son. The Son, the Word, is, then, the immanent expression of God's fullness, the reflection of the Father. Likewise, from all eternity, the Father and the Son bring forth the Holy Spirit in a perfect act of loving.

       At the destined moment in human history, God's self-expression, the Word, immersed himself into man's world. God's inner self-expression now had also become God's outer self-expression. Consequently, the mystery of God becomes the mystery of Christ. In Christ, God tells us about himself, about his inner life, about his plan of creation and redemption. He tells us how Father, Son, and Holy Spirit desire to dwell within us in the most intimate fashion, how they wish to share with us their own life through grace. All this he has accomplished and does accomplish through Christ. St. Paul tells us: "I became a minister of this Church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from ages and generations past but now revealed to his holy ones. God has willed to make known to them the glory beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles—the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ" (Col 1:25-28).

---

INSIGHT INTO THE DIVINE MYSTERIES

Jesus speaks: I give these revelations to help renew the Church and the world. I beg you to pray for those who are bringing you these writings. Stand on the hill approaching the summit point of the mountain. I am holding your hand, we walk together as the disciples on the way to Emmaus. The Holy Spirit will fill you with light when you implore Him and pray as I have directed. This is the promise I gave to your founder.

"I am calling many to become members of Shepherds of Christ Associates. To all of them I will give great blessings. I will use them as instruments to help bring about the triumph of the Immaculate Heart and the reign of My Sacred Heart. I will give great graces to the members of the Shepherds of Christ Associates. I will call them to be deeply united to My Heart and to Mary's Heart as I lead them ever closer to My Father in the Holy Spirit"

Jesus speaks: I promise to give you deeper insight into the Divine Mysteries as you read the letters, the writings I have written through My two messengers. This is a body of knowledge I have given to help renew the Church and the world, to set their hearts on fire with the FIRE OF MY LOVE.

(End of excerpt of November 23, 2000, Daily Message)

We are studying Christian life and how we live it.

Our object is to establish a comprehensive view of what is necessary for the maintenance and development of full Christian living.

Messenger: I refer to the message November 22, 2000.

In the expanded outline of Theme II, I have referred to certain sections to help lead into Theme V - The Christian Virtues.

NOTE: This is not the entire expanded outline of November 22, 2000, only portions of it I am using to explain the Theme on the Christian Virtues.

This is a teaching as directed by our Lord. Study this outline given.

This is an outline from Father Carter's class.
It is not complete - it is only an outline.

 

 

A. The Christian life considered as response to God's love

1)   God's love for us (GOD FIRST LOVED US)

2)    Our response to God's love

3)   Connection between the three loves

The study of this material and the scripture quotes will help us understand how God first loved us and how we are to respond to our God with deep love for Him.

B. Christian life as participation in God's life

2 Peter 1: 3-7

---

2 Peter 1: 3-7

The generosity of God

By his divine power, he has lavished on us all the things we need for life and for true devotion, through the knowledge of him who has called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these, the greatest and priceless promises have been lavished on us, that through them you should share the divine nature and escape the corruption rife in the world through disordered passion. With this in view, do your utmost to support your faith with goodness, goodness with understanding, understanding with self–control, self–control with perseverance, perseverance with devotion, devotion with kindness to the brothers, and kindness to the brothers with love.

---

The triune God creates

. . . (Portions of original outline have been omitted here. See message November 22, 2000.)

Man reflects God

God is a Being Who knows and wills

A person has this ability in a finite way

In Baptism a soul receives an added sharing in His life

A sharing above that, of our human nature

C. The Christian life considered as elevation of human nature

Response to God's love as elevation of human nature

In Baptism a person receives a sharing in God's life

The human person receives a new sharing in God's life

Super natural - above and beyond human nature

                     - life of Baptism

                     - life of grace

                     - Christ life

1) Elevation - new life in Him

God is triune - human intellect by itself can never arrive at that truth

WILL - LOVE

2) 1 Corinthians 10: 31

---

1 Corinthians 10: 31

       Whatever you eat, then, or drink, and whatever else you do, do it all for the glory of God.

---

Our life is permeated to a new level in Christ through baptism

Our intellectual capacity is elevated

We have a new power of knowing through Baptism. FAITH IS PARTICIPATION IN GOD'S KNOWING

LIFE of BAPTISM permeates all of human nature

D. The Christian life considered as the Christ-life

1) Scripture

. . . (Portions of original outline have been omitted here. See message November 22, 2000.)

