| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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| Shepherds of Christ Daily Writing |
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February 17, 2014
February 18th Holy Spirit Novena
Scripture selection is Day 1 Period I.The Novena Rosary Mysteries
for February 18th are Joyful.
February 17, 2014
Today's Readings
James 1: 1-11
From James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Greetings to the twelve tribes of the Dispersion. My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you, for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and perseverance must complete its work so that you will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way. Any of you who lacks wisdom must ask God, who gives to all generously and without scolding; it will be given. But the prayer must be made with faith, and no trace of doubt, because a person who has doubts is like the waves thrown up in the sea by the buffeting of the wind. That sort of person, in two minds, inconsistent in every activity, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. It is right that the brother in humble circumstances should glory in being lifted up, and the rich in being brought low. For the rich will last no longer than the wild flower; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, its flower falls, its beauty is lost. It is the same with the rich: in the middle of a busy life, the rich will wither.
Psalm 119: 67-68, 71-72, 75,76
Before I was punished I used to go astray,
but now I keep to your promise.
You are generous and act generously,
teach me your will.It was good for me that I had to suffer,
the better to learn your judgements.
The Law you have uttered is more precious to me
than all the wealth in the world.I know, Yahweh, that your judgements are upright,
and in punishing me you show your constancy.
Your faithful love must be my consolation,
as you have promised your servant.
Mark 8: 11-13
The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with him; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to put him to the test. And with a profound sigh he said, 'Why does this generation demand a sign? In truth I tell you, no sign shall be given to this generation.' And, leaving them again, he re-embarked and went away to the other side.
Excerpt from Response in Christ by Fr. Edward J. Carter, S.J. - Chapter 6The Christian and Sin (excerpt)SIX
The Nature of Sin
What is the nature of sin? Contemporary theology emphasizes that sin is not primarily a violation of a law, but a disruption of personal relationships. Sin is a refusal to love. Serious sin is a radical refusal to love. Venial sin is a partial refusal to love.
The most obvious personal relationship that is affected by sin is that between God and the sinner. In sinning a man fails, to a lesser or greater degree, to accept God's loving gift of Himself. He fails also to respond with his own gift of love. In serious sin man refuses intimate friendship with God. In venial sin he dulls the ardor of that friendship. Man, in so far as he sins, maintains that he does not want his life to be directed by the loving hand of his heavenly Father. He wants to be a law for himself; he wants to be the one who decides what is good for himself and what is not. Schoonenberg observes: "Especially in the prophets sin is an aversion from and an unfaithfulness to Yahweh himself; hence it is placed in the heart rather than in the wrong deed. We see that aversion, that rebelliousness, that lack of faith which precede the act of transgressing the Law already in the story of the sin in paradise, where it is presented as the wish of possessing autonomously the knowledge of good and evil, of being independently the Law unto oneself. . .1
1. P. Schoonenberg, Man and Sin (Notre Dame, Indiana: Fides, 1965), p. 8.
end of excerpt
R. When we sin we do not feel good.
Sin deadens our spiritual awareness,
the more we live in a state of sin
the more blind and deaf we can
become.Before the Good Shepherd Chapter
in John is the Chapter on the blind man.
Jesus healed the blind man.We must thank God for the great
gift of the sacraments, for the gifts
given in baptism.God gives us the grace to be good. We
must thank Him for His gifts of grace.
God can give us an increase of faith,
hope and love. We have to pray for this
increase of faith, hope and love.God created us to love. We do
things that hurt our relationships
with others. God intends us to love.
We can be sinning against God.
God intends us to work with each
other and love each other and be like
Jesus to one another.
Given February 13, 2014
R. A man who tries to control his
own life without the direction from
a higher power, will in fact
succumb to a lower power.
Man must discern his actions.
Because of his wounded human
nature he is tainted and has
tendencies toward
pride, greed, envy,
wrath, lust,
gluttony,
and sloth.
Emotions and drives, bad
habits must be dealt with and
man act in right reasoning,
not giving into bad habits and
emotions. What determines a man's
actions is whether or not it is
God's will for him.
A man lives to mature to
greater life in God.
He must have this goal to live to
be perfected in Christ.
His life is based on Christ, not
his old bad habits or emotions
that come up like the wind that
he acts on.
Balance a man must learn
to discipline himself. Not acting
on bad habits and letting
emotions rule him.
The body was made to serve
the soul, not the other way
around. One can eat and drink
just for pleasure rather than
eat to live and take care of
oneself because
it is God's will. It comes in loving
oneself.
Emotions can get the upper hand
a person can expect no correction
from those over them, no directions,
they rebel over the authority to
have what they feel is freedom.
God works in structure.
Structure according to God's
will is a friend. It is the
way God communicates with
a man.
Rebelling against just authority
is not freedom, but enslavement.
