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February 9, 2017

R. We live the pascal mystery of death - resurrection
in our lives.

                    We relive this mystery, the dying and rising
                in Him. We die to the ways not like Him to
                rise to greater life in Him.

                    Every day we go to sleep – it is dark outside
                so we can sleep better and here, every day the
                sun comes up in its magnificence
                to bring a new day. I see the morning
                light, I know how darkness has
                given way to the light and I live this
                every day, here, in Cincinnati, darkness and
                then the opening of a new day – one more day
                in my life, I have one shot at that
                new day, Jesus is with me, I go to Mass,
                I receive the Eucharist – I love Him so much.

                    People know Jesus in our lives. How
                we put on Christ. Jesus no longer walks
                the earth – He lives in us – He gives
                us strength – the incarnation goes on
                in us. Our life is to be lived as we
                grow more and more in the image of Jesus
                through the power of the Holy Spirit.

From the Priestly Newsletter Book III by Fr. Edward Carter, S.J.

The Holy Spirit And Mary

The late Archbishop Luis M. Martinez of Mexico strikingly speaks of the ongoing cooperation of Mary with the Holy Spirit regarding the reproduction of Jesus within us: "Christian life is the reproduction of Jesus in souls…

"Now, how will this mystical reproduction be brought about in souls? In the same way in which Jesus was brought into the world, for God gives a wonderful mark of unity to all His works. Divine acts have a wealth of variety because they are the work of omnipotence; nevertheless, a most perfect unity always shines forth from them because they are the fruit of wisdom; and this divine contrast of unity and variety stamps the works of God with sublime and unutterable beauty.

"In His miraculous birth, Jesus was the fruit of heaven and earth…The Holy Spirit conveyed the divine fruitfulness of the Father to Mary, and the virginal soil brought forth in an ineffable manner our most loving Savior, the divine Seed, as the prophets called Him…

"That is the way He is reproduced in souls. He is always the fruit of heaven and earth.

"Two artisans must concur in the work that is at once God’s masterpiece and humanity’s supreme product: the Holy Spirit and the most holy Virgin Mary. Two sanctifiers are necessary to souls, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, for they are the only ones who can reproduce Christ.

"Undoubtedly, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary sanctify us in different ways. The first is the Sanctifier by essence; because He is God, who is infinite sanctity; because He is the personal Love that completes, so to speak, the sanctity of God, consummating His life and His unity, and it belongs to Him to communicate to souls the mystery of that sanctity. The Virgin Mary, for her part, is the co-operator, the indispensable instrument in and by God’s design. From Mary’s maternal relation to the human body of Christ is derived her relation to His Mystical Body which is being formed through all the centuries until the end of time, when it will be lifted up to the heavens, beautiful, splendid, complete, and glorious.

"These two, then, the Holy Spirit and Mary, are the indispensable artificers of Jesus, the indispensable sanctifiers of souls. Any saint in heaven can co-operate in the sanctification of a soul, but his co-operation is not necessary, not profound, not constant: while the co-operation of these two artisans of Jesus of whom we have just been speaking is so necessary that without it souls are not sanctified (and this by the actual design of Providence), and so intimate that it reaches to the very depths of our soul. For the Holy Spirit pours charity into our heart, makes a habitation of our soul, and directs our spiritual life by means of His gifts. The Virgin Mary has the efficacious influence of Mediatrix in the most profound and delicate operations of grace in our souls. And, finally, the action of the Holy Spirit and the co-operation of the most holy Virgin Mary are constant; without them, not one single character of Jesus would be traced on our souls, no virtue grow, no gift be developed, no grace increased, no bond of union with God be strengthened in the rich flowering of the spiritual life. mm

"Such is the place that the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary have in the order of sanctification. Therefore, Christian piety should put these two artisans of Christ in their true place, making devotion to them something necessary, profound, and constant." ¹⁸

18. Archbishop Luis M. Martinez, The Sanctifier, op. cit. pp. 5-7.

                R. Our life is a constant dying and rising in Christ.
                Why would a person call themselves a Christian
                and not see their lives as ever evolving more
                and more through transformation, change
                into the image of Jesus.