2) The new life at Baptism gives us a new nature - a capacity to know and to love which we do not have without Baptism

We can do Christlike activities through the virtues of faith, hope and love, and others

---

Theme V - The Christian Virtues

The Christian Life as expressed through the various virtues. Faith, Hope and Love as central. Other virtues.

A. Virtues as supernatural faculties

---

Quote from Response in Christ, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.

"The infused virtues, let us recall, are the supernatural faculties through which we express the paschal mystery in our lives."

{End of Quote from Response in Christ}

---

Excerpt from Response to God's Love, by Father Edward Carter, S.J.

The spiritual life, which is centered in the pattern of death-resurrection, variously expresses itself through the Christian virtues. Although we will not offer a treatment of all the Christian virtues, nor by any means an exhaustive presentation of any of them, we will present some considerations concerning a number of them, including, of course, the three main virtues — faith, hope, and love. Faith and love are the most important of the Christian virtues because they assimilate us most intimately to God's life. God's life is a life of divine knowing and loving, and through Christian faith and love we participate in these Trinitarian operations. Hope, for its part, gives a very special support to faith and love.   

(End of Excerpt from Response to God's Love)

---

---

From the book, My Way of Life 

a pocket Edition of St. Thomas 

The Summa Simplified for Everyone

by Walter Farrell, O.P., S.T.M. 

and Martin J. Healy, S.T.D.

1952 

published by Confraternity of the Precious Blood 

Brooklyn, N.Y.

CHAPTER 1  

Happiness of Mind

DIVINE GRACE GIVES MAN a share in the life of God. It is the divine life in man. Life and action go together. The life of grace then must be active in man. It is active through the virtues—the theological and moral virtues.  

MOREOVER, IN THIS WORLD grace is only the beginning of the divine life in man. Like all life it is intended to grow to maturity and bear the fruit of eternal happiness. Grace is "a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting." (John, IV., 14). The maturity of grace is realized in the next world, where the saints enjoy the vision of God. But in this world grace must grow into maturity as the child grows into manhood. And this growth takes place through the exercise of the theological and moral virtues. . .

THE VIRTUES ARE PRINCIPLES OR SOURCES OF ACTION. Now all truly human action is rational, intelligent action. Hence the first of the theological virtues to be considered is the virtue of faith. Faith is an intellectual virtue. It perfects man's mind. It gives man a knowledge of God as He is in Himself and in His action in the world for man's good. It proposes to man's will the great goal of the will—God Himself. It is, as it were, the intellectual principle of all the supernatural actions by which man reaches out to the vision of God.

THE OBJECT OF FAITH IS GOD HIMSELF. Through faith man comes to know God as God knows Himself. Human reason can discover for itself that God exists. It can even discover some of God's attributes or perfections. It can learn that God is good, that He is true, that He is omnipotent, and so on. But human reason can never discover what God is in Himself. It can never penetrate by itself into the mysteries of God's inner life. If man is to know the deep mysteries of the life of God, then God must reveal them to man and man must accept these truths in faith. But God has revealed these mysteries of His own ineffable life to men. And through faith men grasp God in His mysteries.

GOD IS THE OBJECT OF FAITH IN TWO WAYS. In faith God is both the object that the mind of man knows and He is the light by which man knows God. When the human eye sees the greenness of a yew tree in daylight, the greenness is what it sees and the sunshine is the light by which it sees it. When a man assents in faith to the divine revelation that God is Three Persons in one nature, the Trinity is what He believes and God's word is the light by which he believes it. . .

FAITH IS THEN AN ENLARGEMENT of the horizons of the human mind. It lifts the mind of man above the world of nature and sets it free in the limitless world of the  Divine Being. It introduces man to that great mystery of the Divine Life: the Trinity. It makes man aware of God's stupendous entrance into human life through the Incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ. It informs man of the divine generosity in making the vision of God possible for men. It gives man a knowledge of the supernatural means by which he can attain the vision of God. Faith does not impose limitations on the mind of man. It removes them. Through faith the mind of man is no longer subject to the imperfections of the senses or of human reason. Through faith man is given a share in the infinite perfection of God's own knowledge. If man's ultimate goal is the vision of God, then faith, which gives man some knowledge, even though an obscure knowledge, of God as He is in Himself, is a beginning of happiness in human life. It puts man on the road to ultimate happiness.

(End of Excerpt from My Way of Life)

2 Corinthians 5: 6-7

    We are always full of confidence, then, realising that as long as we are at home in the body we are exiled from the Lord, guided by faith and not yet by sight;

---

Luke 17: 5-6

The power of faith

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith like a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it would obey you.