Sitting back and expecting
authority to come to you is another
way of doing nothing, when you
should be doing something.
This is indeed a choice and
in not doing anything when
you are called by God to act
you are acting against God's
will.
Doing the right thing according
to God's will empowers you.
Giving into emotions, anger, envy,
jealousy, pride against God's
will makes you a slave of
satan.
There is a man on a cross and He
teaches us about doing God's will.
Jesus didn't have secrets against
those in authority.
Being like Jesus means we
follow God's will, we see
just authority as a friend and
we work in the structure
not rebel against it being
untrustworthy and unpredictable
depending on our emotions
Are our bad habits, emotions,
drives our god or is God the
God of our hearts, our higher
power. Being under a higher
power empowers us
Running the show based on
emotions that come up like
red flags brings red flags
down on the whole building
of the house.
Structure God works in
structure.
Orders in the Church are
called ORDERS
The Franciscans have 3
knots they wear around their
waist, they stand for poverty,
chastity and obedience.
Fortitude is a virtue to handle
the difficult aspects of life
We pray for an increase in
virtues.
Temperance is a virtue that
handles sense pleasures according
to God's will.
Humility is a realization
of our creaturehood. Mary did
this perfectly.
My soul proclaims the greatness
of the Lord and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior.
In humility I recognize my gifts
and thank God
In humility I want to see what
is wrong with me and seek
improvement.
A proud person doesn't grow.
The more humble you are the
stronger you are.
Saint Paul said:
2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
but he has answered me, My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness. It is, then, about my weaknesses that I am happiest of all to boast, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me; and that is why I am glad of weaknesses, insults, constraints, persecutions and distress for Christs sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.
Saint John the Baptist said:
I must decrease
He must increase
R. Prudence helps us to make right choices
according to God's will.
Justice gives to others what is their
due
we must respect the rights
of others
we cannot discredit and
disrespect others doing
God's will before others
for evil designs,
jealousy, power, envy,
etc.
Justice rights of unborn
54,000,000 abortions
since 1973 in United States.
Luke 17: 1-4
He said to his disciples, ‘Causes of falling are sure to come, but alas for the one through whom they occur! It would be better for such a person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone round the neck than to be the downfall of a single one of these little ones. Keep watch on yourselves!
‘If your brother does something wrong, rebuke him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, “I am sorry,” you must forgive him.’
Luke 13: 6-9
He told this parable, ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to his vinedresser, "For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?" "Sir," the man replied, "leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down." ’
Luke 11: 14-26
He was driving out a devil and it was dumb; and it happened that when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he drives devils out.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Any kingdom which is divided against itself is heading for ruin, and house collapses against house. So, too, with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom last?—since you claim that it is through Beelzebul that I drive devils out. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I drive devils out, through whom do your own sons drive them out? They shall be your judges, then. But if it is through the finger of God that I drive devils out, then the kingdom of God has indeed caught you unawares. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are undisturbed; but when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.
‘Anyone who is not with me is against me; and anyone who does not gather in with me throws away.
'When an unclean spirit goes out of someone it wanders through waterless country looking for a place to rest, and not finding one it says, "I will go back to the home I came from." But on arrival, finding it swept and tidied, it then goes off and brings seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and set up house there, and so that person ends up worse off than before."
R. Relationship
God gives us the Commandments
Relationship with God, others
and self
Response to God's love
Response in Christ
The Christian life is to be
participating in God's life
The Christian life as
the elevated capacity,
from baptism, the capability to love
and know.
Rooted in God
Obedience to God's will
Self - Discipline
Growing in the image of Christ
We are put here to develop
to become more like Christ
Goal is to try to reach
maturity in God
following Jesus!
The virtues are supernatural
faculties
Genesis 1: 26-27
God created man in the image of himself,
in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.
R. We participate in God's
knowing capacity because
of baptism
We participate in God's loving
capacity because of
baptism.
Hope gives the capacity to
desire God,
desire to live the life
of faith and to trust
in God.
Hope the desire to
possess the vision
of faith and
trust God will
help us!!
God intended us to have
relationships of love
We live out our life
CHANGING
Death/Resurrection
The Incarnation goes on
in us
Romans 6: 3-6
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. If we have been joined to him by dying a death like his, so we shall be by a resurrection like his; realising that our former self was crucified with him, so that the self which belonged to sin should be destroyed and we should be freed from the slavery of sin.
2 Peter 1: 3-7
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.
Blue Book I
Blue Book II
Blue Book III
Blue Book 4
Blue Book 5
Blue Book 6A
Blue Book 6B
Blue Book 6C
Blue Book 7
Blue Book 8
Blue Book 9
Blue Book 10
Blue Book 11
R. The Blue Books
teach us
friendship with Jesus
Promises of Our Lord to those devoted to His Sacred Heart:
1. I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
2. I will establish peace in their homes.
3. I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
4. I will be their refuge during life and above all in death.
5. I will bestow a large blessing on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and the infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall grow fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
9. I will bless every place where a picture of My Heart shall be set up and honored.
10. I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who promote this devotion shall have their names written in My Heart,
never to be blotted out.