                    Why would a person fight as if they
                have arrived and try to prove they are perfect
                and right all the time – fight to not change –
                ignore the guides God sends to help us grow
                in greater perfection, likened to Him –
                this is the greatest thing we can do –
                put on Christ – grow in love – prepare
                for our eternal life with God –
                lead others to Him – bring to others His
                truths – this is an honor, commissioned
                by God in baptism to spread the good
                news, to live as the Father wants us to
                be in our vocation – A work of God
                in progress – WOW

                    This is our great privilege to
                grow more and more in the image of
                Jesus –

We help to continue the incarnation

We are the Body of Christ –

We are helping in the work of redemption –

Romans 6: 3-4

You cannot have forgotten that all of us, when we were baptised into Christ Jesus, were baptised into his death. So by our baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life.

                R. We receive a sharing in His life in baptism,
                    but that isn't enough – we need
                    to be nourished –

                We contact Christ in the liturgy –
                    (1) Eucharistic – we become more deeply
                        incorporated into Christ and His
                        mystery –

                    (2) Scripture –
                        not to know scripture is not
                        to know Christ –

(3) We encounter the mysteries as they
are present to us and others.

We relive the mysteries of Christ –

Sing: The Rosary Song

R. We meditate on the Mysteries of the Rosary

                We are to have sorrow for our sins –
                    We are to have a perfect attitude
                        in our hearts – not give into
                        the deadly sins, but grow
                        virtuously –

God sends us a Savior –

We need a Savior –

How is the attitude of men?

HUFFY

                We unite to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass –
                    it is an offering –
                    We recognize that sin is committed –
                    We make reparation for our sins –
                    We are sorry.

Man can be huffy and think he is perfect –
how offending is this pride to God.

                Sacrifice – we make contrition for
                    our sins. This starts by saying
                    we are sorry –

Jesus is the chief spokesman for
the Heavenly Father –

Jesus gives us Himself to give life to
the world –

Jesus is the way, the truth and
the life!!

Genesis 2: 18

Yahweh God said, "It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper."

R. Woman was taken from man.

The Bride of Adam was taken from the
side of Adam.

The Bride of Christ comes from the
side of Christ –

                Through His pierced side, the Church
                    was born – water for baptism –
                    blood for the Eucharist!

R. Sacrifice is an outward sign of an
interior attitude of worship.

                John Dunn
                    "No man is an island entire of itself,
                    a piece of the continent, a
                    part of the main."

We are called by God to help others
attain eternal life.

                Relationship – how many people
                    did it take to bring the food
                    and make last night's dinner.

There is that profound interconnection
with others.

Jesus is my best friend.

Luke 1: 46-47

My soul proclaims
the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit rejoices
in God my Saviour;

R. The Church is the Body of Christ –

Shepherds of Christ
Priestly Newsletter 2000 Issue 2

The Church - Reflection of the Trinity, Body of Christ, and Spouse of Christ

Henri de Lubac states: "The Church is a mysterious extension in time of the Trinity, not only preparing us for the life of unity but bringing about even now our participation in it. She comes from and is full of the Trinity. She is for us – in a favourite phrase of Bossuet – ‘Jesus Christ … communicated’. She is ‘the Incarnation continued.’ She is, as Dietrick Bonhoeffer used to say, ‘the presence of Christ on earth’ –- she speaks with ‘the authority of Christ living and present in her.’… St. Paul applies to her this same word ‘mystery’ which he had first used of Christ. She is after all, the spouse of Christ and his body." ¹⁰

Let us, then, reflect upon the Church as a reflection of the Trinity, the Church as Body of Christ, the Church as Spouse of Christ.

The Christian community is a reflection of the ultimate and absolute community – namely, the Trinity. In a special way, we are privileged to give witness to Trinitarian life, a life of divine intimacy, a life of divine knowing and loving.

Grace, or the Christ-life, is a created participation in Trinitarian life. This Christ-life, consequently, calls us to a special existence of knowing and loving. Christian faith and love, which are created participations in the Trinity’s knowing and loving, allow us to know and love God in a special manner. Faith and love also give us a new capacity to relate to both our fellow Christians and to all others..