---

^{Matthew 6: 30-31; 17: 20-21}

Now if that is how God clothes the wild flowers growing in the field which are there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you who have so little faith? So do not worry; do not say, "What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What are we to wear?"

He answered, ‘Because you have so little faith. In truth I tell you, if your faith is the size of a mustard seed you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move; nothing will be impossible for you.’

---

Hebrews Chapter 11

The exemplary faith of our ancestors

Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of realities that are unseen. It is for their faith that our ancestors are acknowledged.

    It is by faith that we understand that the ages were created by a word from God, so that from the invisible the visible world came to be. 

    It was because of his faith that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain, and for that he was acknowledged as upright when God himself made acknowledgement of his offerings. Though he is dead, he still speaks by faith. 

    It was because of his faith that Enoch was taken up and did not experience death: he was no more, because God took him; because before his assumption he was acknowledged to have pleased God. Now it is impossible to please God without faith, since anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and rewards those who seek him. 

    It was through his faith that Noah, when he had been warned by God of something that had never been seen before, took care to build an ark to save his family. His faith was a judgement on the world, and he was able to claim the uprightness which comes from faith. 

    It was by faith that Abraham obeyed the call to set out for a country that was the inheritance given to him and his descendants, and that he set out without knowing where he was going. By faith he sojourned in the Promised Land as though it were not his, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. He looked forward to the well–founded city, designed and built by God. 

    It was equally by faith that Sarah, in spite of being past the age, was made able to conceive, because she believed that he who had made the promise was faithful to it. Because of this, there came from one man, and one who already had the mark of death on him, descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore which cannot be counted.   

    All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only strangers and nomads on earth. People who use such terms about themselves make it quite plain that they are in search of a homeland. If they had meant the country they came from, they would have had the opportunity to return to it; but in fact they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, since he has founded the city for them. 

    It was by faith that Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He offered to sacrifice his only son even though he had yet to receive what had been promised, and he had been told: Isaac is the one through whom your name will be carried on. He was confident that God had the power even to raise the dead; and so, figuratively speaking, he was given back Isaac from the dead. 

    It was by faith that this same Isaac gave his blessing to Jacob and Esau for the still distant future. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, bowed in reverence, as he leant on his staff. It was by faith that, when he was about to die, Joseph mentioned the Exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his own remains. 

    It was by faith that Moses, when he was born, was kept hidden by his parents for three months; because they saw that he was a fine child; they were not afraid of the royal edict. It was by faith that, when he was grown up, Moses refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to be ill–treated in company with God’s people rather than to enjoy the transitory pleasures of sin. He considered that the humiliations offered to the Anointed were something more precious than all the treasures of Egypt, because he had his eyes fixed on the reward. It was by faith that he left Egypt without fear of the king’s anger; he held to his purpose like someone who could see the Invisible. It was by faith that he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood to prevent the Destroyer from touching any of their first–born sons. It was by faith they crossed the Red Sea as easily as dry land, while the Egyptians, trying to do the same, were drowned.  

    It was through faith that the walls of Jericho fell down when the people had marched round them for seven days. It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies and so was not killed with the unbelievers.

    What more shall I say? There is not time for me to give an account of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, or of David, Samuel and the prophets. These were men who through faith conquered kingdoms, did what was upright and earned the promises. They could keep a lion’s mouth shut, put out blazing fires and emerge unscathed from battle. They were weak people who were given strength to be brave in war and drive back foreign invaders. Some returned to their wives from the dead by resurrection; and others submitted to torture, refusing release so that they would rise again to a better life. Some had to bear being pilloried and flogged, or even chained up in prison. They were stoned, or sawn in half, or killed by the sword; they were homeless, and wore only the skins of sheep and goats; they were in want and hardship, and maltreated. They were too good for the world and they wandered in deserts and mountains and in caves and ravines. These all won acknowledgement through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, since God had made provision for us to have something better, and they were not to reach perfection except with us.

(End of Scripture Chapter 10 Hebrews)

Excerpt from August 11, 2000, Daily Message

Messenger: And He gave us the wonders of the earth.

Why do we not see how good He is to us?

Why do we not trust Him?

     

Messenger: To have His life so deeply planted in our soul should be our desire.

As St. Paul says:

---

Galatians 2: 19-20

...I have been crucified with Christ and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me.

---

Messenger: We gaze at the beauty of snow-capped mountains and gape at the lily pads on a glistening lake. Our eyes behold a falls of enormous proportion and beauty. We love Him and He is the Creator, and these things, the beauty, He has created for us to enjoy.