12. I promise you in the excessive mercy of My Heart that My all-powerful
love will grant to all those who communicate on the first Friday in nine
consecutive months the grace of final penitence; they shall not die in
My disgrace nor without receiving their sacraments; My divine Heart
shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
1 John 4: 19-21
Let us love, then, because he first loved us. Anyone who says 'I love God' and hates his brother, is a liar, since whoever does not love the brother whom he can see cannot love God whom he has not seen. Indeed this is the commandment we have received from him, that whoever loves God, must also love his brother.
Matthew 22: 37-38
Jesus said to him, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment.
Given February 13, 2014
From the Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter 1999 - Issue 4
God With Us (excerpt)
- Rita Robinson Ring states: And we see a pillar against a dark sky. We see Jesus against the darkened sky and the Woman beneath and the scene cries out to earth, "Not my will, but Thine be done", not as spoken words, but the very vivid scene of the New Adam, the Pillar of Light, and the New Eve says this. What do you see as you look at the scene of the New Adam and the New Eve, the New Adam hanging from the tree in the place with a garden?
Do you not see the words as if they are almost written across the sky, "Thy will be done"? See her underneath the cross as she holds Him across her knees. His arms lay limp. And the words go across the sky again, "Not My will, but Thine be done". For He did the Fathers will to His death on the cross. He is placed in the tomb as she cries outside. Behold the most sorrowful Mother. Within her Heart is an understanding of the divine mysteries that far exceeds that of any human person. In her sorrow, in her tears, she knew so deeply the great gift that God sent--Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, the Savior of the world. She knew that her Son had to suffer these things in order to enter into the glory of His resurrection.
And on the day of His resurrection, Marys tears were now tears of joy. The victory of her Son has now been accomplished, and the victory will last forever. And on that first Easter morning Mary also knew that all of us, her children, are called to share in her Sons victory-- His resurrection--now, and especially in eternal life. She is ever pleading with us that with the help of Gods grace we will do all that is necessary to share as fully as possible in the life of Jesus resurrection--here and hereafter. She wants Emmanuel to be with us to the greatest degree possible, now and in eternal life
R. We see Solomon and we
see how he served
himself and ended up
worshipping false
gods himself and the
country ended up being
divided in two.
R. We see the devastation
because of Saul
Saul was pompous
Saul did his own will
We see the false prophet that
opposed Jeremiah and the
mishap of the King who
would not listen
Jesus: What delights Me is people
living by the will of the heavenly
Father. It is their way to love
God so much to want only to
please Him. I loved My Father
to My death on the cross.
The way one lives is in
seeking the will of God and
living by it. There can be a
spirit of disobedience where
a person lives according to
their own will. They develop
habits of disobedience and
never do as they should for
their love is for their independence
of God.
A person living according to the
will of God is following in My
foot prints. I died on the cross
obeying the will of My Father.
The Father has a Plan. Satan
works by the willfulness of leaders
opposed to doing the will of those
over them. It is not only sinful
when one deliberately disobeys,
it has consequences that gives
satan the upper-hand by hiding
the truth from those over
you. It is the spirit of the
anti-Christ that really
puts themselves over just authority
that is serving God. It isn't in
little things that one disobeys,
it is the spirit in the person
to disobey God and to cover-up
what they do.
A pure heart is one who tells
what they have done and asks
for forgiveness if they have
sinned. A pure heart knows
God is their best friend and
they seek to love and serve
God with all their heart.
The evil one tempts those
he uses to do his dirty work
opposed to the will of God by
faulty reasoning. The devil wants
this spirit of opposition to God's
will to be the way of life a
leader lives by.
Satan uses this faulty reasoning
to convince the person, a leader,
under just authority to be
untrustworthy and secretive to
work the evil design set into
play by satan.
Authority from God is a friend
and the structure structure,
understand, how the building
is to be held up. But satan
attacks through a spirit of
secrecy and pride and the leader
under just authority who opposes
those over them is like one
taking out a main beam in the
house. The more satan convinces
them through faulty reasoning
to disobey, the more satan has
an upper-hand and can take down
the house.
I operate in structure. I
operate in just authority and
the house is built by one
supporting and obeying those
over them.
Satan wants to take the house
down. In a network he works
in the opposing spirit to God's
will by attacking not one place,
but the heads of all places he
can manipulate and try to
control through unfaithful,
untrustworthy, prideful leaders.
He gives his evil design fueling
the situation by appealing to the
pride, jealousy, anger, envy
and hatred of others.