Because the life of the Trinity is person-centered, so must the life of the Church be person-centered. For many years, it seems, we were not sufficiently person-conscious. However, the theology that has emanated from Vatican II is helping to rectify this situation. In the pre-Vatican II Church, structures in the Church were at times treated by some as if they were ends in themselves rather than as means of serving the persons in the Church. Slowly but surely, structures in the Church are being renewed so that they might better serve their true purpose, which is to aid in the ongoing spiritual development of her members – leading them closer to the Father, through and with Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

The Church, in turn, develops when those who make up that community develop as authentic Christians. Just as each divine Person contributes perfectly to the community life of the Trinity according to the Self-Gift of the fullness of His personhood, so each Christian contributes to the community life of the Church in proportion to the degree of his or her gift of self, according to the degree of his or her personal holiness.

Authentic interpersonal relationships help to develop community. The Trinitarian community is a community of profound relationships. Because the Church reflects Trinitarian community, her members are intended to have relationships, not only with the Persons of the Trinity, but likewise with others. Authentic interpersonal relationships not only unite in a deeper knowledge and love the persons directly involved, they also make a person more capable of loving others more deeply, and, therefore, more capable of deepening the bonds of total community. If a person is growing in the capacity to love his or her friends, for example, that person is concurrently growing in the capacity to also love all others – both those who are members of the Church and those who are not.

The fact that the Church is here on earth a reflection of the Trinitarian Community easily leads us to reflect upon the Church as the Body of Christ, since this name given to the Church also emphasizes the communitarian aspect of the Church. St. Paul tells us: For as with the human body which is a unity although it has many parts – all the parts of the body, though many, still making up one single body – so it is with Christ. We were baptised into one body in a single Spirit, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as free men, and we were all given the same Spirit to drink. And indeed the body consists not of one member but of many. If the foot were to say, ‘I am not a hand and so I do not belong to the body’, it does not belong to the body any the less for that. Or if the ear were to say, ‘I am not an eye, and so I do not belong to the body’, that would not stop its belonging to the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how would there be any hearing? If the whole body were hearing, how would there be any smelling?

Now Christ’s body is yourselves, each of you with a part to play in the whole. And those whom God has appointed in the Church are, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers; after them, miraculous powers, then gifts of healing, helpful acts, guidance, various kinds of tongues. Are all of them apostles? Or all prophets? Or all teachers? Or all miracle-workers? Do all have the gifts of healing? Do all of them speak in tongues and all interpret them? (1 Cor 12:12-17; 27-30).

The concept of the Church as Body of Christ certainly emphasizes the sense of corporateness that should permeate the consciousness of the Church’s members. We depend upon each other. We each have a very important contribution to make to the life of the Church. We must think in terms of both what is good for the entire Church and, through this Church, what is good for the total human community. Even when we disagree among ourselves, we do so not because we want to glory in having the upper hand, but because we believe that to disagree here and now is necessary so that the truth might better emerge for the good of the community. St. Paul speaks to us about this sense of corporateness: So if in Christ there is anything that will move you, any incentive in love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any warmth or sympathy – I appeal to you, make my joy complete by being of a single mind, one in love, one in heart and one in mind. Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind everyone should give preference to others, everyone pursuing not selfish interests but those of others. Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus. (Phil 2:1-5)

Finally, we reflect upon the Church as Spouse of Christ. Fr. Joseph Murphy, S.J., tells us: "John Paul II always quotes the rich doctrinal and patristic traditions of the Church which refer to Christ as the Spouse of the Church and the Spouse of souls, given to both in the Eucharistic mystery. For him the key to understanding the sacramentality of marriage, not to mention the nature of humanity, is the spousal love of Christ for the Church demonstrated in Ephesians 5. Christ is the Head of the Church as Savior of His Body. The Church is exactly that Body which receives from Him all that through which it becomes and is His Body. As Head and Savior of the Church He is also Bridegroom of His Bride…" ¹¹

Here is a prayer for intimacy with the Lamb, the Bridegroom of the Soul: "O 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."