The depth of knowing Him increases as we are penetrated more and more with His grace.

The depth of loving increases as we are saturated with His life.

Every moment of this life we live more fully as we exist more and more in Him through a deeper penetration of His grace.

I see the mountains and the transfigured Lord. Let our eyes behold His vision. He is a God of goodness and He loves us so.

Let us experience insight into the divine mysteries more and more and taste the beauty of those who know they are loved by God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Where before we knew so little of the Trinity, we relate more fully with each Person and we know the oneness and the trinity of God.

What a gift to know more fully our Divine, Beautiful, all loving God.

God is Creator, we are His creatures. All that He creates reflects His goodness and His love. He is just and right. We must honor Him and love Him and thank Him for His gifts given to us.

Alleluia, praise Him, Our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

---

August 11, 2000 - Second Message

Walk in the TRUTH

Messenger:

The blue of the sky we cannot capture exactly. The white of the snow. The color of the smoke of the geyser. Do we not see the fire of the stars, the light of the sun, the denseness of the black night. It is the creation of God and we cannot describe it exactly as it is.

God speaks:

Oh, open your eyes, men, and see the softness of the skin of the baby, the intricacies of a human ear, the complexities of a human eye and the master mind of the Creator in the function of a human heart. Oh, blind men, those who are so prideful, bow to God your Creator. See with the eyes of faith. It is I who paint the hills with My mystical wand. It is reality. So, too, the things you do not see, they are real. It is your perception that is off. God Is and He is Divine and you cannot create as I do. Get off your pedestals and live in reality. I am Supreme, you are under Me, but I elevate you to such  heights. Oh, men of the earth, worship God your Creator, be humble, live in the truth. If you are intelligent it is because of My grace and My goodness. Huffy little men. Let Me see you produce the beauty of a sunlit field, from sun to flower. My men, you are limited, you are human, you are My creatures and I am your God. Recognize Me and live in the truth. Be docile to the hand of God in your life. Oh, children of the light, hear Me, I am God. I am the Light of the World. In Me you live in the light.

Messenger:

My eyes beheld the beauty of the night, the stars, the moon. My eyes beheld the sunlit day and the wonders of the lake and heard the trickle of the falls. First, faintly, and then as I approached, the sound of roaring water. Why do men not comprehend the goodness of God? Why do they abuse Him with slang and slanting remarks? The forest can burst into flame in the heat of the day and what was once a beauteous field, a garden of fruit, a forest of fir trees, can become lands of waste at the hands of the elements or what have you. A home of lustrous beauty, ravaged by a violent wind of enormous proportion and you cry and then when the reality sets in you say, "Oh, but I have my life and the life of my children." Oh, what is it that man can be so blind and then when health is taken away from a man, he sees those things that are transcendent, he sees the glory of God and the promise of everlasting life to those who love and serve the Lord. We do not see and we do not understand the ways of God and yet in it all, He is attempting to lead us to Him, and He gives us the gifts of the universe. He gives us love.

---

August 11, 2000 - Third Message - Feast of St. Clare

Messenger: On this beautiful feast of St. Clare, I am overwhelmed with love for God and all others. I feel so connected to my brothers that are so dear to my heart. At Mass we prayed for a missionary, and I feel so close in my heart to the priest there beginning the mission with young men wanting to be priests. My heart burns with love for all even though I am not with them, I feel so connected to them in Him.

The Mass is the greatest, it unites us as a body no matter where we are. The love of God burns in my soul for all my brothers in the Movement that have given their lives to serve Him so selflessly.

God is love and He gives us Himself in the Holy Eucharist. What a gift God gives to us in the priest and in the Mass. God gives us Himself.

I live praying the rosary. My life is centered around the Mass, especially the one I will attend, and my great love is to be with Him after Communion and before the tabernacle and before the exposed Eucharist.

God is so good to us. He gives us Himself in the Eucharist. He gives us the priest and the Church and the sacraments. He gives us the saints and angels and Our Blessed Mother. God gives us such good things, a sunlit day, the beautiful green leaves, the wind that caresses our cheek, letting us know His presence with us. He gives us beautiful flowers and a blue sky, but more than all of these He gives us each other and hearts likened to Him to love. He gives us a beautiful baby, the tender skin, the gentle touch and He gives us the waters and the mountains to behold.

Let us live thanking Him for His gifts to us, living in the moment, being refreshed by His grace and helping to bring forth fruit for the Kingdom.

---

1 John 1: 5

God is light,
    and there is no darkness in him at all.

---

(End of Excerpt from August 11, 2000, Daily Message)