Love, loves. The greatest
commandment is to love God first
and love your neighbor as yourself.
The person living by God's will
knows unity and does not give
into division. They know disharmony,
division, disobedience drives them
from the goal they seek which
is union with God. They keep
their focus on the main event
God and do not operate in
a side-show taking away
from the main event God
wants to happen.
The person seeking unity
according to God's Plan is
growing in the spiritual life
and their intimacy with God.
A person who is loving God
knows God is the main event.
God works in person's over others,
a person, like Fr. Carter, obeyed
the vows he took of poverty,
chastity and obedience.
A house divided against
itself will never, never
stand. You can see countries
that rose to power under
false power opposed to God
have eventually fallen. I am the
source of all strength. Power
is false power if it is opposed
to Me and the will of the Father.
With opposition to just authority
comes cover-ups so satan can
work his plan to overthrow the
house in secret.
Look at the damage of World War II
Do you see evil and good clashing
in the world. A main beam
trying to take out just authority
leads to the destruction of the
house. They have turned their
eyes to the ways of destruction
for their willfulness and pride,
and they no longer think clear,
but take out the very place
they live in. Satan wants to
take down the house. The
structure must be based in
obedience to those over them
in just authority, under God.
A man came and was building
a house he started with a
strong footer and the foundation
was beginning to be built
well. Another man came and
decided to do his own thing
the foreman gave directions
but the leader under him
opposed him and hid his
ways to be what he felt was
free and doing what he wanted
opposed to the foreman.
Eventually the willful man,
had nothing he brought down
the house so loved by some,
because of being a disloyal,
willful servant.
I call men to see God over
them and to be loyal to the
commandments, the structure
of the building God is building.
Satan lures a man with a
weakness to be willful
under a just leader and hide
his ways because that is
how satan works, two steps
ahead, one back. Enslavement
to satan opposing God's will
makes a man miserable as
he lives in greater and greater
darkness.
God the Father created every
man with such dignity out
of love. The man opposing a
just and loving God sets
himself up as the power
when he opposed God's will
and drives himself from happiness
which is found in obedience
to God and unity with God.
God the Father created Adam and
Eve in love and told them to obey,
they disobeyed and brought
down punishment and suffering
for the whole human race.
My Mission in coming to this
earth showed My obedience
to the Father's will to My death
on the cross.
Mary: My soul doth magnify
the Lord and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior.
Jesus: Mary showed you she
obeyed the will of the Father
always. Mary suffered, but
she obeyed the will of the Father.
Your strength is in obeying
just authority over you,
doing God's will
secrets against authority over
you is a ploy satan uses
to fuel his evil designs
and keep control through
traitors to those you were called
to obey and every one suffers
when a person disobeys God's
will. There is no such thing
as an isolated sin. Sin has
consequences. It ruptures
relationships and tears down
structure and unity which
brings strength rooted in Christ.
Talents are a gift given
from God and one who is
humble is thanking God for
his talents and using them to
build up the Kingdom of God,
not as a side-show to
weaken the structure others
are building to serve God.
A man came and chipped
away at a hard stone. After
years of chipping eventually
the stone was ashes.
What once was a stone of great
value became a pile of ash
of no value and the man had
nothing for his life. Instead
of treasuring the booty he had,
he used it to tear down its
beauty and size and eventually
all he had was a pile of ash
and wasted years of his life.
Excerpt from Shepherds of Christ Priestly Newsletter Book III - 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.
R. Love is not selfish, it does
not demand its own way
It lives for the good of the other
and only lends to union
with Jesus.
Love is from God. Love has
its source in God. If love in
any way separates the two
people from God, it is not
love. If I love God and know
His love, I can give His love
to you.
Jesus showed us the way to
His death on the cross. Jesus
gave His love for us.
Love is not force, love
is given freely. God gives us
a free will to obey as He wants
or do our own will opposed
to God
The Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Jesus: God gave you the commandments
to live by. They involve
relationship with God and
others and yourself according
to God's will.
You can choose to disregard
God's will and do your own
will - to love or to not love.
What have you in your life
if you really loved no one
and trusted no one
then you have disobeyed
My commandment to love
and you have served satan.
To be really happy, you must
do God's will. I give you
a free will to obey the
will of God or disobey
God's will like Adam and Eve.
You were created with a purpose,
to know, love and serve
God.
I am the source of love and life.
Disobeying God, not loving
is going against the
very purpose for why
you were created.
I am revealing here the intimate
secrets of My love. Those
opposing these writings are
working against My Father's Plan
to bring the Reign of My Sacred Heart and
Triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart.
These writings are to be studied.
The retreats are held to help
bring down great grace
for the priests, the Church
and the world.
Satan will attempt to take out
Blue Book 12.
My Mother's message was given
August 27, 1996.
Statues,
Crucifixes, and
Religious
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Shepherds of Christ.