NOTES:

10. Henri de Lubac, S. J., The Church: Paradox and Mystery, translated by James R. Dunne, Alba House, p. 24.
11. The Thought of Pope John Paul II: A Collection of Essays and Studies, John M. McDermott, S. J., Editor, Editrice Pontificia Universita Gregoriana, p. 135.

Excerpt from March 12, 2001

Messenger: Enclosed is the table of contents of the
20 page Newsletter.

                    We must consider our relationship
                        with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit,
                        the members of the Church,
                        and the world.

                     In the Newsletter he talked about the overview
                    of the Spiritual life, the life of grace through baptism,
                    our relationship with Jesus who is Mediator.
                    He wrote of our relationship with the Father, the
                    Holy Spirit and Mary. Then he told me (all this from
                    the table of contents of the newsletter) how we live out the
                    spiritual life in the Church. The Heart of the
                    Spiritual life is in the sacraments and the Eucharist.

Father says in his newsletter on priesthood

                        "Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, Jesus has
                              provided His Church with priests who play a major
                              role in the dispensing of this life which Jesus
                              has come to give and to give most abundantly."

                    Priesthood is key to the life of the Church.
                    Prayer is the key exercise of the spiritual life.
                    And I quote from Father's Newsletter about our relationship
                          with others.

                        "Growth in the Christ-life gives us an increased
                              awareness of our relationships with others.
                              That is to say, the true Christian is keenly aware
                              that, to a great degree, God intends each of us to
                              press on toward maturity in the spiritual life
                              through proper relationships with our fellow
                              human beings."

From Father's Newsletter on the Christian and the World I quote:

                            "God calls us to share His love for His creation.
                        Growth in Christ develops our awareness of this
                        truth. The Christian should have a deeper love for
                        the world than the non-believer."

                    Purification
                        Growth in the spiritual life entails an ongoing
                        and progressive purification.

Faith
From Father's Newsletter on the Vision of Faith I quote

                           "Through faith we share in God’s knowing activity
                        in a special way, and we are able to know God and
                        creation in relationship to God in a supernatural,
                        God-like fashion.
                            If we are to properly progress in the spiritual life,
                        we must allow this vision of faith to more and more
                        penetrate our activities."

                    Hope
                        The virtue of trust is extremely important for
                            growth in the spiritual life.

From Response to God's Love I quote

                          "Christian hope is a virtue that allows us to tend toward God
                       in Christ as our absolute fulfillment, our absolute future. Hope
                       allows us to trust that God will grant us the graces necessary to
                       achieve this goal."

                    Humility
                        Humility is a very important virtue given to us
                         for the spiritual journey.
                   One of the blocks to the spiritual life, Father said,
                         was lack of humility.

                    Strength in Weakness
                        We must realize our weakness and see our
                         strength is in Him.

Living in the Present Moment
I quote from Father

                           "I suggest that one of the most difficult acts
                            of self-discipline in the spiritual journey
                            is to concentrate on the present moment."

This is necessary Father says for growth in the spiritual life.

                    Surrender to God
                        We must surrender to God. We give ourselves more
                        and more to Jesus.
                    We are guided through the Church

                    Mind and Heart
                        We cannot become heartless and too much
                         focused in our minds.

                    The Mystical Life
                        The mystical life is the relative ultimate development
                         of the spiritual life itself.

Father talks about the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and
the life of Consecration.

Here is the copy of the Table of Contents on his twenty
page Newsletter.

end of excerpt from March 12, 2001

end of July 18, 2003

^{^{Given

October 29, 2016}}

                R. Please spread blessed holy water
                (You can also mix Jesus and Mary water
                with your blessed Holy Water if you have it.)
                in your yard, around your house,
                in the state you live in.

And ask God to bless your state
Ask God to bless the United States

Pray all prayers through the intercession of
Our Lady of CLEAR – WATER.

Ask the Lady of CLEAR - WATER
to help with the blessed water.

Mary has appeared to me for 22 years,
in Ohio and Florida.

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 Genuine

4 for $20 plus postage of $6.95

These books can be given to:

1) All Priests

       2) Good for Music Ministers
       3) Good for DRE's
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       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 17 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
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